The Bargain Gourmet

It's been a while since I've posted anything about actually feeding Mama so I thought I'd let you in on our dinner plans. I have discovered that you can find some really excellent bargains in the meat department at Super Target. I kind of hate to mention it because I don't really want you to get there first but I am basically good at heart, so sharing that wins out. Anyhoo... I scored some pork loin roasts for unbelieveably cheap this week which is a good thing because Sister Jane and her hubby Don are driving down today from Atlanta for a short visit. So I'm going to marinate those puppies (the pork loins, not real puppies... I'm not Instapundit by any stretch of the imagination!) I'm going to cook up a ginger-peach marinade for them to soak in all day and then cook them on the grill with some fresh peaches if it isn't raining. If it is raining, which looks likely, I'll cook them in the oven and make some peach chutney to put on top. Throw in some baked sweet potatoes and whatever fresh veg looks good when I go to the store and call it dinner! No salt will be added and I'm thinking it should turn out really well. If it does I'll give you the recipe. If it doesn't... well then forget I mentioned it. Happy Saturday!

To grill or not to grill...

In case you didn't know... Mrs. Dash's grilling blend works really well on and off the grill. I just used it as a rub for a bottom round roast I'm cooking for supper and it smells divine. Mama just came into the kitchen to find out what was cooking that smells so good. Who needs all that salt, anyhow when there are so many better options available?

Recipe Bonanza!

I hit the jackpot on low-sodium recipes and tips while wandering around the interwebs this morning. It appears to be an old site that hasn't been updated in a while but that's okay because it's still chock full of some good recipes and ideas for living and eating well without all that salt. I really appreciate the fact that they included the sodium info at the bottom of each recipe. You can check them out here. Or better yet, just click on the "Low Sodium Living" link while you're visiting the Feedin' Mama website each and every day of your life. Several times. Every day. Bless your heart.

I resolve to find more new recipes!

Here's a new recipe that was in the Mrs. Dash Newsletter that I plan to try this week. I'll let you know how it turns out. One of my resolutions is to get back to trying new recipes and getting out of the menu rut I've been in lately. I think I'll use Panko bread crumbs instead of cornflakes though. Progresso's only have 50 mgs of sodium in 1/4 cup and they are so much better than regular bread crumbs. This is within reasonable calorie limits* too - even better!

Oven-Fried Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. (60mL) Mrs. Dash® Table Blend
• 1/2 cup (125mL) crushed corn flakes or dry bread crumbs
• 8 (4 Oz.) (115g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp. (30mL) non-fat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Combine corn flakes and Mrs. Dash® Table Blend in shallow dish; mix well.
3. Brush chicken with milk and roll in crumb mixture until well coated.
4. Place in nonstick baking dish.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Recipe Summary:

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 25 min to 30 min

Nutritional Information: Calories:181 % of Calories from Fat:10 % Total Fat:2 g Saturated Fat:1 g Unsaturated Fat:1 g Trans Fat:0 g Cholesterol:88 mg Sodium:127 mg Potassium:398 mg Carbohydrates:3 g Fiber:0 g Protein:35 g low fat
low sodium
low carb

* If weight loss is part of your plan for the new year this system is just the thing to help you meet your goal.

Turkey Tortilla Soup - Ole!

I just couldn't get excited about the usual recipes for using up the turkey carcass - turkey rice or turkey noodle soup so I did something completely different and made turkey tortilla soup. I simmered the bones from the turkey breast I had cooked in a big soup pot with water and low-sodium chicken broth along with carrots & onions. For spices I used pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and a new blend from McCormick - cocoa and chipotle pepper that added a nice kick. After a couple of hours I took the bones out, took the rest of the turkey meat that hadn't already fallen off to put back in the pot and tossed the bones out. Then I added a box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and a can of low-sodium chili beans.

