Portion Control and Presentation

I've always thought serving size and appearance are both very important when preparing meals, and it's something that many food gurus don't bother to mention. Serving size and presentation make a difference, not just in how much we eat, but in how satisfying we find our food.

I recently read a post from a friend who thought she could no longer have a certain food, because after eating a generous serving of it, her blood sugar went too high. The thing is, what would have happened if her serving hadn't been quite so generous, or if it had been served with other food that was just as loaded with carbs?

To the right is a sample of the nutrition labeling on foods. They suggest a serving size, then give facts, such as calories, carbs, sugar, for that size serving. Almost every day I enjoy some brown rice pasta, in moderation. What is "moderation?" It's the serving size suggested on the package, or less. In this case, it's 200 calories worth of brown rice pasta. It's also 4 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of fat, and 43 grams of carbs ~ or 14% of my daily allowable carbs.

It wasn't easy to figure out just how much fettucine this 2 oz. serving size was. So I cleaned off my table and dumped out a whole 16 oz. package, then I divided it into 8 roughly equal servings. No, I didn't count strand by strand, but the bundles of noodles were pretty much all the same size... about the size of a quarter when squashed between thumb and fore-knuckle. (Let's face it... if I cheat one day, I get short-changed on another.) So this is how much fettucine I prepare per serving. Similarly, I measure other pastas in a measuring cup. Once you have it figured out how much is a moderate serving size, cook that much per person each time.

Of course, if I served just that much pasta lightly dressed, it wouldn't be enough. It would be a tiny puddle of food in the middle of my plate... like service in one of those fancy restaurants that serve such a wee tiddle of food in the middle of a huge plate, that you feel the need to go eat out, after you've eaten out. ;p

Hence, presentation. How about some veges and hummus in a lettuce leaf? Or a nice big green salad? (Watch the serving size of that dressing!) Now, you see this picture. Doesn't that look good? Well, it's a nice size plate of food! Of course it's mostly salad, with my own dressing, made with 2 tsps. of garlic olive oil, a tbsp. of my own basil vinegar, pepper, dried parsley, and a tiddle of sea salt. I let the salad sort of spill all over the plate before serving up the 200 calories worth of brown rice macaroni with veges and the merest smattering of Daiya cheese. You see, the serving of pasta looks like more sitting up on top of some of the kale from my salad. So when I put this mighty plateful of food in front of me, it looks good! It looks like a lot of food! And by the time I'm finished this meal, I'm full!

Tips for helping you stay on your diet:
(By diet, I'm referring to a permanent part of your lifestyle, not a temporary exercise in denial done for temporary weight loss.. as it often is.)

Use a smaller plate. I mean, obviously it's going to look like less food than you might think you want if you're using a great big plate. Choose a smaller plate for your food and it will look like more!

Let those salad fixin's fall all over the plate... even under the other food. It'll make the other food look more voluminous, and you'll get to it eventually.

Make your own dressings. Yes, there are nutrition labels on store-bought dressings and you can measure them carefully onto your salad or into your pasta, but making your own with superior ingredients can be just that much more yummy and satisfying, and you can make adjustments as needed, like adding dried tomatoes, or lots of finely chopped garlic when you have a cold, or a bit more basil 'cause you like it that way.

Sure, you're on a restrictive diet because of health issues. That doesn't mean you have to rub your own nose in your food, so to speak. Measure carefully, and make both serving size and presentation a regular part of your diet. Do it for you. :)

Gluten-free, Vegan Lasagna

Ok, so it isn't traditional. It's yummy and it's healthy and hey, that's what's important. :)

I use a shallow Corningware casserole for this because the Daiya cheese melts better if it's covered as it bakes. Of course, you can always cover any shallow baking dish with tin foil, just so it doesn't touch the food.

I use Rizopia oven-ready, brown rice lasagna noodles. For them to cook through, start with a layer of tomato sauce (of choice) on the bottom. Then place noodles on top and layer your vege toppings. I use sliced zucchini and mushrooms, with leaves of baby spinach and basil for the first layer. Then more tomato sauce on that and a layer of Daiya cheese. Then another layer of noodles and veges... I put mushrooms and broccoli, sometimes also some asparagus, for this layer. Then more tomato sauce and Daiya cheese.

Cover and bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 mins. Serve in gentle servings with a salad. Yum. :)

(And you know, if you eat meat, the recipe police won't come after you if you add some of that too.) ;o)

It's the thought that counts... here's a thought.

