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Healthy Holiday Recipe: Onion Bread Pudding

FitSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:00:00 -0800

The other day I had a baguette that was past its prime, and my first thought was "I'll make bread pudding." But with all the holiday sweets around, I didn't want to add to the temptation with another dessert. So I dug up this recipe for a savory Onion Bread Pudding instead.

The recipe comes from Cooking Light, and despite the fact that the main ingredients are bread and cheese, this holiday side dish is comparatively low cal and low fat. For nutritional details and step-by-step photos, read more.

Made with sweet onions and Gruyere cheese and seasoned with thyme, this bread pudding has the consistency of stuffing. The flavor is delicate and subtle, like a lighter twist on French onion soup. I served mine as a main dish with a simple salad, but it would also make a delicious side dish for your holiday dinners. Get the recipe here, and check out my photos below.

View 7 Photos ›

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 364 calories, 12.2 g of fat (5.7 g saturated fat), 19.7 g of protein, 43.8 g of carbs, 3.4 g of fiber, 136 mg of cholesterol, 2.1 mg of iron, 806 mg of sodium.

Which is Better For You: Pork Spareribs or Pulled Pork?

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Just writing the title of this quiz has my mouth watering, but did you know one version of pork is way better for you than the other? Take the quiz to find out if you're pork smart this summer.

Source and Source

Numbers to Live By

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:00:00 -0800

Cooking Light Magazine polled adults who successfully take action day-by-day to improve their health in order to further understand about what motivates us in what we eat, how we exercise and how we view our health.

How do you compare?

70 % of American adults drink lower fat milk instead of whole milk
59 % eat chicken with the skin removed
54 % take vitamins
52 % use lower fat alternatives when cooking
51 % read nutrition labels on food
6 % of Americans adults get 30 minutes of exercise a day
22 % exercise three to four times per week
19 % walk or bike instead of taking transportation
41 % take the stairs whenever possible
33 % regularly park their cars farther from their destination to get in extra walking
67 % recognize that making small, healthy improvements today add up to big benefits later
76 % are satisfied with their mental and emotional well-being
45 % are satisfied with their body weight
58 % are satisfied with their stress level

To find out if you're healthy on a day-to-day basis, take the quiz and check out the full article on CNN.com.

Tips to Make Any Dish Healthier

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 17:30:00 -0800

If you like to cook, you may have a hard time doing it in a healthy way.

Luckily, Cooking Light has shared some great tips for making dishes more nutritious and still tasty.

For all recipes:

Study the recipe. Closely examine the original to see where changes can be made. "You can't just wing it, no matter how familiar you are with the recipe," says Test Kitchens Professional Kathryn Conrad. "Look at each ingredient to see where you can take away, add, or substitute."
Reference lightened versions of similar recipes before starting.
Limit sodium. Try the recipe with half the recommended sodium.
Reduce portion sizes. When plating, start with a smaller amount and see if that satisfies you.
Give yourself some slack. "We try different versions of the same recipe three or four times," says Test Kitchens Professional Jan Moon. "Recipes are a science; you may need a few attempts to get it just right."

For toppings:

Choose a flavorful cheese. "Use a variety with more flavor, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano," says Assistant Food Editor Kathy Kitchens Downie, R.D. "The stronger the flavor, the less you have to use."
Sprinkle cheese, chocolate, or nuts on top rather than mixing into batters. As toppings, they deliver concentrated flavor.
Reduce sugar-crumb toppings. Half the amount is often enough.
Substitute panko, extra crisp Japanese breadcrumbs, for ordinary bread or cracker crumbs. Doing so can reduce the crust's fat, calories, and sodium by half.

There's more healthy cooking tips, so read more

For baked goods:

Think beyond fat-free. Sometimes no-fat foods don't satisfy. "To account for this, we often use a blend of reduced-fat and fat-free varieties," says Vanessa Johnson, Test Kitchens director.
Use egg substitute in recipes that call for more than one egg. A quarter cup equals one egg, cutting 5 grams of fat and 213 milligrams of cholesterol from your recipe.
Increase low-calorie ingredients. For example, add extra vegetables to casseroles and fruits to breads, muffins, or snack cakes. This will increase the yield of your recipe without adding fat.
Finely chop nuts, bacon, olives, and other high-fat or high-sodium ingredients. They will distribute more evenly, allowing you to use less without sacrificing taste.

For meats and vegetables:

Opt for leaner meats, such as center-cut or loin meats and skinless, white-meat poultry. "For example, a slice of center-cut bacon has slightly less sodium and fat than regular cured bacon," Downie says. In some cases, pork can be a leaner option than chicken.
Add zing with citrus. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice can help brighten the flavors of veggies and meats without added sodium.

For sautéing:

Use nonstick pans and cooking spray in place of oil or butter.
When you need oil, use canola, which has nearly half the saturated fat and more healthful, unsaturated fat than other oils.

For soups and stews:

Opt for low-sodium broths and no-salt-added tomatoes; always rinse canned beans in a strainer under cold water, which cuts sodium by up to 40 percent.
Puree vegetables to add body. For example, mash some of the beans in a chili or the potatoes in a chowder.
Trade 1 percent milk for whole, or half-and-half for heavy cream, in creamy soups.

Check out CNN.com for the full article.

Scary Recipe Ingredients to Look Out for

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Butter has a bad reputation in the cooking world but the truth is that there are many other cooking ingredients that are just as unhealthy for us as butter. It's scary that many of us don't even bat an eye at when tossing them into our recipes.

