AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota While most of us consider apples a year-round fruit, there's something special about selecting some apples from a new fall crop of Jonagolds, Granny Smiths, Red Delicious, and my new favorites, Honey Crisp, at the farmers market. In honor of all those wonderful red, green and in between apples, here are some fabulous low fat apple recipes, both savory and sweet. And if you don't feel like cooking, you have in an apple, the ultimate low-fat, high-fiber snack!
AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota Denmark, a country famous for bacon and butter, is looking to extend the average life expectancy of its citizens by imposing a tax on fatty foods, particularly those high in saturated fat. While Denmark's obesity rate is below the European average (and significantly less than half that of the US, according to the OECD), its average life expectancy lags that of many other European countries--slightly. As saturated fats are linked to cardiovascular disease and some cancers, the goal of imposing a fat tax in Denmark is to increase life expectancy by three years over the next 10 years. Denmark already taxes sugary products and has banned trans fats.
The tax--16 kroner (just under $3) per kilogram of saturated fat--is imposed on foods with a saturated fat content above 2.3%. The tax, which takes into account the amount of fat used to produce a particular food rather than the amount that appears in the final product, applies to foods such as butter, cheese, red meat, pizza, and many processed foods. It would add about 40 cents to the cost of a hamburger or about 12 cents to a bag of chips, according to one estimate. But will this really change the way people eat? A 2007 study shows that a 10% tax on fat in dairy products would reduce fat consumption by only 1%.
So while such a tax might expand the government's coffers, it's unlikely to shrink fat consumption to any significant degree. It could, perhaps, cause the food industry to change the composition of some processed foods, but as always, there will be concern about what's used in place of saturated fats.
Is a fat tax the way to go, and could it work in the United States? What do you think?
AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota Enjoy these deliciously moist and fruity Morning Glory Muffins with your morning coffee, pop them into school lunch boxes or offer one to your kids as an after-school treat. If your children are squeamish about all things veggie, this is a great way of sneaking in a little bit of an orange vegetable. And once you've managed that, go for green and offer them some Zucchini Muffins. Good luck!
Conventional wisdom tells us that the reason so many Americans are overweight, especially those with lower incomes, is their reliance on cheap junk food. After all, a candy bar or a bag of chips is cheaper than a bunch of carrots or a pound of apples.
Nonsense, says food writer Mark Bittman. He argues in the New York Times that feeding a family of four at McDonald's typically costs between $23 and $28, whereas a home-cooked dinner of roast chicken, vegetables, mashed potatoes, plus a basic salad and milk costs around $14. Even the calorie argument doesn't wash. Fast food is a good source of cheap calories, it is argued, but so too is home-cooked food.
Then there's the argument that lower-income families have limited access to supermarkets. Bittman counters by saying that most still have access to vehicles and if they are able to drive to McDonald's, they are surely able to drive to the nearest Safeway.
We eat junk food because cooking is perceived by many as work. After a long day it's too much hassle, especially if you're essentially a short-order cook catering to every family member's preferences. Then there's the more insidious argument that hyper-processed food contains just the right combination of ingredients of salt, fat and sugar that makes it virtually addictive. If cooking is work, junk food is both quick and pleasurable.
So what's the answer? Bittman says a cultural shift is needed. We need to be educated about the joy of cooking. The hard thing for many, though, will still be fitting one more thing in to already busy schedules.
Well, after three weeks of posting other people’s recipes, I’m back with one of my own. It was a lot of fun cooking dishes that had already gone through the testing process and learning more about cooking in general (and slow-cooking in particular) from three expert cooks. In the process of posting the reviews and reading your feedback, I learned some very surprising things, not just of the cooking variety (like baby limas taste great in guacamole–who knew?!), but about you, the readers of this blog.
