New Year’s Day: time for some (lean) beef

New Year’s Day 2015! Wow, who would have imagined I’d be here to see this day after having angioplasty back in 2012. I’m a bit beside myself with the wonder of it all. But that aside, let’s continue with our 12 days of Christmas low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar menu offerings with some beef today.

Yes beef, but the leanest beef you can find. That’s 96% lean ground beef in my case. I get it at the Jewel supermarket chain here in Chicago, see if you can find it in your market as well.

A lean burger, along with peppers and asparagus.

Patties made from this type of beef are extremely lean. Have them on some salt-free bread with some low-salt, low-sugar ketchup and you’re all ready for a day of football and friends!

Happy 2015 everyone, let’s hope the world find some peace this year for all the troubles of recent times.
John

January 1, 2015 1

Going fishing, day 2: walleye for dinner tonight

Fish is on our 12 days of Christmas menu again tonight, but this time it’s walleye, another Midwest favorite, especially in Wisconsin where I spent my undergrad college years.

Walleye may taste fishier than most to some people who are sensitive to such things, but I find it a filling, hearty fish for a cold winter’s night.

My walleye at Heartland made without salt in the crust, hopefully.

Try it with a salt-free honey mustard marinade as I did this past year. And then start thinking about New Year’s Eve which is almost upon us!
John

December 30, 2014 0

Haul in some fish dinners this week; steelhead trout tonight

Time to switch gears and cook up some tasty fish dishes this week after the pasta and other heavier treats of Christmas week just past. so our 12 Days of low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar meals switches into fish mode for this New Year’s week.

Start it in a pan coated with a spray olive oil. — To cook your steelhead, start it in a pan coated with a spray olive oil.

Today’s recipe is for steelhead trout, a variety of the ubiquitous trout (at least in the Midwest) that you can get at many local fish counters.

Steelhead trout served simply with lemon on the side.

Because of its pink color, steelhead can be confused with salmon but it is trout, so prepare it as such. Fry it up with lemon juice for a tasty dinner main course tonight!
John

December 29, 2014 0

Rosemary chicken, a nice change of pace

My 12 days of Christmas low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar recipes have been heavy on Italian accented dishes so far, you can see my heritage at work in those. So here’s a change of pace today, a simple rosemary chicken dish that can be served with a side of green beans or even a peppers and onion mixture to add some additional flavors.

Chicken rosemary skewers were wonderfully flavorful and easy to make. — Chicken rosemary skewers are wonderfully flavorful and easy to make.

The original recipe comes from the Food Network, but I’ve left out the salt to reduce the sodium content. I made this as a summer outdoor recipe this past year, but you can just as easily make it in the oven inside, or grill the skewers on your stove should you have a grill top there.

Enjoy as we start the second week of the holiday season and our holiday low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar recipes.
John

December 28, 2014 0

A low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat recipe for the 1st day of Christmas

Only three days until Christmas and you’re likely beside yourself with things to do, people to see, tasks to take care of before the big day. Plus, you’re likely cooking for guests, kids home from school, neighbors you went shopping with, the list goes on.

So what to make while staying on your low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar diet? Continue reading “A low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat recipe for the 1st day of Christmas” →

December 22, 2014 0

Ciao: a south suburban Chicago old-school Italian place

My wife spent part of her youth in Chicago’s southern suburbs and her parents still live there. We often journey from our northern suburban home to meet them for dinner there and I’m always taken by the vast array of restaurants that I think of as old-school places down there as opposd to the fancier, nouvelle places we have closer to home.

By old-school, I mean places with classic dishes at good prices. Nothing fancy or new wave, which is just fine with me. These are the sort of restaurants that truly give you more value for your money. We recently went to one such place, Ciao, for my mother-in-law’s birthday and the food did not disappoint. The service was very slow. We were warned at the start though, seem the place is trying to get more help to deal with its weekend crowds.

Ciao in Palos Hills, Il., is a throwback to the Italian restaurants of my youth in New York. You walk in, Frank Sinatra is singing, what more could you ask for? The owners are there, so you know who is watching the food quality and service levels. It’s Italian comfort food with some new twists. Continue reading “Ciao: a south suburban Chicago old-school Italian place” →

October 24, 2014 2

How to make a low-fat, low-salt turkey meatloaf

I’ve alluded in several posts here to the turkey meatloaf which has become a staple of my low-fat, low-salt diet these days. I find it simple to make and tasty too. Plus, if you make a big one, you can have it ready for additional meals when you need something that is quick to make for dinner during the week.

All the ingredients you'll need for your turkey meatloaf. — All the ingredients you’ll need for your turkey meatloaf.

Here’s a handy step-by-step guide to creating it. Continue reading “How to make a low-fat, low-salt turkey meatloaf” →

August 22, 2014 5

Rosemary chicken: a nice way to add flavor to chicken breast

Eating chicken breast can get boring fast given that white meat, while the lowest-fat part of the chicken, also is the driest. I tend to cook it covered with tomato sauce or some other ingredient to add some flavor to it.

So, searching for new recipes, I was interested in trying a recipe I saw in People magazine from TV personalities Bill and Guiliana for chicken skewered on sprigs of rosemary. It all tuned out well and seemed to be a hit with Sunday dinner guests recently. The only tricky part of the recipe is finding long rosemary branches. I bought a rosemary plant to get them since packaged rosemary in stores tends to be rather short sprigs. Continue reading “Rosemary chicken: a nice way to add flavor to chicken breast” →

August 15, 2014 7

Chicken Parmesan: a low-fat, low-salt alternative recipe

Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian-American dish, served in many an old-school Italian restaurants and once a favorite of mine. But the traditional way of preparing it, breading a chicken breast and smothering it with cheese, is out for me since my angioplasty and my new low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet.

So I’ve come up with my own modified version, which I alluded to in a recent post about Trader Joe’s no-salt added marinara sauce. Here’s a step-by-step guide to make this dish. Continue reading “Chicken Parmesan: a low-fat, low-salt alternative recipe” →

August 6, 2014 7

Steak: here’s a lean alternative from New Zealand, via Trader Joe’s

I’ve written about my quest for beef lean enough to fit into my low-fat diet. I now buy 96% lean ground beef [4.5 grams of at per four-ounce burger] for my occasional made-at-home hamburger and have given up eating hamburgers out [a Wendy’s single has 24.8 grams of fat], a sad turn of events since I once had them weekly.

Lean grass-fed ribeye from New Zealand, sold at Trader Joe's for $12.99 a pound. — Lean grass-fed ribeye from New Zealand, sold at Trader Joe’s for $12.99 a pound.

And when it comes to steak, another old favorite, I now only have fillet mignon because it is the leanest cut available on restaurant menus [4 ounces has 14.1 grams of fat]. But recently I found another alternative which I really enjoyed, a grass-fed Angus beef ribeye from New Zealand sold frozen at Trader Joe’s. You can see on the nutrition info for it here that four ounces has 10 grams of fat, less than a traditional fillet.And it had a good beef flavor. At that level, it’s leaner than a bison steak I had at Ted’s a while back, which had 14 grams of fat per four ounces. Continue reading “Steak: here’s a lean alternative from New Zealand, via Trader Joe’s” →

July 2, 2014 1

Category: lean meat