Meals for new moms and dads

It seems like it's baby season at my church. New pregnancies, new deliveries and very busy bakers! For every new baby, we (the women in the church) sign up to make and deliver dinner to the family for about a week. When I had Maddy it was so wonderful knowing that we had a set week of food that we didn't have to prepare or purchase. And I've been waiting for the opportunity to do the same for another couple. The opportunity came up recently and I knew exactly what to make!

Meat Sauce with Eggplant
A great meal that's warm, filling and definitely has leftovers is a meat sauce and spaghetti. But I made a healthy version courtesy of the Cook Yourself Thin Faster cookbook.  I made a few substitutions to the recipe, but the main ingredients really made the meal.  Please note: I did not choose the menu for the "thin" aspect. I prefer using lean meat and wanted to see how the eggplant tasted in the sauce and I loved it! I've made it 3 times now.  

1 pkg lean ground beef or turkey

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1 in. cubes

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cans seasoned spaghetti sauce (I used Hunt's varieties)

salt

pepper

oregano (opt)

soy sauce (opt)

Worcestershire sauce (opt)

1. In a separate skillet, brown the meat with Worcestershire or soy sauce (optional) depending on your taste preference. Set aside once cooked.
2. In a stock pot or large sauce pan, cook the eggplant and onions under tender. Add water to the pot if begins to stick or burn.  *The eggplant adds texture and flavor without the extra calories.
3. When the eggplant/onion mix is soft, add the sauce on medium heat, stirring ocassionally. 
4. Add the ground meat back into the sauce and cook for a few minutes.
5. Prepare spaghetti as desired. Serve and enjoy!

The recipe says that the eggplant will dissolve in the sauce, but it didn't for me but that was fine. It didn't taste funny. No one commented on what it was. It was delish!

Chicken Pot Pie

Another classic dish that is always a favorite is Chicken Pot Pie. My friend Jennifer made it for me when I had Maddy and she was planning to make it again for the next new mom.  Here is her recipe:

10oz peas and carrots

1/3 cup margarine or butter

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup chopped onions

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2-3 cups cut up chicken

pastry for 2- 9" pies  (I use store bought)

1. Melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling stirring constantly.  Once boiling stir one minute and add chicken, peas, and carrots and remove from heat 
2. Heat oven to 425 degrees 
3. Roll out pastry in pie pan, add chicken mixture.  Top with remaining pastry and flute edges. 
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

What are some of your favorite recipes to bake for others? Or that make tons of leftovers? Leave your ideas or links below!

"Cook Yourself Thin" for the holidays

One of the best things about high calorie and fattening foods is that they can be made-over into healthy options by switching in ingredients like shredded zucchini, sweet potato or beets.  It's not a new concept however-my mom used to make zucchini bread all the time!  But the concept was made into a really fun Lifetime show called Cook Yourself Thin. I was totally addicted to the first season and it made me change my approach to some classic dishes.  So now that it is holiday season, and people are baking a lot, cooking a lot and eating a lot, it's important to try and stay on track with healthy eating.

Through December 14th, MyLifetime.com is releasing exclusive online-only recipes from the authors of the Cook Yourself Thin cookbook.  If you visit the site now, you'll find No-Guilt Desserts, Easy Weeknight Dinners and Starters & Sides.  Coming up:

• 12/7: Healthy Holiday Breakfasts 
• 12/14: Spicy Dinners.

Here's an example of how you can take a calorie-rich family classic like Baked Ziti and turn it into a healthy meal by using Cauliflower:

Baked Ziti
Serves 4
Calories per serving: 310

8 ounces whole-grain ziti
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, shredded (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook the ziti in a large saucepan according to the package directions. After draining, return ziti to the saucepan.

3. Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower, oil, salt and pepper together on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring once, until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Stir basil and tomatoes into cauliflower and bake 10 minutes longer.

