Healthy Entrées

Jessie Veggie Kebabs

Veggie kebabs can be practically anything you can stick on a skewer. Try corn on the cob pieces, artichoke quarters, squash (leave the skin on to give it shape), peppers, potatoes (choose new potatoes or small ones you can put on whole of in halves with the skin on), and anything else you find at the store.  Vegetable kebabs are easy. 

You will want to pick vegetables that will cook in about the same amount of time. You can also choose items you like undercooked and add them to vegetables that cook faster.

Note, some vegetables are easy to put onto a stick, especially if you are using metal skewers. Some vegetables can be hard. Take corn on the cob for instance. Cut the cobs into quarters or thirds. Push a metal skewer straight down the center and you’ve got it ready to go.

Although several veggies caramelize when cooked and will not need any added flavor, like meats you can also choose to add  spices or marinate your veggies for added flavor.  Marinades can be basic and simple. A low fat italian dressing is a great marinade because it contains oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices. It keeps the vegetables moist, limits burning, and adds flavor. Brush your kebabs with your marinade at least 30 minutes before they hit the grill. 

When grilling vegetable kebabs you will want to give them some good heat, but you don’t want them getting a lot of direct heat. Keep your veggies to a cooler part of the grill or grill them indirectly with the other burners going on high. If you are using charcoal you will want an indirect fire, or a single layer fire. This will give the veggies the heat they need to get cooked, but also prevent them from burning.

Typically under this kind of heat a normal veggie kebab will take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook. Final cooking time will depend upon several factors such as the amount of veggies on the stick, size of the veggies, temperature of the grill, etc, so adjust your cooking times and you’ll be pulling off the kebabs a few minutes after you’ve taken the steaks in to rest.

Try this recipe for a  colorful medley of vegetables, lightly coated with olive oil and thyme, makes a great accompaniment to just about any grilled main course.

Prep time:     10 minutes

Bake/Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 18 large white mushrooms, washed, stems removed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Serves  6

Nutrition:
Calories:     53
Fat:     2 grams
Protein:     3 grams
Carbohydrates:     6 grams
Fiber:     2 grams

Note: Soak bamboo skewers in water for 10 minutes (so they don't burn on the grill)

Cervantes Chicken Kebabs

Marinating these chicken kebabs all-day or overnight in a simple blend of yogurt and lemon juice makes them succulent and juicy, but the active cooking time is only about a half an hour, so they're a great quick dinner.

For a nutritious side, thread cipollini onions, red-pepper chunks, and mushrooms on a skewer and brush with olive oil to grill alongside the chicken.

192 Calories
6g Total fat
2g Saturated Fat
125mg Cholesterol
134mg Sodium
3g Carbohydrate
0g Fiber
30g Protein

As a side to this dish you can add a salad or more grilled vegetables. This will add fiber to this meal helping you feel full.

Note: Soak bamboo skewers in water for 10 minutes (so they don't burn on the grill).

Behar's BBQ Pork Chops

Lean pork chops make a nice change from eating chicken, and the leanest cuts-from the loin-are leaner than chicken thighs, so don't feel guilty about eating pork chops from time to time. As with all meats, be sure to trim any excess fat before cooking. These barbecued pork chops are tangy and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4 lean loin pork chops, trimmed of fat
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar 

• Mix cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili powder in a small bowel.
• Place pork chops in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Marinades can tenderize the surface of the meat only to about 1/4 inch. That's why it's important to make sure the marinade covers the entire surface of your meat. It also helps to score the meat (cut into the surface about 1/4 inch deep with a sharp knife in several places) before coating it with marinade.
• Pour marinade into bag and cover chops with it.
• Marinate for at least  4-6 hours in the refrigerator.
• Preheat grill or broiler.
• Spray grill with high-temperature nonstick cooking spray before heating; or spray broiler rack while broiler is heating.
• Place marinated chops on grill or broiler and cook until done, about 5 minutes per side.

• Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• Divide mixture into four and form four 1/2-inch thick patties.
• Grill turkey burgers for 5-6 minutes per side, to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

• Add glaze ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Reserve a couple tablespoons of glaze to serve with cooked pork. Keep this in the refrigerator until pork is served.
• Cover tenderloins well with remaining glaze in a large plastic container.
• Cover the container and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, turning once or twice.
• Cook the pork, get your barbecue going if using coals.
• When the coals are good and hot, cook the tenderloins over direct heat about 2 minutes, then flip over for 2 more minutes.
• Reposition the pork for indirect heat, cover the grill, and continue to cook about 30 minutes longer.
• Let meat rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 1/2-inch thick slices and arrange on a serving platter along with a small dish of the reserved glaze.

