Diet recipe club News

When you’re hosting a party or asked to bring an appetizer to someone else’s house, you have a huge selection of easy and delicious vegetarian appetizer recipes to choose from. These vegetarian appetizer recipes are not only easy to make on your own, but can be made with basic ingredients you can find in your local grocery store. Also, you can add different vegetables to a lot of these recipes to make them unique.

One great option when you are searching for vegetarian appetizer recipes is to make bite-size grilled cheese sandwiches. For these adult-friendly grilled cheese sandwiches, you don’t need sandwich bread and slices of American cheese individually wrapped in plastic. Instead, buy some thin loves of fancier bread, like French bread, baguettes, or even mini rye bread, and pair with your choice of cheese, although gruyere or Swiss are delicious, mild cheeses that most people like. Also include a small slice of a ripe tomato inside of this sandwich, as well. Lightly grill the sandwiches in a pan on the oven until the bread starts to brown and the cheese melts and becomes gooey.

Another option for vegetarian appetizer recipes is a variety of phyllo pastries stuffed with a variety of vegetables. Phyllo dough is usually sold in the frozen foods aisle at your local grocery store, and is very easy to use. When working with phyllo dough to make vegetarian appetizers, you have a lot of different options. One option is to create a more traditional spinakopita, which is a Greek cheese pie made with fresh spinach mixed with garlic and feta cheese. Cut your phyllo dough into large squares and brush with a little bit of melted butter or olive oil. Then, mix the filling together and spread over half of each square of dough. Fold the phyllo in half to make triangles and pinch shut. Bake in the oven until the phyllo dough turns brown and crispy and the filling gets hot. You can follow the same instructions with other types of vegetables. Try adding shredded zucchini and carrots to cheese and garlic and add to the phyllo dough. Or, if you don’t want to include any vegetables, you can also just pair garlic with feta cheese and use that as your filling.

A third option for great vegetarian appetizer recipes is to make mini quiche. You can buy pre-made tart shells, or you can use pre-made pie crust that you can cut to fit in a mini-muffin pan. You have to read the ingredients, though, and avoid buying a pre-sweetened pie crust or one made with animal lard instead of vegetable shortening. Pour your eggs, cream, and cheese, along with your choice of vegetable, into the mini quiche shells. Some great options for vegetables include a variety of mushrooms, small pieces of broccoli or cauliflower, or cut up some bell pepper and onions. Make sure the mini-quiche are cooked through and have set before serving these bite-size morsels.

Tasty chicken meat is loved by everyone. Of course excepting the vegetarians. But the rest of the people love a good chicken meal. So you should go ahead and grab a recipe for chicken. If you have a chicken sitting in your fridge just take it out and look up the recipes for chicken. You will surely find one that will please you both when cooking and as an eater. There are many recipes with chicken out there. Just open any cook book or look it up on the Internet. The alternatives are unlimited. You just need to bypass your initial laziness.

The best recipe for chicken is one that uses lots of condiments. They are the ones providing a great taste, as well as the texture for the meal. With a good boiling or cooking all the aliments you use in your dish will get absorbed by the chicken, providing a unique flavor. The recipes for chicken are very tasty as they don’t imply just using the meat , but also a variety of other ingredients which make the eating experience fabulous. The recipes with chicken are also with lots of vegetables.

Another great aspect of any recipe for chicken is that it takes very little time to cook. We are all busy persons. We don’t have all the day just to cook something nice. We usually come tired from work or school and we just want to grab something and eat. This is why fast food is so popular. But fast food is also very unhealthy. Instead of grabbing the hamburger you could grab one of the thousands of recipes for chicken and cook something in under an hour. The delight of actually cooking and eating a tasty meal you made by yourself is very rewarding. Just take a look and you will find many recipes with chicken out there. And one of them will surely fit you.

Vanilla may be America’s favorite flavor, but almond runs a close second. Almond extract is used in cakes, coffee cakes, muffins, French toast, crepes, cookies, bars, cheese cake, beverages, smoothies, and more. What is almond extract?

