Cravings and Addictions Begin Somewhere-- Healthy Snacks

Usually, I counsel patients on healthy eating and balancing their plate, eating enough vegetables, limiting sweet drinks, and daily physical activity. Oftentimes I counsel my patients on nutrition for specific disease states like Diabetes or cholesterol, but these days, I see a lot of obesity in adults, teens and children. The quality of the obesity is also getting scarier: I am seeing more patients with fatty liver issues(and a higher risk of non-alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis due to the fat content overpowering the liver), higher rates of diabetes in children, and higher rates of cholesterol and malnutrition. It is scary. I honestly believe the life expectancy of generations born in 1995 and beyond will have a much shorter life expectancy given the poorer average quality of diets and larger variety and availability of junk foods than previous generations.

So I'm hoping some healthy snack advice and great recipes might help.

If a sweet or creamy snack is desired, offer

• Smoothie made from blending 1 cup of low fat milk with 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen fruit
• Fresh apple slices dipped in peanut or almond butter
• Homemade souffle if you feel daring
• Fat free cottage cheese or yogurt with pieces of fresh or frozen fruit.
• Homemade sweet or savory baked sweet potato fries
• Homemade fruit chips you can dip in fat free vanilla yogurt
• Baked apple slices with cheese and honey
• Homemade candied nuts
• Homemade milk pudding, a family favorite for adults as well as the kids!

If a salty snack is desired, offer

• Pretzels with fat free cream cheese
• "Baked" potato chips with pico de gallo salsa
• Homemade popcorn with oil and spices instead of butter
• Slices of fresh fruit, jicama or cucumber with fresh spices (Hispanic around here use chile powder and/or lemon or lime, but Arab friends & family often feed kids the same veggies but with Arab-style spices-- zaatar (dried thyme & sesame), or cumin, sumac, salt and/or lemon)
• Homemade (savory version) baked sweet potato fries
• Whole wheat crackers with guacamole
• roasted peanuts or almonds
• Carrot, celery or broccoli sticks with light or fat free ranch dressing or guacamole 

*steps on little soap box, clears throat*
So, I find it scary that I've been seeing a 28 year-old mom regularly for 3 months now for diet management: her diet is weakened by her addiction to sweet and salty snack foods, and oftentimes replaces her meals with these. She has developed pre-diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the beginnings of fatty liver that are giving her blurred vision, night sweats, urinary frequency, unusual amounts of fatigue, chest pains, and scarily vivid dreams. Meanwhile, she still doesn't mind feeding her 4-year-old child top Ramen for lunch, Doritos for a snack on the way to see the dietitian, and after finishing the bag of Doritos in my office the child was promised ice cream if she is a good girl. Wait what? A junky treat after eating junk for lunch and snack?
I don't care if the child is thin, nor do I care if she will "burn it off," it is a poor quality fuel, and will cause problems internally after a year or two before mom even sees that child start to gain weight.
I know children should be allowed to be children, have an ice cream for a treat, have a candy with friends... I agree they should enjoy life rather than worry about what they eat. This is true.
Please, parents, if your child asks for something unhealthy and you know that they've eaten nothing but junk, then tell them sorry, not today, you've already had a lot of special foods today. You can have some in a couple weeks. Save the special food for a special day. If you do, that special day will be so much more special! They will understand if you spend 20 seconds explaining to them. Offer them a variety of healthy choices, like grapes, apples and peanut butter, strawberries, carrots, wheat crackers, yogurt, low fat milk or a string cheese, and give them the freedom to choose one of these healthy options they like best. If they are truly hungry, they'll eat  what is offered. If they keep begging, chances are that they aren't really hungry, they just want to see how far they can push your authority. They have the right of freedom to choose, but its your job to provide them with guidance of what to choose from. Please don't feel bad, they will get over it.
Your body deserves more than unreal snack foods that exist just to get you addicted. You are too good for that. You deserve better. And so do your children.
*steps off soap box, somber, deflated*

Apple Chips

When your parents go to a farming community known for its apple orchards, and they get awed and excited by wall-to-wall apples, the results might sometimes be overwhelming. In my case, the situation is alarming.

