Category Archives: Recipes

Cookies for Lunch on the MIND diet

Recipes, Whole Grains

I love cookies! So, today I decided to look for a recipe that I could adapt to eat for lunch and not feel guilty about.  The MIND diet has made me feel less guilty about eating carbs, as long as they are whole grain.

Of course, the recipe had to use oil instead of stick margarine or butter.  I decided to look for oatmeal cookies, so I googled oatmeal cookies and oil.  I found an almost perfect recipe at http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2014/11/30/the-ultimate-healthy-soft-chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/  and headed to the kitchen.

I used olive oil in place of the coconut oil. I have olive oil that doesn’t have much taste. Since I am watching my calories, I used Sugar-free syrup for the agave. Another minor substitution was old-fashioned oats for the instant oats, since that is what I had.

oatmeal cookies

The cookies turned out pretty good. They are chewy and soft, like the recipe promised.  I thought about putting walnuts in them and then they would have had some crunch, but that would have added a lot more calories.  The way it was, I had 2 for lunch along with some fat-free cottage cheese and blueberries. That satisfied my need for cookies for a while.

My husband’s appraisal was that they needed frosting.  They actually could use a little more sugar or sweetener.

Oatmeal Cookies made with olive oil for the MIND diet               PDF version

  • 1 cup oatmeal (I used old-fashioned, but instant should be fine, too)
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sugar-free syrup (see options below)
  • 1/4 cup raisins

Mix the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients separately. Then, fold the liquids into the dry ingredients until barely mixed and fold in the raisins.  Chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the cookies onto the sheet so that you have 15 cookies. I used the medium Pampered Chef scoop that holds just over 1 TBSP and it came out just right.  Flatten the cookies a bit.

Bake for about 11 minutes and let them cool on the pan a few minutes.

oatmeal cookies nutrition part 1

Nutrition Facts calculated on MyFitnessPal.com.
Calories per cookie, if other sweeteners used:

  • ½ cup brown sugar and 5 TBSP milk -103 calories
  • ½ cup agave – 103 calories
  • ½ cup regular syrup -99 calories

Calories per cookie if ½ cup chopped walnuts added to recipe using sugar free syrup:  92
Calories per cookie if ½ cup chopped walnuts added to recipe using sugar free syrup + ¼ cup brown sugar:  102

 

When I finish this batch, I am going to try some with the walnuts and brown sugar.

oatmeal cookies nutrition part 2

Success! Beans and Rice Lunch for the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet, , ,

The other day I tried to make beans and rice for lunch and failed.  The outcome was too hot to eat!  See the sad tale here.  I didn’t think I would be ready to try it again, but today the black beans sitting in my refrigerator got to me and I decided to try again.

I was very cautious this time and added the spices a little bit at a time and then tasted.  At first, it was too bland. I kept adding more and finally made it to my taste.  It reminded me of Goldilocks’ experience–too hot, too cold, and eventually just right.  I learned a lot about adapting recipes, especially for single servings.

This is the final product:

Black Beans and Rice  1 serving                               PDF version

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup red pepper (or green, if that is what you have)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or pinto beans or whatever)
  • 1/4 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
  • 1/8 tsp cumin
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Sauté the onion, celery, and red pepper in the olive oil about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute longer. Add the beans to heat and then the rice. Season to taste. The listed spices suited me, but I was still being cautious. Probably could have used a little more.

Enjoy.  I ate mine with 1/4 of an avocado, which added up to about a 300 calorie lunch.

A whole grain, a serving of black beans and rice
beans, a serving of ‘other vegetables,’ all cooked in olive oil. Seems like a win for the MIND diet and met my goal for a filling, low-calorie lunch, too.

 

 

 

Nutrition info calculated in MyFitnessPal.comblack beans and rice nutrition

Failed recipe for the MIND diet

Recipes, The MIND Diet, Uncategorized, , ,

I tried to make Red Beans and Rice for my lunch today, but it wasn’t very edible. I got through about half of it but then threw it out. I won’t be able to face it again for a while, so I thought I would post it in hopes that someone else would refine it.

