Category Archives: Whole Grains

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.

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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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

Single-serving munches and lunches on the MIND diet

Whole Grains

I have been working on single serving recipes of recommended foods that I can use either for meals or for snacks.  Because I am watching my calorie intake, these will probably be mostly for meals even though they seem like snack food.

Why am I working on single serving recipes?  These are snack-type foods.  It is dangerous for me to have more than one serving available at a time. I think you will see why when you see the recipes I have tried. If you want more, you can always multiply. I think it is easier to multiply recipes than divide.

I am trying to base these recipes on nuts, beans, and whole grains and using olive oil when fat is required. Of course, fruits and vegetables make good snacks, but they are obvious and they don’t usually need recipes.

Here are a couple of recipes I have tried:

Sugar and Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps – Yum. Makes a nice breakfast.nutrition info sugar and cinnamon crisps

  • 2 whole wheat but lower calorie tortillas. (I use Mi Mama’s Low Carb Tortillas because they have 70 calories per tortilla.)
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp olive oil

Brush the olive oil on the tortillas or spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes until crisp-watch closely; cut in 8 wedges. Enjoy.

With all that sugar, I count this as one of my Sweets/Pastries for the week. I could try cutting down on sugar or even using part sweetener.
It might work to use a little water instead of oil to make the sugar and cinnamon stick. Maybe I will try one that way and one with oil next time and compare them.

 

Single –serving Party Mix for the MIND diet – based on the original Chex Party Mix

  • 1 cup Corn Chexnutrition info MIND diet party mix
  • ¼ cup Lightly salted Peanuts
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp Olive Oil
  • ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Heat oven to 250 degrees.
Mix the Chex and the peanuts in a 9 x 9 pan.
Sprinkle with garlic powder (and some salt, if desired)
Mix the olive oil and Worc.
Sauce, sprinkle over the Chex and Peanut, and stir well.

Bake for an hour stirring every 15 minutes (or microwave as stated on the original recipe but I like it a bit crispy).

I ate this for lunch today and it felt pretty decadent. It is a good thing I just had the one serving available!  It could have use a little salt or maybe a little more Worc. Sauce. Or, regular peanuts instead of the lightly salted ones.

Kind of pricey, calorie-wise. I suppose I could use less peanuts.

I am assuming the peanuts are included in the nuts category for the MIND diet and the Corn Chex as whole grain (they have the whole grain council symbol, but only 12 grams of whole grain). Maybe I should look for another cereal with more whole grain per serving.

 

That is all I have tried so far. I have lots of ideas but I haven’t tried them out yet. Here are a few I plan to work on:

  • Flour tortilla crisps with taco-like seasoning
  • Corn tortilla crisps with taco-like seasoning
  • Tortilla roll-ups with Greek yogurt, grated veggies, and spices
  • Black bean dip with baked corn chips
  • Roasted chick peas – lots of recipes for that online
  • With veggies. Or whole grain pita crisps, corn tortilla crisps
  • Popcorn, maybe with spices or cinnamon and sugar? Have to work on popping a single serving in a lunch bag in the microwave.

 

Nutrition Info calculated at MyFitnessPal.com

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.

 

“Holy” whole grain foods

Whole Grains

I know that they are not really “Holy,” but the MIND diet folks based their assessment of this ingredient on at least 3 servings per day to award the whole 1 point. That is more than any of the other foods, so it does seem to be pretty important.

I’m going to have to work on this one.  I have spent quite a bit of time on low carb diets. I wouldn’t call the TLC diet that I have been on recently low carb, but by the time I eat its other requirements there are not many calories left for carbs. And now the MIND diet wants me to add  beans and nuts.

The first thing I need to figure out is what qualifies as a whole grain. The MIND diet articles do not give any guidance on this.  I found this great site by the Whole Grans Council that explains this well and seems to be an authority. Actually, I am a little leery, because the members of this group are mostly food vendors that vend whole grain foods so they could be a bit biased. I haven’t found a better authority, though, so for now, this site is my authority.

These are things that I eat already that qualify, according to the Whole Grain Council:
Oatmeal
Oroweat whole grain bread
Grape nuts?  And Kroger Nutty Nuggets
Brown rice
Whole grain rotini and egg noodles
Barley in soup
Corn. Does it really count?  Corn tortillas? corn meal?
Muffins made with whole wheat flour

Occasionally,  I eat:
Quinoa. But haven’t found a way to fix it that we really like
Wild rice
Popcorn

I am going to work on adding to my repertoire.  There are tons of recipes.
Suggestions from the USDA.
The American Heart Association is in favor also, but doesn’t give a whole lot of helpful hints.
Rodale’s thoughts on the subject

How can I tell if foods are really Whole Grains?

1. Look for the Whole Grains Council stamp

2. Review criteria set by the Whole Grains Council

3. Check out other sites that give assessments of foods. For example the Fooducate site (or app).  This is its assessment of Grape=Nuts.

Scientific American has some thoughts on why whole grains are not always healthy.