Pure almond extract is a flavoring made from water, alcohol, propylene glycol, and pure oil of almond, according to the Spice Barn website. Almond is a favorite among Scandinavian cookies, the site says, and is “traditionally used for Middle Eastern meat stews, Indian sweet rice pudding, and mild curry.”

You do not need to worry about almond extract if you are allergic to tree nuts. As the About.com website explains, most almond extract is not made with almonds, it is made with peach or apricot kernels. The kernel is a small nut inside the pit. “These kernels have the same flavor compounds as almond oil,” notes the site.

When I read the words “apricot kernels” I thought of my mother-in-law. Every summer, when apricots were plentiful, she would buy a box of fruit (I think it was called a lug) and make apricot jam. Her jam was delicious and unusual because she cracked open the apricot pits, extracted the kernels, and added them to the jam. What a labor-intensive task!

You may have eaten apricot kernels and not known it. The Lazzaroni company in Italy has been making amaretti cookies since 1718. The larger cookies and smaller amarettini contain only three ingredients, egg whites, sugar, and ground apricot kernels. Though there are no almonds in the cookies they have a strong almond flavor.

I love almond and the new favorite at our house is Peachy Almond Coffee Cake. You can make this recipe in about 15 minutes. Before you start, however, make sure you have almond extract on hand. Almond extract is a staple at my house and after you try this recipe it may be a staple at yours. Serve Peachy Almond Coffee Cake warm from the oven. You may serve it plain or drizzle it with confectioner’s sugar icing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup baking mix

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Splenda Blend

1 1/2 cups chopped peaches (fresh, frozen, or canned)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons light sour cream

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Method

In a batter bowl, whisk baking mix and Splenda Blend together. Add chopped peaches. In a separate bowl combine egg, sour cream, almond extract, and skim milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until combined. Pour batter into a 7 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the coffee cake starts to pull away from the pan. Serve warm and fresh from the oven. Makes 12 servings.

Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson

If you were to think right now what would you like to eat in this very moment, you’d most probably think chicken. More than 80% of you surely thought about chicken when reading this. The reason for this is simple - chicken is very very delicious. And you need no one to tell you that. What you didn’t know is that just by itself chicken is not that good for your health. But if you will grab a chicken salad recipe you will totally change the notion. This is because chicken salad recipes provide you a very healthy dish to have in your meal.

In a salad there are three basic ingredients: the delicious meat, the healthy vegetables and the add-ons. The add-ons are usually condiments, oil and vinegar. There are many options out there. Some recipes propose the curry as a great ingredient to use with the chicken. Others go with the classic salt and pepper. The oil may be olive oil but also something less pretentious. The vinegar mustn’t be used in large quantities for chicken salad recipes. You might even find a chicken salad recipe using a lemon instead. The lemon is much healthier and less acid. This is why it gets used more than the vinegar in more than one dish.

The vegetables you will use in the salad may vary a lot too. There are many variations using stuff like tomatoes, cucumbers, salad or corn. No matter what legumes or vegetables you will use, they are the ones providing the really good substances, especially vitamins. And even if you don’t like the vegetables that much you will still enjoy them due to the chicken. If you have a kid that doesn’t want to eat well no matter what just go ahead and grab a chicken salad recipe. You will surely get him to eat. There is almost no other dish that combines delicious with healthy better than those chicken salad recipes.

Obesity is one of the major problems we confront with. Many different types of diets and exercise programs have been invented. Some of them work some of them don’t. One thing is sure - it’s a big industry. But you don’t have to spend all that money on diets. You don’t even have to follow some absurd rules. You just have to follow what healthy means. And you will find that chicken breast recipes are very healthy, while pork meat is very dangerous.

