Blog.EmealsForYou

(from the Chicken Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)

I guess if you write a Rant about taking a small amount of time to prepare a good meal for your family you should at least post a quick chicken recipe to go with it. The Pan-roasted Chicken Breast was a last minute idea one night when my wife said “do something different”. We like garlic, I mean we really like garlic in our house, so the natural thing to do was make sure I put lots of garlic in the pan. I added a few gold raisins, who doesn’t like golden raisins, some mushrooms and there you have it… a new house favorite.

Have your butcher, excuse me, have the guy behind the meat counter, bone out the chicken breasts but leave the skin on. I actually prefer to do this myself, tossing the bones into a pot with olive oil, a piece of carrot, onion and celery, add a can of chicken broth and you have some really good chicken stock to make the dish that much better. (want to learn how to bone out the chicken? send me a comment and I will give you the easy instructions)

I serve this chicken with creamy polenta but it is just as good with quick pasta tossed with some lemon juice. Round out the meal with a mixed lettuce salad and you have a $17 restaurant meal for about a third the price.

Pan-roasted Chicken Breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in an oven-proof pan. Sauté chicken skin side down for 4 minutes, repeat on the other side. Add mushrooms and garlic, sauté for 1 minute. Add raisins, capers, lemon juice and broth. Place in oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, remove chicken to a plate. Swirl butter slowly into pan juices, add salt and pepper to taste. Plate chicken and spoon on sauce.

Suggestion: Serve over creamy polenta, add some fresh tomatoes and it’s time to eat.

Watermelon Salad

(from the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)

This is a carryover from last year; but it’s still a winner. We were putting some chicken breasts on the grill and my wife wanted something “different” to go with it. As the spring heat turns into summer heat; cold, refreshing salads add color and a special touch to any meal.

The charm of watermelon salad is its versatility. Pair it with lunch meats, a can of tuna or even just some crispy crackers and you have a quick, delicious lunch… low in calories and good for you. Serve it as a dinner salad and watch the surprised looks you get. Having problems getting your kids to eat salad; come on what kid doesn’t like watermelon.

Well I have to go now… the photo made me think this is just what I need for tonight’s dinner.

Years from now when the social-anthropologists look back and try to determine when the decline started, they will settle on Bill Cosby and Jell-O pudding. Some of our moms made pudding from scratch; some from a package labeled instant…but the downfall can be traced to the advent of the ready-to-eat pudding cup. In our lay-the-blame society, you know the one without mirrors; it’s easy to say that is when kitchen laziness began.

It all gets back to- how much does it cost? For those few people who can afford it, kitchen laziness must be a very nice thing. Our society rewards kitchen laziness, the inability to push ourselves beyond opening a package to provide food for ourselves and our families. We have a whole slew of businesses designed to prepare our meals, actually just the entrées, in nice little freezer bags so that we won’t have to overwork ourselves in the kitchen. On a diet, not to worry, just order up from the Internet…Get 6 weeks of food for the cost of 4. Let’s not even get into the fast food route.

First let me attack the Diet Plans. Let’s look at what’s missing besides the vegetables, salads et al that you have to provide on top of paying “only about $10 per day” as the ads say. We are missing the self-discipline to use portion control… to limit our daily intake of calories and carbs. Will we stay on these pre-arranged diets forever, how will we learn to push ourselves into better physical shape if the only way we can diet is by checking off a list of meals on a menu? Besides diets don’t work; unfortunately we’ll need to change our lifestyle to really make the difference we are looking for.

Now about those Meal services, Dream Dinners, My Girlfriends Kitchen, etc. What are we really getting for our money? We have ourselves convinced that they are just like going out to dinner only cheaper. Surprise, you still have to cook them, still have to come up with sides or salads to go with them. Just what have we gained except less money in our checking account and bragging rights at the PTA meeting? Come on… take some time and plan you own meals. You will find it refreshing to have control over what you want to eat and not what they have on the menu for that week.