Honestly, I've been debating about where to blog this, because while this blog is for recipes, it's very health-oriented and these two recipes I'm about to share have nothing to do with health... hahahaha. They are, in fact, a little bit sinful in their yumminess. They really aren't for every day, but they are for special meals on special days. They also make fantastic gifts, and this too is what this blog post is about. (I'm going a little bit Martha Stewart-esque today.) I'll link to my creative blog. ;o)

In these challenging economic times, the coming holidays can be as much about stress as about joy, with the expectation many of us have built up around gift-giving. Let's face it, most of us really don't need more stuff. So I give consumables. These are yummies that my gift recipients can feel good about receiving, and even better about enjoying. Once they've been received and enjoyed, they don't have to be stashed in a cupboard like an overbundance of knickknackery or a shirt that's too small and kind of weird-lookin' anyway. Of course, this idea can be accomplished with anything from store-bought fancy cookies, or a basket of goodies, to homemade yums. This past summer I made giant jars of my homemade dills for the dill pickle lovers on my list. That will be accompanied by some jams, jellies and/or some baked goods. For the diabetic on my list, I've lined up some locally-made sugar-free, dark chocolate wafers, which I'll package with some of my own no-sugar-added spread. (Recipes here: http://wshomehealth.blogspot.com/2011/05/no-sugar-added-spreads.html
So, with this in mind, I am sharing these two recipes and some ideas for presenting them.

The first is a perennial favourite: Bread n' Butter pickles. (Yes, these are better than the store-bought ones.) You just need:
3 good size or 4 moderate size English cucumbers
1 large red pepper
1 medium green pepper
1 package of pearl onions
1/2 cup coarse pickling salt
4 cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 tsps. turmeric
2 tsps. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed

Peel the onions. TIP: soak them in ice water for a few minutes, slice off the root end, and rub with your thumb. The peel should come off easily.) Wash the peppers and cukes ~ DO NOT PEEL CUKES. Open and de-seed the peppers, slice the ends off the cukes, and discard. Chop the peppers into pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 inch square pieces. Slice the cukes and the onions thinly. Then alternate them into a large colander (place colander inside large bowl), sprinkling each layer with some of the coarse salt, leaving enough to sprinkle over the top after all the veges are in the colander.

Now, you can leave this sit overnight and finish the next morning, or you can put two trays of ice cubes over the veges, cover, and leave it three hours while you get your jars and lids, etc. ready.
(Preparations for preserving are here: http://quillingartandmore.blogspot.com/p/preparations-for-preserving.html )

Rinse the veges thoroughly, and while they are draining some more, place the sugar, vinegar and spices into a large preserving kettle (very large saucepan). Bring this to a boil. Add the drained veges carefully and return to a full boil. Pack into hot, sterilized jars, covering veges with hot syrup.

TIP: Ladle out the veges without the syrup, or much of it, first, to make sure your jars are fairly full of veges. Then bring the syrup to a fresh boil and ladle it over the veges, leaving the 1/4 inch head space from the rim. Wipe and lid.)

This recipe yields about 5 - 6 pints of B & B pickles. Yum!

***

Now this other recipe is a family heirloom, but I'm going to share it anyway. It's different and delish and makes a great gift. You just need a fair sized pie pumpkin, along with:
1 tsp. whole cloves
2-3 inches of cinnamon stick
4 cups white vinegar
4 lbs sugar

Cut the pumpkin up into about 3/4" cubes, trimming away seed goo and peel ~ discard. Set pumpkin aside in a large bowl. In a preserving kettle or very large saucepan, stir together sugar and vinegar. Place spices into a cheesecloth bag. (Cut a large square of cheesecloth, place spices in middle, tie it into a bag with white cotton thread, cut away excess cheesecloth from the top. This is your spice bag.) Bring syrup to a boil, stirring frequently, with spice bag in it. Simmer, covered, for five minutes. Add pieces of pumpkin... carefully. (Hot syrup burns.)Cover and cook pumpkin in the syrup until it's tender. (Test carefully with a fork.) Using the same fill technique as the pickles, ladle pumpkin, then boiling syrup into sterilized jars and lid.


The recipe makes about 6 1-cup jars of Spiced Pickled Pumpkin.Yummy, fun gift.








Use some wrapping paper ends tied over the top with ribbon, some fabric remnants if you sew, or even a brown paper bag, smooshed up, then flattened out and decorated.. yes, with pumpkin seeds if you like, and tied with jute string for that rustic look.

TIP: don't try to cut a perfect circle if you don't have a pattern. Just cut a square of paper/fabric, place it over the top and trim the way you like it. Hold the cover on with a small elastic before trying to tie ribbon/string attractively. It's easier.

