Category Archives: Recipes

Tuna Casserole and a Perfect Day on the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet

I love tuna casserole. It is about the only fish dish that I really like. So, I decided to upgrade my current recipe to include the foods recommended on the MIND diet.

I started as usual by looking to see if others had done this. What to my wondering eyes should appear but a recipe by Martha Stewart – not specifically for the MIND diet, but it uses olive oil in the white sauce. It’s really very similar to the recipe that I used to use before I started being lazy and using canned soup.

Here is my adaptation:

Tuna Casserole for the MIND diet           Print version

Tuna Casserole for the MIND diet
Tuna Casserole for the MIND diet
  • 2 cans tuna – 5 oz. chunk light in water ( I use Chicken of the Sea)
  • 4 servings* whole grain noodles (2 cups dry)
  • 1 cup frozen peas, cooked most of the way

“White” sauce:

  • 2 TBSP olive oil -I use a lighter tasting oil
  • 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • ½ cup 1% milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp onion flakes
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Topping:

  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 slice whole wheat bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Cook the noodles as directed on the package, or maybe a bit shorter time.

*I use Kroger wide egg noodles made with 100% whole grain. The package says that 1 cup dry is a serving, but that much is 210 calories. So, I use ½ cup as a serving.

  1. While the noodles are cooking, make the “white” sauce. Heat the 2 TBSP olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour and cook for about a minute over medium heat.

I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour, which is just as much a whole grain as regular whole wheat flour. It is just a bit lighter, although it doesn’t quite make a white white sauce.

  1. Add the chicken broth and the milk and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until thickened. Be careful that it doesn’t boil over if you pan in small. Stir frequently. Add the Salt, Pepper, Onion flakes, and Garlic.
  2. Open and drain the tuna. I have the handiest gadget for doing that. Add the tuna and the peas to the white sauce. Drain the noodles and add the noodles, mixing well.
  3. Pour this mixture into a prepared 8 inch square pan (prepared, of course, with olive oil spray).
  4. Make the crunchy topping. Toast the slice of whole wheat bread and cool. Actually, it works well to do this a couple of hours ahead and then let it sit and dry for a couple of hours. I usually don’t think to do that. Put the 2 tsp. olive oil in a medium fry pan and crumble the toasted bread into it. Mix to coat it as much as possible and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. You could probably skip this because it will brown on top of the casserole.

Sprinkle the topping over the prepared casserole. Cover it with foil. Now that you have almost every pan in your kitchen dirty, you can finally put the casserole in the oven.

  1. Bake the casserole for about 20 minutes; remove the foil and bake another 10 or so.

Now that I look back to see how much I “adapted” from Martha’s recipe, I see there are quite a few changes. I used whole wheat noodles, whole wheat flour, and changed the topping, omitting the cheese (a MIND diet food to avoid). I used quite a bit less chicken broth and milk, but I learned when I made white sauce not to use so much liquid.

Makes 4 servings.   Calories as calculated by Myfitnesspal.com= 321

Thoughts on this recipe and my almost perfect MIND diet day

All in all, I thought this was an acceptable tuna casserole. My husband even chose a left-over serving for his lunch the next day and there were lots of other good things to choose from. But, it is not quite as good as the tuna casseroles I have had that contain cream cheese or lots of other cheese.

I do feel really good about my almost perfect MIND diet day! I ate all 10 of the MIND diet recommended foods, although some not in quite enough volume to be a full serving (whatever that is). This is what I ate:

  • Tuna Casserole – contained fish, a serving of whole grain*, olive oil, and an “other” vegetable.
  • Salad made of red leaf lettuce, dressed with light balsamic vinaigrette made with olive oil
  • A 5 oz glass of wine
  • Breakfast was a Strawberry Oatmeal Muffin (made with oatmeal and olive oil) and a Yoplait lite Blueberry Yogurt
  • Lunch was Chili con Pollo (poultry, beans, other vegetable)
  • Snack was ½ oz of almonds

So, I had at least some of all the recommended foods, but I might have been a little short on 3 servings of whole grain and a whole serving of berries. I did go a little over my 1000 calorie limit.