My parents returned from Apple Hill in Northern California with two cases (approximately 18 lbs) of apples mixed between Fuji and Granny Smith varieties. I've had two apples every day for the last 2 weeks, and I'm really getting sick of them. Meanwhile, I am bringing home persimmons from friends that want me to make them into persimmon chips for a healthy snack, so I decided last night to try making chips from a few of the apples I've got.
I use usually the mandoline attachment for my food processor to slice the apples horizontally. But you can also purchase a small mandoline slicer for cheap.

Here's my Cuisinart food processor, with the regular blade removed and the mandoline slicer blade attached.

The horizontal cross section of the apple makes a cute little star shape where the seeds would be, and the slicer can slice directly through the seeds, so you only need to shake off any seeds and bake the slices for a couple hours. These apple chips are a great treat for little kids because of the rewarding little star in the center. :-) One small apple makes approximately 15 chips.

Soon I'll post another nice snack with baked apples (and an elegant appetizer with white wine or sparkling cider) involves roasting them with honey, cheese and fresh sprig of spice.

So here's the recipe for apple chips

Ingredients:

• 4 small granny smith or fuji apples

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees, or 200 degrees on convection if your oven is capable.
2. Thinly slice off the top and bottom of the apple, and peel the skin off with a potato peeler.
3. Using a mandolin or food processor attachment, slice the apples into thin 1/16 inch thickness (you can use a knife for this process, but for me it takes some time, and I have trouble getting my slices a uniform thickness, so I prefer to use the machine)
4. Place them on trays with holes for adequate ventilation, my version looks like flimsy aluminum chicken wire, but it works. Dry them in the oven for around 1 hour and 45 minutes, rotating the trays after the first 45-60 minutes of drying so they all cook evenly(if you use a convection setting on the oven, rotating is unnecessary).

You can buy grilling trays/pans for drying food or making chips in the oven here (I waited until spring for grillling season and found some at the dollar store).

Nutrition facts for a serving size of around 12 chips:
60 calories, 15gm net carbs, 4gm fiber, 0g fat, 0g protein (1 diabetic carbohydrate exchange, 0 fat and 0 protein exchanges)

Persimmon Overload?

I guess it's obvious what fruits are in season at the moment! We're starting to get colder, in need of some warming up, so I felt the need to make use of my persimmons in a healthful, non-traditional dessert format. I'm getting tired of pie, cake, cookies and pudding. So I started by pureeing persimmons, and eating some before the idea of a nice, hot baked treat popped up in my head-- in a 6oz ramekin, just the right size for my little belly. I hoped to enhance the flavor of my persimmons and cut their sweetness with a little spice, and imagined that the ginger would give it just the right kick! Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla are all too common this time of year, so I'll pass on those for now! If you are looking for other non-traditional healthy uses for your fruit desserts this season, try Spiced Poached Pears, apple chips, apples baked with cheese and honey, or a sorbet using your fall and winter fruits.

Persimmon-Ginger Soufflé with homemade persimmon chips!!

• 1 1/2 cups low fat 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon minced, peeled fresh ginger
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 small persimmons, diced
• 8 large egg whites

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to boiling.
• Place the ginger in a cheese cloth or a tea strainer. Add ginger to the milk, remove pan from heat, cover, and let steep 30 minutes.

• 

  Milk should become foamy while whisking over the heat.

• Discard the ginger from the milk, and set aside.
• To purée the persimmons, dice them into small cubes so they are small enough for the blender to handle. Add 2 tbsp water, and purée on high until they are smooth.
• In large nonreactive bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of sugar.
• Whisk in flour until well combined. Gradually add hot milk, whisking constantly to prevent it from curdling.
• Return yolk mixture to saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until custard boils and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, around 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer to large bowl, whisk in the puréed persimmon, and set aside.
• Beat egg whites until foamy and slightly opaque. With mixer running, add remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat until stiff but not dry.