Hope this post at least gives you some ideas! :)

Decadent, healthy dessert!

Picture it... chocolate birthday cake, and it's gluten-free!
Well, it was pertiful, and I hear it was yummy, but I couldn't have any, because there were real eggs in it... and I've been stayin' away from chocolate. Awwwww... po' Wendy. But wait! It's ok! I had an idea. (Get them from time to time.) ;o)

It's apple season and there are all kinds in the house ~ wild apples, our own apples, and apples from market. There are soft apples, medium apples, hard apples... hey, dessert!

Ideally, pick a medium apple, like an Empire, Spartan, Royal Gala for your apple dessert. Core it with an apple corer... like this one.
(This one is very old. If you're looking for one in a store, it probably won't look just like this, but close.)

Stuff the core with brown sugar and raisins, or use syrup, like maple or apple syrup, or even honey. Sprinkle a little cinnamon if you like. (Don't assume those raisins are g-free.. read the ingredients and warnings. I use SUN-MAID raisins.) Now drizzle just a little water into your microwave-safe dish.. really, just a wee bit, and nuke the apple on high for about 3 minutes. (A soft apple, like a Mac, requires less time and may turn to apple sauce. A hard apple, like a Spy, Delicious, or Granny Smith, will need more time, depending not just on hardness, but on size, and just a tiddle more water as well.)


Now, to make it decadent, you need to add some version of "ice cream." I used this.... Rice Divine Coconut Mango. You can use what you use for "ice cream." :) I spooned just a little all around my apple.


So it looked like this! Apple and raisins with cream! No gluten, no dairy, li'l bit o' sugar, Sugar. ;o)


Don't need no silly cake! ;o)




Note: the apple skin can be a bit tough, so either cut it a bit with kitchen scissors to get it started, or use a grapefruit spoon to eat it. It is worth the work.... sooooooo goooooood. :) Enjoy!

Thanksgiving?! Stuffing and Desserts, Gluten-Free!

Part One: Stuffing, Gluten-Free

I've been pondering stuffing for awhile now, but since Udi's bread became available here, I figured I'd try that first. It's expensive, but my daughter really likes it. Since I don't indulge in bread anymore, I buy it for her. Thing is, like most teens, she isn't really into the crusts. Darned if I was going to just throw them away though, at that price. I figured I'd do something with them... croutons, tiny pizzas, even just bread crumbs.... something. I decided to try them in the stuffing, so I picked out 5 -6 crusts that were pretty good slices, not just slivers of crust. I cut them up into tiny cubes, but you could stick them into a food processor and pulse it too. But you really don't want the bread to be the focus of the finished g-free stuffing, so here's the rest of the recipe:

(Sure, I wanted to take a picture of the chicken right out of the oven, but I wasn't quick enough. So here's what it looked like, chicken dinner with g-free stuffing, dished up. )

Chop up the following and add to the cubed bread:
1 small onion
1/2 to 1 stalk celery
1 small cooking apple
6 dried apricots
1 small branch fresh Rosemary
(pull the leaves off the branch first)
several leaves of fresh sage

Then add: 1/2 to 3/4 cup Thompson raisins
salt and pepper (to taste)
Mix up thoroughly. Now you need some fat and some broth. For the fat, I drizzled some garlic olive oil in and mixed it up again. You can use whatever oil you prefer or have on hand. For the broth I used my own *chicken broth, about 1/2 cup. (see below) Once moistened, I stuffed half the stuffing into the bird, and placed the remainder in an oven safe dish to cook separately.
(Stuffing in a dish.)

*To make chicken broth, put the leftover chicken carcass into a crock pot (preferably), with onion, garlic and herbs and a bit of salt, and cover with water. Simmer on low for about 8 to 10 hours. Turn off and allow to cool. Strain into large casserole or saucepan, removing skin, bones, etc., and putting any pieces of meat you want back into the broth. Refrigerate, covered. When it's cold, remove the fat that's risen to the top. You now have fat-free broth you can use for a variety of things. To make your own broth cubes, spoon or pour broth into ice cube trays and freeze, then dump cubes into a freezer bag for later use as needed. Leave chicken pieces covered with enough broth to add veges and noodles for soup. Broth can also be frozen in a larger container to make gravy with later. Just add salt, pepper, and g-free thickener such as arrowroot flour or tapioca starch by dissolving same in some of the cold broth and adding to heated broth while stirring.