The MIND diet recommended foods:

  1. Green, Leafy vegetables,  6 or more servings per week
  2. Other vegetables, at least 1 serving per day
  3. Berries, especially strawberries, 2 or more servings/week
  4. Nuts, 5 or more servings/week
  5. Olive Oil, use as primary oil
  6. Whole grains, 3 or more servings/day
  7. Fish, 1 or more servings/week
  8. Beans, more than 3 times/week
  9. Poultry, 2 or more servings/week
  10. Wine, 1 glass/day

Delaying Alzheimer’s

By the way, if you are interested in delaying Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders, brush your teeth!  It sounds funny but that’s the advice in a recent PsyBlog post. Actually, it is more like take good care of your teeth and gums because “A number of studies have shown that having few teeth, possibly as a consequence of earlier gum disease, is associated with a greater risk of developing dementia.”

PsyBlog posts are short synopses of ideas and findings from studies, which are usually cited. Cognitive decline is a frequent topic.

Not-so-white white sauce for the MIND diet

HOW TO, Recipes, The MIND Diet, ,

White sauce made with butter and white flour are not so good for the MIND diet. However, a few changes can make it healthier.  I set out today to make a white sauce with whole wheat flour and olive oil in place of the butter and white flour.

The first thing I did was search the web to see if anyone had done this. I found these 3 pages that at least used olive oil instead of butter:

The techniques were quite different, though. I decided to go with the “classic French sauce” because it is actually closest to the white sauce I have made in the past.

Not-so-white White Saucenot-so-white-sauce

  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp onion flakes – or raw onion if you prefer – or omit
  • 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups 1% milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Heat the oil. I put about a tsp onion flakes in the oil to rehydrate while it heats. Whisk in the white whole wheat flour and let it cook over medium heat a couple of minutes.  Add the milk all at once and whisk until all mixed.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer about 10 minutes, stirring and wiping down sides frequently.  Add the salt and pepper and any herbs you like.

PDF version to print

This makes a quite thin sauce, but it does finally thicken up a bit after simmering for 10 minutes. I was about ready to add some “Wondra,” but I knew that would not be the best for the MIND diet principles.  I might try using 1 ¾ cup milk next time.

If you use this for 4 servings, the calorie count is 125 calories per serving. You could cut that by using 1 cup milk and 1 cup chicken broth. I kind of wish I had.

Creamed Turkey
I was making white sauce today because I have some left-over turkey I want to use for supper. With 9 oz (about 2 cups) chopped, cooked turkey breast, this makes a little over 2 cups.  I will probably eat half of it, which comes to 391 calories.

MIND diet score for my meal:

  • 1 for primary use of olive oil
  • 1 for whole grain -the little bit in the sauce plus the whole wheat bread I will eat the creamed turkey on  ( did have two other servings of whole grain today)
  • 1 for poultry
  • 1 for the “other vegetable” -peas that I will be serving with the creamed turkey
  • 1 for the glass of wine that I will drink with it.

I had some baby spinach for lunch and almonds for a snack. No fish or beans today but I will make up for that another day this week. I will eat a dish of strawberries for a bedtime snack.  I am feeling good about sticking to the MIND diet today.

Chili con Pollo for the MIND diet

Beans, Olive Oil, Recipes, The MIND Diet

Chili con Pollo, of course, is chili made with chicken instead of beef. I love chili on a cold day! But, the chili con carne that I used to make contains lots of ground beef, which I limit because I am trying to follow the MIND diet. I have tried making it with ground turkey with mediocre results. Today, I tried it with ground chicken and it was oh-so-good!

I think one reason why it was so good was because of the olive oil that I browned the chicken in. I have been trying to use more olive oil in my diet. I had formerly been avoiding oil of any kind as much as possible, because of it calorie contribution. But, now I am reading about the benefits of eating olive oil, so I am trying to work a little more in. So, I started my chili by browning the ground chicken in olive oil. I don’t know if that is what made it taste so much better, but I am definitely going to try it again.

Chili con Pollo   4 servingsChili con Pollo

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • *4 cups “canned tomatoes,” blended to liquefy
  • 1 15 oz. can pinto beans
  • 1 TBSP chili powder
  • 1 TBSP garlic powder
  • ½ TBSP cumin
  • ½ TBSP salt

Brown the chicken in 1 T olive oil and crumble.  This means to cook it so it is really brown, not just cooked.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the chili is as thick as you like it.  I simmered my test recipe a couple of hours.

PDF version to print

Myfitnesspal.com says one serving is 319 calories.

Of course, you are welcome to adjust the spices to your heat tolerance and add anything you like. Onion and pepper would probably be good. I think I will try using about half the chicken next time. This recipe comes out to 4 ounces of chicken per serving plus a whole serving of beans. I don’t really need that much protein, especially when eating it for lunch.

