Christmas Eve — Time for the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Christmas Eve is a traditional night for Italians to make the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I’ve written about it before, but the idea seems to be catching on.

Iron Chef Showdown recently had a battle of the feast of the seven fishes and Bon Appetit magazine ran this piece, A Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu That Won’t Take a Week to Cook.

The first question most people ask is ‘what are the seven fishes?’ That’s up to you, and traditionally was up to whatever was available in the local village. So the Bon Appetit take on it is as valid as any other. As a kid, I remember talk of eel and squid and octopus and the horrible-looking salted cod Italians call baccala. Continue reading “Christmas Eve — Time for the Feast of the Seven Fishes” →

December 24, 2017 0

12 days of low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat Christmas recipes — low-salt pizza

With Christmas only two days away, this Saturday is likely one of last-minute rushing around and hurried eating for you. So what better meal tonight than some quick pizzas…no, not the store-bought or ordered kind, pizza you make at home to ensure it is low in salt and fat.

The finished pizza, basil added along with a dash olive oil. Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minutes.

I written about different low-salt crust options (crusts are normally loaded with salt). You can buy a pre-made lower-salt crust and use that. Any marked extra-thin are usually lower in salt simply because there’s less crust there to begin with.

Matzo is another option and is generally salt-free. Costco usually sells large boxes of large, round matzo that are perfect for making a pizza.

For the tomato sauce, either make your own, limiting the salt, or buy a salt-free sauce. I’ve used both Trader Joe’s and Hunt’s salt-free sauce in the past, as well as my own. Continue reading “12 days of low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat Christmas recipes — low-salt pizza” →

December 23, 2017 0

12 days of no-salt, no-sugar Christmas recipes — try a simple scallop dish

We started our 12 days of no-salt, no-fat, no-sugar Christmas meals with a great new chicken recipe I tried recently that includes a strawberry/pineapple salsa. So let’s follow that tonight with a simple but delicious scallop dish.

low salt low fat recipes — My finished scallops, seared brown and delicious.

Scallops can be made simply on the stove-top in hot oil. Add flavorings that you enjoy to spice them up, or have them plain as I do and enjoy the natural flavor.

I’d pair the scallop with a fun side-dish like the roasted carrots with red onions, fennel and mint that I wrote about as a possible thanksgiving side-dish option. It’s a bit more complex and so would be a nice accompaniment to the simple scallops. One simple, one complex makes a nice combination for your taste buds.

December 20, 2017 0

12 days of no-salt, no-sugar Christmas recipes — Chicken with strawberry & pineapple salsa

We’re bringing back a site favorite this holiday season, our 12 days of no-salt, no-sugar Christmas recipes to help you come up with a fun and healthy menu for this busiest time of year.

I’ll be linking to and discussing recipe favorites every day for the next 12, starting today with a recipe I wrote about recently and just made myself this past Sunday, grilled chicken with strawberries and pineapple salsa.

I suggested when first reviewing this recipe that you could substitute Mrs. Dash salt-free taco seasoning for the salt-free steak seasoning called for in the recipe. That worked out really well for me, giving the chicken a nice flavor. I rubbed the seasoning on both sides of each breast I made. Continue reading “12 days of no-salt, no-sugar Christmas recipes — Chicken with strawberry & pineapple salsa” →

December 19, 2017 1

AMC Dine-in Menu — hear the sound of your blood pressure spiking???

Sunday is movie day in our house. We normally go to the first show of the day to get cheaper tickets because why pay more to see the same movie a few hours later? Movie theaters today are adding all sorts of new perks to get people to leave their houses. One of the new perks is expanded food options.

AMC is a large theater chain and I saw recently that it has what it’s calling the AMC dine-in menu now. The cardboard menu they give you to pick from actually has calorie counts right on it for every dish, a requirement that comes from the healthcare law commonly called Obamacare.