I buy egg whites, and they work perfectly well.

• Fold 1/3 of egg whites into persimmon mixture to lighten, then add mixture to remaining whites, folding in gently but thoroughly.
• Butter 8 6-ounce ramekins. 
• Spoon batter into ramekins, filling almost to the top, and lightly run finger around inside rim to create a "moat." Place ramekins in large baking pan, and arrange the baking pan on the middle oven rack and add hot water around ramekins as deep as you can make it.

Before cooking!

After cooking!

• Bake until soufflés have risen well above the rim and tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• Garnish with sifted powdered sugar and a persimmon chip for a zazzy little dish to make you and your guests giggle with delight!

Happy Fall!
Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts for one 6-oz ramekin:
137 total calories, 13gm total carbohydrate, 2gm fiber, 10gm protein, 5gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 01 Fat, and 1.5 protein exchanges)

Roasted Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Moroccan food oftentimes uses warm spices like cinnamon and paprika to flavor dishes, but sometimes fresh fruits and vegetables are difficult to obtain. In this recipe using olives and preserved lemons, I'll showcase two common ingredients that, when preserved, will be usable even up to 2 years later. This use of preserved foods is perfect on a night when you don't feel like going shopping for ingredients, or just want to slap something together that is inexpensive and healthy. This dish cost me 8 dollars, excluding spices. :-)
So for my dish I first sauteed the onions with salt and pepper for about 10 minutes or until they were beginning to caramelize. Then I added the onions and sauteed them more. The smell of these two pungent friends was so powerful that I had to open the windows and turn on two fans.

The strength and flavor of organic onions and garlic is much stronger than the non-organic ones, and if using organic, you may get by with using less. In my opinion, more of these is always better. Open the windows before starting the cooking process. ;-)

After the garlic and onions are slightly browned and overly-fragrant, add your dry spices and continue to sautee for another minute or so. This fragrance will be even more wonderful. I like to make this dish when having guests for dinner. It provides such a wonderful smell to welcome your guests inside and make their mouths water with delight.
Add chicken stock or broth, add the chicken, and the diced skin of 1/2 of a preserved lemon. This is a great dish to make when not many fresh vegetables and lemons are in-season.

Thinly sliced preserved lemon, from a jar that I found in the back of the cupboard (over a year old, but ohh so delicious!)

Boil these together until the chicken is cooked, then strain the chicken, onion, and lemons out of the broth. Using the remaining broth, boil some diced potatoes for 20 minutes, then strain these and put them beside the chicken. In the remaining broth, boil lemon juice and chopped, pitted green olives until the mixture becomes slightly thickened. To serve, just pour the olive-lemon sauce over the chicken.

To make this meal perfectly balanced, you may place in half the plate a piece of chicken and some potatoes, and fill the remaining half of the plate with vegetables (adding some red tomatoes or orange carrots will surely entice your taste buds with a colorful display). The chicken will be so delicious you may want to go for seconds. Practice self-restraint by eating more vegetables instead. This will ensure your meal is well balanced, and not excessive carbohydrate or protein.

The recipe:

Braised Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• One 5lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Rind of half of a preserved lemon (recipe for preserved lemons here)
• 1 cup new potatoes (the lower starch ones), chopped into approx 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup green olives

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with pepper; sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic, and sauté for another 3-5 minutes. Add paprika, allspice, cinnamon, and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and seven spices; add to skillet.
3. Rinse one preserved lemon, discarding the pulp. Dice the lemon rind into fine pieces and add this to the chicken.
4. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter, straining the onions and sprinkling them over the chicken.
5. In remaining broth place your diced potatoes over medium heat. Allow this to return to boiling. Boil for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Strain these and plate them alongside your chicken. In the remaining broth, add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes.
6. Pour over chicken.

Nutrition facts for 1 piece of chicken and 1/2c potatoes:
390 total calories, 15gm total carbohydrate, 1 gm fiber, 19 gm protein, 13gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 2.5 Fat, and 3 protein exchanges)