To see the scariest recipe ingredients to watch for, just read more

WebMD has compiled a list of the scariest ingredients, healthwise, for your recipes that you should keep an eye out for when you're cooking this holiday season (and beyond):

Ingredient	Common Serving	Calories	Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)
Mayonnaise	1/4 cup	396	44	6.5
Bacon grease	2 T	250	28	13
Heavy whipping cream (liquid)	1/4 cup	205	22	14
Puff pastry	2 ounces	312	22	3
Cheese (like cheddar)	2 ounces	228	19	12
Light whipping cream (liquid)	1/4 cup	174	18.5	11.5
Sausage, cooked	2 ounces	209	18	6.1
Bacon	4 strips	150	13	4
Butter	1 T	102	12	7.2
Sour cream	1/4 cup	123	12	7.5
Cheddar cheese, 1 oz	1/4 cup	115	9.4	6
Pie crust, 9-inch deep dish	1/8 slice	115	8	2
Half-and-half	1/4 cup	79	7	4.3

Me, I always scan a recipe for any of these ingredients and if it has 'em, I typically skip it. If I am feeling creative, I'll work with the recipe figuring out ways to cut out the unhealthy stuff. For example, I'll use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. What do you do? Share the ways you cut out the unhealthy stuff in the comments section below.

Source

Your Healthy Food Swaps

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:27 -0800

Since decadent foods like ice cream, baked treats, and fried foods tend to be high in the calorie department, it's good to have a few healthy food swap ideas up your sleeve. Here are some shared by fellow FitSugar readers.

"Avocado instead of mayo . . . sure it may have fat in it but it's healthy fat and tastes delicious. Hummus instead of cream in sauces and soups . . . adds a ton of flavor and protein." - mamasitamalita
"I use balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) on my salads without any oil. It gives the same powerful flavor kick but for a lot less calories." - laellavita
"Replace ranch dressing on my salad with cottage cheese." - genipher85

For more great ideas, keep reading

the same turkey dinner without the same fat: Turkey

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 02:33:00 -0800

Thanksgiving brings us a wonderful time to give thanks, to reconnect with family and friends and to eat more calories than we ever normally would in any given day. Ahhhh...the gluttony.

But it doesn't have to be that way, for tips on how to make your Thanksgiving turkey have less of an impact on your waistline, read more

Roast the turkey on a rack so that fat drips through and the meat doesn't reabsorb the drippings.
Rub the bird with olive oil instead of butter.
Eat the white meat since it has less fat than the dark meat.
Try finding a turkey that has been certified humane.

Here's to a happy and healthy feast!

Reasons People Go Raw

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:12 -0700

It's World Vegetarian Month and many people are going meat-free for their health, but others are taking their diets to a whole new level - going raw. A raw food diet consists of consuming unprocessed, preferably organic, whole, plant-based foods, at least 75 percent of which should be uncooked.

A raw-food eater might enjoy uncooked veggies, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, seeds, seaweed, soaked dried beans, young coconut milk, and sprouted seeds and breads. The other 25 percent of a raw foodie's diet includes foods that are lightly cooked in a dehydrator, but foods can't be heated above 116° F, because it's believed to destroy valuable enzymes that help our bodies digest and absorb our food. If the good stuff is destroyed, what's the point of eating healthy foods?

Here are some reasons I've heard people give for deciding to go raw:

It's a simple, natural diet, devoid of artificial and processed foods.
For increased energy.
To improve appearance of the skin.
To improve digestion, and prevent constipation.
For weight loss.
To reduce the risk of heart disease.
To eat in a humane way.

Going completely raw may not fit your lifestyle, but it can't hurt to add some raw meals and snacks into your diet. For some raw-food recipes, read more.

	Edamole (substitute minced hot pepper for hot sauce)
	Mango Red Pepper Salsa
	Mixed Nut Butter (use raw nuts)
	Chickpea, Carrot, and Currant Salad
	Corn and Black Bean Salad

If you have a raw food recipe to share, post it in the Healthy Recipe group.

DVD Review: Weight Loss - Cardio Kick

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:00:51 -0700

Although I'm not a huge fan of DVDs that have the words "weight loss" on the cover, I did love the Weight Loss - Cardio Sculpt video I reviewed a while back.

Here's another video from that series called Weight Loss - Cardio Kick ($15). This DVD follows the same format of a few minutes of cardio, and a few minutes of strength training with weights, so it goes by really fast. The cardio portion includes high-energy kickboxing and martial arts-influenced cardio moves like punching, kicking, and pretend jumping rope to burn calories. The sculpting section leads you through combo moves such as bicep curls with squats, and lunges with deadlifts. There are a few workout options you can choose from. Do the total 51-minute workout including warmup, two cardio/sculpting workouts, and the cooldown, or if you don't have as much time, do the 31-minute workout including warmup, one cardio/sculpting workout, and cooldown.

For more of my opinion on this DVD keep reading.

Back on Track: Grill Veggies For the Week

FitSugar — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:30:05 -0700

Summer weather is winding down, so it's time to grill as much as you can before it gets too chilly. Since I don't always have time to light up the grill after work, I like to grill up a bunch of veggies on Sunday so I'll have extra for the week. They taste great on their own, mixed with pasta, as a pizza topping, or in a sandwich.

All you have to do is wash an array of vegetables such as mushrooms, carrots, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini. Then slice them so they're still in big chunks since they tend to shrink once they're cooked. Place the veggies in a big bowl and mix them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then pour them into a grill basket and periodically stir them while they cook. After about 40 minutes, you'll have savory, roasted veggies that melt in your mouth. Enjoy some for dinner and store the rest in the fridge in an airtight container.