4. Add the cauliflower mixture to the ziti and stir well. Divide the mixture among four 4-ounce ramekins. Top each with a tablespoon of mozzarella. Bake until cheese browns and bubbles, about 5 minutes.

The fun doesn't end there. If you visit the community forum for Cook Yourself Thin, you'll see a chance to win the new follow-up book: Cook Yourself Thin, Faster. I'm sure there is a foodie in your family who would love that as a gift! 

The next time you find yourself looking online for healthier options for popular holiday treats, click over to MyLifetime.com for the CYT recipes or just choose from the yummy list below:

• Pumpkin Spice Cookies 
• Toffee Bars 
• Dessert Calzones 
• Chocolate Cake
• Fat-free Meringue Kisses

For more on Cook Yourself Thin including cast bios, full episodes and healthy tips, visit http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/cook-yourself-thin

Healthy eats for the whole family & Cooking Classes

A few weeks ago I got hooked on watching episodes of Lifetime's Cook Yourself Thin, a show that helps women tweak their favorite food indulgences and "drop a dress size in 6 weeks." The show is hosted by well-known food personalities-Candice Kumai from Season 1 of Top Chef, Harry Eastwood, food writer and cookbook author and Allison Fishman, owner of The Wooden Spoon a Brooklyn-based cooking school. The goal of the show is not to replace your favorite food with a low fat option, but to teach you how to substitute high-fat ingredients with natural and low calorie options like vegetables and fruit. I'm someone who loves how vegetarian and vegan foods taste just as good or even better than the original version so naturally, I've been trying to adopt the same behaviors in my own cooking.

While I was at the local library looking for the Cook Yourself Thin Cookbook, I found one called The Sneaky Chef which is pretty much the same concept. Missy Lapine, the brain behind Sneaky Chef, takes normally high-fat/high calorie /guilty pleasure foods and sneaks in substitutes like Spinach, Blueberries, Chick Peas and more to create healthier but just as tasty versions. While there were a lot of really yummy options, I could not WAIT to make her Barbell Burger recipes with.....BLUEBERRIES!

The burgers called for a Purple Puree of Spinach, blueberries, lemon juice and water. It made enough for 4 batches of burgers so I saved the rest in my BPA-free baby food containers. Adding to the moisture was tomato paste and oat bran added healthy fiber.


These burgers are sure to please even the Hungry Man in the family. My husband, who love a good juicy burger or piece of steak really liked the burgers and took the leftovers to work!

Here's all of the ingredients:
- 1/4 cup tomato paste (this week I ran out and used Sweet Potato instead)
- 1/4 cup Purple Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #1)
- 1/4 cup oat bran, plus additional as needed (I used ground oat meal)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4 hamburger buns or English muffins, preferably whole grain
- Optional extra boost: lettuce, tomato slices, or grilled onions and mushrooms
For full cooking instructions, you can view the full recipe for free at the Sneaky Chef website.


Cooking Classes for the family
If you're still a novice in the kitchen, but want to learn how to cook for you or your family, there are plenty of cooking classes around the state that offer healthy ideas and even some classes just for kids! Here's a listing:

The Natural Chef: Cooking classes, training program, cooking parties | Princeton
Viking Cooking School: Demos, Kids & Teens, Hands-On Classes | Fairfield
The Kid Connection: Cooking workshops, kitchen safety and parties | Lincoln Park
Creative Kids Celebrations: Offers pizza, kebab and Organic cooking parties | Traveling/Northern
Miele USA: Master chef class, demos and kids classes | Princeton and NYC
Cook 'n' Tell: Class for adults and kids ages 3+ | Colts Neck
The Health Shoppes: Organic and Raw Food cooking | Morristown
The Pop Shop: Healthy cooking classes for kids, adults and NEWBORNS | Collingswood

Retail Cooking Classes
Williams-Sonoma
Whole Foods Market
Shop Rite


Follow The Sneaky Chef and Cook Yourself Thin hosts on Twitter!
Missy Lapine
Allison Fishman
Candace Kumai