Lighten Up Your Day

It isn’t just  about reducing sugar in a recipe or using low fat milk instead of cream. It’s about making healthy choices and thinking of making the food as flavorful as possible. How can we make our food surprisingly good and healthful at the same time? Embrace the challenge!

Too often we see fat, sugar and salt as the ways to add punch and make our food comforting and flavorful. That is perhaps the traditional way. In the past, butter was included for the calories that it added and certainly for its flavor, but also because that was what a farmer had on hand to use as a fat. Sometimes, though, the things we add for richness were really added as a luxury. But those are the wrong words to think about. Think about flavor instead.

These recipes represent one light option at breakfast, lunch and dinner. You don’t have to overhaul every favorite meal or think of substitutions like low-fat options or no-fat salad dressings. Think about swapping out a high-flavor light dish at each meal and gradually you will be going lighter without making your diet full of artificial foods.

At breakfast you can easily prepare servings of overnight oats and sweeten them with raisins and chopped dates. If you start with raw rolled oats that are not salted, you can easily prepare a healthy breakfast. Those packets of instant oatmeal pack a wallop of salt. It is cheaper and healthier to start with raw oats and prepare them yourself. Then, they are tailored to you and more delicious, as well as being crammed with fiber and nutrients.

For lunch, think about vichyssoise. A bowl of soup that can be served hot or cold with a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and mushrooms would make a special meal. Instead of regular potatoes, our recipe uses Louisiana sweet potatoes. And instead of cream, it contains buttermilk. Not only is buttermilk lighter than cream, but I think it tastes better too. All of the lovely properties of sweet potatoes come through without being dampened by the fat in the heavy cream.

If you are interested in an alternate soup, consider a gazpacho or a cold cucumber soup. There are lots of delicious options if we think flavor and light.

At dinner, our recipe is a lighter version of eggplant Parmesan. Eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge, so the key to making the eggplant lighter is to not use too much oil, but still make the slices crispy. You will not miss the oil in this version, but it is lighter with all the fiber intact. And for dessert, opt for fruit salad or a sorbet.

This recipe is easily doubled or even tripled. You can make it several days in advance for the whole family. I save 12-ounce lidded jars and use them to make breakfast for days ahead.

Overnight Oats

This trendy breakfast treat is lightened by using water instead of milk or cream,  and by omitting the unnecessary sugar and salt. It will make a delicious and healthy start to your day.

1 cup water
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup raisins (more to sprinkle when ready to eat) or unsweetened chopped dates
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup broken pecans or almonds (if using almonds, use ¼ teaspoon almond extract instead of vanilla)

1. Combine the water and the oats, raisins and spices in a covered jar. (You can use a bowl). Stir well. Replace the lid and place in the refrigerator overnight.  (If using a bowl, cover with plastic wrap.)
2. When ready to serve, divide the oats mixture into 2 bowls. Stir each bowl. Top with more raisins and chopped nuts. (If you want to add fiber, sprinkle with chia seeds or ground flaxseeds).

Chicken Piccata

This recipe uses less oil, less flour and less salt than the usual recipe without sacrificing flavor. The capers and olives are already salty and will satisfy any salt craving you have without the need to add more.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup low- or no-sodium chicken stock
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons small capers, drained (you can use larger capers and 2 tablespoons of them, chopped)
1 large lemon
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bunch parsley, chopped
¼ cup black olives, chopped

1. Sprinkle the prepared chicken breasts on both sides with the ground black pepper. Add half of the olive oil to a nonstick pan, and lay the chicken breasts flat on the pan. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken over, add the remaining oil if necessary. Cook on the other side for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on their thickness.
2. While the chicken breasts are cooking, mix the stock and the flour. Stir well. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and add the stock. Stir well and be sure to scrape all of the bits that stick to the pan. Add the shallots and garlic to the stock. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring to cook the shallots and garlic, and letting the stock thicken.
3. Slice the lemon from pole to pole, then slice each half into slices across making lemon halves. Add the halves to the pan, as well as the lemon juice, and let them cook for 5 minutes. If the pan is becoming dry, add another ¼ cup of stock. Add 2 tablespoons of the chopped parsley and the olives. Add the chicken breasts back to the pan and coat the breasts with the sauce and bring back to heat.
4. Served garnished with the remaining parsley.