Look, I don’t care how you plan your meals; use your recipes, get recipes off the Internet or cookbooks. Like the Nike phrase, JUST DO IT! Show some discipline. For those who say they can’t plan meals I say bull. The only thing between your family and good meals is your laziness. Get over it. Don’t you want your kids to look forward to good meals at home?

by Lisa Ronco MS, RD, CDN

Diabetes is on the rise in the US. Whether you have “Type 1″ or Insulin dependent or “”Type 2″ non-insulin dependent, a healthy diet is critical for controlling diabetes.

A few basic rules to remember:

Exercise: Helps in weight control and stress reduction not to mention the cardiovascular and physical benefits.

Glucose monitoring: Frequent checking of blood glucose can help you keep diabetes under control.

Nutrition: To keep blood glucose or sugar stable, it is better to eat several small meals per day instead of sporadically grabbing “something” on the go. Ideally eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small snack in between each with a p.m. snack before bed. Whether you have diabetes or not; eating several small meals per day can help you consume the recommended servings of all food groups.

One of the easiest ways to eat “right” with diabetes and keep blood sugar well controlled is to follow the exchange system, which many diabetics do. Others may prefer to do carbohydrate counting. Whichever method you prefer, the outcome is basically a well balanced diet throughout the day. I prefer the exchange system for its ease of use.

As we know blood sugar increases more when we eat carbohydrates or “carbs.” Carbs are found in dairy products (lactose), fruits (fructose) and grains and starchy vegetables. Each of these foods has about the same amount of carbs …12grams /serving and is thus “exchangeable.” This doesn’t mean eat only fruit or only dairy products, instead choose food from each group.

So a typical day would look like this:

Sample Menu:

Breakfast:

Snack:

Lunch:

Snack:

Dinner:

Snack:

Keep in mind this is just a template for a “typical” day. The beauty of using the exchanges comes in handy for those special occasions such as a birthday. For example you want to have a slice of birthday cake at dinner; so one way to incorporate the cake is to “use” some exchanges for the cake. During the day possibly use the breakfast milk in exchange for the cake. As long as you use all the exchanges during the day, you will keep your blood sugar consistent. Use more than allowed; your blood sugar goes to high and by not using enough exchanges your blood sugar drops too low.

Lisa Ronco MS, RD, CDN

Lmr5091@nyu.edu

The kids stopped in yesterday with their kids, Avery is almost 3 and Alexis is just 5 weeks. After a trip to the playground in the heat it was time to figure out lunch. I guess i could have called this, “Too Hot to Cook but Not to Thaw”. As we talked about in Meal Planning - Winning the Trifecta it pays to cook batches of food and freeze them for later use. I microwaved a frozen container of pulled pork, made a quick coleslaw, added pickles and chips and everyone was happy. Side note here… I usually like my coleslaw directly on top of the sandwich, unlike my photo above.

P.S. For dessert we had carrot cake, also frozen in individual packets and thawed as needed. The carrot cake is the Featured Recipe this week at www.emealsforyou.com.

Pulled Pork

Rub dry rub (recipe follows) all over pork roast. Place in oven-proof pan and cook in oven at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours or until meat pulls easily off the bone. Remove from pan and shred meat with two forks. discard the bone. Pour water, vinegar and ketchup into pan and stir to remove all fond (the brown bits) and juices. Pour over meat and stir.

Note: You may choose to serve pork with additional store-brand barbeque sauce.

By now hopefully you have read all about Meal Planning in the Tips, Techniques and Ideas category and are ready to attack the grocery store with your shopping list. CAUTION!!! inattention here can cost you big. Here is the headline from an article written in 1993 and still as pertinent in today’s grocery stores:

First let’s look at that shelf tag -

This is the label that sits on the front of the shelf either over or under the product. The first thing you want to look at is to make sure the product and the tag are describing the same product. Look for the product name and make sure it is the same size as the box or can you are placing in your cart. Grocery stores “bait and switch” here, substituting larger, more costly sizes, their own brand or even the more expensive national brand for their less expensive product. This is called creating a false front, see they even have a name for it. My store habitually puts 36-40 count shrimp on sale then fills the case with larger 20-26 count shrimp, an up-charge of $3 per pound. In order to compare whether a larger size of a product is less expensive look for the PPU (price per unit). This is on the tag and will tell you the cost of each ounce or unit; compare this price with the one on the smaller box to see which in fact is cheaper. It may be the smaller box is less expensive per ounce or unit. The next thing you want to check is the price. If they have a bigger, brighter tag (called a shelf talker) hanging from the same area of the product shelf and the price is less expensive then the shelf tag, remember the shelf talker price. Many are not entered into the computer system of the store and will charge you the more expensive price instead of the sale price. Lastly, watch the two-fers, buy one get one free items. Make sure you are not charged for both. Remember, you can buy just one and be charged only half… especially if you only need one.

(from www.emealsforyou.com/Vegetables/Flame Roasted Asparagus)

It’s hard to make a believer out of you without you actually trying the asparagus. I promise you this is the best tasting asparagus you will ever have. The reason lies not in the flame-roasting but in the peeling. That’s right, I said peeling. You see what makes this asparagus stand out from the crowd is that it is peeled prior to cooking. Even my wife struggled with the sanity or is it insanity of this procedure.

So let me tell you why you would go the extra step and peel the asparagus. First of all is the fact that nobody really likes the tough outer skin of the asparagus– it’s a bit stringy isn’t it? You go to the market and you spend time picking through the pile of asparagus to find the skinniest stalks to avoid the problem. Now you get home and you cut off most of the stalk anyway, leaving the tip and maybe a little of the stalk… a little wasteful don’t you think?

Enter the amazing asparagus peeler. A simple device designed to peel only the outer most layer of the stalk leaving you with only the tender, tasteful inner soul. No need to pick through the pile anymore… buy the biggest stalks you can find, peel them and you will be amazed at the taste. I am such an advocate of the asparagus peeler that I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. For the first 10 readers who sign up for www.emealsforyou.com using the Sponsoring Identifier PEELER-37 not only will you get $5 off the membership price but I will send you an asparagus peeler for free.

A quick note about cooking the asparagus, try cooking it on the grill. If you can’t grill it you can cook it in a grill pan on the stove or even just a frying pan or even roast it in the oven on a cookie sheet. The main point is to stop boiling or steaming this wonderful vegetable… once you try our recipe I doubt you will ever go back. The photo shows the asparagus with Oven-dried Tomatoes, the recipe appears under Appetizer here on the blog.

Flame Roasted Asparagus

Cut bottom 1 -1 1/2 inch off of stem. Peel, yes I said peel the asparagus. Place in bowl, add oil and salt and pepper. Toss, retain bowl.
On a very hot grill, place asparagus crosswise to grill. Grill for 3 minutes. Remove and place back in bowl, toss with oil remaining in bowl. With a vegetable peeler shave the romano cheese over the top and serve.

Can be made in grill pan on stove top, cook for 4 minutes.

From the Backyard Soiree (Picnic Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com

WARNING: The following post is decadent and I don’t apologize in advance.

(from www.emealsforyou.com/Desserts/Croissant Bread Pudding)

The other day my wife told me that it was about time I got busy and filled the freezer with some desserts. I couldn’t talk about meal planning without adding my two cents on how to handle desserts. We usually don’t have dessert with our meals, can’t afford the calories, but on occasion the urge does hit. I have several great dessert recipes that I can always count on to work. I make these when we need a dessert for company. Well, a little confession here; I make several desserts for company, I think people should have a choice if they are going to indulge; besides I enjoy making them. This usually leaves me with leftovers.

In our house each dessert has it’s own following. Each kid or friend has their particular favorite. What I do is take the leftover desserts and cut them into individual serving sizes, wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer, they are just as good thawed as when they were made. When we feel like a dessert or have company I usually have 4 or 5 different desserts, frozen, to choose from. Simply “nuke” them and serve. An added benefit is that I find that our friends’ kids don’t mind coming over for dinner when they can choose their dessert Seriously, this method actually saves me time and money as I make them when I have the time and it certainly beats stopping off at the bakery for a quick dessert for dinner.

