Chicken Cakes:

1/4 cup bread crumbs or gluten free bread crumbs

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cooked

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 large egg whites

1 tbsp coconut oil

Pepper Jelly (optional)

Preparation

1. Place chicken in food processor; pulse until ground. Combine chicken, chives, greek yogurt, seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, egg, egg whites, and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl; mix well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Top with 1 Tbsp pepper jelly (optional)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup 1% milk

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp butter

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Blend potatoes with an electric mixer on low, slowly adding milk, about 1/2 at a time.  Use more or less to achieve desired texture. Add butter and cinnamon to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.

• Makes 2 Servings
• 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes (cut tomatoes in half)
• 1 avocado diced
• 8 oz chicken breast (or for a quick and easy option buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, remove the skin and shred)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1 – 2 Tbsp salad dressing (I LOVE using LaMartinique French Vinaigrette) – it is full fat but it is also full of flavor and a little bit goes a long way in helping to create the perfect salad!  If you are watching your waistline you can use 1 Tbsp (only 70 calories) and lemon juice.
• 1/2 cup Croutons or Fiber One Original Cereal (lower calorie and higher fiber option) for added crunch

Directions:  To make salad – toss ingredients together, serve over romaine lettuce leaves, and enjoy!

I made this dinner a few nights ago and I can’t remember ever hearing the word “thank you this was awesome!” so many times at my dinner table!  The lemon juice and garlic really made the flavors burst.   The meal was simple, but looked very complex and tasted DEVINE!  If you need to add more carbohydrates to this meal, try serving with a baked sweet potato, brown rice, or quinoa. 

Please share your feedbadack!

Easy, full flavored, low carb dinner

Ingredients:

White fish (tilapia, catfish, bass)

2 lemons

2 Tbsp butter (yes, the real stuff!)  

Red onion sliced

1 packaged mushrooms, sliced

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 zucchini sliced

1 yellow squash sliced

¼ cup feta cheese

Seasoning:   

Cracked black pepper

Sea Salt

Cayenne Pepper

Low Sodium Cajun Seasoning

Utensils needed:

Baking dish to bake fish

Large sauté pan for onions and mushrooms

Small sauté pan for zucchini and squash

Directions:

1. Place oven on broil
2. In large sauté pan, melt 1 Tbsp butter; add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and the juice from 1 lemon.   Season with black pepper and Cajun seasoning.  Cook over low heat. 
3. While the onions and mushrooms are cooking, in your small sauté pan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add zucchini and squash.  Season with black pepper and 1 tsp sea salt.  Add ¼ cup feta cheese.  Cook over low heat.
4. Place fish in a baking dish.  Squeeze juice from one lemon over fish.  Add 1 Tbsp butter to fish – spread over fish evenly.  Season fish with 1 – 2 tsp cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning (to taste), black pepper (to taste)
5. Broil fish for 5 – 7 minutes.
6. Top fish with onion and mushroom mixture.  Serve with zucchini and squash.  The flavors from this dish are Devine!  

Contributed By: Bonnie R. Giller, MS, RD, CDN, CDE

Passover is fast approaching.  If you are like most, you are busy cleaning the house, “changing over” your kitchen with your Passover dishes and pots and wondering what you will serve at your Seder meal this year.  Planning healthy Passover menus can be a daunting task since quite often, recipes designed for Passover are chock full of eggs and oil.

While Passover celebrates the commemoration of freedom from slavery and backbreaking work, meal preparation for this holiday full of tradition does not have to be difficult nor does it have to end after eight days of celebration with weight gain.  Enjoying Passover in a healthy way doesn’t mean you have to compromise the foods and traditions you love.  With proper portion control and slight modifications and tweaking to your favorite recipes, celebrating Passover can be enjoyed in a healthy way.

Passover the Healthy Way is a unique innovative cookbook that includes more than one-hundred taste-tested Kosher recipes for Passover.  All of the recipes limit or substitute specific ingredients to make the recipes healthier.  Each recipe has the “exchanges per serving” listed.  The figures used to calculate the exchanges are based on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) and the American Diabetes Association Exchange Lists for Meal Planning.  The nutrition information includes calories, total fat, saturated fat, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, protein and dietary fiber.