For the tortillas I sliced some whole grain flour tortillas into strips with a pizza cutter, sprayed them with butter-flavored Pam and sprinkled them with garlic and onion powder. I baked them at 325 for about 15-20 minutes until they were crisp and put them on top of the soup. It was a pretty good way to jazz up the leftovers. It's supposed to be rainy tomorrow and soup is always better the next day. Now if somebody could figure out a way to get the Jaguars jazzed up for Sunday football...

A chicken in every pot

The budget at the Feedin' Mama household is mighty tight these days as it is in many homes and I have gotten pretty good at stretching a chicken into many meals. Today I made another one of Mama's favorites, chicken and rice using Italian Arborio rice which has a creamier texture and is used for risotto. We had eaten several meals already from a baked chicken so I put the whole carcass with the remaining chicken on it into a pot with some onions, celery seed, sage, pepper and a couple of packets of Herb Ox sodium free chicken boullion and water and let that simmer for a couple of hours. Then I took the chicken out and set it aside to cool off a little bit so I could pick the meat off to put back in the pot. I added some more water to make about 3 cups total in the pot and added a cup of rice. After that boiled I put the lid on and turned the heat down to low for about 20 minutes. Then I picked the chicken, put the meat back in the pot and cooked the extra liquid down for a few more minutes. It was delicious along with some frozen corn and green beans and that little chicken can rest assured that it was used to the full extent of its potential.

Another great product for cooking

In case you didn't know it, you can find a lot of spices and such in the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store and they are almost always a lot cheaper than the ones in the spice aisle. You can find some interesting and exotic items there as well. You know I'm always on the lookout for ways to make Mama's low-sodium diet taste better and I found a winner while poking around in the ethnic cooking area at Publix. It's from Goya and it's called Sofrito - Tomato Cooking Base. I'm using it tonight in a pot of black bean soup and it smells delicious. It has 45 mgs of sodium in a teaspoon full but I only used about 2 tablespoons for the entire pot of soup. I used my favorite Pomi tomatoes in a box that are practically sodium free and I actually found some organic canned black beans with a very low sodium content at Target so along with some onions, shredded carrots, water and Herb Ox sodium free beef boullion I have a pot of black bean soup that Mama can eat without worrying about the salt content. Oh, I sprinkled in some cumin and black pepper for good measure as well.

You know, it just takes a little extra time to explore alternative products and you can avoid the bland and boring side of a low sodium diet. It's well worth the time.

Recipe Success!!

I mentioned in a previous post that I subscribe to a newsletter about low-sodium cooking and was especially pleased to get some recipes for several varieties of pickles. I tried one out this weekend and made some truly awesome bread and butter pickles and onions. The recipe was actually just for bread and butter onions but I had been to the farmers' market and bought some pickling cucumbers so I used both. (It's the last recipe on the list.) It was my turn this month for the Tool Time Girls workday at my house so I served the pickles at lunch and we ate the whole batch they were that good! Rave reviews from all the girls and they had a hard time believing that I had not used any salt in them at all. They were really easy to make and best of all I was able to add something that she really had missed back into Mother's diet. I'm taking on the dill pickle recipe next so check back later to see how that works out.

Pickles!

Well TS Fay, the tropical trollop, has finally left town although we do still have a bit of rain here and there and the wind kicks up periodically. Feedin' Mama Central was very fortunate especially compared to some folks we know who have been without power for days or have had property damage. And I've located or spoken to most of the older folks from church and everyone is good so that's a relief.

I got some new low-sodium recipes in my inbox and wanted to share them with you. I love pickles. A lot. But they're a no no for Mama so I don't buy them very often. I'm thinking that a trip to the farmer's market is in order so I can test some of these recipes. Thanks to Dick Logue and his Low Sodium Cooking Newsletter! He has even been so kind as to make it available as a Word document here. I think I'll try to make the Bread & Butter Onions first... if you try any let us know how it works at feedinmama@gmail.com.

