heart healthy favourites

Sunday, October 24, 2010



fish n' chips with rainbow coleslaw and our favourite shrimp & vegetable lo mein

Enough already ... enough with the self portraits and self revelations ... it's Dim Sum Sunday !

and this weeks' challenge is to fire out your best heart healthy recipe(s). The cowboy and I have been following this way of eating, this lifestyle for months. Basically it means to us little to no animal fat and as low as we can go cholesterol. So absolutely no more pork or beef, no butter, cream or whole milk (except once or twice a year when we celebrate with chocolate mousse).

It's no secret that I love to cook. I consider myself a foodie and we foodies we like to try new things and to experiment. I really enjoy taking a favourite recipe that would not fit a heart healthy diet and adjusting, tweaking & substituting until I come up with a version that does fit our lifestyle. Example No. 1 our take out - or fish n'chips, with rainbow coleslaw & tartar sauce.

fish
fresh haddock or other firm white fish cut into thick fingers
1 egg white beaten (add a little water if needed)
seasoned bread crumbs* (Old Bay, garlic powder, salt & pepper)

preheat oven to 425. Using a wire cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet use a paper towel folded up to rub the rack with canola oil. Dredge fish fingers in egg white, then through crumbs. Bake at 425 turning once for 6-8 minutes. * I make my own bread crumbs by saving the heels of bread and whirring them up in the blender, add chopped nuts or sesame seeds if you like and store in the freezer. Our grocery store now carries panko crumbs which are also fantastic !

fries
4-5 medium potatoes sliced into fries (we like white flesh no Yukon Golds)
1 tbsp. olive oil
seasoning of your choice

Cut the potatoes into fry size pieces, place fries in a bowl and cover them with cold water, let them sit in the water for at least 5 mins. Drain and dry well with a clean tea towel. Dry the bowl also. Dump the potatoes back into the bowl, add oil and using your hands stir and rub so that each potato slice is covered with a bit of oil. Spread potatoes out on two cookie sheets trying not to crowd them and put in 425 oven on two racks. The secret is to flip the potatoes a few times so that all sides have a chance to become golden and crispy, each time you flip them also switch the sheets from bottom to top rack in the oven. At the half way point of cooking season with your favourite seasonings (we love the combination of Old Bay and garlic powder). Continue for 20 -30 minutes. Checking and flipping every 5-10 mins. until fries are golden & crispy.

rainbow slaw
2 cups grated purple and green cabbage
1 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup grated green pepper
1/4 cup grated onion

drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp (or to taste) of brown sugar. Stir well and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

tartar sauce
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup low fat Hellmans mayo
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. favourite sweet relish
splash of lee & perrins
big squeeze of fresh lemon

stir together and allow flavour to blend at lest 30 mins.

shrimp & vegetable lo mein
This fast lo mein recipe is my go-to recipe when I'm in a rush and I need a quick delicious dish for our supper - we both love it. We buy President's Choice raw zipper back shrimp and I cook them frozen with the shells on (steaming them effectively) in a shallow pan with a little oil and lots of chopped garlic and fresh ginger. Cook until shrimp are just pink and set aside. Stir fry a big heap of your favourite vegetables in a little canola oil and lots more crushed garlic and fresh ginger* I like to make my heap almost half cabbage or bok choy, I also add celery, broccoli, onions, carrots, green & red pepper (zucchini, cauliflower... and combination of your favourites). Place rice noodles or packaged Chinese noodles in a pot of just boiled water letting them sit and get soft while you stir fry the vegetables. The secret here is to always have a tetra pack of low salt chicken or vegetable broth in your fridge at all times. As your stir frying instead adding more oil, drizzle in chicken broth, adding tons of flavour without fat. I make my ratio of noodles to vegetables the opposite of most recipes. 1/3rd noodles (for example 1 packet of Mr. Noodles without the seasoning) to 2/3rds vegetables and I use 12 large shrimp and the final secret

the special sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1-2 tbsp. chicken broth.

Stir sauce ingredients well in a small bowl. When vegetables are cooked just right - still a bit crunchy. Add in shrimp with ginger/garlic liquid from the pan. Add softened noodles. Mix together while adding special sauce. Mound onto plates and top with chopped unsalted peanuts and chopped fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime. Delicious.

* lots of fresh ginger, chop into tiny matchsticks and use a 2" piece total between the shrimp and the vegetables. A lot of ginger adds so much to the overall taste plus it's very good for you

10 comments:

  1. WOW! Those pictures are gorgeous!

    Happy DSS Susan. I'll be up with mine later on this evening. :)

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  2. OMG! I just woke up and it's only 5:30 a.m. here and I'm SO HUNGRY for all of that. LOL Gorgeous photos, love the recipes!

    Happy DSS, I'll be up later. Right now the full moon is outside my window so prolly not the time to dash to the store for all those ingredients...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hmm, not so keen on those prawns or whatever they are with tails... I'm a veggie - but love the photos of you. You're much younger and more elegant than I'd imagined - not that I'd imagined you as some old crone...!

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  4. Happy DIM SUM SUNDAY!!!!

    You went all out. Hurray. Love all the seafood choices and you know I love fish and chips in almost any form. Thank you so much for a wonderful DSS.

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  5. came back for dessert....I heard there was (whispers very quietly) whipped cream?

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  6. Lovely, sensible, colorful dishes - beautifully photographed, Susan! Happy DSS!

    eggy

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  7. I like that you baked the fish instead of frying and I've made the french fries this way before (and the kids actually like it this way). I've been doing more stir fry too using glass noodles, chicken and frozen vegetables. Your pictures look great.

    happy DSS!

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