Part Two: gluten- and dairy-free pumpkin pie!

It's quite possible to buy canned pumpkin without additives these days, but I was cooking pure foods before the food companies started to smarten up, so I still buy pie pumpkins out of habit.



I just cut it up and cube it, cleaning away the peel and the seeds in the process. Then I boil it with a little salt and mash it, much as you would potatoes.

(Wash off the seeds, drain and dry out to keep for planting, or for crafts. You can also bake them coated lightly with oil and sea salt for snack food, but don't do this if you're fussy about your furnishings, because you WILL find slightly greasy seed husks in your couch.)

Once you have thoroughly mashed pumpkin, you can make your g-free pastry, then your pumpkin pie filling. The pastry recipe is in the post below; here's the recipe for the pie filling:

1 cup milk or milk alternative
(You can use whatever alternative you like that you can find in a gluten-free version... soy, rice, hemp or almond milk are all fine.)
1 and 1/4 cup mashed pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Now, the method is important... there's a couple of tricks to this that will make your pumpkin pie supreme, so read carefully. Mix the milk alternative and the pumpkin together till well blended. Separate the eggs. Slightly beat the yolks and add to the pumpkin mixture. Set the whites aside in a bowl big enough to take a beater. Measure 1/4 cup white sugar. Add the spices to the sugar. (By adding the spices to the sugar first and mixing well, the spices will better mix with the liquid ingredients.) Mix the sugar/spices into the pumpkin mixture. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them into the pumpkin mixture.


Folding...




The pie goin' into a preheated 425 degree oven for 10 mins. Then turn down to 350 degrees for 30-35 mins.




The pie comin' out golden and if you insert a toothpick, it comes out dry.

*Note: this recipe made enough pie filling for one 9-inch and one 5-inch pumpkin pie, but yield depends on the depth and size of your pie plates.

So it's shaping up to be a pretty traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year. The family doesn't really care for turkey, so I'll get a free-range chicken and stuff it with my fruit & herb g-free stuffing. I'll either use my own chicken broth to mash some potatoes, or if I want some too, I'll use Yoso soy gluten- and dairy-free sour cream to mash them nice n' creamy. I'll make gravy using a g-free starch, and of course, some veges... probably peas and corn with this bunch, and a pickle dish with my own dills, B&B pickles, carrot and celery sticks, and maybe some spiced pickled crab apples and pickled pumpkin on there too... just for fun. ;o) Dessert.... yep, pumpkin pie. Except because of the eggs, I can't have any. But it's ok... while they're preoccupied with the pumpkin pies, I'll be digging into a homemade, g-free, apple cinnamon pie. There will be vanilla soy 'ice cream' served with either one. Mmmmm....

Hope you all have a fantastic, healthy, safe Thanksgiving with the people you love, and who love you. :)

PIE... with gluten-free crust!!

I had to find a good g-free way of making pie crust. I mean, I just can't let the fresh fruit season go by without making some pies for the family. The teen is gluten-free, so it was imperative to come up with a recipe that works, and amazingly, I did.

Now, you diabetic readers, avert your eyes. I had one small piece, and yes, it elevated my sugar, but not as much as I thought it would. Still.... this is pretty much for those in the family who can handle the sweet treat.

There are two ways of making this pastry. I made it the first time with almond flour in there, but I made the second one without. I notice that the pastry was better with the almond flour in there, and easier to handle too. But it works without. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 cup chic pea flour
almost 1/4 cup almond flour (optional)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup cold shortening, chilled
cold water

(Yes, there was more xanthan gum in the recipe before, but I really don't think that much is necessary, so I cut it down to one tsp.)  At first i put all the dry ingredients into my food processor with the dough blade in there and pulsed it to mix.   But since then I've just been mixing it by hand with a good ol' fashioned pastry blender.  I find it's just better to keep it simple.  I put the all-vegetable shortening in the fridge before doing this. It really needs to be cold. If you aren't vegan, you can also use butter I'm thinkin'.  Anyway, I cut 1/4 cup off it the first couple of times and it worked fine, but then one batch came out kinda dry, and if you add too much water, it makes the pastry tough. So cut between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of shortening into cubes. Adding them 1 - 2 at a time and blend till you have a coarse crumbly mix.  Then I added a little cold water. It doesn't take much... add carefully, but err gently on the wet side rather than the crumbly side. You can always add more flour.  My BIL said he couldn't even notice the difference between my gf pastry and regular pastry. :) It really turned out nice.