This dish is pure health food, but it would fool a hardcore epicure. It substitutes heart-healthy olive oil for butter and uses buttermilk (naturally low fat) for the sour and heavy creams. Without creams and butter, this soup gives you flavor without guilt.

Sweet Potato Vichyssoise

3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 leeks
3 pounds of sweet potatoes
6 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon caramom
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
cane syrup
Madeira

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. While waiting, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add 3 leeks (sliced, discarding the green parts) and cook over low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and cut 3 pounds of sweet potatoes and add them to the boiling water. Cook for about 10 minutes, then check for tenderness with a fork. If they aren’t easily pierced, cook for an additional 5 minutes and check again. Drain potatoes when tender.
2. In a stockpot, combine 6 cups of chicken stock with the drained potatoes and the cooked leeks. Before heating, use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in 2 cups of buttermilk, ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cardamom and ¼ teaspoon white pepper.
3. Chill the soup overnight. About 30 minutes before serving, remove it from the refrigerator and stir well. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and drizzle a few drops of cane syrup on each as a garnish. Offer Madeira on the side, suggesting 1 to 3 teaspoons per bowl for each diner to add to taste. Makes 8 cups.

Turn 8 slices (about 8 ounces) of good white bread into homemade breadcrumbs by tearing them into chunks and pulsing in a food processor — fresh, simple and way more flavorful than store-bought.

Eggplant Parmesan

Instead of letting the eggplant soak up cups of olive oil, this still decadent dish, seriously curtails the oil but not the flavor, using baking instead of frying to cook the luscious eggplant. It is light on salt because it relies on the salt already in the cheese to satisfy that craving.

Eggplant

1. Preheat oven to 425°F with 2 sheet pans inside. In a bag, combine 1 cup flour and freshly ground black pepper. Slice 2 eggplants (1/3-inch thick rounds). Shake 4–5 slices at a time in the bag to coat; shake off excess.
2. Combine homemade breadcrumbs with ½ cup Parmesan. Dip slices in egg wash, then breadcrumbs, pressing to coat. Brush hot pans with 3 tbsp olive oil and arrange slices in a single layer. Bake 20 min, flip slices, swap pan positions (top to bottom, bottom to top). Bake 10 more minutes.

Tomato Sauce

1. Pulse 20 oz diced tomatoes in a food processor until nearly smooth. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan; sauté 4 minced cloves of garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning mix and 1 bay leaf until garlic is lightly golden. Stir in processed and unprocessed tomatoes. Boil until thickened (about 15 min). Remove from heat, add ½ cup torn fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper.
2. Assemble Lasagna
3. Spread 1 cup sauce in a 9×13-inch lasagna pan. Layer half the eggplant slices (overlapping as needed). Spoon 1 cup sauce, sprinkle ¼ lb shredded mozzarella. Add remaining eggplant, more sauce, then ½ cup Parmesan and ¼ lb mozzarella. Bake 15 min. Sprinkle basil; serve extra sauce on the side.

This can be a sweet dessert or a terrific sauce over pancakes for a brunch breakfast with no added sugar.

Mangos Foster

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
3 cups of sliced fresh mango and a sliced banana
Unsweetened coconut shreds
Limes for zesting
1 pint coconut ice cream (other flavors, like cinnamon or ginger lime, would also work)

1. Place all ingredients except the fruit into a skillet and heat over medium heat. Allow it to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add the mango and banana and stir. Cook for 5 minutes and allow the sauce to thicken.
2. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Sprinkle the dish with coconut. Stir again.
4. To serve, place one scoop of coconut ice cream in a bowl. Scoop the sauce over the ice cream, making sure to include mango slices and bananas in the scoop. Zest a half of lime over each serving. Serve immediately.

You can skip the ice cream and ladle the sauce and fruit over pancakes or waffles instead of syrup.