Late Summer Fiesta Salad or Salsa (8g carb per each one-cup serving)

Ingredients:

·         3 cups diced, ripe fresh tomatoes, cored and seeded (I use about 6 large organic tomatoes)

·         2 cups diced, fresh zucchini (about 2 medium with ends removed—DO NOT PEEL)

·         1 cup diced red bell pepper, cored and seeded

·         1 cup diced green bell pepper, cored and seeded

·         1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves (measured after chopping)

·         1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano (measured after chopping)

·         1/4  cup finely chopped green onions, white and green parts (or substitute Vidalia other mild onion)

·         1-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh jalapeño peppers, cored and seeded (Wear gloves when working with  fresh jalapeños! Each fresh pepper yields about 1 tablespoon chopped.  You can substitute bottled jalapeños; but, beware of the sodium overload.)

·         3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic, or to taste

·         4 teaspoons (1tablespoon + 1teaspoon) ground cumin, or more to taste

·         1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

·         2 teaspoons Splenda® Granulated No Calorie Sweetener  (or your choice of sweetener)

·         1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste

·         1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

·         3 tablespoons lime juice

·         3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

·         3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil  

·         3 dashes red pepper sauce, or to taste (optional)

 

Preparation:

1.       Combine first four ingredients in a large glass or plastic bowl that has a tight-fitting lid. 

2.       Combine remaining ingredients (for sauce/marinade) in a medium non-metallic bowl or a 2-cup (or larger) measuring cup with a lip for easy pouring.  Whisk or stir until well combined and pour sauce over diced veggies in storage bowl from Step 1.  Stir gently with fork to blend all ingredients.

3.       Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Be sure to stir gently before serving.

4.       Serve as a delicious side dish or as a chunky salsa topper for grilled or roasted fish or chicken.  (Top the fish or chicken after cooking—you want the salsa to be cool.)  Makes a nice combo of sweet and cool with a pop of peppery heat.

Yields 9 cups = 9 servings, one cup per serving (with juice).

Per serving info:  78 Calories; 5g Fat (1g Saturated, 3g Monounsaturated, 1g Polyunsaturated); 2g protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 220 mg Sodium (11mg Sodium if sea salt is omitted).

·         Nita’s Notes:  Although I’ve listed several ingredients as optional, don’t leave’em  totally out—they add that nice flash of flavor.  So, experiment with “how much” is “just right” for you by starting with just a bit and adding a bit more, only if needed.  Always let the salad/salsa sit for a while to let the flavors develop more.  Taste-test after it has “rested” and BEFORE you add extra heat.  The HOT flavors often intensify while the salsa is resting.  I like it at the “sweaty upper lip” level; but, you’ve got to find your own tolerantly-yummy heat level. 

  

From my home to yours—Nita

 

Make healthier choices for a happier life!

 

Anita Peacock

Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic

eCommerce site:  MyDiabeticBag.com  (Check out my bags!)

eMail:  peacockproducts@bellsouth.net



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Nothing says "Happy 4th of July" like Asparagus!?

Well, maybe not.  But, I'm all for blending in a lot of green with all that red, white and blue!

Numbers you need to know:

Recipe yields 5 ½-6  cups = 8 servings, 4-5 spears per serving.  Per serving info:  55 calories; 3g fat; trace saturated fat; 3g protein; 6g carbohydrate; 3g dietary fiber;  0mg cholesterol; 61mg sodium (3mg sodium, if sea salt is omitted). 

Delicious fresh off the grill or chilled and eaten cold with a Hollondaise-y sauce or my Sorta Tzatziki Sauce  (see previous blog post).  This simple, yet elegant, dish is great for any holiday; but, especially, the summer blockbusters!

Prep Time:  5-10 minutes

Start to Finish:  10-20 minutes

This is a simply delicious side dish—high marks on both SIMPLY and DELICIOUS!  You can add more seasonings if you like; but, don’t get too carried away.  The grilled (or roasted) asparagus should carry the flavor, not the seasonings.  With this recipe, believe me, less is so very much more.

Ingredients:

·        2 pounds fresh asparagus (32-40 spears—cleaned, woody ends snapped off)

·        1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

·        1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

·        ¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste

·        1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

·        2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

·        ¼ teaspoon sea salt, optional (only add AFTER you’ve tasted the grilled asparagus without salt!  and, don't use more than 1/4 teaspoon!)

Preparation:

1.     Preheat countertop grill to medium-high heat.  (Alternatively, to roast asparagus or “grill” in the oven, preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.) 

2.     Clean asparagus under cold running water.  Snap and discard woody ends.  Dab cleaned and trimmed spears with paper towel and set aside.  (Special note:  when shopping for fresh asparagus, look for slender green spears with tight tips.  Avoid any whose woody ends appear white and dried out.)

3.     Combine olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and garlic in a large, shallow dish.  Add the asparagus to the shallow dish and toss to coat well.

4.     Lay asparagus in a single layer on preheated grill (or on a cookie sheet with sides if doing in the oven).  Grill (or roast) 2-3 minutes on each side.  If you are using a countertop grill with top- and bottom-side grids, you will grill a total of 2-3 minutes with the lid closed.  If you are roasting in the oven, stir the asparagus after the first 2-3 minutes and roast 2-3 minutes more for a total of 4-6 minutes roasting time.  You want the asparagus to still have a slight crunch to it, whichever method you use.  