My last review, of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The 30-Day Vegan Challenge, was especially enlightening because I had no idea that so many near-vegans, non-vegans, and not-even-close-to-vegans were reading my blog. I’m thrilled to have you here! Wherever you are in your eating choices, whether you feel you’re on a path toward veganism or are simply trying to eat fewer animal products, I’m glad you’re interested in vegan cooking and I’m happy that you’ve chosen to get your recipes from this site. It makes me think I should do some “Vegan 101?-type posts. Anyone interested? (I’m considering one called “WTF is Nutritional Yeast?” which is a comment I received on Facebook recently.)
On to the recipe: Fall is finally starting to arrive here in the South, or maybe it’s just the idea of fall that comes when you look at October on your calendar and see in your mind’s eye yellow leaves whirling in a chilly breeze and, if your mind also has the sense of smell, the distant aroma of chimney smoke. Though in real life there’s been none of that here in Mississippi (the first truly chilly temps are supposed to arrive tonight), I’ve been content to imagine that it’s fall and to eat accordingly. Suddenly the huge salads I’d been eating for lunch are just not appetizing, and though it could be 85 degrees at noon, I’ve been drawn toward soups. With this soup, I’ve tried to combine the best of both worlds–all the fresh vegetables of a salad with the warmth and comfort of a bowl of soup. I’ve even added chopped lettuce at the end so that it’s close to salad in a soup. It’s a great one-pot meal (if you eat two bowls of it) that contains the colors of fall.
When you add greens to hot soup, they instantly wilt and practically disappear. So though I started with 4 cups of lettuce, each time I served this soup I wound up adding more lettuce or spinach to each bowl. Feel free to add as much as you like. Call the kids over so that they can watch as the soup absorbs ridiculous amounts of greenery.1 large onion, chopped1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and finely diced (add more or less to taste)1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped2 medium carrots, diced3 cloves garlic, minced1 small red cabbage, chopped (or 1/2 large cabbage)6 ounces mushrooms, quartered2 cans (or 3 cups) cooked black beans, rinsed and drained1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)1 teaspoon cumin1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (or for smokiness without heat use smoked paprika)1 tablespoon regular chili powdergenerous grating of black pepper1 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes5 cups vegetable broth (or water plus 2 servings bouillon)2 tablespoons tomato paste4 cups chopped lettuce or spinachsalt to taste (optional)In a large pot or pressure cooker, saute the onions until they soften. Add the peppers and carrots and cook for another two minutes. Add the garlic and remaining vegetables and cook for another two minutes.For regular cooking: Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, adding additional water or vegetable broth as needed to keep a soupy consistency. Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt.For pressure cooking: Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes, remove from heat, and allow pressure to come down naturally. (If pressure is not down after 15 minutes, use a quick-release method.) Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt.For slow cooking: Place sauteed vegetables and all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt into slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt and add additional seasonings, if necessary.
These buttery-tasting HalloweenCookies contain about half the butter called for in most sugar cookie recipes, yet this still produces a sweet and satisfying sugar cookie. Red and orange food coloring gives these cute little cookies an orange hue. Alternatively, decorate them with a glaze after baking by using powdered sugar, lemon juice and food coloring. Use black decorating gel to add detail. Enjoy with a mug of hot apple cider.
In my den, two bookcases sag under the weight of the dozens of cookbooks I’ve managed to cram into them. Cookbooks spill out onto the neighboring coffee table, line the counter between kitchen and den, and form heaps around my bed. Sometimes I read them like novels, the sidebars and stories especially, and sometimes I thumb through them for inspiration (looking mostly at the pictures, I confess). But do I cook from them? Almost never. Because I’m constantly experimenting with my own recipes, I have little time to try other people’s. Which is sad, really. It means I’m not getting the benefit of all their accumulated knowledge and experience.
For the next few weeks, that is going to change. Lately I’ve been reading a few cookbooks that I really want to cook from. So I’ve contacted their authors and received permission to share some of their recipes with you. I’ll also give you my brief impressions of their books, including how low in fat the recipes appear.
To start things off, I made a low-fat guacamole by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Bryanna Clark Grogan. Bryanna’s book The (Almost) No-Fat Cookbook came out the same year I became vegan and was indispensable to me when I needed to learn how to cook without oil, eggs, and dairy products. I was thrilled when I got to meet her at a McDougall weekend in 2008 and that I got to spend a little time (not enough!) with her at this year’s Vida Vegan Con. She is as gracious and knowledgeable in person as she is in her writing.