*”canned tomatoes” is not exactly what I used.  I grow a few tomato plants each summer and, when they are being quite prolific, I freeze some.  I just wash and cut out stems and any bad spots and throw then in a zip lock bag and put them in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I run them under warm water for a few seconds and the skins come right off – not really peeling because no knife is involved, they just “slough off.” More about freezing tomatoes.

When I use my frozen tomatoes in chili, I cut them in quarters and run them through the blender with a little water. Sometimes, I heat them a little first to soften them. For this recipe I used 4 medium tomatoes and about 3 cups water. I think that makes an equivalent to about two 15 oz cans  or 1 28 oz can of canned tomatoes. You could probably just put the quarters in the chili and the simmering would soften them up, but my kinds never liked chunks of tomatoes in anything so I always blend them, even when using diced tomatoes from a can.

So, I hope you will try my chili con pollo.  It has four of the recommended foods for the MIND diet and none of the “avoid these” foods.

  • other vegetable
  • poultry
  • olive oil
  • beans

While there are not really any of the foods to avoid, I do need to make an improvement. You might notice that my photo show some oyster crackers in my chili. I love oyster crackers in chili, but I have not found any whole grain oyster crackers yet, at least locally. I did see some on Amazon, but I would have to buy a couple of years worth.  I might have to resort to making my own. That might be my next post.

By the way, I knew that the Spanish word for chicken is ‘pollo’ because I have taken some Spanish in school. However, those classes didn’t prepare me to speak or understand spoken Spanish.  I have now started on a quest to be able to speak and understand Spanish. My main reasons for doing this are because I always wanted to and there are an increasing number of Spanish-speaking people in our area. A bonus is that there is some evidence (or perhaps more hypothesizing) that learning a new language may help prevent cognitive decline. This i just one of the articles that describes why this might work.  While I am not convinced that there is strong research support for this connection, I am enjoying the process and might find it useful.  I am sharing this with you because I am assuming that if you are reading this post, you are interested in preventing cognitive decline.

Hasta la vista

 

 

 

 

Cheezy Sauce for the MIND diet

Cheese, Olive Oil, Recipes, The MIND Diet

Cheese is almost a no-no on the MIND diet. You have to eat it less than once a week to get the point for cheese. This has been one of my biggest struggles. It’s a good thing you don’t have to be perfect to reap at least some of the benefits.

One of my first posts was ‘No Queso Quesadillas’ in which I omitted the cheese altogether. That was OK and I tried to not miss the cheese, but I still would prefer cheese.  A couple of weeks ago a reader posted a comment on this recipe that nutritional yeast makes a substitute for cheese. I started googling and found other sites that agreed. So, I decided to try it. It look like it is a vegetarian staple.

My grocery store doesn’t carry nutritional yeast and it’s not very good ayeast packaget special requests, so I shopped for it on Amazon.  There were several options, but I decided to try the one from Bob’s Red Mill.

I got 8 oz. for $13.37. The package says that the contents contain about fifteen ¼ cup servings.

I decided to start with a cheezy sauce.  There are several recipes on the web, but since I bought Bob’s Red Mill brand I decided to start with the Red Mill recipe, with a few changes. This is my version, optimized for the MIND diet:

Cheezy Sauce for the MIND diet   Printable version

  • 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/4 cup White Whole Wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 2 TBSP olive oil – light flavor
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Mustard

Instructions:

  • Mix the first 3 ingredients in a sauce pan. Add the water and whisk until smooth.
  • Cook over medium heat (6 out of 10 on my stove) until thick and bubbly – whisking frequently
  • Let simmer about a minute
  • Remove from heat and add olive oil and mustard

Makes about 1 ½ cup. Use immediately or refrigerate.cheezy sauce in pyrex

Cheezy sauce is about the right consistency when just off the stove to use on cauliflower or nachos.  When refrigerated, it thickens and looks kind of like Velveeta. The color is a bit more mustardy (even before you add the mustard). I am thinking that next time I will make it with 1% milk instead of water and that might tone down the color a bit.

So, how does it taste??

Straight off the spoon — not bad, but not great. Reminiscent of cheese, but a little off and it leaves a bit of an aftertaste.