I started with this recipe for inspiration: Authentic Louisiana Red Beans and Rice.

My plan was to make a single-serving because, if I really didn’t like it, I didn’t want more than one. Unfortunately, it is something my husband would eat.

The problem started with the rice. I had Uncle Ben’s Instant Brown Rice, which I usually use successfully to make 4 servings using the stove top method. I wanted to make just one serving so I used the microwave method.  I divided the 4 serving amounts by 4 and ended up with 2 TBSP of the dry rice and 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth.  I scaled back the cooking times as I thought appropriate: 5 minutes on high, then 5 minutes on medium, then let it stand for 5 minutes. My microwave is only about 700 watts so not too high. But, this didn’t work. It looked ok after the first 5 minutes but after the second 5 minutes and standing time, it was all brown (browner than brown rice should be) and hard. I tried again and just cooked it 5 minutes on high and then let it stand 5 minutes. Better, but not very fluffy.  The box does say that the stove-top method is preferred and now I see why. Next time, I will cook 4 servings on the stove and just use what I need. Or, use left-over rice because I usually do have a bit when I make 4 servings.

I used 1/4 cup each of onion, red pepper, and celery and 1 clove garlic. I sautéed the veggies in 1/2 tsp olive oil.  That all worked well and smelled great.

I went to add 1/4 cup of pinto beans, but found out I didn’t have any. I used black beans and they seemed like a good substitution.

The biggest problem, though, was the scaling down of the spices.  I thought I did the math right, but somehow the result was HOT.  I like Hot, but this was too HOT. One of the reasons was that I didn’t have the Cajun Seasoning that was called for. So, I looked up a substitute on Allrecipes.

These were my seasonings

  • 1/8 tsp thyme
  • 1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/16 tsp sage
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp Cajun seasoning (I used the spices listed below for a substitute)
    • 1/8 tsp salt
    • 1/8 tsp oregano
    • 1/8 tsp paprika
    • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper – I only used 1/8 tsp of this mixture so not much
    • 1/8 tsp black pepper

Anyway, that was too much cayenne for me. I found that trying to scale down spices to one serving was a challenge.

If you compare my recipe to the inspiration recipe, you might wonder what happened to the sausage.  For the lunch I was making, I decided to omit it. I still think this would be fine without it. If I were making it for dinner, I might add some chicken sausage.

Since this was so HOT, I couldn’t taste much else. But, I did like the texture of the veggies and beans – not the rice.  I wasn’t sure if I liked the other spices in this recipe. I like them all in other recipes, but here not so much. I am thinking the next time I try this, I might use chili powder and cumin.  With some avocado slices and cilantro, I think that is more my style.

 

 

 

 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Olive Oil Salad Dressing for the MIND diet

Olive Oil, Recipes

One of the requirements of the MIND diet is using olive oil as the primary oil.  The main place I use oil is in salad dressing. Now that I am eating a big green salad almost every day, I use even more oil that way (although I usually use only 1 TBSP on a side salad).

When I looked for store-bought salad dressings using olive oil, I didn’t see anything that looked good to me. I decided it was time to stop being lazy and try making my own.  I had been using Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette most recently, so that is what I tried to imitate. Since I am also trying to cut down on calories, too, I am trying to make a light version.

I started with this recipe for Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad
Dressing.  It’s actually pretty close, but a little heavy on the vinegar. I added a TBSP of brown sugar this time. Next time, I will try a little less vinegar and a little more water.

Olive Oil Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
  • 2 TBSP brown sugar
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (I use a microplane grater)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

I just whisk it all together.  With that little bit of oil in it, you don’t have to worry much about getting it emulsified.

This recipe makes 3/4 cup. Add a little water if needed to make this amount. This is 12 TBSP.  I use 1 TBSP on a small dinner salad and 2 TBSP for a salad that is the whole meal.

One serving (1 TBSP) has 24 calories.

