Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I haven't blogged since Sept 2nd and I haven't made a CEiMB recipe since Aug 27th...what is going on??? Football season!

I'm used to having LSU games take up my Saturdays, but I am not used to NFL football game days! Now that I'm the Saintsation choreographer and the season is in full swing, my Tuesdays are filled with practices, Thursdays occasional games or practices, and Sundays more games! If I wasn't a Saints fan before now (and I'll admit, I wasn't), I will be by the end of the season!

Needless to say, not a lot of cooking has been going on in my house! But I haven't been eating out either. Every week I make sure that I have the ingredients for "assembling" things...eggs, veggies, chicken, turkey, and cheese have been turned into salads, omelets, and sandwiches.

It just so happened that the recipe chosen by Lethally Delicious for this week was a sandwich...something my crazy schedule could handle! And who can resist a grilled cheese?

This is not your typical grilled cheese sandwich...a mix of cheddar and pepper jack cheeses are topped with sauteed red onions and perfectly ripened tomatoes - Delish!

I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to the onions to play-up the sweetness factor. I used tiny yellow tomatoes because they were on sale and organic. And because my bread had gotten moldy (Adam, this is why I keep my bread in the freezer!) I used some whole wheat rolls that I had stored in where else? The freezer.

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

• Per serving - 350 calories, 18 g fat (8 g saturated), 33 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 16 g protein (exchanges: 2 starch, 3 1/2 fats, 2 protein, 1/2 vegetable; WW points: 8)
• Notes - If you aren't a cheese snob and don't mind sacrificing a little flavor and deliciousness, you could swap the full-fat version for a 2% reduced fat cheese...or you could just make sure the rest of your meals that day aren't particularly high in fat (and saturated fat) and enjoy the real deal...it's only 350 calories for the whole sandwich; I recommend adding the balsamic like I did...the onions were so good; as you can see in the picture, I didn't dice the onions, just sliced them into half-rings; I love my All-Clad panini pan!

EDF September

Remember how I said I was going to post seasonal recipes from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine every month? Well it's September....so here goes:

Romaine, Avocado, and Corn Salad

- per serving: 166 calories, 8.9 g fat, 4.7 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber (exchanges: 1 1/2 fat, 1 vegetable, 1 starch; WW points: 3)

- suggestions: add some shredded chicken or black beans, for added protein, and make it a meal

English Muffin with Apple and Cheddar

- per serving (1/2 an English muffin): 173 calories, 7.7 g fat, 7.5 g protein, 18.5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber (exchanges: 1 starch, 1/4 fruit, 1 fat, 1 protein; WW points: 4)

- suggestions: use a whole wheat English muffin; Martha says 1 serving is both halves of the muffin, which would be fine if you were eating this as a meal...I would eat half and have it at breakfast or as a snack

Roasted Vegetable Soup

- per serving: 172 calories, 7.5 g fat, 3.6 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber (exchanges: 4 vegetable, 1 1/2 fat; WW points: 3)

- suggestions: I would only use 1 tablespoon of oil

Chicken and Artichoke Stew

- per serving: 355 calories, 10 g fat, 40 g protein, 25.4 g carbohydrates, 6 g fiber (exchanges: 2 fat, 5 protein, 1/2 starch, 3 vegetables; WW points: 7)

- suggestions: to make this recipe quicker, use a shredded rotisserie chicken purchased from the store; note, the optional rice is not included in the nutritional info; you could use shredded breast meat instead of thighs

Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

- per serving (1 cutlet...w/o tomato sauce...but that won't add much!): 192 calories, 7 g fat, 29 g protein, 1.8 g carbohydrates (exchanges:4 protein, 1 1/2 fat; WW points: 4)

- suggestions: Martha thinks you should eat 2 of these (for 384 cals and 58 g protein), but unless you are a man, you do not need that much protein at 1 meal...so my serving is 1 cutlet; this is a make ahead and freeze meal...perfect for a quick dinner

Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Bacon

- per serving: 264 calories, 6.1 g fat (2.6 g saturated), 14.4 g protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber (exchanges: 2 protein, 1 fat, 1 vegetable, 2 starch; WW points: 5)

