Fish Sticks and Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash

I enjoy going back to the good old days of my childhood when I loved fish sticks! These are good enough to eat as adults (or kids) and much healthier than the fried version I remember and love. I generally use frozen tilapia filets because I can never get my hands on fresh! The Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash is definitely something I will serve to my kids (and myself to, of course!). Great way to work in a few more veggies! 

Fish Sticks

Fish Stick prep

Fish Sticks

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Canola oil cooking spray

1 cup whole-wheat dry bread crumbs

1 cup whole-grain cereal flakes

1 tsp. lemon pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 large egg whites, beaten

1 lb. tilapia fillets cut into ½ by 3 inch strips

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place breadcrumbs, cereal flakes, lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and salt in a food processor or blender and finely grind. Transfer to a shallow dish.
3.  Place flour in a second shallow dish and egg whites in a third shallow dish. Dredge each strip of fish in the flour, dip it in the egg and then coat all sides with the breadcrumb mixture. Place on prepared pan. Coat both sides of the fish sticks with cooking spray.
4. Bake until fish is cooked through and the breading is golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.

* We make our own tartar sauce by mixing together ¼ cup of low calorie mayo with 2T. pickle relish, and a splash of lemon juice.

Nutrition Info: 289 calories; 3g fat; 1g sat. fat; 57mg chol; 31g protein; 373mg sod; 4g fiber

Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash

Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

3/4 lb. broccoli crowns, chopped (4 cups)

¾ cup fontina cheese

½ cup nonfat milk, heated

½ tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring an inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add potatoes, cover and steam for 10 minutes. Place broccoli on top, cover and steam until the potatoes and broccoli are tender, 6 to 8 minutes ore. Transfer the broccoli to a large bowl and coarsely mash with a potato masher. Add the potatoes, cheese, milk, salt, and pepper and continue mashing to desired consistency.

* We cooked these in our rice/veggie steamer and used half broccoli and half cauliflower. We also didn’t have fontina cheese or Yukon gold potatoes on hand so we substituted parmesan and red potatoes. Cheddar cheese would also taste great I think!

Nutrition Info: 135 calories; 4g fat; 3g sat fat; 16mg chol; 7g protein; 330mg sod

Pumpkin-Walnut Cake

Pumpkin-Walnut Cake

From The Essential Eating Well Cookbook

Yum!! I absolutely love fall and all the fun foods it brings. We made this cake for a grill-out with friends. It looked beautiful and tasted great but I would recommend making it for a brunch or afternoon coffee get together. It seemed to be more like a coffee cake than a dinner dessert but was delicious. I loved the pumpkin and spices – perfect for fall. I also doubled the glaze recipe (couldn’t resist) and it was well worth it. I am not sure there would have been enough if I hadn’t doubled the recipe.

Servings: 16

Cake:

½ cup walnuts, divided

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

2 large eggs

 1 large egg white

 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar

 1 15-ounce can unseasoned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup orange juice

¼ cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Carmel-Walnut Glaze:

2 T. packed light brown sugar

2 T. 1% milk or evaporated skim milk

2 T. butter

1.       To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with cooking spray. Dust pan with flour, tilting to coat and tapping out excess.

2.       Spread walnuts in a shallow pan and bake until fragrant, about 5 minutes: let cool. Chop walnuts and set aside.

3.       Whisk whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.

4.       Combine eggs, egg white, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add pumpkin, orange juice, oil, and vanilla; beat until smooth.

5.       Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Set aside 2 T. of walnuts for the glaze and fold the rest into the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

6.       Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

7.       To prepare glaze and finish cake: Combine brown sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute. Reove from heat and stir in the reserved 2T. walnuts.

8.       Turn the cake out onto the rack; place the rack over a baking sheet (or I just put mine right onto the cake stand to catch the glaze). Drizzle warm glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Transfer to a serving plate; spoon any glaze from baking sheet over the cake. Let cool.

Nutrition Info: 214 calories; 7g fat; 1g sat fat; 28mg chol; 4g protein; 281mg sod

Grilled Black Bean Nacho Pizza

Eating Well on a Budget

I don’t have a photo of this one but I wanted to share anyway. It would be a great fall football appetizer or meal and is seriously so delicious! We made it the other day when friends came over to watch the NFL season opener. I would recommend cooking the crust first like the recipe says to make sure it is good and crispy. I could eat this every week!!

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

½ cup chopped jarred, roasted red peppers

1 medium clove garlic, quartered

1 T. chili powder

¼ tsp. salt

Yellow cornmeal for dusting

1 lb. Whole-Wheat pizza dough

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or taco/Mexican cheese)

2 medium plum tomatoes, diced

4 medium scallions, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped pitted ripe black olives

2T. chopped pickled jalapenos

1.       Preheat grill to low (or bake in oven at 450 degrees)

2.       Place beans, peppers, garlic, chili powder, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

3.       Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peal or the bottom of a large baking sheet. Roll out or stretch dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14-ince circle. Transfer to the prepared peel or baking sheet, making sure the underside of the dough is completely coated with cornmeal.

4.       Slide the crust onto the grill rack; close the lid. Cook until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.

5.       Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread the bean mixture on the crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Quickly layer on cheese, tomatoes, scallions, olives, and pickled jalapenos.

6.       Close the lid again and grill until the cheese has melted and the bottom of the crust has browned, about 8 minutes.

Nutrition Info: 317 calories; 8g fat; 4g sat fat; 17mg chol; 14g protein; 692mg sod

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe

Essential Eating Well Cookbook

We always make our own – it’s easy to have the ingredients on hand and less expensive than buying the pre-made crusts. This recipe rises quickly so it’s not a hassle to let the dough rise while prepping any ingredients for the pizza.

Makes: 1 lb. dough

Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat four

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 pkg. quick rising yeast (2¼ tsp).

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. sugar

¾ cup hot water (120-130 degrees)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1.       Combine the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1-2 T. warm water; if too sticky, add 1-2 T. flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.

2.       Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let dough rest for 10-20 minutes before rolling.

Nutrition info (per 1 pound): 1,032 calories; 18g fat; 3g sat fat; 0mg chol; 33g protein; 2,509mg sod