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Small Steps
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao-tzu
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When you are intent on making healthy changes to your eating, don't go for deprivation or denial. Try substitution.
Sometimes healthy change is substituting a higher calorie food for a lower calorie option. Sometimes its exchanging a food or ingredient that you don't or can't eat for something else you want and has nothing to do with calories.
This week I'm sharing two recipes that could substitute for your old holiday favorites.
The green bean and mushroom dish uses fresh ingredients and is a lower calorie option over the usual green bean casserole.
The Polynesian pumpkin pie has replaced the sugar and the dairy with alternatives. Though this pumpkin pie isn't necessarily low in calories, it is a bit lower than the average pumpkin pie.
What will you substitute this week for a healthy change?
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Green Beans with Mushrooms |
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Ingredients
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dried bread crumbs, panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 Tbsp dehydrated onion flakes
3/4 tsp table salt
2 sprays cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds uncooked string beans, fresh
1 pound button mushrooms
Instructions Crumb topping: - Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a large, deep, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.
- Mince onion flakes, if needed.
- Add bread crumbs, onion flakes and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring often until lightly toasted (~3 minutes).
- Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Wipe skillet clean.
Beans & Mushrooms: - Trim and cut string beans in half.
- Thinly slice mushrooms.
- Spray skillet with cooking spray, place on high heat and add string beans and mushrooms.
- Saute until the mushrooms are lightly golden and the green beans are tender (~6 minutes)
- Add remaining Tbsp of butter and 1/2 tsp of salt to skillet.
- Toss over low heat until butter is melted.
- Transfer to serving bowl or platter.
- Sprinkle with crumb topping
Serves 8. Each portion yields about 1 cup of vegetables (2 out of your 5 daily servings of vegetables!!) and 2 Tbsp of crumbs. (from WeightWatchers)
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Ingredients3 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup honey
¼ cup molasses
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp Meyers rum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
1 partially baked 10-inch pie shell
Instructions - Preheat oven to 350
- Whisk together the eggs and the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the honey & molasses and whisk until smooth.
- Stir in the coconut milk, pumpkin puree, and rum. Add the salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves and mix until incorporated.
- Pour mixture into the pie shell.
- Bake the pie for 30 minutes or until set.
- Cool and serve at room temperature.
Serves 8. (from Dr. Sarah Strong) |
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What did you do to avoid portion creep last week?
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Other recipes from Dr. Sarah Strong are on her Hilo Natural Health Clinic Facebook page. Recipes are under the Notes tab. Keep checking, as she adds new recipes each week.
Other Thanksgiving recipes and the nutritional information at SparkRecipes.
For previous editions of Small Steps
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Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
Sydney Smith
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