I am keeping this in the refrigerator, but I think this is just a habit. The ingredients wouldn’t have to be refrigerated individually and I will have it used up within 2 weeks at the most.

I considered using sweetener for at least half of the sugar, but it is pretty low calorie the way it is. I can never decide which is worse – sugar or sweetener.

This recipe doesn’t have much olive oil in it: 1/12 of a TBSP (1/4 tsp) per serving. I am assuming that it is not the consumption of olive oil that is the benefit but the fact that it is replacing the consumption of other oils.  At least with this as my salad dressing, I can say that olive oil is my primary oil. I probably need to do more research on this.

Next, I need to tackle olive oil-based mayo.

 

No queso quesadilla recipe for the MIND diet

Recipes

I love Mexican food!  Or, at least what I consider Mexican food- probably not very authentic. But, a major ingredient of everything I consider Mexican is cheese, so I had to rethink this.

I love Mexican food more than anyone else in my family does. So, I can’t really make Mexican for dinner as often as I would like. I do get my Mexican fix at least weekly by fixing myself something at lunch.  My most frequent would be a little taco meat on a slice of bread with taco sauce and cheese melted on top. It was easy to use whole grain bread and make my taco meat with ground turkey, but what to do for the cheese??

Today, I got out my quesadilla maker and got creative. I’m sure you could do this without an actual quesadilla maker, too.

No Queso Quesadilla                                 PDF version

Spray the quesadilla maker and warm it up.  Spread the refried beans on one tortilla. Put the tortilla on the quesadilla maker and distribute the turkey on each section, so it doesn’t cover the ridges.  Add the olives, cilantro, and onion.  Dab on the salsa. Top with the second tortilla.  Close the maker and let it cook until the ‘done’ light comes on – about 5 minutes.

Move to a plate and cut into wedges.  I ate this with some slices of red pepper. It was a really good Mexican fix.  And, it ticked the box for whole grain – I am going to call it 2 servings of whole grain. I know ‘low carb tortilla’ doesn’t sound like whole grain, but it looks like it qualifies to me. This type of tortilla is locally made. The reason I like it, besides it being whole grain, is that the 6 inch tortillas are just 70 calories each. I am also calling this one of my 4 servings of beans for the week. I didn’t even miss the cheese (much).

According to MyFitnessPal, the calorie count is 268 calories.

Quesadilla before top tortilla added
Quesadilla before top tortilla added

 

 

Quesadilla just done cooking
Quesadilla just done cooking
Quesadilla Plated
Quesadilla Plated

Pecan Cinnamon Scones for the MIND diet recipe makeover

Olive Oil, Recipes,

Scones are one of my favorite things to have for breakfast.  All of the recipes I have for them including cutting in butter or margarine sticks. I decided to try to use the rules I found to substitute olive oil for the sticks.  Looks like the rule is to use about 3/4 as much oil as the butter or margarine the recipe calls for.

I am using this Pecan Cinnamon Scones recipe as a starter. It looks good and I especially like that it has pecans in it, because I like pecans and because nuts are recommended on the MIND diet.  I used all whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup of brown sugar, which was plenty sweet. Following the rule to use 3/4 as much olive oil as butter, I used 3/8 of a cup (6 TBSP) instead of 1/2 cup. I also used regular salt and regular 1% milk instead of buttermilk.

Pecan Cinnamon Scone
Pecan Cinnamon Scone

My scones turned out great!  The brown sugar and whole wheat is so good with the pecans.

They are moist yet a bit crumbly good. There is a down side, though. The calorie count with all those pecans is 372 per scone — more than I usually eat for breakfast.  Bur, they have whole grains, nuts, and olive oil.  I suppose they count as a “pastry or sweet” so I will have to count each as one of my four per week to get the point for avoiding pastries and sweets.

