Creamy (and low-fat!) ranch-style dressing, with a surprise ingredient

Low-fat and loving it: Creamy faux-ranch dressing recipe from the NYTimes uses beans, yogurt and in this version, garlic. I loved it!

Low-fat and loving it: Creamy faux-ranch dressing recipe from the NYTimes uses beans, yogurt and in this version, garlic.

If I told you I’d found a creamy, ranch-style dressing with LOTS less fat than the original, perhaps you would be more inclined to give those healthful salads a chance.
Well, since my last post on the topic of eating more healthfully, I’ve experimented with a neat salad dressing recipe seen in The New York Times that fits the bill.
It’s a creamy ranch-style dressing made with white beans and yogurt. The Continue reading →

Go healthy: Five (OK, six) ways to trim the fat

pizza, half slice of pizza

Half a slice of pizza is better than none. (And you can also ask that half the cheese be used on it!)

Sorry for the hiatus! Been settling down to my new job. … :<)

So the doctor just told you it’s time to adjust the food intake: Cut the fat and cholesterol, tone down the salt, increase the fiber. But if you love burgers and pizza and ice cream, what’s a person to do?
Well, let’s face it — we know what we must do. But we can make adjustments to help the “medicine go down” a little more easily — and still keep eating (some of) the foods we love.
For most of us, changing our diets isn’t “all or nothing.” Being diagnosed with Continue reading →

Fair time, and it’s free with food

It’s Fair Time in San Diego County! Did you know that if you take part in some of the one-day contests offered at the fair, you can get free entry that day? These contests are especially for amateurs, and several of them involve FOOD! Here’s a rundown of what’s going on and when. You will need to download an entry form, plus a form on which to write your original recipe, at Continue reading →

Look out for loquats

loquats

Loquats are delicate, delicious and a bit difficult to find. (Photo by Laura Groch)

A community church group was selling loquats recently, five yellow, larger-than-a-grape-but-smaller-than-an-apricot fruits for a dollar. So I took home a bag.

They seemed ripe enough, softish to the touch, but I really didn’t know much about them. Taking a knife to them, I was able to pull off the fuzzy peel without Continue reading →

For moms, and the other mothers, too

Mother's Day, mothers, aunts

Not everyone who mothers you is a mom, but they deserve saluting today too. Pictured: Mom, me and my godmother/aunt Rita.

 

Happy Mother’s Day: Mom, me and my godmother/aunt Rita.

Yes, today is Mother’s Day. You all know what to do about that, I hope. ;<) I’d like to also salute those women who were stand-ins or surrogates or subs or whatever to us. We’ve all had them in our lives: aunts, sisters, cousins, godmothers, neighbors, co-workers, neighbors, friends’ moms, teachers, etc. Not all of them are mothers, but they each serve that role in a small or large way. Give them a thought, a prayer, or if they’re still with you, a call or email. If they’ve been like moms to you, please include them in this day, too. And to all of you reading, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.

 

(c) copyright Laura Groch 2014

Lots of causes this weekend, and Mother’s Day too!

letter carriers food drive

Don’t forget the food drive this Saturday! (Courtesy http://www.nalc.org)

Some fun happenings in our area and beyond for Mother’s Day weekend:

— Food for the needy will be collected by mail carriers around the country on Saturday, May 10, during the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Just place nonperishable or canned goods in a bag and leave it near or in your mailbox. The letter carriers will pick them up and deliver them to local food banks and other organizations that help battle hunger. So please, reach into that pantry and fill a bag. (It’s a nice way to do some nurturing on  Mother’s Day weekend!)

Continue reading →

Thrifty/Nifty: Salad and sandwich makers, here’s a way to get it together

thrifty, nifty, consumer help, techniques, time-savers, veggies

All together now: Keep your sandwich/salad players in one container to speed your kitchen preparation. (Photo by Laura Groch)

I make a lot of sandwiches, and a lot of salads. Besides your basic greens, I add a lot of veggies to both: onions, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, radishes. I was forever searching in my fridge for each ingredient, which I had thoughtfully stored in its own little ex-cream cheese or hummus or butter tub.

One day I bought some new containers on sale (of course), in a larger size. Continue reading →

Winners and winners

gluten-free breakfasts, gluten-free cooking, cookbooks, Linda J. Amendt

Murrieta, CA, author Linda J. Amendt’s book on gluten-free breakfasts recently won two awards.

The winners of the CLIF Bar giveaway held in March 2014 were Pam W. of Escondido, Karen B. of New Albany, IN, and Leah S. of Minneapolis. Each one received a box of CLIF bars for posting a comment at the contest page on my blog, http://www.beyondbites.com. Keep watching for the next giveaway, as you might be a winner!

Another winner was Murrieta author Linda J. Amendt, author of “Gluten-Free Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond” (Taunton Press, $19.95, 2013), who was featured in the blog in September 2013. (Read the interview at

https://beyondbites.com/2013/09/16/gluten-free-at-breakfast-cookbook-author-can-tell-you-how/).) Her cookbook recently won two honors: a Gold Award in Continue reading →

Soft-boiled eggs and Winnipeg: Thank you, Mrs. Carsted

soft-boiled egg, egg cup

The simple egg took on a whole new dimension for us when we dove into the soft-boiled version. (c) Photo by Laura Groch 2014

 

One of my favorite leisure-morning breakfasts is the soft-boiled egg. I love eggs anyway, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but the soft-boiled egg is special to me for several reasons. I enjoy the ritual of timing the eggs, of fishing them out of the hot water and centering them in the little blue-flowered egg cups my Continue reading →

Make it milk: Fun snacks for kids

Tiramisu, calcium, milk, dessert, snack, National Nutrition Month

This Tiramisu Parfait is easy enough for children to put together, and it packs lots of nutritious calcium from milk. (Photos courtesy California Milk Processor Board)

Chef Gino Campagna, snacks, zucchini dip, tiramisu parfait, National Nutrition Month, California Milk Processors Board

Chef Gino Campagna offers these recipes for kid-friendly snacks and more at http://www.gotmilk.com.

March is National Nutrition Month, and the California Milk Processor Board is partnering with former Disney Chef Gino Campagna to create kid-friendly — and healthful — snack ideas that youngsters can put together themselves. Kids love snacks, but not all snacks are created equal, especially in terms of nutrition. These recipes were developed to give kids plenty of calcium in each serving. The National Institutes of Child Health report that almost 90 percent of girls and more than 80 percent of boys ages 9-13 aren’t getting enough calcium, needed for strong bones.

“We need to engage our kids in grocery shopping and cooking at a young age so that healthy habits stick with them through life,” says Chef Gino, Master Chef at Piccolo Chef, an award-winning Continue reading →