Livin' Lean Topic Tuesday: What About the Butter?

When people find out about what I do here at cookinlean.com, one of the most common questions they ask me is, "What do you do about all that butter Paula puts in her dishes?" If anyone is familiar with Paula Deen's delicious, southern recipes, then they know how this woman is fearless when it comes to butter. It tastes great and works well in so many dishes; from appetizers to desserts. Therefore, it is used quite frequently throughout her recipes. There is no doubt she knows what tastes good. The problem is, when you are on a mission to cook lean, butter tends to work against you. So, I have researched and experimented with many different butter substitutes in efforts to cut fat, but to also keep Paula's dishes tastin' great and lookin' beautiful. Here are some suggestions for easy butter substitutions:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil- For pasta dishes or certain frying recipes (such as the Faux Crab Cakes), extra virgin olive oil works wonderfully and offers "healthy" fats, which research has shown to reduce levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol) in our bodies. Also try pouring olive oil onto a small plate with spices or just pepper. This is great for dipping bread, instead of spreading butter.

Fruit Puree- I will commonly use apple sauce in place of butter or oil when baking. Other fruit based puree options include plums and prunes. This past weekend I tried an absolutely delicious brownie made with pureed prunes instead of butter and oil. They were unbelievable! One tablespoon of fruit puree cost you 0 grams of fat and about 35 calories. The butter...11 grams of fat and 100 calories.  That is some HUGE savings!

Smart Balance Blends- This is a wonderful product I use quite a bit in my cooking. It is made with extra virgin olive oil. Therefore, it contains 30% less saturated fat (the bad fat) than butter, plus offers the vitamins and healthy fats found in olive oil. I use this to start out many of my dishes beginning with cooked onions, garlic or other vegetables (Try using it in the Fried Bacon Mashed Potatoes. Wonderful!).

"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"- When it comes to baking and you just have to use butter, the best substitute is this. It bakes and tastes as close to butter as you are going to get, with half the saturated fat of regular butter. The total fat is three grams less than butter too, at 8g fat per serving (tablespoon).

If you surf through my recipes and then look at Paula's, you will see that these simple substitutions are used in almost every one I try (except for the recipes were she already uses EVOO). Like I have said before, cookin' lean doesn't mean giving up all those wonderful and sometimes buttery dishes we love. There are simple ways to keep the flavor and cut out tons of fat and cholesterol. That's just part of livin' lean!

Try some of these substitutions out in your own recipes and let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Livin' Lean Topic Tuesday: Eating Out~ Italian Style

When going out to eat, Italian cuisine is one of my favorite indulgences. There is just the sweetest little family-owned restaurant in down town Winchester, Virginia called Violino's, where my husband and I love to go on those special evenings! The atmosphere, the people and the food are all just unbelievable. Really, if you are stoppin' through Winchester and looking for a great meal or the perfect spot to celebrate a special occasion, you must check it out. You will not be disappointed.

But when it comes to livin' lean and eating Italian cuisine, we need to be careful. Just as with any style of food, there are wonderfully healthy dishes to satisfy our appetite, but there are also dishes out there to sabotage all the hard work we do throughout the week. If you are one to follow a low-carb style diet, the first thing you fear is all the PASTA! Yes, Italian cuisine offers many delicious pasta dishes. However, there are numerous options offered without any pasta at all. You just need to know what to look for.

Here's a list of some key words to look out for when ordering Italian at a restaurant:

PASTA- Well, of course this was going to be one of them. Pasta is high in carbohydrates, so according to your nutritional needs, it may be too much for dinner. If you go the pasta route, remember portion control. A serving of pasta is only 1/2 cup cooked.

GNOCCHI- We are talkin' potatoes and butter in these wonderful little bundles. It's a cross between a noodle and a dumpling. Sounds delicious, right? Well, when watching the waistline, it isn't the best choice. You can get more bang for your buck choosing something else.

CREAMY- Anytime you see the word "creamy" or "cream", you are looking at butter and heavy cream being added to your sauce. Opt for a red sauce or EVOO for your pasta. It will save tons of calories and cut out unhealthy fats.