Our bodies feel what is healthy and what is not and they say “OK” to any chicken breast recipe. You just have to listen to it when you eat and don’t let go to every urge. One of the things our bodies tell us all the times regards fat. There are two types of fat. Unsaturated and saturated. They are also known as bad fat and good fat. The good fat is the unsaturated one. It is good because the body’s chemicals will be able to decompose it and flush it out of your organism. You can find these good fats in chicken breast recipes and in fish ones. Any chicken breast recipe will do it. The saturated fats are very difficult to decompose for the body and thus they tend to sediment, making you fatter. They are to be found in other types of meats, like pork.

Any chicken recipe and fish recipes are great to follow. This is because they provide the fat the organism needs but in a good manner. This is why you should consider cooking a chicken breast recipe right away. You don’t need any fancy diets. Chicken breast recipes and patience will do the trick for you. Just stop eating pork and stay on fish and chicken and everything will get healthier for you.

Summer is the season our thoughts go to cooking outdoors - grilling. We are all familiar with cooking meat on the grill - juicy steaks, hamburgers and tangy ribs. But how about some lighter fare?

Here are three lighter recipes for summer grilling - a salmon with citrus flavored sauce, grilled vegetables and a light grilled halibut (or any solid white fish) with a herb and lemon flavored crust. So any time you are in the mood for something a bit different and a little on the lighter side, try these out.

Grilled Citrus Salmon

1/4 cup honey garlic barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons chopped chives

2 teaspoons melted butter

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

hot pepper flakes (optional)

2 pounds salmon fillet, one large fillet or individual portions (works best with one large fillet)

Preheat the grill to medium high and grease well. Pierce a piece of nonstick foil several times and place on a baking sheet. Stir the barbecue sauce with the other ingredients (except the salmon). Put the salmon on the foil, skin side down.

Brush half the sauce mixture over the salmon. Slide the foil on to the grate. Cook, covered, without turning for 15 to 17 minutes or until salmon is cooked but still slightly cook in the center. Brush with the remaining sauce mixture during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

To serve, slice salmon into portions and use a thick metal spatula to remove from the portions from the foil. Leave the skin behind. Garnish with added chives if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Cedar Plank Version:

Soak an untreated cedar plank in clean water for 2 hours. Place the plank on the grill and preheat for 5 or 10 minutes or until wood begins smoking. Place the salmon on the cedar and proceed as directed above. Use skinless salmon for best results.

Grilled Vegetable Platter

1/2 cup garlic and herb flavor barbecue sauce (or your favorite marinade)

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dry)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dry)

3/4 pound each of small red and white potatoes

4 cobs corn, cut in half or thirds if larger

1 pound assorted summer squash such as green or yellow zucchini or patty pan squash

Whisk the marinade or barbecue sauce with the butter, parsley and thyme until well combined. Reserve.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, blanch the potatoes for about 10 minutes. Blanch the corn for 2 minutes. As the vegetables are finished, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a large bowl of water to chill. Drain well and pat dry. Toss all the vegetables with the marinade mixture until evenly coated.

Preheat the grill to medium high. Grill the potatoes corn and squash, turning as needed and basting with any remaining marinade. As vegetables become tender, remove from the grill to a warm platter or bowl. Tent the cooked vegetable platter with foil until all vegetables are cooked.

Makes 6 servings.

Grilled Halibut with Lemon-Herb Crust

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped

1 pound halibut fillets, about 1/2″ thick, skin left on

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add butter and toss with a fork to form a crumbly mixture. In another bowl, combine mayonnaise and tarragon.

Arrange the fish, skin side down, on a platter. Spread each fillet with the mayonnaise mixture. Press crumbs mixture onto each fillet.