Her new book, World Vegan Feast: 200 Fabulous Recipes from Over 50 Countries, is a must for anyone who likes to cook “off the beaten trail.” While it does contain new takes on dishes you’ve probably heard of–pesto, pirogies, tamale pie, tiramisu–it contains many international recipes that were new to me, including Persian Eggplant Stew with Yellow Split Peas and Lime, Peruvian Stew with Peppers and Walnut Sauce, and Coulibiac (a pastry-wrapped Russian loaf). While some of the recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare and are marked with a <30 symbol, others are more involved and often require the making of other “sub-recipes.” Bryanna’s instructions are very clear and detailed, and she often gives multiple substitutes for ingredients. Read any recipe and you come away with the impression that these dishes were very well-tested. To me, some of the best parts of the book are the sidebars and information boxes where Bryanna gives detailed notes about ingredients and cooking methods, including a two-page discussion of bean myths (no, salt doesn’t cause them to be tough) and a handy guide to egg replacers.
World Vegan Feast is not an oil-free cookbook. Most recipes do contain some oil or vegan margarine, though in many it’s used to saute vegetables and can be eliminated by using an alternate cooking method. Bryanna writes, “I don’t subscribe to a drastically low-fat vegan lifestyle, but I also do not believe that vegan recipes should just be vegan versions or variations of traditional high-fat recipes, with the same amount of oil, or vegan margarine substituted for the butter. I want the same pleasure quotient from a vegan recipe as a non-vegan one, but I will rework it as much as I can to cut the fat down, to use healthier fats, to use healthier flours, and so on.” There is also liberal use of nuts, wheat gluten, soy, and salt, so if you have concerns about any of those ingredients, you should probably look inside the book on Amazon or in your local bookstore before you buy. Recipes are marked with symbols for gluten-free, gluten-free option, soy-free, soy-free option, and 30 minutes or less.
Though I was tempted by several of Bryanna’s stews, I chose to make her guacamole both because it was already oil-free and because I’ve been searching without success for a lower-fat guacamole that I really love. I’ve tried Brocco-moles and Pea-moles and even Cucumber-moles without much liking any of them, but this combination of avocado, green beans, baby limas, and silken tofu really worked for me–I forgot it was supposed to be lower-fat and just enjoyed it as guacamole. My green beans took a little longer than 5 minutes to cook (they were tough) but they and the lima beans blended well with the avocado. Thanks, Bryanna, for allowing me to share this fabulous recipe!
Bryanna’s note: I have played with this recipe for years, and this particular combination of vegetables, silken tofu, avocado, and salsa is one we just can’t get enough of. You’ll need a food processor for this recipe.5 ounces young green beans, trimmed (or frozen small whole green beans, thawed)5 ounces frozen shelled baby lima beans (do not use cooked, dried lima beans)1 small ripe hass avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices1/2 cup (4 ounces) extra-firm silken tofu, drained and crumbled2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice2 cloves garlic, crushed1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1/4 cup chunky no-sugar hot tomato salsaCook both types of beans in a medium saucepan in enough water to cover for about 5 minutes or until completely tender but not mushy.Drain the beans well and transfer them to a food processor (not a blender), along with the avocado, tofu, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin. Process the mixture until smooth, stopping the machine a couple of times to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Add the salsa and pulse the mixture just until it is all mixed in. Taste fore seasoning (add more citrus juice or salsa to your taste, if you like. Transfer to a covered bowl and refrigerate.
While most of us consider apples a year-round fruit, there's something special about selecting some apples from a new fall crop of Jonagolds, Granny Smiths, Red Delicious, and my new favorites, Honey Crisp, at the farmers market. In honor of all those wonderful red, green and in between apples, here are some fabulous low fat apple recipes, both savory and sweet. And if you don't feel like cooking, you have in an apple, the ultimate low-fat, high-fiber snack! 