ALFREDO- It tastes so good, but there is a reason for that. This sauce is made out of butter and cheese. Skip alfredo when eating out and save it for home where you can make your own using low-fat recipes.

CALAMARI- It's fried folks...need I say more? A better choice for an appetizer would be something like Mozzerela Santa Lucia; fresh homemade mozzerella and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, basil and herbs. YUM! A personal favorite.

I love Italian because of all the rich variety in the dishes and the fact they use Extra Virgin Olive Oil in almost everything. EVOO is such a great way to get in the daily healthy fats our bodies need. When you think outside the box of just Italian pasta dishes, you are opening yourself up to a whole new world of flavorful choices.

If I were to go out to Violino's tonight, this is what I would get...

Mozzerella Santa Lucia

Fresh homemade mozzerella and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, basil and herbs.

Galletto al Limone

Grilled boneless Cornish Hen marinated and pressed with rosemary, garlic and lemon.

And of course, a glass (or two) of Chardonnay.


Food is a wonderful part of life which is meant to be enjoyed. I find the best way to enjoy food is not only to make sure it tastes good, but to make sure it makes me feel good too. Keeping it light is what makes me feel best.

Now go get some Italian!

Have a fabulous week! Ciao!




**Photos are taken from foodnetwork.com and violinorestaurant.com.

Paula Deen's Lean: Faux Crab Cakes

For some insane reason that I cannot explain, I have developed a shell fish allergy in my adult age. Needless to say, this makes me extremely sad. There was once a time in my life where I enjoyed the occasional indulgence of lobster dipped in melted butter or steamed shrimp covered in Ol' Bay. It still looks and sounds mouthwatering to me, but my body does not agree. My shellfish-eatin' days are over.


If I had never experienced life as a shellfish eater, then I wouldn't know what I'm missing. But I did. And that is OK, 'cause you know what "they" say, "Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." Well crab cakes, I did love you and since we just weren't getting along like we used to...I had no choice but to move on. Please meet my new love...faux crab cakes.


It's not what you are thinking; no imitation crab here. These delicious pan-fried cakes are made out of tuna. Check out how to make these shellfish-free, lean, fast and extremely affordable cakes.


FAUX CRAB CAKES
Serves 4 (2 cakes each)


INGREDIENTS:


1/4 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise dressing

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 tablespoon sweet relish

1 egg, beaten

2 (6-ounce) cans tuna fish (in water)

Cooking spray; for frying 

1/2 cup PANKO bread crumbs

1 pinch salt

1 pinch pepper

Lemon juice, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Heat large skillet over medium heat; coating with cooking spray. While skillet is heating, combine tuna, beaten egg, onion, mayonnaise dressing, 1/4 cup PANKO bread crumbs, salt, pepper and lemon juice, to taste, if desired. Form into patties and dust with additional bread crumbs. When skillet is hot, fry patty until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove and serve alone or over a green salad.

RESULTS:

I was really impressed with the flavor in these faux crab cakes. Sometimes canned tuna can be a little strong, but there wasn't an overwhelming tuna taste or aroma to these. They are closer to crab cakes than I had imagined. I give them an A+.

I put my tuna cakes right over a green salad and drizzled a little bit of light ranch on top to complete the meal. This is a great, last minute meal to throw together that is healthy and light. I always have these ingredients (except for the Panko) on hand. By the way, if you have not used PANKO yet, I strongly encourage using it in place of regular bread crumbs. They are Japeneese bread crumbs and in 1/2 cup, there are only about 100 calories and 25 g of carbohydrates! For breading, that isn't bad at all. I am going to try making some oven baked onion rings using PANKO. I'll keep you all posted on the outcome.

I can see myself making this dish quite a bit over the summer, since I will be home for lunch. I eat tuna at least once or twice a week for lunch anyway. This gives me another way to switch it up and keep lunch exciting.

Give it a try. You won't be disappointed!

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving): 169 calories;  2.69g fat;  10.35g carbohydrate;  24.27g protein;  .25g fiber