I have attached the recipe for Croissant Bread Pudding, this really is easy to make, freezes well and is usually a hit; besides this is a favorite of my wife. On our website emealsforyou.com we have many dessert recipes that will fit the bill for this method of Meal Planning: Profiteroles, Carrot Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake to name a few. Drop in and take a peek, try making everyone happy tonight!

(from www.emealsforyou.com/Salad/Betty’s
German Potato Salad)


(from www.emealsforyou.com/Salad/Jake’s Potato Salad)

Celebrating Memorial Day this weekend brought back fond memories of growing up in New Jersey and experiencing the “Potato Salad Wars”. I guess it all started when one of my kids called and asked us to bring potato salad for a picnic.

My father always made what we called “American Potato Salad”, mayo based, while my mother always made “German Potato Salad”, bacon based. My father’s large, I mean really large, family all made the American style so they always looked forward to my mom’s German style. So you had all these Slovaks fawning over my mom’s salad, not unnoticed by my dad; while all the “other” people bellied up, as it were, to the American. The good news for us kids was that this competition went on for all the time we were at home, this means we got the best of both worlds.

So guess which one I took to the picnic; you have it, I took them both.

(from www.emealsforyou.com/Suzie’s Salisbury Steak)

Many of you look at Meal Planning as if it were a foreign language. It is not your fault, what training did you have? It seemed your mom just put it on autopilot and viola, a complete meal was on the table. You really never paid much attention to how she did this.

In this post I will give you a couple of methods to use to plan your meals; remember the upside of planning is true $$$ savings at the grocery, better food for your family and a better sense of self. I will go to the opposite extremes, you need to find the right mix that works for you.

So let’s discuss what a meal is: first of all let’s try for a balanced meal. We will need an entrée, meat, fish, protein, whatever, some sort of veggie (’cause we really should), and a starch (gotta have those carbs). Some of your meals may contain all of these in one recipe, as in spaghetti with mushrooms.

Method #1 - the “Chinese menu”; one from column A, one from column B and one from column C

This is a lot like the old MadLibs game, pick something and fill in the blanks. Make a list of all the meats you like to cook: chicken, fish, pork, ground beef, etc. On a separate paper make a list of veggies; and on a third make a list of starches, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc. Allow me a quick rant here: you don’t need potatoes with pasta, I see way too many people cooking mac and cheese and then potatoes on the side. Put a veggie into the microwave instead, your thighs will appreciate it.

So here we go: look at your weekly flier from your grocery store. Pick the things that are on sale that you like. Now go to your first list and pick a meat, go to the veggies and pick one or two veggies and finally pick a starch from your list. Write this down and repeat until you have the desired number of meals planned. Now go through your repertoire of recipes and match up the meals with the recipes. Scale the meals to the right number of people and write down a shopping list; this is important so that you don’t get sidetracked at the store. That wasn’t too hard was it?

Method # 2 - “electronic’ meal planning (okay, I’m a little prejudiced here but you may use any meal/ recipe site you like, if you don’t mind chasing them down all over the Internet, unashamed hint: use: www.emealsforyou.com)

So this method starts out the same, scan your local grocery’s sales flier and decide on what you want to buy. Go to the site you like, on www.emealsforyou.com go to Recipe Finder, and type in the meat, gather the recipes and make your decisions, repeat for veggies and starch. Put the recipes in your Favorite Box, use the automatic(Select) button to scale them to the right number of people and print the shopping list.

Once you get the hang of Meal Planning you will find that it takes very little time and the rewards are huge.

Challenge: Plan your meals for 1 month, use either method, come back here and let us know how it worked. Did you save money? Did you feel better about how you were feeding your family? Did your family notice the food? Was your life a little easier?

For those of you who want to try the www.emealsforyou.com method, sign up using EMEALS-48 in the box on the registration for Sponsoring Identifier and you will receive a $5 discount off the 1-year subscription price of $36; that makes it under $3 per month, you should save 10 times that. I promise you will like it.