The recipes in Passover the Healthy Way are as easy as they are healthy, with ingredients that you already have in your pantry.   When planning your menus this year, try some new dishes like Chicken with Honey-Wine Sauce, Matzoh Pineapple Kugel and Potato Broccoli Knishes.  And don’t forget about dessert!  Enjoy tasty sweets like Brownie Bites or Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies.

Chicken with Honey-Wine Sauce

Serves: 8

2 whole chickens, cut into quarters (~1 ½ lbs. each)

½ tsp. pepper

1 cup dry red wine

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried sage

¼ cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place chicken in a large, deep roasting pan.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Combine remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve honey.
5. Pour over chicken.
6. Roast, basting frequently, until chicken is tender and browned, about 1 ¼ -1 ½ hours.

Serving Size: 1 chicken quarter

Exchanges per Serving: 5 Meat, ½ Fruit

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 255 Cholesterol:115 mg

Total fat: 5 gm Protein: 35 gm

Saturated fat: 1.5 gm Carbohydrate: 10 gm

Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 gm Dietary Fiber:0 gm

Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5 gm Sodium: 129 mg

Passover the Healthy Way is available at www.passoverthehealthyway.com.

To learn more about Bonnie R. Giller, MS, RD, CDN, CDE and the services provided at BRG Dietetics & Nutrition, P.C. visit www.brghealth.com

March is National Nutrition Month and the celebrating theme is “Get Your Plate In Shape.” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently changed the old school food pyramid which showed Americans portion sizes of the different food groups into a revised version called, MyPlate. The plate is a better representation of how people should eat and fill-up their plate versus the old version containing a confusing pyramid.

Now to celebrate our nutritional health, let’s talk about how we can get the sexiest plate around.

#1. Buy fine china plates (about 9 inches in complete diameter; with a 7.5 inch eating area after the rim). Eating on nice plates will reduce your portions because some fiestaware can be extra huge (like 12 inches in diameter) resulting in eating extra big portions.

#2. Fill up half your plate with vegetables. Get your colors on! A great way to incorporate a variety of colors in 1 sitting is to roast a huge batch of veggies and then eat it throughout the week. Remember: the more colors you eat, the better opportunity you’ll have to get the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals your body needs.

A quick roasting guide: 450° Bake for 35-40 minutes. In a roasting pan, add in cauliflower, carrots, brussel sprouts, red onion, red peppers, green peppers, yellow squash, and eggplant. Spray with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt & pepper & any herb you like (I enjoy switching it up with Italian flat-leaf parsley, basil, cilantro, or rosemary). After it’s cooked, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and you’ve got a feast.

#3. Fill up a quarter of your plate with some form of grains/starches. Don’t just settle for the basics, get exotic and colorful. We want some pizzazz. Try sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, amaranth, quinoa, bulgur, black or wild rice, lentils, black beans. And the list goes on and on. Also, with the extra color, your plate is looking great while you are getting more antioxidant health.

#4. Your final quarter of your plate should have your protein. Some of the above grains and starches do provide you with protein sources, such as beans and quinoa. Nevertheless, poultry, fish, tofu, pork, beef, buffalo, lamb, and eggs will also do the trick.

#5. Make the atmosphere right and set that romantic night (even if you’re eating for 1, you can still treat yourself). Pull out the cloth napkins, placemats, candles, and truly dine in comfort. Eating in a luxurious environment helps us to feel like we are special and every night can be lavish.

Enjoy your food now that your plate is in super shape.

Happy Nutrition Month! Let’s make this plate standard last all year round.

Sarah Koszyk is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach at MV Nutrition and Eating Free where she coaches her clients to reach their successful weight goals. She was the recipient of Outstanding Dietitian of the Year Award 2011 and Recognized Dietitian of the Year Award 2011 from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Contact Sarah today to set up your free consultation.