Saturday, July 24, 2010

In Search of Healthy Recipes #4

The following recipe Marisa also chose from The Weight Watcher's Cookbook. This recipe she chose as a side dish for the Southwestern Salmon Recipe #1 in this series. I never used to make mashed potatoes, but with much encouragement from Marisa this past year, I perfected my own recipe, which I feel is easier and quicker than the one I am going to post here. So for every one's benefit, I will add notes on how to simplify the recipe. Of course, when Marisa comes home from camp, I will have to use this recipe to satisfy her curiosity. Okay, so here it is:

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (four servings)

1 medium head garlic, papery skin removed and top sliced off to expose cloves
1 1/4 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. fat-free buttermilk (here I would prefer to use butter since I can't imagine buying a whole quart of buttermilk just to use 3 Tbsp. However, if you're on a weight watcher's diet, you probably have the buttermilk in the refrigerator anyway.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil; bake until cloves are soft, 45-60 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; squeeze the pulp from the cloves into a small bowl. (This step will heat the kitchen, and I feel is not very practical in the summer unless done in a microwave. I would prefer to take the cloves, separate each from the garlic head, cut off the ends and use a garlic press to mince the garlic into a bowl. See the attached garlic press, which is amazing!)



2. In a large pot, combine the potatoes, bay leaf, 1/4 tsp. of the salt and enough cold water to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid; discard the bay leaf. (The potatoes can also be cooked in a microwave, and the cooking time can be reduced by cutting the potatoes in quarters.) 


3. With a potato masher (see attached masher in the sidebar, which works with the greatest ease) or an electric mixer at low speed, mash the potatoes with the garlic, buttermilk, and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt; thin with the cooking liquid, if needed. 


Serve with the Southwestern Salmon or any other dish obviously. Happy eating!







Thursday, July 22, 2010

In Search of Healthy Recipes #3

Today's recipe, once again, Marisa selected from The Weight Watcher's Cookbook.

Tofu Stir-Fry (This recipe serves 4).

2 1/2 tsp. canola oil
1 carrot, diagonally sliced
2 Tbsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound broccoli (peel the stem), cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound firm tofu, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into matchstick-size pieces
1 onion cut into thin wedges
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
1 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
pinch crushed red pepper
6 scallions

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok with lid over high heat; heat the oil. Stir-fry the carrot 1 minute; add the ginger and garlic; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and broth; steam, covered, 2 minutes, then stir.

2. Add the tofu and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add the snow peas, soy sauce, and red pepper; stir-fry 1 minute. Serve, sprinkled with the scallions. Enjoy!

Tomorrow will be the last recipe selected in this series. It is a recipe Marisa chose to accompany the Southwestern Salmon recipe which was #1 in this series.

Anyone interested in ordering The Weight Watcher's Cookbook used for these recipes, please see the sidebar.



Wednesday, July 21, 2010

In Search of Healthy Recipes #2

I will continue to post the healthy recipes Marisa selected from The Weight Watcher's Cookbook which she checked out of the library at camp. Today's recipe is:

Tuna-Noodle Casserole (This recipe is for 4 servings)

1 1/2 cups medium egg noodles
2 onions, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-calorie condensed mushroom soup
2 (6-ounce) cans chunk light water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3-4 drops hot red pepper sauce
2 slices reduced-calorie whole-wheat bread, made into crumbs
4 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
2 tomatoes, sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F; spray a shallow 2-quart casserole with nonstick spray. Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, spray a large nonstick saucepan with nonstick spray; heat. Saute' the onions and celery until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, and corn; cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the soup, tuna, milk, parsley, pepper, and pepper sauce. Remove from the heat; stir in the noodles. Transfer to the casserole.

3. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and cheese. Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes. Top with the tomatoes.

4. Yum yum ... healthy and good! Now if anyone knows where to find hot red pepper sauce in the supermarket please let me know in a comment. This ingredient was also in yesterday's recipe. I've never used it ... something else I need to learn about.

As I glance at pictures of Marisa at camp, I think ... she's managing to stay fit and lose weight. If these recipes can help, then why not give it a try? Till tomorrow ... happy eating!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

In Search of Healthy Recipes

Since Marisa is away at camp, I am not having as many small moments for her to learn from. However, that does not mean that I can't learn a thing or two from Marisa long distance. Marisa continues to have a strong interest in eating healthy foods, and I should have realized that she would be researching new recipes for me to try at home.