One of the reasons that I had decided to try a cheezy sauce is that I recently made Rotel Cheese Dip for a party. You know – the kind with Velveeta Cheese and Rotel Tomatoes. I knew that was bad, but I ate some anyway. I wanted to find a way to make that taste “legal.”

So, I mixed 2 TBSP of my Cheezy sauce with 2 TBSP Rotel tomatoes.cheezy dip
That was edible but kind of runny. The second time I made it I drained most of the juice off the tomatoes and that worked a little better.  It’s still kind of runny. It might be less so if I had used butter or margarine instead of olive oil, but that would not be MIND diet friendly. The taste is not as strongly cheese as the original dip.  When I make it again, I think I will add less of the tomatoes.

Next, I am going to try it on cooked cauliflower and probably some nachos.

Do you have any ideas how to use nutritional yeast to make a yummy cheese-like dish? Or, another way to substitute for cheese?  Please comment.

 

 

MIND diet breakfast: Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

Berries, Recipes, Whole Grains
Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins:  Berries, especially strawberries, are one of the 10 foods that are important to eat frequently to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, according to the MIND diet.   Along with the oatmeal, a whole grain, they hit two of the important foods. I wish I had added some almonds to make it a trifecta!

I started with a recipe called Strawberry Shortcake Muffins and tweaked it just a bit.

The person who posted this recipe advised to use a silicone muffin pan or foil muffin cups rather than paper. Since I only have a 6-cup muffin pan and wasn’t very sure I would like this, I opted to cut the recipe in half and make 6 muffins. I was pleased with the result. Here’s my recipe:

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins  – 6 servings                                PDF version

  • 1 1/4 cup Oatmeal   strawberry oatmeal muffins
  • 1 cup low fat Greek yogurt – I used strawberry, but plain would do
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/4 cup sweetener = I used Splenda granular
  • ¾ tsp Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 cup diced Strawberries, divided

Mix first 6 ingredients in blender. Fold in ¾ cup of strawberries.
Divide into 6 muffin cups (silicone or foil) and divide the ¼ cup of strawberries on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Let cool a few minutes.
Enjoy! If you don’t eat them all, refrigerate the left-overs.

I had several reasons for wanting to try these muffins:strawberry oatmeal muffin nutrition

  1. I had been focusing on making Muffins in a Mug frequently for breakfast. Although they don’t take much to mix up, it does get old. Making muffins cuts down the workload. Making 12 at a time is even better, except that then I have to eat the same thing for at least 6 days. I think I might use this recipe again, but make half strawberry and half apple (after I buy another 6-muffin pan).
  2. The recipe is fairly low calorie – 99 calories each (according to MyFitnessPal calculator). So, I can eat 2 for breakfast and still have plenty of calories left for the day.
  3. The main ingredients are MIND diet staples. As I said above, I wished I had added almonds so they would have had 3 of the best ingredients AND a bit a crunch.
  4. This muffin recipe was intriguing because it does not include flour. I think it might be a good one to modify with several fruits or other health ingredients. I am not eating gluten-free, but the comments on the original recipe site pointed out that these muffins fit that diet also.

Changes I might make next time:

  1. Add almonds
  2. Use plain low-fat Greek yogurt. Using the strawberry-flavored kind did not seem necessary, but it was all I had.

Any other ideas on changing this one up?

If you have been following my posts, you might have noticed that I have taken a bit of a vacation from blogging. It turns out that it is more work than I thought it would be.  I also had been trying to follow the MIND diet “perfectly” so that I would get 15 points every week. That idea sort of wore out sometime before Christmas.  Now, I am just trying to do as well as I can. I think I will do the same with blogging. So, I am going to try to post once a week – or so.

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Beans?

Beans, Recipes

Pumpkin Pie Bars and Beans?  Will that work?  After I made my Black Bean Brownies last time, I was really excited about getting more beans in my diet by hiding them in dessert dishes. Pumpkin seemed like a natural to hide the bean taste and I think it worked out pretty well.