- suggestions: I would probably add garlic with the onions

Herb Crusted Salmon with Spinach Salad

- per serving: 383 calories, 18.5 g fat (3 g saturated), 36.5 g protein, 16.7 g carbohydrates, 2.6 g fiber (exchanges: 3 1/2 fat, 6 protein, 2 vegetable; WW points: 9)

- suggestions: Don't be scared by the amount of fat...it's mostly from the fish (heart healthy omega-3's); I would use whole wheat bread

Iceberg Wedges with Gorgonzola Dressing

- per serving: 80 calories, 2.7 g fat (1.8 g saturated), 5 g protein, 9.6 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber (exchanges: 1/2 fat, 1 protein, 1 vegetable; WW points: 1)

- suggestions: I might add a little more cheese!

Latte e Miele

Did you know that Baton Rouge has a gelateria (a place where gelato is served)???? I was just flipping through 225 magazine (check Hil out on page 31!) and read this article about Latte e Miele (Italian for "milk and honey") and got soooo excited! Apparently it has been open since April (how am I just now finding out about this?)

Gelato reminds me of big cities...Houston, NYC, LA...not Baton Rouge! But it's here and I will be sure to visit soon!

Here are two blog posts about Latte e Miele: First Bite and Cuisine Rouge.

Latte and Miele is located on Highland at I-10 (near CCL) and is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 10 pm. If you aren't into gelato (and really, you should be) you can also get cappuccino and espresso...or gelato topped with a shot of espresso!

Latte e Miele, I'm on my way!

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Those of you who have been reading my "What a Dietitian Eats" posts all week know that I love this recipe and have eaten it 3 days in a row. So glad The Tortefeasor chose this as the CEiMB recipe of the week!

If you have never had sate (or satay) before, you are in for a treat. Marinated meat or poultry (in this case chicken) is skewered, grilled, and then served with a spicy peanut sauce. I'm not sure which part I like better - the chicken or the sauce? They are both delicious! The marinade is made with lime zest, grated ginger, coconut milk, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar...how bad can that be?

As could be expected I turned this into a salad with romaine, red bell pepper, carrots, snow peas, scallions, and cilantro. So that I could use if for a dressing, I made the sauce a little thinner by adding a little of the coconut milk leftover from the marinade (I used the rest in coconut-mango smoothies).

You should all make this really soon (or ask...no beg...someone to make it for you!)

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

• Per serving (Ellie's version...not my salad) - 263 calories, 10 g fat (3.4 g saturated), 12 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 31 g protein (exchanges: 4 protein, 2 fat, 1/2 starch; WW points: 6)
• Notes - Some changes I made: 1) I didn't pound the chicken, I just made sure to cut the strips really thin, 2) to make the sauce thinner I added a little less peanut butter and about 1/4 of a cup of coconut milk...it also needed to be a little sweeter so I added more sugar, 3) I used a teaspoon of curry powder instead of the paste, 4) I left the shallot out of the dressing, 4) I let the chicken marinate for about 4 hours...it worked better with my schedule, and 5) I didn't buy any chopped peanuts, but I really wish I had them for the salad; if you don't have fish sauce just add a little more soy sauce...but I think it really makes a diffence and it will last FOREVER in your fridge
• Tip - If the chicken is slightly frozen it will slice better/thinner

What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day4)

Thursday, August 27th

• Pre-run snack - peach
• 4 mile run
• Post-run breakfast - strawberry apricot smoothie (1/2 cup apricot nectar, 1/2 cup skim, 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 2 tsp sugar, lots of ice); handful of walnuts
• Lunch - Mozzarella, tomato, pesto panini; eggplant dip with cucumbers
• Snack - Iced latte (CC's...grande, skim, splash of half&half, pkt of sugar)
• Teach from 4:30 - 10:30 pm (had an apple around 9 pm)
• Dinner - chicken sate salad; carrots and eggplant dip
• Snack - foldover cream cheese & banana sandwich! (1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 oz light cream cheese, 1/2 mashed banana, sprinkle cinnamon sugar...of course pressed on the George Foreman); skim milk

All I'm going to say is today was a LONG one...it's 11:00 pm and I just got home and just ate dinner! Good thing I had healthy food ready to go in the fridge...if I hadn't no telling what I would have devoured!