Anyway, the machine only does so much, so you'll have to finish it by hand anyway. I made a ball of it, and set it on my pastry board, which was covered first with a piece of waxed paper and a light coating of arrowroot flour. I turned the pastry in the arrowroot, then placed another piece of waxed paper on top. Roll.

It rolls out really very well. When you have it the size and thickness you like (measure against the pie plate to make sure), peel off the top layer of waxed paper, turn the pie plate upside down over the pastry, slide your hand under there and turn. Gently remove the remaining piece of waxed paper and carefully shape the pastry to the plate, mending any splits or holes as needed with edge pieces. Trim carefully, fix up the edges the way you like, and fill. Use the leftover bits of pastry, rolled out again between waxed paper, to make shapes for the top. I used cookie cutters for this ~ worked great.
I used hearts for the first pie, little stars for the second. I tried to upload that picture, but this thang isn't working right. But just picture all those wee stars all over a pie!

The fruit mixture, of course, is a matter of choice and taste. Strawberry and rhubarb seasons coincide here, so it's a natural choice. I just added a few spoonfuls of brown sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice just 'cuz, and 3 tablespoons of the arrowroot flour. Use the sweetener and starch of your choice, not to mention the fruit! Some folks really like the raspberry/rhubarb mix too. And with the long weekend coming up ~ 1st of July here, 4th of July for my American friends... well, for you guys, picture an apple pie all covered with stars! I mean, Mom, there is nothing more American than Mom, apple pie and stars! :)

I hope this g-free pastry works as well for you as it does for me!

That Yummy Asian Theme!

I've been eyeing those lettuce "wraps" for awhile now. Seems like a great way to lower the carb content of a meal. And while I'm sure they're intended for cold salad type foods like egg, chicken or tuna salad, I was really tempted to try them as a wrap for warm food.

And so, there I was making myself a stir fry. I started by putting some mushrooms, garlic curly thingees (Um.. they have a name but see if I can remember what it is. Anyway they pop out of the middle of the garlic plant and you remove them so the nutrition will go into the bulb. They are quite edible.), some green onion, celery, asparagus, broccoli and red pepper into a small skillet to saute. Then I threw in some bean sprouts and about 1/2 cup cooked brown rice. Now, if you eat meat you could also put some lean strips of beef, chicken, etc. in there. I had some leftover tofu and while it's not my fave thing, I cut it into cubes and marinaded it in some tamari sauce with a splash of sesame oil for about ten minutes. I put the cubes of tofu into the pan first to saute a bit, then I just poured in the marinade to give the whole thing a bit of an Asian flavour.

Then I spooned it into the lettuce wraps. They made little boats for the stir fry that you can either eat neatly with knife and fork, or, with napkin on hand, pick up and enjoy! This meal is gluten-free, dairy-free and low in carbs for those watching their blood sugar. A yummy but healthy alternative to gluteny, carby grain wraps!!



Another great summertime meal! Shish~ka~bobs!! I had a package of natural stew beef in the freezer that I needed to use up, but the weather is just too warm for stew. So I made sure the pieces were cut small enough, then I put them in a marinade made in a small, glass bowl with about 1/2 cup g-free pizza/pasta sauce into which I added a good squirt of agave nectar, herbal vinegar (or lemon juice), some tamari sauce and a squirt of sesame oil. (Yes, we like that Asian influence, but you can make yours to your taste with other sauces and oils!) I made sure all the pieces of beef were covered in some marinade, covered the bowl and put it in the fridge for a little over 3 hours. This tenderizes the meat beautifully. I cleaned up some mushrooms and cut up some peppers and put all on bamboo skewers. (If you use any wooden skewers, remember to soak them in cold water for 20 mins. before you put the food on, so they won't burn on the bbq.) To go with these I made g-free fried rice. (The recipe for this is on an earlier post.)

Alas, that was a big package of stew beef and there were leftovers. To change it up for the fam, I made them Lo Mein noodles a couple of nights later with the warmed up beef, mushrooms and pepper pieces. Again an Asian theme, I used g-free rice spaghetti for this. While it was cooking I sauteed some more mushrooms, peppers and chopped green onion, then I added some organic chicken broth ~ about 1/2 cup. You can add more veges here too, such as snow peas, broccoli... whatever you like. Use some more of the broth to dissolve some g-free starch. I used tapioca starch and used it to thicken the veges and broth in the pan. Then I added the cooked, drained noodles, about 2 tablespoons of tamari sauce and yes, that splash of sesame oil for the right flavour. I turned it down to low and covered it while I warmed up the beef in the microwave. Then I served it all up.