Hearty Pancakes

You have to love that I am sitting here, sharing heart healthy recipes while I watch Man vs. Food Nation. Anyway! Another collection of recipes from Health.com of dishes that are low in saturated fats, so try some of these and keep the bad fats away.

Hearty Pancakes

Pancakes are a morning staple, but they aren’t all that healthy if made with milk and eggs and slathered with butter and syrup.

This recipe uses applesauce to cut down on fat content and add some fiber as well. What’s more, walnuts give a slight crunch and "good" monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes and 2 teaspoons maple syrup)

Saturated fat: 1 g

Substituting applesauce for the buttermilk, shortening, or oil found in traditional pancake recipes adds fiber and cuts fat. The additional fiber, plus protein and good fats in walnuts, will help keep you full longer

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup uncooked farina (such as Cream of Wheat)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup golden raisins, divided
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, divided
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 
  
• Preparation
• Lightly spoon the flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, farina, and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine milk, applesauce, and egg in a medium bowl, stirring until well blended. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Let batter stand 5 minutes.
• Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto pan; sprinkle each with 2 teaspoons raisins and 2 teaspoons walnuts. Cook 1 minute or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over, and cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining batter, raisins, and walnuts. Serve with syrup.

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2004

Nutrition Facts:

CALORIES 347 (23% from fat)

FAT 9g (sat 1g, mono 1.3g, poly 5.1g)
PROTEIN 8.8g
CARBOHYDRATE 61.1g
FIBER 4.3g
CHOLESTEROL 35mg
IRON 4.8mg
SODIUM 537mg
CALCIUM 142mg

From Self's November 2008 feature of Eat Healthy All Week, here is a neat recipe for no bake Citrus Cheesecake.

No-Bake Citrus Cheesecake

Makes 2 cheesecakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar (plus 1 tsp)
• 1 slice whole-wheat sandwich bread
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 oz fresh goat cheese
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 large fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
• 8 fresh raspberries (or blackberries)
• 2 small sprigs basil

I love the collection of healthy chicken recipes that Eating Well has shared. Check out this recipe for Chicken Divan.

Chicken Divan

From EatingWell: April/May 2006

Originally made in restaurants with a rich Mornay sauce, chicken divan often featured canned cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, sour cream and cheese—tasty, yes, but also loaded with fat and salt. Our revised version has all the flavor of the original with only half the calories and a fraction of the sodium. Use leftover cooked chicken breasts, if you have them on hand, for an even faster dinner.

6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups diced leek, white and light green parts only (about 1 large; see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, or 1 pound broccoli crowns (see Ingredient Note), chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 7-by-11-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place chicken in a medium skillet or saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and slice into bite-size pieces.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek and salt and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add flour; stir to coat. Add broth, milk, sherry, thyme and pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Add broccoli; return to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, mayonnaise and mustard.
4. Spread half the broccoli mixture in the prepared baking dish. Top with the chicken, then the remaining broccoli mixture. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips & Notes

• Tips: To clean leeks, trim and discard green tops and white roots. Split leeks lengthwise and place in plenty of water. Swish the leeks in the water to release any sand or soil. Drain. Repeat until no grit remains.
• Sherry is a type of fortified wine originally from southern Spain. Don't use the “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets—it can be surprisingly high in sodium. Instead, purchase dry sherry that's sold with other fortified wines in your wine or liquor store.
• Ingredient Note: Most supermarkets sell broccoli crowns, which are the tops of the bunches, with the stalks cut off. Although crowns are more expensive than entire bunches, they are convenient and there is considerably less waste.

Nutrition

Per serving: 308 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 4 g mono); 76 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 35 g protein; 4 g fiber; 712 mg sodium; 401 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (70% daily value), Vitamin A (35% dv), Calcium (30% dv), Folate (19% dv).

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 3 vegetable, 3 lean meat