Why WW’s New Plan May Kick Atkins’ Derriere
Weight Watchers’ new PointsPlus plan is one I reckon that will wipe the floor with the oversized clothing of its competitors.
The dieting regime, which was embraced with fervor by Americans and the world in 1997, awards points to different sorts of food, with each dieter having to stick to a certain number each day in order to lose, or maintain, weight.
Three days ago, I signed up for WW’s new plan online, after a four-month stint on steroids for an inexplicable allergy sapped me of energy and left me looking like the GoodYear blimp. (more…)
Cara Cara Orange and Blueberry Salad with Crystallized Ginger
I am in luck, with Cara Cara oranges being available freely at Costco (8 pound bag for under $6, is that a bargain or what?). They are going in everything these days, side salads, fruit salads, smoothies, muesli, cakes, muffins, and next week, I’m scooping the flesh out of halves of Cara Cara and setting jelly in them (aka Jell-O) for my younger son’s birthday.
We have fruit salads for dessert on week nights and it’s often challenging coming up with something new and interesting. For this one, which serves two, combine slices of banana, two large handfuls of blueberries, one Cara Cara orange and small chunks of crystallized ginger. Here’s another salad I made a few weeks ago with these lovely oranges, which are less acidic than regular oranges, and have a reddish flesh.
Have you been buyings lots of oranges this winter? Where are they ending up? Do tell!
Strawberry and Cara Cara Orange Salad with Basil
So I’ve started the year off with two healthy posts. Let’s see how long this lasts before cake begins to assert its upper hand! Cara Cara oranges, which are grown in California’s San Joaquin Valley (and sold by Sunkist), are tantalisingly juicy, sweet, low acid and have a beautiful grapefruit-red flesh, which lent itself happily to the creation of this vivid and refreshing salad. I didn’t need further reason to pick this fruit but it’s nice to know it’s packed with vitamins A, C and fiber, along with foliate, potassium and antioxidant lycopene. In fact, the oranges and strawberries were so sweet, I did away with the original plan of a balsamic reduction as a dressing, instead just sprinkling the salad with a light dusting of icing sugar, purely for aesthetic reasons. The only herb at hand happened to be basil, which was just as well – it was the perfect touch. Feel free to substitute the sugar with stevia, or nothing at all.
- cara cara oranges, 2
- handfuls of strawberries, halved, 2
- cherries, a few (for colour contrast)
- basil, a few leaves, sliced into ribbons
- Arrange on plate and dust with icing sugar or stevia
Summer Cool-Down Drink: Lassi Two Ways
Summer’s finally here – a bit unusual to be saying this in mid-July but the weather’s been a bit dicey with the relentless monsoon rains we’ve had recently (note the vibrant green of the lawn). Yogurt, a staple in our fridge, is the star here in lassi, a beverage made of yogurt, presented sweet or savoury. The latter may not suit the uninitiated but I find it very refreshing.
Mango Lassi
- mangos, 2, skinned and cubed
- plain yogurt, 1 cup
- sugar, 1 tsp (if needed only)
- Blend together till creamy and serve
Ginger-Lime Lassi
- yoghurt, 1 cup
- ginger, grated, 1/2 tsp
- zest of lime, 1/2 tsp
- juice of lime, 1 tbsp
- green chili, 1/2, chopped
- coriander/cilantro leaves, a few – to garnish
- salt, pinch of
- cummin, ground, 1/8 tsp
- Whip the yogurt till creamy
- Add all the other ingredients and serve
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Lunchbox Star: The Cheese and Chutney Sandwich
Another winner for the school lunchbox and one that easily fits into a picnic basket, too. Both my children have recently requested easy meals they can despatch with haste in order to get to the more important tasks of hanging with friends or hanging on a climbing frame (usually upside down, which can’t be encouraging for any sandwich).
Layer up wholemeal bread with double brie, baby spinach and mango chutney (Trader Joe’s). Slap ‘em together and serve with a side of fruit. I saw not a crumb in either lunchbox after school!
Some mums might fret about the choice of cheese, but feel free to substitute low-fat (i.e. flavorless, plasticky) cheddar for it. But moi? I’ll pick the full-fat one myself, thanks very much. It’s not as if we have brie every day or top it off with vats of ice cream at the same sitting.
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The Mango: Moist, Majestic and Morish
Mangoes featured very strongly in the early days of Richard’s and my romance, the buds of which were planted in India, from where the fruit originates. Indeed, we all have a soft spot for the fruit and are thrilled that it’s back in season again.
When I grew up in my grandmother’s home in Malaysia, she had a massive, enormously fertile mango tree right in front of her house. Its branches hung low and gracefully, providing welcome shade and coolness, and inviting my brothers and I to clamber upon them and give them the adoration they deserved. As if we didn’t spend enough time there, my grandfather tied a plank swing seat to one of its branches (the kind that would give anyone at Health & Safety a heart attack), and thus were spent the remaining hours of our carefree, childish days.
In the heat of the tropical summer, the tree would be heavily pregnant with fruit, leaving us awash in mangoes for months. My grandmother would give away as many as she could to the delighted neighbours, who were also the recipients of all the other fruit, veg and herbs that grew in Gran’s garden – soursop, jackfruit, coconut, plantain, bananas, papayas, Lady’s fingers (okra), basil, curry leaves, tomatoes.
While she had dozens of recipes for the bananas, plantain and coconut, the mangoes we ate fresh, and immediately. It didn’t make sense to adorn or dilute a fruit so voluptuous, so complete in colour, taste and perfume.