More adventures in cooking

Not all of my trials and efforts in the kitchen produce stellar results but the latest one sure turned out well. I was again cruising through the Manolo blogs (- not the one who makes the shoes but the one who really loves them) and found an intriguing recipe from Mr. Henry on the Manolo Food link for what turned out to be a very tasty potato salad. Mama and I love balsamic vinegar and I learned about white balsamic vinegar on that blog. White balsamic is sweeter and less acid than the regular kind and I am in love with the stuff. Following Mr. Henry's directions I chopped some onion (sweet vidalia for us, naturally) and poured a liberal amount of the vinegar on them and set that aside to let those onions soak it in. Then I peeled and sliced some red bliss potatoes and put them in a pot of water to boil. When they were done I drained them and put them in the bowl with the soaking onions while the potatoes were still hot. I added some chopped celery, dijon mustard and low-fat sour cream and a few shakes of black pepper. I mixed it all together and the result was one fine dish of very good potato salad that was very low in fat and sodium. We loved it.

Inspiration

Everybody has days when they just can't figure out what to cook (unless you're Paula Deen or Martha Stewart) and need some extra inspiration. This is especially true when you have to provide low sodium meals but our good friend, Mrs. Dash has over 170 recipes from Appetizer Meatballs to Zucchini casserole. God bless her. Some of them look really good and I'm sure I'll be adding more than a few of them to my culinary bag of tricks. Follow the link above and get some inspiration of your own.

Sunday dinner winner

I'm really happy to find that more and more products in the grocery store are available with really reduced sodium. For example, Mrs. Dash now makes four or five really tasty marinades. I marinated some shrimp kebobs in the garlic and lime flavor today and they turned out great. I also used a new frozen product, can't remember which brand but one like Bird's Eye. It had white rice with lots of peas, corn and carrots in a microwave steamable bag all with virtually no sodium. I made a sauce with fresh pineapple chunks and brown sugar and a little bit of lower-sodium teriaki sauce to go over the rice & veggies and served it with the shrimp. It was mighty tasty and there were no leftovers! Well, there was a little of the tossed salad left but all the rest got eaten up by Mother, my elder son and daughter-in-law and myself. It was quick and easy for after church and we all enjoyed a nice meal together. Good food, good company and good conversation, things that make life pleasant.

Products we love

One "must have" item in my pantry is Herb Ox sodium free broth - beef and chicken flavors. Since even the lower sodium canned broth is still too high in sodium for my mom's diet these little packets of flavor are invaluable. I use them to make gravy, soups and a mighty tasty beef stroganoff among other things. They come in boxes with individual packets and you can find them next to the canned variety. For a really good gravy I mix two or three packets of broth with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch or flour and a cup of water. Shake it up in a jar and then heat it slowly in a pan on the stove until it thickens. I also add other spices, pepper, garlic, poultry seasoning, etc. as appropriate for the particular dish. Simple, delicious and sodium free. What's not to like about that?

No soup for you!

Soup is a favorite of many people, and I have found that older folks especially like it. But all the canned or frozen soups are unbelievably high in sodium. Even the ones that claim to be "low" or "lower sodium" are just too high in the stuff for me to feed to mama. Today it's unseasonably cool in north Florida for mid-April and it's a good day for soup so here's a recipe I adapted for cream of tomato basil soup.

5 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional, if you don't like them, leave them out)
4 tbs flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups milk (depending on your diet you can use any milk/cream combination you like. I sometimes will use a can of fat free condensed milk and the rest skim milk. If you don't have to worry about fat content you can use heavy cream or half & half.)
1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes (yes, I said box. These tomatoes are from Parmalat, the folks who have the shelf-stable milk in a box. I get them at Publix right next to the canned tomatoes. They have only 10 mg of sodium per half cup serving which is awesome. If you don't like tomato chunks in your soup like I do, they also have strained tomatoes so use those instead)
pepper and basil to your taste

Open the box of tomatoes and stir in the baking soda. This will keep the milk from curdling when you mix it all together. Cook the chopped onions in the butter until soft. Add the flour and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the milk & sugar and cook while stirring until it warms through and begins to thicken a bit. Add the tomatoes and then the pepper and basil, stir, taste and adjust the spices accordingly. Let it simmer on low for a little while to blend the flavors and then enjoy your soup!