When her camp cabin took a trip in to town to visit the local library, I wondered what book Marisa would sign out. Would it be another Hannah Montana book or some other teen celebrity's latest story written from a TV series? When I received a thick letter from Marisa that included a number of pages, I was soon to find out. What was inside that envelope was a very pleasant surprise! Here's what she had to say.

"Here are the recipes from The Weight Watcher's Cookbook that I want to make for dinner.

Southwestern Salmon
Tuna-Noodle Casserole
Tofu Stir-Fry
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (as a side dish for the salmon)

"When I come home from camp, we could make the recipes from The Weight Watcher's Cookbook."

After reading her letter and glancing at the recipes, I knew that my work was cut out for me. I will try these recipes before Marisa comes home. How nice to have 4 new enticing recipes! So for today's post, I will include the 1st one for anyone out there interested in trying something healthful and new.

Southwestern Salmon
(This makes 2 servings, so for more I suggest doubling the recipe)
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro leaves or 1/3 if using dried cilantro
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
dash hot red pepper sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 to 3/4 pound salmon steak
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

Direction:
1. In a food processor, combine the cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper sauce, and water; puree. Transfer to a large zip-close plastic bag; add the salmon. Seal the bag, squeezing out the air; turn to coat the salmon. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F; spray a 9-inch-square baking dish with nonstick spray. Arrange the bell peppers in a single layer in the pan. Bake, turning once, 20 minutes.

3. Drain the salmon; discard the marinade. Place the salmon on top of the peppers. Bake until the fish is just opaque in the center, 5-6 minutes on each side.
A new recipe will follow tomorrow. Happy eating!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

350 Points ... The Magic Number!

350 points. It's the magic number of points on Marisa's goal chart that earns her a reward of her choice. Marisa is 20 now, and she has used the same goal chart since she was 4 years old. Of course the goals have changed. The goals have become more sophisticated over time. Sometimes the number of points change too, depending on how expensive a special reward may be. Generally, the rewards require a 350 point minimum.

So when Marisa was ready to leave for camp with a totally different goal chart to go along with her camp environment, I looked at her progress on her current goal chart and noticed that she had 340 points. Now in previous years I would have asked her to transfer those points to her camp goal chart, but it seemed a bit petty and even silly to me, to ask her to do that since she was leaving for camp the next morning. After all, in another day she would have earned the extra points and I would have had to ship the Now 34 CD she was earning.

"Marisa, I'm going to let you earn Now 34 for 340 points this time so I won't have to ship it to you in a day. You'll be able to start your camp goal chart from scratch, earning a possible total each day of 12 points for the 6 listed goals to work on at camp."

Marisa did not comment, and I didn't check to see what she did with the old goal chart from home. However, she was very happy to receive the Now 34 CD early and eagerly packed it in her CD case with her other CDs that she was taking to camp.

Two days later, I received a letter from Marisa. Here's the letter, exactly as it was written:

"Dear Mom, Dad, and Deborah,
How are you?
Yesterday I earned 352 points to get Disney Channel Playlist Soundtrack! Would you like to send me Disney Channel Playlist in the mail?
Please write me back!
Love,
Marisa"

Okay, so all my explaining about starting the camp goal chart from scratch didn't register with her. Or did it? She received the Now 34 CD as her choice reward just 2 days earlier, and now she thinks she can get her next choice reward after just earning 12 points at camp? I realized that Marisa was adding 12 points from her first day of camp to the home goal chart that already had 340 points. What was she thinking? Was she really unable to deal with the idea that she earned Now 34 for just 340 points instead of the usual 350 points? Or was she actually trying to fool me, perhaps thinking I would forget about giving her Now 34 before she actually earned it?

Now I was put in the position of having to write an extended explanation to Marisa. I also had to write an explanation to her counselors, so they could help her readjust her camp goal chart to the correct number of points from the first day of camp. I was also concerned about setting off a possible tantrum because I had given her Now 34 for 10 points short of what she should have had to earn. All this was getting more complicated than I ever had expected. I should have just let her earn the 350 points and then mailed the CD. It would have saved me the need for all these explanations.

"You're just so mean," my daughter Shoshana said. "Why don't you just send the new CD. She thinks she earned it."

"But she didn't earn it, and I think she's trying to fool me," I said. "I'll find out when I talk to her on the phone."

Monday morning, Marisa was due to call at 8:30 A.M. The phone rang, I picked it up.