This time I used Old El Paso Fat-free Refried Beans. That might sound a little strange because they have a little more than just beans. Actually, the label says “Ingredients: Cooked Beans, Water. Contains less than 2% of: Salt, Tomato Paste, Sea Salt, Chili Powder, Sugar, Onion Powder, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder. So, they are mostly just beans.

pumpkin pie bars

But why? With all the kinds of beans available, why did I chose these refried beans? The answer is that I was being lazy. I really don’t like digging out my food processor. I have used these kind of beans before so I knew they come already “mushed up.”  With these, I didn’t get out the food processor. I just mixed the ingredients in my stand mixer and it worked just fine.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

  • 1 can fat-free refried beans (Old ElPaso)pumpkin pie bars nutrition
  • 3 TBSP olive oil –
    I use Kroger Lighter Flavor Olive Oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix all ingredients well. I used stand mixer and let it mix on high for a couple of minutes.
  3. Spray an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
  4. Add the mixture
  5. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean.
  6. When cool, cut into 12 squares.
  7. Store in the refrigerator. They are even better when cold anyway.

* Substitute for 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp cloves

 

Tastes like pumpkin pie without the crust. Tastes fine with a small blob of Fat Free Cool Whip.

Needs a little more oomph to make it bars. Next time add ½ cup oatmeal. Increases calories to 137.

Similar recipe at https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/32371/pumpkin-pecan-pie-squares/ for 13×9 pan puts ½ cup pecans and ¼ cup brown sugar on top.  Could replace ½ of brown sugar in bars with Splenda, then put this on top. With the oatmeal, goes to 168 calories.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Beans, Recipes

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies for the MIND diet – somehow those words don’t seem to belong together. Using Fudgy and Brownies in the same title as Beans??

I have been fascinated by the idea of using black beans in desserts for a long time, but I have never been brave enough to try it.  But, yesterday my need to get more beans into my diet and my desire for chocolate collided and I started looking for a recipe.  I found one that was almost perfect at http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/black-bean-brownies .  Really, the only thing I changed was switching from Canola Oil to Olive Oil – and the calorie count (more later).

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies                       PDF versionblack bean brownies

  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divide into two ¼ cup portions (no nibbling!)
  • 3 TBSP olive oil –  I use Kroger Lighter Flavor Olive Oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Use a food processor* to process the black beans, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, and oil.
  3. Add in the eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Process until really smooth.
  4. Spray an 8 or 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
  5. Add the brownie mixture and sprinkle with ¼ cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean. When cool, cut into 12 squares. Store in the refrigerator. They are even better when cold anyway.

*I can’t imagine making these without a food processor, but I suppose you could. I really hate dragging mine out, remembering how to put it together, and especially cleaning it up after using it. So, I might try sometime. You would have to really mash up those beans. The choc chips could be melted a bit, or chopped, or just put in whole so they would add more texture. The rest should be easy.

So, what was the result!  Fabulous!  So fudgy. Almost fudge, really. You can tell by the black bean brownies nutrition
photo that my husband and son liked them, too. They each ate two, although they added a bit of ice cream.  I thought they were great. And, one brownie just about took care of my chocolate craving.  Although, I did eat a second one after a light lunch today.

So, what about the calories? The original posting listed them as having 167 calories with 7 grams of fat.   When I ran my recipe through MyFitnessPal, I got 183 calories with 8 grams of fat. I think the difference might be in the size of the eggs. I used large ones and I think the recipe might be a bit dry without that much.

I was kind of surprised that there is no flour in this recipe. It was listed as “gluten-free.”  While I don’t really care if there is gluten or not, this should be beneficial to those who need that.  Actually, this has whet my appetite to try out other recipes in which beans are a major component. I am thinking I will try Pumpkin Bars next. But, I have to get the Brownies eaten (or maybe frozen) first.

 

Impossibly Easy MIND diet recipe conversion

Recipes, The MIND Diet, Whole Grains

I have to admit that I have always liked using Bisquick, especially the Impossibly Easy Pie recipes.  I actually have a whole cookbook devoted to them.

However, when I reviewed the ingredients in the original Bisquick and even the HeartSmart Bisquick, they didn’t look to me like they fit the MIND diet very well.  Both have refined flour instead of whole wheat.  The main difference in the HeartSmart type that might make it a tweak healthier is that it has canola oil instead of Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil.

So, I decided to look for or concoct a healthier substitute. I found that I wasn’t the first with that idea – at least to make a substitute with whole wheat. There are lots of recipes out there, but the one decided would work best for me is this one for a “small portion.” Granted, this defeats the purpose of having a mix on hand to whip up something fast, but without the preservatives, I thought it would be better to make it when I need it.

Yikes, it has whole wheat, but also Crisco!  That seems kind of silly since the original and heart-smart Bisquick contain oils. For the MIND diet, I really wanted to use olive oil. I have run into this problem before when I made Pecan Cinnamon Scones. The original recipe called for butter or margarine, but I found lots of sites that said using 3/4 as much olive oil as butter or margarine works in most recipes.