• Mix tomato paste with chili powder.
• Combine with orange juice, lime juice and oil in a double resealable bag.
• Add tenderloin and marinate at least 3 hours.
• Heat a large pan over high heat to the smoking point, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Brown pineapple 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pineapple juice and stir 1 minute, scraping up brown bits from pan.
• Remove pineapple from heat.
• Combine in a bowl with pepper, onion and basil.
• Heat a grill or grill pan over high. Coat with cooking spray.
• Remove pork from marinade; place on grill. (Discard excess marinade.)
• Reduce heat to medium; cook, turning occasionally, until pork is no longer pink and internal temperature is 160º, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Let pork rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• Spoon salsa over pork.

• Red, white, or sweet onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
• Beets, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
• Yams, Sweet Potatoes,  cut lengthwise.
• Sweet Corn on the cob (take off the husks and silks). Sweetcorn cooked on the BBQ is delicious and acquires a taste unobtainable with any other form of cooking. Pre-boil it until just tender, to keep it juicy and speed up cooking time on the "Barbie". Then, place it directly on the grill and turn until charred on the outside. Resist the temptation for lashings of butter - you won't need it!
• Whole mushrooms. Grill portabellas like a burger or them cut into thick slices; grill small mushrooms strung on a skewer or kabob.
• Eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.
• Zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.
• Asparagus spears. Just trim off the white end and grill the spears whole.

• 2 tbsp Dijonnaise
• 1/2 pounds small white potatoes, unpeeled, and cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1 6-ounce pot plain low fat yogurt, drained
  

Preparation:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes until tender.
• Drain and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine red onion, Dijonnaise and plain yogurt.
• Add cooled potatoes and mix well.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 6

Per Serving: Calories 125, Calories from Fat 5 (sat 0.5g), Cholesterol 0.3mg, Sodium 95mg, Carbohydrate 26.4g, Fiber 2.1g, Protein 3.7g

Low Fat Macaroni Salad

Use elbow macaroni or ditaloni, the short tube pasta.

Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Cook Time: 8 minutes

• cups dry macaroni or ditaloni
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced and quartered
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preparation

• Cook macaroni according to package directions.
• Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.
•  In a large bowl, combine cooled macaroni, chopped celery, pepper, cucumber, and onion.
• In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard.
  
• Add to pasta salad and toss well to coat. Chill for at least 2 hours.
  

Serves 6

Per Serving: Calories 165, Calories from Fat 11, Total Fat 1.2g (sat 0.2g), Cholesterol 3mg, Sodium 196mg, Carbohydrate 32.6g, Fiber 1.9g, Protein 5.8g

Healthy Slaw.

If you make coleslaw dressing, use low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise as the base. For rice, bean, corn or tomato salads, reverse the oil to vinegar ratio. It’s usually three parts oil to one part vinegar. If the dressing is too tart, it's fine to dilute it a little with a tablespoon of water or broth.

Three Bean You Stay Lean  Bean Salad

One of my favorite salads is Three Bean Salad. It's a low fat, high fiber and high protein salad, which you can serve at any summer gathering. It's delicious at room temperature, but you can serve it chilled, too.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
  

Preparation:

• Steam or cook the green beans in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until tender-crisp.
• Drain and plunge beans into cold water to stop cooking and retain color.
• Combine cooked green beans with cannellini beans, kidney beans and shallots in a large bowl.
• Whisk vinegar, oil and mustard and drizzle over bean mixture.·           Toss gently.·
• Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 6-8.
  

Per Serving: Calories 184, Calories from Fat 21, Total Fat 2.4g (sat 0.3g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 281mg, Carbohydrate 30.4g, Fiber 9.5g, Protein 10.3g

My Favorite Summer Time Low Fat Deserts

Instead of opting for high fat, high calories heart clogging deserts opt for a healthy alternatives like:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.
• Add cake mix, egg, egg substitute, sour cream, water, and coconut extract to a large mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl after a minute of mixing. Pour evenly into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.
• In a 4-cup measure, blend sauce ingredients until smooth.
• When cake comes out of the oven, poke large holes evenly over the top with chopsticks or a barbecue fork. Pour milk mixture slowly over the top, so it soaks into the cake. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
• Just before serving, spread light Cool Whip (or other whipped topping) over the top of cake and sprinkle with the coconut.

• Place strawberries in a medium sized bowl.
• Sprinkle sugar, and then gently stir.
• Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes.
• Drizzle balsamic vinegar over strawberries.
• Gently stir one more time.
• Refrigerate or let stand for at least an hour.
  

• Whisk vanilla pudding and pie mix using fat-free milk.
• Whisk for 2 minutes.
• Leave pudding to stand and thicken for a few minutes.
• Divide 1 cup of fruit between four dessert glasses.
• Use half the vanilla pudding, divided among the four glasses.
• Add half the whipped topping, followed by another layer of fruit, pudding and whipped topping.
• Garnish with a slice or two of strawberries or a few blueberries.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.