Pecan Cinnamon Scones for the MIND diet                 PDF version

  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 6 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 to 5 TBSP 1% milk
  • 2 tsp. white sugar
  1. Toast the pecans in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes, turning after each minute.
  2. Mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. Whisk the egg and add the olive oil and vanilla to it.
  4. Gently stir the liquid into the dry ingredients just until barely mixed.
  5. Add 4 TBSP of the milk and the pecans.
  6. Mix gently as little as possible. Knead it with clean hands right in the bowl. If it doesn’t cling together well, add 1 more TBSP milk.
  7. Turn out onto greased baking pan and pat into a round disc about 6 to 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.
  8. Cut into 8 wedges but don’t separate.
  9. Sprinkle with the white sugar
  10. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Scone after kneading in bowl
Scones after kneading in bowl
Scones after than have been cut
Scones after they have been cut

 

nutrtition info
Calculated in MyFitnessPal

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins – MIND diet Makeover

Berries, Recipes, Whole Grains, ,

I found a recipe for Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins with Blueberries at a site called Making Healthier Decisions.  It just needed a few tweaks to make it optimal for the MIND diet.

I substituted olive oil for the vegetable oil, used all whole wheat flour instead of half white flour, and added a whole cup of blueberries (fresh, not frozen)  instead of half a cup. I also used old-fashioned oatmeal instead of quick-cooking, just because that is what I had on hand.

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins                     PDF Version

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup oatmeal, instant or old-fashioned
  • 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin

Mix the oil, brown sugar, applesauce and egg.  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oatmeal.  Combine the two very gently, as little as possible. Blend in the blueberries very carefully.dipping

Use a heaping 1/4 cup ice cream  type scoop to divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

These are good muffins. The major change I made was using all whole wheat flour. I see that lots of recipes use the half and half way, but omitting the while flour seemed to work fine in this recipe.

The calorie count came out at 171 calories, so I can eat one for breakfast along with some additional fruit or cottage cheese. I believe I can count it as 1 of my 3 whole grain products for the day. There is only 1/12 of a cup of blueberries in each muffin, though, so I won’t be counting it as one of my berries for the week. Using olive oil will contribute to being able to say I use olive oil as my primary oil.

I do feel a little bad about the brown sugar. I hope that does not put these muffins in the Pastries and Sweets category. I guess that wouldn’t be a big problem because up to 5 of those are allowed per week.

 

Mexican Party Salad–Recipe make-over for MIND diet

Recipes, ,

I was looking for a salad recipe to take to a potluck and found Betty Crocker’s Layered Mexican Party Salad that was just about right.  It already had three ingredients that are recommended on the MIND diet (leafy, green vegetable; other vegetable; and beans), but I wanted to make it over to include more.

It was easy to use olive oil for the vegetable oil. The biggest problem was the Suddenly Salad Pasta salad mix.  I have never purchased this product, but I didn’t think it comes in a  whole grain.  Since that, I found that there is a Southwest Grains version that is based on brown rice and whole grain quinoa. However, it looks like it has lots of ingredients (intended and unintended) that I might not want to use it anyway.

Anyway, I tried to duplicate the Suddenly Salad Classic Mix using whole grain rotini. I cooked about 6 oz to the al dente stage. I made the flavoring for it by mixing dried parsley, garlic powder, and pepper into the olive oil, with the cumin and water and mixed that into the rotini.

I didn’t use refrigerated guacamole. I mashed one avocado and added a bit of lime juice instead. It was ok, but I didn’t take it much. Next time, I will either add 2 or 3 avocados or omit it altogether since it didn’t add much to the taste.

I have to admit that I did add the cheese, so that would have to be my cheese serving for the week. Ouch!  I did omit the chips. They just get soggy anyway.

The result was “OK,” but it was a little flat. The leftovers were good when I added some Italian salad dressing and taco sauce. Next time, I will add more spices, maybe a taco seasoning mix or my recipe for the home-made version of taco mix. Also, it was maybe a little heavy on the rotini. I think 4 oz would have been plenty.

I still think this is a good recipe to make-over. With the olive oil and whole grain, it would hit 5 of the 10 recommended foods on the MIND diet.

I need to make this again. Next time, I will try to remember to take a picture!