So, this is now my version:

1-cup Bisquick substitute (B-sub) for the MIND diet                    PDF version 

  • 1 cup of whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 TBSP olive oil  (2 1/4 tsp)

Mix the olive oil into other ingredients with a pastry blender or put it in other liquids in the recipe in which you are using the B-sub.

 

For the first test of my new concoction, I decided to adapt this Impossibly Easy French Apple Pie from Betty Crocker.  Here is my version:

Impossible French Apple Pie for the MIND diet                         PDF version

Filling

  • 3 cups sliced apples – I peeled mine, but I have made this kind of recipe with the peels
  • 1 tsp cinnamon – I omitted the 1/4 tsp nutmeg because I really don’t like it
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup of Splenda (granulated) -the kind you buy in a big bag
  • 1/2 cup 1% milk
  • 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil (the 3/4 TBSP for the Bisquick sub and 3/4 TBSP for the recipe)
  • 2 eggs

Struesel:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour ( I didn’t add the rest of the Bisquick ingredients here)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar (2 TBSP)
  • 1/8 cup Splenda granulated (2 TBSP)
  • 1 1/2 TBSP oil

Slice the apples into a 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle with cinnamon and mix in a bit.
Mix the filling and pour over apple mixture.
Mix the struesel and sprinkle on the top
Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees.  Cool a bit before cutting.  Store left-overs (if there are any) in the refrigerator.

Impossibly Easy MIND diet recipe conversion

I have to admit that I have not tasted the pie yet. I made it this afternoon and my tasting panel (my husband and son) gave it the thumps up, even after I told them how I adapted it.

This pie was firmer than I remember fruit-based Impossible pies being. It made it easy to cut! My son said it was more like an apple bread, but he liked it. Maybe I could cut down a bit on the flour next time.

I am saving my piece for breakfast in the morning. I can’t really eat something like this as dessert because it has almost as many calories as I eat in a meal (237 calories). If you have read my post on eating dessert for breakfast, you know this is my strategy for eating dessert foods once in a while. I often make just one serving so I am not tempted by left-overs, but I know the left-overs of this pie won’t last long.

This is only the beginning. There are a jillion “Impossibly easy” recipes out there.

 

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Salads are Natural for the MIND diet

Leafy Vegetables, Recipes,

It’s really hot here in the midlands so not much cooking going on. It’s good weather for salads, though.  I have found several that seem like they are naturals for the MIND diet. Some need a bit of modification like switching to olive oil or omitting the cheese.  The salads below all contain 3 or 4 of the recommended MIND diet foods.

The first one that comes to mind is one of my favorites:

Mixed greens salad with strawberries and candied almonds
http://www.pickycook.com/soupandsalad/mixedgreenssaladwithstrawberriesandcandiedalmonds.aspx
I’m not going to repeat the recipes on this page. I will point out the foods recommended on the MIND diet and, in a few recipes, foods to avoid. These are the recommended MIND diet foods in the

  • Green, leafy vegetable
  • Berries
  • Nuts
  • Olive oil

This recipe is “just about perfect” for the MIND diet except for the sugar on the almonds.  I love them that way, but not sure if that might count as a pastry/sweet that is listed as a food to avoid on the MIND diet. Actually, the recommendation is to eat pastries/sweets less than 5 times a week. So, if you use the sugar, you might want to count against that. On the other hand, this salad is just about as good if you don’t sugar the almonds.

Bell Pepper, Tomato, Cucumber, and Grilled Bread Salad
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bell-pepper-tomato-cucumber-grilled-bread-salad

  • whole grain (if you use whole wheat bread)
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

I haven’t tried this one yet. It looks like the kind of recipe you can add a bit of chicken breast to and have a whole meal. The chicken would add a 4th MIND diet recommended food.

Bulgur Salad with Edamame and Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bulgur-salad-with-edamame-cherry-tomatoes

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain
  • olive oil

Another good way to get some whole grain in to a salad.

Black Bean and Corn Salad Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/black-bean-and-corn-salad-recipe.html

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain (corn)
  • olive oil

I love this one. I usually use a little bit of red pepper instead of hot sauce, and sometimes a few jalapeños.   I always add some cilantro.