Continue reading “AMC Dine-in Menu — hear the sound of your blood pressure spiking???” →

December 17, 2017 0

Another low-salt chicken recipe — Grilled chicken with strawberry and pineapple salsa

The American Heart Association has a recipe page that’s a great place to get ideas for low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar recipes. I sometimes think the recipes they post could be even lower in all of the evil three, but I’m not going to quibble with them today. I found this fun recipe for chicken with strawberry and pineapple salsa that I intend to try out.

I’m thinking it would be really great in the summer with freshly harvested strawberries, but these days you can get strawberries in winter months too, so you can make it as a Christmas season surprise for family and friends too.

The ingredient list from the Heart Association site:

2 slice pineapple, each 1/2 inch thick, patted dry
1 tsp. canola or corn oil
1 cup whole strawberries (diced)
3-4 Tbsp. chopped, fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1-2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium lemon

Continue reading “Another low-salt chicken recipe — Grilled chicken with strawberry and pineapple salsa” →

December 16, 2017 1

A Low-salt chicken recipe —Tomato & basil chicken with zoodles

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s a sure bet you’ll be cooking more for the various people who will be showing up on your doorstep this time of year. So I’ve been busy clipping recipes that are low-salt, low-sugar and low-fat, are quick to make, and sound pretty tasty too to share with you.

This post is about a recipe for something called tomato & basil chicken with zoodles.

I saw this in a magazine but it’s also on the Foster Farms (a poultry brand) site.

Ingredients you’ll need are:

4	chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsps	olive oil, divided
1 tsp	chopped fresh garlic
½ cup	balsamic vinegar
2 cups	cherry or golden tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsps	fresh basil, chopped
•	salt and pepper [leave out the salt]
¾ lb	zucchini, cut into spirals

Continue reading “A Low-salt chicken recipe —Tomato & basil chicken with zoodles” →

December 15, 2017 0

Cookbook reviews have arrived on the No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal

Regulars to our blog may read a recent cookbook review we featured for a book called The Organic Heart. Expect to see more cookbook reviews here in coming weeks and months. We’re planning to add a cookbook section to our recipe page to further help you find low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar recipes.

We'll soon be reviewing this cookbook from the American Diabetes Association. — We’ll soon be reviewing this cookbook from the American Diabetes Association.

Already on the way for us to review is THE SUPER CARB DIET: Shed Pounds, Build Strength, Eat Real Food by Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper and The Complete Month of Meals Collection from the American Diabetic Association.

We also already have a copy of The Dirty Vegan Cookbook which I’ve asked noted vegetarian food blogger Jenny Frank [ok, she’s my daughter too] to review for us. Check out Jenny’s food blog, Maplehood Kitchen, for vegetarian and vegan recipes. Continue reading “Cookbook reviews have arrived on the No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal” →

December 13, 2017 0

A Low-Salt Christmas side dish — Balsamic Onion and Thyme Carrots

Baby carrots are a great side to have around for holiday entertaining. Raw they can be put out as a snack or appetizer. Cooking them opens a world of flavors you can add. This site has lots of baby carrot recipes you can pick through for your Christmas side-dish choices.

And I just came across a new carrot recipe from Cooking Light magazine, balsamic onion and thyme carrots. The recipe calls for cutting up regular carrots, but I think baby carrots would work great with this one too and be easier to prepare. Monitor the cooking time, they might need a bit longer to be done than carrot slices would. Continue reading “A Low-Salt Christmas side dish — Balsamic Onion and Thyme Carrots” →

December 12, 2017 0

Consumer Reports takes a great look at healthier eating

Consumer Reports is a magazine I look at whenever making a major purchase such as a car or large appliance. It’s reviews are the bible of product reviews, in my opinion. So I was intrigued to see its November issue carrying a cover story about healthy eating.

What’s in the issue is as good as other work Consumer Reports does. If you cans till find one to buy, buy it and refer to it as you cook or eat out. If you can;t find a physical copy, go to the website, it appears you can read at least some of the stories there without being a member of Consumer Reports. Continue reading “Consumer Reports takes a great look at healthier eating” →

December 9, 2017 0

Month: December 2017