Grapefruit Jalapeno Fish

  This recipe was inspired by an article I read in the September 2011 issue of Vogue magazine. The author had traveled to Mexico and wrote about a chef that used grapefruit with chili peppers. A lot of spicy Mexican dishes use lime to balance the heat from the peppers, so grapefruit seemed like a nice change up on the usual citrus fruit. I kept this idea floating around in my mind for a few months trying to figure out the best base for the sauce. Then a Foodista fish recipe caught my attention. It was a more typical lime and pepper recipe, but it had mayonnaise as the base. Mayonnaise is used more frequently in actual Mexican cooking, as opposed to the Tex-Mex that most Americans are used to. The taste of this dish is phenomenal, even if I did make it!

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup lite mayo

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/2 red grapefruit

1/4 cup sliced, pickled Jalapeno peppers with the juice

12 ounces of Pollock fillets

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425F. 

Combine the first 4 ingredients to make the sauce. Be sure to remove the juicy grapefruit segments from the tough membranes. Also, there's no need to chop the peppers, the slices from the jar are perfect! 

Stir together the ingredients for the sauce, mashing grapefruit with the spoon.  

Place fillets in a glass baking dish. 

Cover with sauce. 

Bake 9 to 11 minutes.

  Here is a picture of the feast I served with the fish. Fresh corn on the cob with tub margarine, a scoop of fat-free vegetarian refried beans with shredded mozzarella cheese, a cucumber, tomato, and buttery red leaf lettuce salad, and some chips and salsa for good measure.

Soup Beans and Cornbread

  Whether you call them pinto beans or soup beans, beans really are a healthy food, especially when they're made without greasy fatback or loads of salt. This recipe uses plenty of flavor from lean ham and seasonings, and leaves out the hot mess of saturated fat and sodium in some traditional recipes. Enjoy this delicious fiber and protein rich food with Regular Cornbread or Hot Mexican Cornbread.

 

Ingredients: 

1/2 pound dried pinto beans

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1-1 1/4 pound ham, chopped

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Rinse beans well. Soak overnight. 

Drain water. 

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Add fresh water, adjusting the amount according to how soupy you want the beans to be. 

Bring to a boil, then cook over low-medium heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serving size should be 1/2 to 1 cup. 

I like to eat my beans with ketchup, but chow chow, sauerkraut, hot sauce, or jalapeno peppers would all taste wonderful. The sauerkraut, some varieties of chow chow, ketchup, and jalapenos will add sodium, so use them sparingly. Hot sauce is actually a low sodium seasoning!

Oven Fried Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Green Beans

  Today I have another meal that fits the MyPlate model. It's based around oven fried chicken made with Kentucky Kernel flour. Sweet potatoes really taste good with chicken, and green beans go with everything. Kentucky Kernel flour is a bit salty at 544 mg. of sodium in 4 tsps. and has a strong flavor, so I blended it with whole wheat flour. 

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients: 

Vegetable oil

1 pound skinless chicken

1/2 cup Kentucky Kernel flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup skim milk

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Pour enough oil into a baking dish to keep the chicken from sticking.

Beat the eggs and milk in a bowl.

Combine the 2 flours on a plate.

Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture first, then coat in flour. Place them in the pan. Bake for 30 minutes on each side, turning once. 

Sweet Potatoes

Wash and place desired number of whole sweet potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake while the chicken is cooking. It should only take around 30 to 40 minutes for the potatoes to bake. 

Top the finished sweet potatoes with some tub margarine and cinnamon. 

Green Beans

Open a can of Shelley Green Beans and drain to reduce the sodium. Place in a saucepan and add water, a generous sprinkling of black pepper, and one thick slice of onion, chopped. Cook on stove-top over medium to medium-high heat while the chicken and sweet potatoes are baking.

Fish Dinner

  Continuing with the MyPlate meals, this is a quick and easy dinner with baked fish, steamed vegetables, and a baked potato. All the ingredients for this meal are added to taste, so no measuring or strict recipes are required.

 

  To prepare the fish and potatoes, first preheat the oven to 350F. Scrub the potatoes, poke holes in the tops, and place them in the oven for about 40 minutes, they may need to bake longer if you prefer softer baked potatoes. 

  While the potatoes are baking, prepare the thawed fish. I used frozen whiting because it was on sale, and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place the fillets in a glass baking pan and add olive oil, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of paprika. Bake the fish for about 20 minutes, until it flakes easily with a fork. This fish was delicious, and had a meatier texture. 

  While the fish and potatoes are baking, cook the vegetables on the stovetop. I used fresh broccoli and frozen mixed vegetables. Just cook them in some water in a pan until the broccoli is lightly cooked (no mushy broccoli) and the frozen vegetables are thoroughly cooked. Then empty most of the water. Sprinkle cheese on the broccoli. The best and healthiest type of cheese to use for broccoli is the Mexican blend with reduced fat cheeses. It's available in a store brand and isn't any more expensive than the other types. Turn the heat down to low and let the cheese melt. The little bit of water left in the pan keeps it from burning. For the mixed vegetables, add some tub margarine like Country Crock Light, and stir it in thoroughly. 

  When the potatoes are finished baking, add tub margarine, reduced fat sour cream, and pepper. No salt is needed because the flavor is so good. Remember to eat the peel on the potato for a boost of fiber.    

Baked Beans

  This is a fun recipe for baked beans that mixes a few different types of beans. The result is more flavor and a more interesting presentation. Just be aware that this recipe makes a big pot of beans, so either prepare it for a large crowd or decrease the recipe as needed. 

  Beans are a great source of healthy fiber, and this recipe really has a moderate amount of sugar. Feel free to substitute your favorite beans, such as Great Northerns or limas, or add any variety of peppers for extra spice. Stick to 1/2 cup for a serving size.

Ingredients:

4 cans pork and beans

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed well

2 cans butter beans, drained

1 onion, chopped

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 bottle barbecue sauce

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in an oven safe pot. 

Bake at 325F for 1 hour.

Burritos

It's the weekend, so I decided to prepare some bean burritos to freeze for convenience during the work week. I used whole wheat tortillas, a can of refried beans, a chopped onion, taco sauce, and mozzarella cheese. The whole wheat tortillas and beans are good sources of fiber, and part-skim mozzarella cheese is the lowest fat natural cheese. 
Just put a scoop of beans on a tortilla, add some onions, a few spoonfuls of taco sauce, and top with a sprinkling of cheese. Then roll up the burritos, and place them in a container to freeze. 

For a quick dinner or something to pack for lunch during the week, just grab a burrito from the freezer. Microwave it, and you've got a meal. Add some fresh lettuce, tomato, and cilantro, or have chips and salsa. Just remember to check the serving size on the tortilla chips.