Spinach, Apple and Pecan Salad
http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-apple-and-pecan-salad-29765

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Cabbage & Carrot Crunch Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/cabbage-and-carrot-crunch-salad?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign=ob%20articles

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • other vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Wild Rice and Celery Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/wild-rice-and-celery-salad

    • whole grain
    • other vegetable
    • berries (if you use the cranberries)
    • olive oil

Strawberry and Spinach Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/strawberry-and-spinach-salad

  • berries (strawberry vinegar sounds interesting)
  • green leafy vegetable
  • olive oil
  • omit the cheese for MIND diet (or use as “<1 per week”)

Three bean salad
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/86229/three-bean-salad/

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

Of course, you don’ t have to stick to 3 types of beans, or these exact ones. I have made this most often with green beans, yellow beans, and pinto beans.  I usually add more sugar or sweetener or agave than this recipe includes.  So, add more to taste.

Well, that is a pretty good collection.  It’s so nice to find recipes that already follow the MIND diet without having to make a lot of changes. If you have a favorite to add, please make a comment.

 

Desserts for breakfast on the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet

The other day I made oatmeal cookies with oil instead of butter and enjoyed a couple for lunch with my cottage cheese and blueberries. They were really good, but the recipe made 15 cookies and my husband didn’t care much for them. That left me with 13 cookies staring at me, the original COOKIE MONSTER.

The next day I discovered that 3 of those cookies made the perfect breakfast. Not much different, ingredient-wise, than eating oatmeal with sweetener and cinnamon, but a more appealing texture.  I didn’t even count them as one of my 4 pastries and sweets per week allowed by the MIND diet.

But, having those sitting around made me get into problem-solving mode. I also still have Pecan Cinnamon Scones and Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins in my freezer from earlier recipe tests.  I either have to stop testing new recipes or eat more than I should or waste food.  Then, it occurred to me that the answer is easy, single-serving recipes based on recommended MIND diet foods. I have tried a couple so far and I must share them.

My first inspiration came from Betty Crocker’s Build-Your-Own Microwave Mug Cobbler.  Of course, the strawberries and blueberries caught my attention, but I didn’t want to have to work on a whole grain substitute for Bisquick, so I looked around. I found an almost perfect recipe in this Single-serving Fruit Crisp.  The recipe said to cook it in the oven, but I used the cooking instructions from Betty Crocker and cooked it in the microwave. I also added some slivered almonds to get in another recommended food. This was the result:

Blueberry Crisp in a Mug                     PDF version

Mix in a mug:blueberry crisp in a mug

  • 1/2 cup blueberries (I used fresh, but frozen should be ok)
  • 1/2 TBSP agave (or sugar or sweetener, if you prefer)

Mix separately in a small bowl:

  • 3 TBSP oatmeal (I used old-fashioned)
  • 1 TBSP whole wheat flour
  • 1 TBSP agave (or sugar or sweetener to taste)
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Spread this mixture over the blueberries. Top with:

  • 1 TBSP slivered almonds

Bake in microwave about 2 minutes until the berries bubble up over the topping a bit (My microwave is 700 watts; if you have a more powerful one, try 1 minutes first. Or, if you use frozen blueberries, it might take longer.)

This was a yummy breakfast! With the almonds, it was 258 calories and it kept me satisfied until noon. It was easy and I didn’t have any left-overs to worry about.

 

And then, another inspiration came along. On the Today Show, they mentioned French Toast in a Mug. They didn’t really give a recipe, but my first thought was: “I have to try that.” So, today I did and it was yummy.

Pecan french toast in a mug

French Toast in a Mug with Pecans
PDF version

Combine in a mug:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 TBSP milk (I used 1%)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 TBSP syrup (I used Kroger Sugar-Free)

Cut into ½ inch cubes:

  • 1 slice whole wheat bread

Add bread to mixture in mug and mix up so all bread is moistened.  Let sit while doing next step.

Chop:

  • 4 pecan halves (about 1 TBSP)

Put pecans on top.

Microwave on high about 1 ½ minute, until bread is no longer moist.

Top with:

  • 1 TBSP syrup (I used Kroger Sugar-Free)

Let cool a couple of minutes or maybe 5. It is really hot.

With the pecans, this was 242 calories. The pecans were 47 calories, so it would be less than 200 without them.

This was my best creation yet. It might have been more like bread pudding than French Toast?  Or, actually, it was kind of Like a Pecan Roll!  And, I don’t even feel the need to count it against my Pastries/Sweets quota.