"Hello," I said.
"Hi mom, how are you?" was the standard reply.
"I'm fine. How are things at camp?" I asked, wanting to wait for her to bring up the reward she thought she was entitled to.
"I earned 352 points. Are you going to send me Disney Channel Playlist in the mail?"
I knew this was coming. I proceeded to remind Marisa about how she had earned Now 34 for 340 points and needed to earn a full 350 points from scratch in order to earn the new CD.
"I sent you and your counselors a letter explaining all this in case you don't understand what I'm telling you now," I said.
"There's going to be a Country Western Dance this Saturday," she replied. "Will you send my pink cowboy hat, my pink bandana, my denim skirt and pink plaid blouse to me in the mail?"
There had been no argument about the CD. Now she was asking for something else that was important to her.
So was Marisa actually trying to pull the wool over my eyes and get me to send the new goal chart reward early? Or was she simply confused about the fact that I let her earn her chosen reward early in order to avoid having to put it in the mail the next day? I guess I'll never really know for sure.
So what is the point of all this? I think that with autism, nothing can ever be taken for granted, and that is what I did when I tried to simplify things. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple with autism. Did I learn a lesson? Probably not, because I thought Marisa could adjust to this small change. The bottom line is, that I will probably continue to test her ability to accept change, whether it is change in routine or change in the number of points earned. It's important to challenge our children with autism even if it takes us out of our comfort zone. Let's break them away from always thinking things will forever be the same even if it makes things more difficult for us as it did for me in this situation. Isn't that what growing is all about?



Tuesday, July 6, 2010

A Very Special Small Moment I learned From

Marisa was about to leave for her camp program where she would spend a summer focusing on activities of daily living skills necessary to living independently. Since Marisa had acquired an interest in healthy eating, she recently purchased a book called Slim and Scrumptious by Joy Bauer. She perused the book for recipes that appealed to her, and I suggested she place post-its on those pages.

She had selected 2 recipes that she wanted to try with me. One was a meatball and spaghetti recipe and the other was a grilled chicken burger recipe she wished to use for July 4th. Because of some errands and last minute things we needed to do before leaving for camp, I ended up only being able to prepare the turkey meatball recipe on July 4th.

"You can have the counselors try the chicken burgers at camp since barbecuing is more frequent there," I said apologetically.

"Yes, I'll pack my book," was Marisa's answer.

"Okay, let's tackle this recipe," I said with a sigh. It was a hot day, and I really would have preferred lounging in the pool in the late afternoon and then grilling some hotdogs with saurkraut, but I couldn't disappoint Marisa. She was just so enthusiastic about her expanding interest in cooking nutritious and healthy foods. The anticipation and eagerness shone in her eyes as she waited to begin.

"You pull out the ingredients and we'll give it a try," I said. For 37 years I had been preparing meatballs and spaghetti the same way. I wasn't quite sure this method of cooking was going to work. Rather than sauteeing onions, mushrooms and the meatballs before adding the sauce, the process was completely different. Marisa added the ingredients and mixed it all together and then we proceeded to cook the meatballs according to the directions. As the cooking progressed, an aroma rose up in the kitchen that was beyond all expectation and I remarked,

"Wow, this is wonderful! I can't wait to try this," I said, as I glanced in the pot to find this was really working out just fine!

When we sat down to eat these fabulously healthy meatballs with whole wheat spaghetti on July 4th, I looked at Marisa and my husband and remarked,

"Here's a small moment I learned from and now after 37 years, I'm going to change the way I prepare my meatballs. Thank you so much, Marisa, for being the one to teach me something new."

There's so much to be learned and mostly we're helping our kids learn the things that are important for them to know. But think how special it is if we are able to learn something from our children, and how good it must make them feel about themselves ... to be able to teach us something too.

So for all of you out there who are sick and tired of making the same old recipes over and over again, here's something new and special to try ... something selected by my daughter with autism who has been on an amazing healthy eating kick for this past year. Eat healthy and enjoy this one from Marisa!

Joy's Turkey Meatballs from Slim and Scrumptious
(I doubled this recipe)
1. 3 26 oz. jars of marinara sauce
2. In a large bowl mix 2 finely chopped onions, 2 carrots and 4 minced garlic gloves, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
3. Add 2 1/2 pounds of ground turkey, 4 egg whites and 1/2 cup Quaker oats. Mix all ingredients well.
4. Shape meatballs to 1 1/2" diameter.
5. Carefully place meatballs into sauce that has been warmed on medium. Meatballs do not have to be completely covered by sauce.
6. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes with cover on the pot but do not stir at all.
7. Uncover and stir meatballs gently to cover meatballs with sauce, and then continue to cook covered for another 20 minutes. Then serve with whole wheat spaghetti.