Having said that, my younger son loves homemade mango smoothies or mango lassis nearly as much as he loves the fresh fruit.
My favourite mango is the Alphonso, which is grown mainly in Western India. There’s no match for the perfect sweet yet tangy and firm flesh of this cultivar, along with its citrusy mango aroma and intense yellow-orange colour.
As I have yet to find these mangoes in north America, I am eternally grateful to Costco for regularly bringing in Champagne mangoes from Mexico. The taste isn’t as explosive, but the colour and texture are there, along with the lack of fibrosity that separates a good mango from its lesser brethren. It might behoove you to know the average Champagne mango packs a modest 80 calories, with lots of Vitamin A, C and folate too!
How to cut the mango? This could require a video (another blog entry, another day). Take the fruit and, keeping in mind it has a large seed in the middle, cut a semi-circle off each side. With your knife, make hatches and cross-hatch them so you have little square or diamond shaped segments of flesh (see photos). Hold each half and invert them by pushing the skin upwards. To eat, use a spoon and scoop the squares off. Or just dive in, face first!
For more mango recipes, click here and here.
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A Gobbleworthy Turkey Sandwich
My older son has rather keen tastebuds and (thankfully) fancies few lunchmeats. I found this uncured *turkey at Trader Joe’s, which both my children love. It has five recognizable ingredients (turkey, sugar, salt, spices, honey), but no nitrites, nitrates or preservatives.
Best of all, the bird was raised – as all beings free of pneumonia and infections should be – without antibiotics.
Add to the generous slab of turkey some lettuce, tomato, mayo and wholewheat bread and voila, you have another healthy option for the school lunchbox!
*Wellshire uncured turkey ham steak, sold at Trader Joe’s.
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Mango and Pepper Salad
Here’s a salad that takes the challenge out of having one’s daily government-mandated ten veggie servings. It’s also the perfect antidote for those days when the leafy-green boredom sets in.
- Alphonso mango, 1, julienned
- red and green or variety of peppers, 2, julienned or sliced thinly
- English cucumber, 1, sliced thin and long
- carrots, 2 medium ones, as above
- corn, 1, boiled and sliced off the cob
- lime juice, about 4-6 tbsp
- fish sauce, 2 tbsp
- zest of 1 lime
- brown sugar or stevia, 1 rounded tsp
- garlic cloves, 2-3 large ones, minced
- sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp
- mint leaves, handful, chopped
- coriander/cilantro leaves, handful, chopped
- thai basil, several sprigs, chopped
- handful peanuts, roughly chopped
- Place all the sliced and chopped veggies in an attractive bowl
- Using a whisk, combine the dressing ingredients, including herbs
- Pour the latter over the former and toss
- Serve in individual bowls with a sprinkle of peanuts over
- Turn into a meal with a hunk of seasoned, pan-browned salmon or tuna
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Bananagram Pancakes
We love breakfast in this house. Pancakes are the No. 1 request, and they’re a great way to experiment with different ingredients to use in oven-baked cakes, being, as they are, little flat cakes cooked on a pan.
I’m always on the lookout to make the calories count and not all my experiments have made the cut. But this one did, and I (lacking any tall DNA to bequeath my offspring) find it supremely satisfying that the children have started their day with a protein-packed meal.
The surprise ingredient – which I didn’t immediately reveal to the family for fear of clearing the table too quickly – is gram flour, which comes from chickpeas or garbanzo beans. Proteinous gram flour is commonly used in South Asian-style savoury pancakes and works well with them, so I figured, why not?
- gram flour, 1/2 cup
- soy flour, 1/2 cup
- wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup
- ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup
- eggs, 2
- milk, 1 1/2 to 2 cups (as needed for a thickish batter)
- salt, pinch of
- orange zest
- sugar, 1 tsp
- baking soda, 1 tsp
- baking powder, 1 tsp
- bananas, chocolate chips or toppings of choice
- In a separate bowl, sieve together the flours and baking powder and soda
- Then, in bowl 2, cream the eggs, sugar and cheese with a handheld mixer
- Add the ricotta, zest, salt
- Lower the speed and add the milk and blended flours in gradual succession
- You are looking for a batter of a thickish consistency that will coat the back of a spoon
- Ladle a scoop onto your Pam-ed pancake pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips or banana slices. Chocolate goes beautifully with the oranginess of this pancake, but the yummy pancakes didn’t make as picturesque a photo
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Cajun Chicken Wrap with Roasted Peppers
For those times when you’re clean out of ideas, here’s a no-fuss one-dish meal. All you have to do is grill the veg and chicken. I particularly like having the oven do all the work so I can multitask – by doing the laundry, cleaning up after the kids or updating this blog!
- chicken fillets, 2
- red and green peppers, 1 of each
- large red onion, 1, sliced
- thick Greek yoghurt or sour cream, as needed
- smoked paprika, for seasoning
- cummin, 1 tsp
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- First, marinate the chicken fillets with a squeeze of lemon juice, some paprika, cummin and salt and pepper – or use ready-prepared cajun seasoning
- Preheat the oven with the grill setting on High or bake at 425F
- Grill the chicken and sliced red and green peppers and onions together on a tray lined with tin foil, drizzling them with olive oil first
- The chicken will be done in 10 minutes. Depending how you like your peppers, either start grilling them with the onions 20-30 minutes earlier or together with the meat, if you like a bit of crunch
- Allow the filling to cool a little
- Toast a wholewheat wrap on a heated pan, slather it with some sour cream or thick yoghurt and bung the chicken and grilled peppers and onions on top
- Roll it up and allow the yummy juices to dribble down your chin!
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