Posted Jan 19, 2012

Comfort food is especially soothing this time of year.

Thick, hearty chowders and rib-sticking meals laden with meat and cheese are warming both literally and figuratively.

But don’t neglect your heart and overall health when developing a winter menu. Those cream-filled chowders, Super Bowl snacks and snowed-in suppers can take their toll on a diet.

So we asked a nutritionist, as well as one of our favorite go-to cooks, for a few recipes that comfort without killing your diet.

“You can make many of your favorite recipes healthy by looking at what ingredients you can substitute for more healthy options,” advised Betsy Manis, a registered and licensed dietitian at the Hillcrest Center for Diabetes Management.

Most of the time, you will never taste the difference, and what you consider substitutions at first will eventually become your normal — perhaps even preferred — choice, Manis said.

She offered us two delicious recipes adapted from Diabetes Self-Management magazine — the first a one-dish meal, the second an awesome option for your upcoming Super Bowl party.

BEEF STROGANOFF

Serves 6

1 pound stew meat

1 cup low-sodium beef bouillon

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup plain nonfat Yogurt

1/2 cup light Sour Cream

4 cups hot cooked noodles

1. Cook beef in a nonstick skillet over low heat until browned.

2. Reserving 1/2 cup bouillon, stir remaining bouillon, Ketchup and Garlic into skillet. Cover and simmer until beef is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

3. Stir in mushrooms and onion. Stir together reserved bouillon and cornstarch until blended. Add beef to mixture and stir.

4. Heat to boiling and boil one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in Yogurt and light Sour Cream. Serve beef over cooked noodles.

Nutrition: 331 calories, 31 grams carbohydrates, 27 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 94 milligrams CHOLESTEROL, 1.2 grams Fiber, 437 milligrams sodium

COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

Serves 12

1 pound 95 percent lean ground beef

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped Parsley

1/4 cup skim milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

1/2 cup prepared chili sauce

1/2 cup tomato sauce with No Salt added

1 teaspoon chili power

1 cup sugar-free Grape jelly

1. Mix ground beef with bread crumbs, onion, Parsley, egg, Worcestershire sauce and Pepper. Form into 36-40 small meatballs.

2. Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Brown meatballs in skillet.

3. Combine chili sauce, tomato sauce, Chili Powder and jelly. Pour over meatballs. Simmer for 30-60 minutes until meatballs are no longer pink inside.

Nutrition: 110 calories, 14 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 2.5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 40 milligrams CHOLESTEROL, 230 milligrams sodium, 1 gram Fiber

Usually, Jan Graham would put bacon in her black-eyed pea soup, which is fabulous with cornbread. But she offered us a healthier version with a little kick.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

Serves 6

3 cans black-eyed peas, drained

2 cans Rotel Original

1 jalapeno, seeds removed

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Cloves minced Garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup sliced zucchini

1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

Shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

1. Combine all ingredients except cheese in crock pot, and cook on low 6 hours.

2. Serve in bowls with cheese garnish, as desired.

This chili recipe comes from the St. John Siegfried Health Club’s “Cooking for Health” cookbook.

SLOW-COOKER PORK AND BEAN CHILI

Serves 8

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 (16-ounce) jar Salsa

3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup 99 percent fat-free chicken broth

1 medium green Pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

3 teaspoons Chili Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons dried Oregano

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover, and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or until pork is tender.

Easy, simple substitutions

When cutting back calories, you don’t have to sacrifice taste — even when it comes to your favorite winter dishes, Betsy Manis said.

Look at ingredients you can sub out for healthier ones, said Manis, a registered and licensed dietician at the Hillcrest Center for Diabetes Management. More often than not, you won’t be able to taste the difference. In fact, you’ll probably come to prefer it.

Here are some easy substitutions Manis recommends:

–Choose water-packed tuna or salmon over oil-packed tuna or salmon.

–Choose skim or 1 percent milk in place of whole milk.

–Choose 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute in place of one whole egg.

–Choose brown rice over white rice.

–Use fresh or frozen vegetables over vegetables canned with added salt.

–Use margarine instead of butter.

–Choose low-fat Yogurts, Sour Cream and cheeses over the full-fat options.

–Choose Canadian bacon or lean ham over bacon.

–Choose flavored powders over flavored salts (like garlic, onion and celery).

–Choose pretzels over potato chips.

–Choose whole-wheat pastas over regular pastas.

–Choose lean ground turkey and beef over high-fat options.

©2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)

Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Tags: Carbohydrate, Cholesterol, Cooking, Diabetes, Food, Heart, Information, Snack, Soothing

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 11:01 am and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.