Preheat barbecue on high for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Arrange fillets on barbecue skin side down. Lower lid and cook until fish flakes easily with a fork and topping is browned, about 10-12 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over each fillet and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

There are number of methods and varieties used in preparing Indian recipes. However, all of the recipes have different and good taste. The famous non-vegetarian recipe in Indian food is Chicken Chopsuey. For preparing this Chicken choupsuey recipe in Farmosa Style, you will require following ingredients:

One large chicken

Six flakes garlic

One inch long fresh ginger root,

black pepper, salt to taste

Three onions

Six spring onions

250 grams carrot

Six stalks of celery

250 grams tender green cabbage, few mushrooms and Bamboo shoots

Half-teaspoon ajinomoto

Three cups stock or water

Four-teaspoon Soya sauce

Three tablespoons thick tomato puree

8-teaspoon corn flour

Four-teaspoon sugar

One-teaspoon sesame oil

100 grams Noodles

Two eggs

Oil to fry

Steps for preparing this recipe:

Cut chicken meat into thin strips and leave them to marina in garlic and ginger paste and seasoning for an hour. Cook in four-tablespoon oil and cook in a closed vessel with little water until tender. Now cut onions and spring onions into wedges an chop other vegetables into strips. Fry on high flame for about 3 minutes. However, do not allow it to turn brown. Now sprinkle ajinomoto, add warm stock, soya sauce and salt, and bring to a boil. Mix in tomato puree, corn flour and sugar and cook for 10 minutes, until quite thick. Now add chicken and sesame oil and cook for a few minutes.

Now break noodles into halved pieces and cook in boiling salt water. Strain and dry out well. Heat enough oil in a frying pan and fry noodle pieces in piece-meal fashion until they turn crisp and light brown. Drain on an absorbent paper. Place the chicken and vegetable in a shallow dish, garnished with noodle bits and fried egg.

Do you know how easy it is to make your own popsicles for your family?

You can make your own freshly made popsicles for pennies on the dollar compared to all of those pricey store brand popsicles. A positive benefit of making your own homemade popsicles is that you control the ingredients that go into them.

The following recipes take less than 10 minutes to prepare and within a few hours, you will have some great tasting, freshly made popsicle for you and your family.

Here is what you need to get started:

1. mixer or blender

2. large bowl

3. mixing spoon

4. funnel or ladle

5. popsicle molds (Tupperware makes Ice Tupps Popsicle Molds but other companies also make them).

Your popsicle mold set should include: a tray, plastic popsicle molds, popsicle sticks and seals. If you invest in a good quality set of popsicle molds, they should be dishwasher safe, making clean up a snap.

Now let’s get started with some recipes.

Kids Polar Popsicles

4 cups strawberries

1/3 cup Tropical Punch flavored sugar-sweetened soft drink mix

Rinse strawberries and remove stems. Place strawberries and flavored soft-drink mix into a blender container, cover and blend on low speed for 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth. Pour mixture into your popsicle molds and insert the sticks and freeze for 3 hours.

Homemade Fudgesicles

1 4 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding

2 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup canned evaporated milk

Combine the pudding and 2 cups milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Stir in sugar and canned milk. Pour in to popsicle molds. Freeze.

Frozen Pear Popsicles

1 (16 oz.) can pear halves, drained

1 (8 oz.) plain yogurt

3 tbsp. honey

1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

Few drops almond extract

In blender container combine pears, yogurt, honey, lemon juice and almond extract. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the Ice Tupps set to make popsicles. Freeze 4 to 6 hours.

Cookies ‘N Cream Frozen Popsicles

1 cup Cool Whip

12 Oreo Cookies - crushed

1/2 cup milk

1 4-serving pack of Vanilla Instant Pudding

Mix the above ingredients together and pour into your Ice Tupps set to make popsicles. Freeze for 4-5 hours before serving.

Banana Chocolate Pudding Pops

1 cup milk

1 box instant chocolate pudding mix

2 Bananas

In a blender combine the milk and box of Instant chocolate pudding mix. Blend until smooth. Unpeel bananas and add them to the blender and puree until all of the mixture is mixed smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and insert sticks and freeze for 6 hours before serving.

Orange Popsicles

1 box orange gelatin

1 pkt. orange flavored soft-drink mix

1 cup boiling water

1 cup orange juice

Dissolve the orange soft drink mix and gelatin in boiling water. Add the orange juice. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved and mixed. Pour mixture into the Ice Tupps and freeze for 4 hours.