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Thursday LOVELAND REPORTER-HERALD/Health Line of Northern Colorado February 18, 2010 17
Healthy Plate
Delicious winter salad Francine Schafer, graduate student The Nutrition Center @ CSU
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alads are often considered a summertime meal or side dish due to the growing season of vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. This recipe is perfect for winter, however, and makes use of squash which are plentiful and affordable at the time of year. Pumpkin can also be substituted in the early winter months. February is American Heart Month, and this recipe can be part of a heart healthy diet. It is low in sodium, total fat, and saturated fat, but is a good source of healthy unsaturated fat. The salad is also high in fiber, which is beneficial for lowering cholesterol. Although the dish is low in fat, goat cheese is not a low-fat cheese. It contributes a rich, creamy flavor to the recipe, and a little bit goes a long way, so enjoy it in moderation.
Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad Number of servings: 8 Serving size: 1 ½ cups Start to finish: 50 minutes Adapted from a recipe by Ross Dobson as seen in Bon Appetit magazine Ingredients: ¾ cup green lentils 6 cups peeled, seeded butternut squash, cut into ½ inch cubes 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon sea salt 8 cups mixed salad greens ½ cup soft goat cheese, crumbled ¼ cup mint leaves, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Drain lentils, rinse under cold water, then drain again. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place butternut squash in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and spices. Arrange squash in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes. Turn squash over, and roast another 10-15 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool. Combine lentils and butternut squash the remaining ingredients and olive oil. Nutrient information per serving — 157 calories; 7 g fat (2 g saturated fat, Directions: Place lentils in a small 4 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunbowl. Cover them with cold water, saturated fat, 0 g trans fat); 3 mg soak for 10 minutes, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until ten- cholesterol; 22 g carbohydrate; 5 g proder but firm, approximately 30 minutes. tein; 8 g fiber; 141 mg sodium
Cook with a chicken canvass Jim Romanoff Associated Press
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oneless, skinless chicken breasts may be great nutritionally speaking, but they can fall pretty flat when it comes to flavor. Consider that a plus, a healthy blank canvas on which other flavors can shine. First, cook them quickly and then use the cooking process to create a flavorful pan sauce.
Island Chicken Servings: 4 Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 /4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 /2 teaspoon ground black
Photo special to the RH
pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 12-ounce package fresh pineapple chunks 1 /2 cup orange juice 1 /2 teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 jalapeno chilies, seeded and minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Directions: Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer on a work surface and cover with plastic wrap. Using a heavy skillet or a rolling pin, pound them until flattened to about 1/2-inch thick. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pep-
stove over medium-low. Add the drained pineapple and brown sugar. Cook, stirper. Dredge both sides of each breast in the seasoned ring constantly, until the pineapple begins to brown, flour. 3 to 4 minutes. Add the In a large nonstick skillet chilies and garlic and stir over medium-high, heat the until the garlic is beginning oil and butter. Add the to color, 1 to 2 minutes. chicken breasts and cook Stir in the reserved juice. until they are well browned Bring the sauce to a simmer on both sides and no longer and cook until thickened pink at the center, about 4 and reduced slightly, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer minutes. Stir in the cilantro, them to a plate and cover then serve, spooned over with foil to keep warm. Do the chicken breasts. not clean the skillet. Nutrition information per While the chicken breasts serving (values are rounded are cooking, drain the juice to the nearest whole numfrom the pineapple into a ber): 268 calories; 70 calomeasuring cup. Add enough ries from fat; 8 g fat (3 g satorange juice to total 3/4 cup. urated; 0 g trans fats); 76 Stir in the cornstarch, then mg cholesterol; 19 g carboset aside. hydrate; 28 g protein; 1 g Return the skillet to the fiber; 133 mg sodium.