Healthy cooking tips, recipes, food facts and more from a Registered Dietitian!
Archive for January, 2008
What to Do About … A Soggy Pie Crust
Jan 31st
If you are plagued by a soggy crust each time you make a pie, try these helpful tips:
- Sprinkle crust with powdered sugar before filling
- Bake crust at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes prior to filling (especially if using a cream-style pie that does not cook long)
- Chill all ingredients before mixing and placing in crust
- Chill pie crust dough before rolling out and filling
- Do not overbake pie – overbaking causes excess moisture to be squeezed from the filling, resulting in a soggy crust
Information from: My own trial and error and the help of various cooking websites
Did You Know: In olden times only rich people had the money to make 2 pie crusts. The poor people never had enough money to afford a top crust. This is where the term “Upper Crust” came from, since only high class people enjoyed the upper crust.
Next Week: “How To” Make the perfect pie crust!
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Loading ...Cheesy Pizza Pulls
Jan 30th
Super Bowl Treats
This Sunday is the Super Bowl and, although I’m not a big professional football watcher, I will definitely be watching the super bowl again with my family and our friends, the Stolls. More than watching the game, I enjoy the fellowship and delicious foods we always love to have. In the quest to find new exciting recipes, I happened upon this recipe and, after making a couple of changes, tried it last night. It was delicious. Check below for more delicious ideas for your super bowl party.
Cheesy Pizza Pulls
4 ounces Canadian bacon
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup fat-free zesty Italian dressing
1 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 package refrigerated pizza crust dough (or your favorite pizza crust)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Layer Canadian bacon, pepper, onion, and tomatoes in a 9X13 inch baking dish. Pour dressing over. Sprinkle with cheese.
Unroll dough and cut into 2″ squares with a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Place slices in a single layer over cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert pan onto platter. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from: Kraft Foods
Other recipes you may enjoy this superbowl: Dips, Finger Foods, Soups, Desserts
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Sweet News – Aspartame
Jan 26th
Aspartame was first approved by the FDA in 1981 and is widely used in diet soft drinks and sugar-free food products. Aspartame, like most artificial sweeteners, is a man-made chemical that has undergone numerous studies to determine if it has any adverse effects.
To date, none of the studies done have verified any specific adverse effects that can be related to aspartame, except for individuals with a condition known as phenylketonuria. Phenylketonuria is a condition where the body does not process the amino acid phenylalanine very well. Intake of this nutrient from all food sources must therefore be limited. This is why products with aspartame must contain a warning on the label.
Different individuals have different views on how they believe aspartame affects the body, though no conclusive studies have verified these complaints. Claims have been made by different people that aspartame gives them migraines, joint pain, and memory loss but it is hard to get concrete research to prove this.
When trying to supplement aspartame in your favorite foods, remember that aspartame loses flavor when it is heated for long periods of time. Aspartame is sold under the trade name, Equal.
Overall, I still enjoy my diet coke and don’t plan to give it up any time soon. I believe aspartame is like so many other things: Consume it in moderation, not excess!
For more information check out the FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition website.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Don’t Forget Our Soldiers!
Jan 25th
Our soldiers fighting abroad help to keep us safe and sound. Why not show your appreciation to a soldier by sending him or her a tasty gift! Here are some recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture for safe and delicious options to be sent oversees:
- Most importantly, mail foods that are not perishable, can tolerate a range of temperatures, and won’t break with rough handling (Remember that your package may have to last several weeks during transit).
- Dried beef or poultry such as beef jerky or beef slims.
- Dehydrated soups and drink mixes (lightweight and safe to mail). Condiments in packets (hot sauce, Cajun seasoning packets).
- Dense and dry baked goods, such as fruit cakes and biscotti (won’t mold), commercially packaged cakes and cookies in airtight tins, and dry cookies such as gingersnaps.
- When mailing sturdy cookies and homemade candies, wrap each piece individually and pack items in commercially popped corn, styrofoam packaging peanuts, or foam to help cushion them for the trip. Place in a sturdy box and seal with packaging tape.
- Dried fruits such as raisins and apricots, canned nuts and fruit, commercially packaged trail mix.
- Hard candies and sturdy homemade sweets such as pralines and toffee are safe to mail (high sugar content inhibits bacteria growth).
- Homemade toasted pecans (as in this week’s and next week’s newsletters!)
- As an alternative to homemade gifts, some people may wish to send favorite mail order foods, such as summer sausage, cheese, cakes, and snacks ordered through the internet or mail order to their soldiers.
For more ideas to send soldiers, go to: USDA.gov
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Bread Making Advice
Jan 24th
If you enjoy making whole wheat bread, rolls, and baked goods at home, try this cooking tip that I use all the time:
Instead of putting flour on your board to knead on, spread a little oil on the board. Using oil helps the bread not stick to the board or get too dry. This tip works with white breads, too, but just not quite as well as with wheat breads.
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