I'm sure you've noticed I eat the same things several times during the week, but next week these will be completely different. I try to have variety from week to week...not day to day. When I cook something I do the whole recipe, even though I'm only cooking for me. So I always have leftovers. But they are really yummy leftovers so I don't mind eating them again and again. Sometimes I freeze things too.

As for my last snack, that was a spur-of-the-moment, I'm-craving-something-sweet idea. And it was so GOOD! Spread the cream cheese on 1 slice bread; mash 1/2 a banana and spread it over the cream cheese; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; and grill. What a treat!

What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 3)

Wednesday August 26th

• Breakfast - oatmeal (1 ptk plain instant Nature's Path oatmeal, a handful of King Arthur Harvest Grains Blend, 3 figs, 1 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, skim milk, a few walnuts, 2 tsp sugar, splash of vanilla)
• Lunch - same Chicken Sate salad as yesterday; cucumbers and eggplant dip
• Snack - yogurt and small iced latte
• Dinner - pork chops, turnips, green beans, and a salad; 2 - 3 glasses wine
• Snack - peach buttermilk ice cream and a 100 cal dark chocolate bar

Today was my day off from running and I had a few errands to run plus a marathon hair appointment (I'm literally there for 3 hours), so I knew breakfast needed to hold me over until 2pm. A smoothie would definitely not do. I decided to have a filling bowl of oatmeal with a little fruit/nut combo. I decided to add a little cream cheese to up the creaminess factor.

I finally had lunch around 2:30 and I was pretty hungry...should have packed a snack! Around the same time I made the ice cream. I had a surplus of peaches that were on the verge of going bad and buttermilk left over from the cupcakes I made on Sunday. It's really good right out of the machine, but it gets a little icy once it goes in the freezer. Still tastes good though and it's a low-cal fruit based dessert...gotta love it!

Dinner was at a friends house for a little girls night get together. I was in charge of the wine, Jackie the salad, and Jennifer everything else. The pork chops were unexpectedly good! And I don't know if I've ever really had turnips...they were good too. Jennifer and her husband sort of do the "low-carb" thing, hence the absence of starch with the meal. I jokingly fussed at one point when she was adding a 1/4 of a stick of butter to a pot of green beans that were already cooked with bacon and butter...they were really good though!

This is a perfect example of normal healthy eating. I always eat what someone else is serving...no reason to not eat something that isn't up to my "everyday nutritional standards". I had 2 servings of the butter/bacon coated beans! I figured I had eaten well all day, so what if there was a little extra fat in the meal. It's all about balance!

And double dessert?!? Must have been the wine!

What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 2)

Tuesday August 25th

• Pre-run snack - a peach and fig
• 4 mile run
• Post-run breakfast - same mango coconut smoothie as yesterday (it was that good!)
• Lunch - turkey sandwich (whole wheat bread with avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, and Laughing Cow Cheese ...all pressed and crispy on my George Foreman); carrots and baba ghanouj (eggplant dip)
• Snack - iced latte from CC's...grande, skim, splash of half&half
• Teach dance 4:30 - 9:30 pm (um try 10:30...long Saintsation practice!)
• Dinner - chicken sate salad (romaine, snow peas, red bell pepper, cilantro, carrots, chicken, and the spicy peanut dip as dressing)
• Snack - watermelon

Notice how much I eat! My dad always says that I must eat like a bird to stay thin, but I don't! I eat a lot! However it is mostly low-calorie/nutrient-dense food...meaning I get the nutrients I need to be healthy from fewer calories.

There is something called the "volumetrics eating plan" where you fill up on foods that are high in volume and low in calories...eat more for less! Foods that are mostly water fit into this plan perfectly...fruits, non-starchy vegetables, skim milk, brothy soups, etc.

I try to eat like that most of the time. Today my smoothie, snacks, and dinner were very nutrient-dense, filling, and also low-calorie. But I also make sure that all my meals have some protein (today - cheese, milk, yogurt, chicken, turkey) and a little healthy fat (today - low-fat cheese, avocado, dressing). Fat and protein have a long-term fullness effect! Fiber does too.

And by the way, my dinner salad was so good...it's this weeks CEiMB recipe, turned into a salad (my favorite thing to do!). I'll be posting the recipe with pictures some time tomorrow.