February 2012
Choosing the Right Foods for Successful Weight Loss
by Mary Gerlach, R.D.
Still need to lose a few pounds gained over the holidays? Year 2012 ushered in a tidal wave of weight-loss hopes, resolutions, plans, and advice. It's always easier said than done. It just isn't fair that extra weight comes on so easily and then holds on for dear life. It seems to only gradually fall off with a great deal of extra effort. There is so much information available about losing weight quickly and easily that we often forget it comes down to calories and exercise.
If you eat more calories than you expend, your body turns the excess into fat. Expend more calories than you take in, and you will lose weight. It takes 3,500 calories to make one pound, so cutting 500 calories each day from your diet results in losing about one pound a week.
So count calories for awhile, and make the calories you eat count! And, don't forget to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. On the next page, are seven key ideas to help you lose those extra pounds.
Broiled Flank Steak Topped with Spicy Cilantro Tomatoes
Topping1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbs. finely chopped onion
1 seeded and minced jalapeño pepper
¼ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Steak
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground red chile pepper
1 pound trimmed flank steak
Cooking spray
Topping: Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and jalapeño; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cumin, salt and tomatoes; sauté about 3 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.
Steak: Preheat broiler. Combine cumin, salt and red chile; sprinkle evenly over steak. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Top with warm tomatoes.
Makes 4 servings. Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 194; Carbohydrates 4g; Protein 25g; Fat 8g; Cholesterol 37mg; Sodium 514mg.
Miso Chicken with Wild Mushroom Brown Rice
2 Tbs. miso (soybean paste)1½ Tbs. peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 minced garlic cloves
4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
Cooking spray
5 large egg whites, lightly beaten
½ cup water
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 Tb. fish sauce
2½ cups cooked brown rice
1 cup diced shiitake mushroom caps
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs. chopped green onions
1 Tb. low-sodium soy sauce
1½ cups chopped spinach
Preheat oven to 350° F. In small bowl, combine miso, ginger and garlic. Rub miso mixture on both sides of chicken breast halves. Place in casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover and bake 30 minutes or until done; then dice and set aside.
In large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add egg whites and cook 2 minutes or until done. Remove egg whites; coarsely chop; set aside. In same skillet, add water, onion, carrot, and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.
Add rice, mushrooms, parsley, green onions and soy sauce; cook 3 minutes. Stir in chicken, egg whites and spinach; heat through, stirring frequently. Makes 4, 1½ cup servings.
Nutritional analysis per 1/3-cup serving: Calories 344; Carbohydrates 37g; Protein 40g; Fat 4g; Cholesterol 66mg; Sodium 998mg.
Healthy Low-Fat Toasted Barley and Berry Granola
¼ cup unsalted pumpkinseed kernels¼ cup unsalted sunflower seed kernels
1⁄3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tsps. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1⁄₈ tsp. ground cardamom
2 cups rolled barley flakes
¼ cup toasted wheat germ
1⁄3 cup dried blueberries
1⁄3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 325° F. Place pumpkinseed and sunflower seed kernels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325° for 5 minutes. Cool seeds in pan on a wire rack.
In mixing bowl, combine next 6 ingredients (syrup through cardamom). Stir in toasted kernels, barley and wheat germ. Spread barley mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven; cool granola in pan on a wire rack. Stir in dried blueberries and dried cranberries. Store in an airtight container. Makes 4 cups.
Nutritional analysis per 1⁄3-cup serving: Calories 161; Carbohydrates 27g; Protein 4g; Fat 2.5g; Cholesterol 1mg; Sodium 59mg.
Sunflower Seed and Fruit Quick Bread Mini-Loaves
2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsps. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups vanilla fat-free yogurt
½ cup canola oil
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit
½ cup sunflower seed kernels
1 tsp. grated orange rind
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350° F. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine yogurt, oil, syrup, honey, and vanilla. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour yogurt mixture into well. Stirring just until moist; do not overmix.
Fold in fruit, sunflower seeds, and orange rind, just until mixed.
Spoon batter into 4 (6-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from pans; cool completely on wire rack. Makes 4 loaves, 8 servings per loaf.
This delicious quick bread can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 6 months.
Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 151; Carbohydrates 24g; Protein 3g; Fat 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 111mg.
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