5.     Toast sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat for two to three minutes until the seeds become fragrant.  Remove to small bowl to cool.

6.     When asparagus reaches desired doneness, remove from grill.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.    

7.     Serve as a barbecue side dish or as a chilled appetizer or snack!

Helpful Hints for Happy and Healthy Holidays:

If you’re planning to host (or just planning to attend) a shindig, don’t for one minute think that you can’t eat anything, that you’ll just have to go off in a corner all by yourself and bear your Scarlet D (iabetes) stoically.  That’s what I do.  (And, if you believe that….)  Be prepared—I take delicious, safe-for-me food to EVERY gathering, unless I’ve “grilled” the host/ess to make sure there’s more than one something there that’s fit for me to eat.  (And, I’m not counting diet colas.)  No holiday should be off limits to people with diabetes.  But, we do have to take special precautions to make sure the holiday fare fits within our carb-cal limits. 

Keep everything simple to avoid carb overload.  Lay off the bottle completely!  In this day and age (yes, I’m preaching good nutrition here), bought sauces almost always equal high carb, high sodium, high calorie.  You don’t need that or really even want that.  It’s just EASY; but, it sure ain’t GOOD.  Here’s my corporate food philosophy (and please weigh in--but only if you agree with me 100%...): if a company pours sugar and/or salt on an old shoe, shrink-wraps it and sells it as a cheap and “fast” food product, people will buy it and eat it.  Easy.  NOT GOOD.

But, making good food choices doesn’t have to equal difficult or time-consuming.  Simple choices make a big difference.  Mix up a little garlic-herb pre-grill rub of your own and let the flavor of “your choice of protein here” shine through.  A couple tablespoons fresh-ground black pepper, garlic powder to taste, a LITTLE salt (if absolutely necessary) and a tablespoon (chopped fresh) or a teaspoon (dried leaves) of your favorite herb (like basil, tarragon or oregano).  Mix it together and rub-a-dub-dub!  Takes five minutes and tastes SO good. 

Still feel the need for something saucy?  Mix up a simple vinaigrette with three parts vegetable oil to one part vinegar and add a touch of Splenda or Equal, if you feel sweet-deprived .  (For example:  3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil mixed well with 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar.  Artificially sweeten to taste.)  Use this tangy, low-carb sauce like you would barbecue sauce—served at the table!

Make healthier choices for a happier life!  Have a glorious Fourth of July!

Anita Peacock

Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic

Owner/Manager/Designer

MyDiabeticBag.com

peacockproducts@bellsouth.net

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Sorta-Tzatziki Sauce

(Not truly tzatziki; but, an easy low-cal dilly-icious topper for grilled or roasted meat, chicken, fish or veggies!)

Numbers you need to know:

Recipe yields approximately 2 cups = 16 servings, 2 tablespoons per serving.  Per serving info:  18 calories; 1g fat; trace saturated fat; 2g protein; 1g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber;  4mg cholesterol; 93mg sodium (34mg sodium, if sea salt is omitted).  MUCH HEALTHIER than mayo and a nice change from mustard!

Prep Time:  10-15 minutes

Chill Time:  At least 2 hours (overnight is best) 

I mixed this up yesterday to go with some PEPPERY roast pork tenderloin.  I’d gone a tad overboard with my herb rub and needed something cool and creamy to counteract the heat.  This was perfect!  I’d wanted to attempt a me-version of Greek-style yogurt sauce (tzatziki) for a while.  So, I scouted about online and combined a few recipes, throwing in low-fat, low-carb substitutions to come up with this chilly-dilly sauce. 

It’s definitely not tzatziki—I didn’t strain the yogurt, which I think is imperative with traditional tzatziki—but, I like to think it’s tzatziki-esque.  It turned out quite lovely and would go fabulously with any highly-seasoned grilled or roasted meat, chicken, fish or veggies.  And, if you can handle the carbs, it would be super as a spread on gyros!

Ingredients:

·        3/4 cup chopped and drained cucumber (approximately 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and pulp removed)

·        2 tablespoons chopped green onion (approximately 1 green onion, white and green parts)

·        2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried dill weed)

·        2 teaspoons finely-chopped fresh garlic (1-2 cloves)

·        1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (1/2 room temperature lemon)

·        1 cup Greek Style Low-Fat Plain Yogurt (2% Milk) or Plain Low-Fat or Non-Fat Yogurt

·        1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

·        1/8 teaspoon white pepper

·        1 teaspoon SPLENDA® Granulated No-Calorie Sweetener

·        1/4  cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation:

1)      Chop the peeled and seeded cucumber by pulsing several times in a small food processor.  Pour chopped cucumber onto several sheets of paper towel and spread out to allow excess moisture to drain.  Allow the cucumber to drain for several minutes.  While the cucumbers are draining, chop the onions, dill and garlic and juice the lemon.

2)      Stir together all ingredients and refrigerate in a covered container at least two hours (but best chilled overnight so the flavors develop nicely) before serving.

3)      Great as a sauce, spread or a dip!  Always stir well before using.

Make healthier choices for a happier life!

Anita Peacock

Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic

Owner/Manager/Designer

MyDiabeticBag.com



MyDiabeticBag.com



 

Recipe sources:

http://recipehut.homestead.com/CucumberSauce.html 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Greek-Yogurt-Cucumber-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Other credits:

SPLENDA® is a registered trademark of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC.

http://www.splenda.com/