Cucumber Sandwiches

  These cucumber sandwiches are delightful. They remind me of the appetizers that were served at weddings when I was a child, and I love going to weddings. They're also a great way to enjoy the fresh cucumbers in abundance throughout the summer, and the leftover cream cheese spread can be used as a dip for other seasonal vegetables. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

1 8-oz. package 1/3 less fat neufchatel cream cheese

3-4 Tbsp. dried chives

1 medium cucumber

4-6 slices dense texture whole grain bread

Directions:

Mix the cream cheese and dried chives by hand in a small mixing bowl. Use 3-4 Tbsp. of dried chives, depending on your taste preference. 

Use a whole grain bread with a dense texture so it doesn't fall apart with all the cream cheese and cucumber slices on it. Bakery style breads work really well for these sandwiches. 

Cut the cucumber in half and then slice it longways. It can be peeled or unpeeled, depending on your preference. 

Spread some cream cheese mixture on 2 pieces of bread. Then place the cucumber slices. 

Sandwiches can be served whole or cut into halves or thirds. 

Save any leftover chive cream cheese to use as a dip for tomatoes, carrots, or any of your favorite seasonal vegetables.  

Breakfast Bread or Biscuits

   Homemade bread is wonderful, but yeast breads can be exhausting to make and bread machines are kind of expensive. I developed this recipe to be a quick bread with the taste and texture (soft inside, crunchy outside) of good homemade bread. It is ideal as a breakfast bread as it is a little too sweet and crumbly for sandwich bread. The consistency of the dough also makes it great for biscuits. Plus, it has a boost of healthy whole wheat flour.

Breakfast Bread

   I have baked with whole wheat flour in the past and had products that turned out bitter. I wasn't sure if it was just the taste of the flour or if there was something wrong with the bread, so I googled bitter whole wheat bread and found the answer. The top search results, including a post by Cooking Light magazine, said that whole wheat flour spoils faster than white flour because the oils in it go rancid quickly. The fact that grocery stores often don't sell as much whole wheat flour can also mean that it has been setting on the shelf longer. 

   There are a few things you can do to remedy this problem. First, always check the expiration dates on the flour. Don't buy anything that is close to its expiration date and throw away any flour you may have at home that has reached its date. Second, if you can, buy whole wheat flour from a store that keeps it in a cooler, and store it in the refrigerator once you get it home. These tips should ensure that you have fresh, good tasting flour to work with. 

   Another noteworthy thing about this dough is that it contains sorghum molasses. The main difference between sorghum and regular molasses is that sorghum is the delicious stuff that you buy from farmers at roadside stands. It’s viscous like honey. You can eat it on toast or use it in baking. Molasses is the runny, slightly bitter stuff that you buy in major chain grocery stores. If you can't find real sorghum molasses, honey is an acceptable substitute.

Sorghum Molasses

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups self-rising white flour (White Lily is the best)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sorghum molasses

1 cup skim or 1% milk

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, leaving out 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil to use to coat the pan. 

Knead dough until mixed well. 

-For bread, add 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil to a loaf pan. Shape the dough into a loaf shape, roll it in the oil in the pan, and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

-For biscuits, lightly coat a baking sheet with oil, drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins

These yummy blueberry muffins are an even healthier variation on the blueberry muffin recipe I posted last month. Half of the flour in this recipe is 100% whole wheat. Using half whole wheat and half white flour adds fiber and other benefits of whole grain, but the muffins still have a good, light texture.

Ingredients: 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup 100% whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

3/4 cup sucralose sweetener for baking

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup skim milk

1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. 

Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together well. 

Add oil, sweetener, eggs, vanilla, and milk, and stir together well. 

Fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. 

Bake for 20 minutes.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

This recipe for blueberry muffins uses heart healthy vegetable oil, sweetener in place of sugar, and lots of whole blueberries. The flour could even be substituted with whole wheat flour or a blend of whole wheat and white flour for a boost of fiber and whole grains.

 















Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sweetener for baking
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk
1 pint fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray or line 12 muffin cups. 
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add oil, sweetener, eggs, vanilla, and milk, stirring well with a mixing spoon. Fold in blueberries. 
Spoon batter into muffin cups. 
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. 

New My Plate Food Guide From USDA

  The United States Department of Agriculture recently upgraded from the Food Guide Pyramid to the new My Plate food model. The plate method is something Dietitians, such as myself, have been using in nutrition education for a few years now, so it was a welcome change. The plate method is easier to follow than the old pyramid, as it gives a model for each meal, and encourages an increase in fruit and vegetable intake, more whole grains, and skim or 1% milk.  

   Follow this link to view the new My Plate model: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

   The website has several helpful tools including the tip of the day, food tracker, and food planner, so take a few minutes to explore.
 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans were updated earlier in the year. Click this link to read my previous blog post on the guidelines: http://goodsouthernfood.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-dietary-guidelines-for-americans.html
 These links provide helpful website information on the updated Dietary Guidelines:
http://goodsouthernfood.blogspot.com/2011/02/httpwww.html  
http://goodsouthernfood.blogspot.com/2011/02/dietary-guidelines-executive-summary.html
http://goodsouthernfood.blogspot.com/2011/02/dietary-guidelines-selected-messages.html

Seafood recipe!

Mom's Seafood Salad

This is a yummy recipe that my mother makes.  The recipe lists imitation crab meat as the main ingredient, but any seafood can be substituted, including real crab or shrimp.

8 oz. imitation crab

2 T. lite mayo

2 T. reduced fat sour cream

1/4 cup celery, chopped

2 T. onion, diced fine

          or dried mined onion

1 T. lemon juice

2 T. lemon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until crab meat is well coated. 

Serve this crab salad with whole wheat crackers, celery and carrot sticks, or on a sandwich. 

Nutrition tips: Crab and most seafood is a good source of protein and healthy polyunsaturated fats-the good fats. Lite or reduced fat mayo and sour cream also provide good fats with fewer calories.  Reduced fat products are typically better than fat-free because when fat is removed from foods like mayo and salad dressing, it is replaced with sugar. This replaces the healthy unsaturated fats with unhealthy sugar, which is not desirable. 

Lemon pepper can be a great low-sodium seasoning, but be sure to read the label. Some lemon peppers contain salt or sodium. So be aware of what you are using to flavor your food.