Our Blog has Moved!

We moved our blog in September 2008 and there are some people still getting directed to this outdated blog. We're trying to solve this problem. In the meantime, please head on over to our new blog at www.MealMakeoverMoms.com/blog.
Thanks!!

Check out our new Website!

We’re happy to report that our website has undergone an extreme makeover and is ready for all to see and surf. We now have a redesigned blog, lots of new recipes, over two dozen nutrition articles, and mealtime tools to help you plan fast and healthy family meals (even if you have picky eaters at home). While you are on the site tune in to our weekly radio podcast (Cooking with the Moms), sign up for our e-newsletter, and watch one of our many cooking videos. The new tagline for MealMakeoverMoms.com is Healthy Meals with Kid Appeal.

Please note that we will no longer be posting to this Blogspot blog. However, we’ll still be blogging at least once a week to our new blog at MealMakeoverMoms.com. Once you have had a chance to visit our new site please post your feedback on our new blog. Happy surfing!

Join us for Breakfast!

If you've never listened to the Vicky and Jen What Really Matters radio podcast, be sure to tune in. We recently "met" this dynamic duo of the podcast world when they invited us to be guests on their weekly show. Lucky for us, Vicky and Jen (two moms dedicated to making lifer easier for everyone) included us in three podcasts. The first, Breakfast in a Jiffy, features lots of our Meal Makeover Mom advice as well as a few recipes your kids will definitely love (including Banana Blueberry Pancakes --a perennial favorite with Liz's boys).

To hear our two additional interviews on snacks and lunch, cruise on over to Vicky and Jen's website, and while you're there, listen to their other 100 episodes on topics ranging from organizing your kitchen to traveling on a budget!

Magical Beans

We wanted to let you know about a promotional event that Beans. The Vegetable with More® campaign has just launched. It's a contest to encourage America to reinvent the classic schoolyard chant, “Beans, beans the musical fruit.”

For years, children and parents have recited variations of this memorable chant, but what they don’t realize is that something in the lyrics is wrong - beans are a vegetable, not a fruit! While 3 out of 4 adults know the bean chant, only 1 in 4 know that beans are actually a vegetable. It’s time to set the record straight!

The Magical Veggie Challenge invites the public to grab a video camera and record an original bean chant. The requirements are:
· Begin your chant with the phrase “Beans, beans”
· Convey somewhere in your lyrics/chant that beans are a veggie or vegetable

Visit http://www.beanchant.com/ before Dec. 12, 2008 for more information and to upload videos for a chance to win the grand prize – $5,000 and a trip for four to perform the winning chant at a February event in Times Square hosted by Drew Lachey, multi-platinum recording artist, bean fan and dad. Good luck!

Now that you're thinking about beans, we suggest you try cooking with them. In this week's Cooking with the Moms podcast, we share an Italian-inspired bean cake recipe featuring cannellini beans. Click here to listen to the show and download our recipe for No-Crabs-Allowed Cakes.

After-School Snack Attack:

If you're like us, kitchen craziness kicks in every day around 3:00PM when the kids get home from school. After backpacks are unloaded and hands are washed, it's snack-attack time. What you choose for a snack can have a major impact -- either positive or negative -- on the quality of your child's overall diet. In this week's Cooking with the Moms radio podcast, we feature lots of healthy snack ideas along with two snack recipes: Lime 'n Honey Black Bean Dip and our oh-so-delicious Grab & Go Granola Bars. Be sure to tune in to our podcast to get the skinny on snacking or check out our Smart Snacking story featured in this month's issue of Kiwi magazine (it's on the news stand now).

Lime ‘n Honey Black Bean Dip
Makes 6 to 8 Servings

One 15 ½ -ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Place the beans, salsa, sour cream, lime juice, honey, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.

2. Serve with baked tortilla chips or baby carrots.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1/4 cup): 60 calories, 0.5g fat (0g saturated fat), 180mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 3g protein

If you have a favorite after-school snack idea you'd like to share, post it here on our blog!

Back-to-School Brain Food

In today's Cooking with the Moms radio podcast, our featured topic, Back-to-School Brain Food, highlights the importance of feeding kids a delicious array of foods rich in omega-3 fats, iron, and zinc -- all important for brain health. Be sure to listen in as we share two family favorites, Teriyaki Salmon in Foil and Szechuan Beef Stir-Fry. Also tune in to hear our 9-year old guest, Simon (Liz's son), talk about clever ways to get kids to eat their veggies and to learn about his latest food jag: quesadillas. Here's a recipe Simon asks for when he's having a quesadilla craving:

BBQ Beef Quesadillas

Makes 4 Servings

6 to 8 ounces leftover steak (or chicken or shrimp), diced into small pieces

1 orange, yellow or red bell pepper, roasted or grilled and finely diced

2/3 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons all-natural barbecue sauce

Four 10-inch flour tortillas

2 teaspoons canola oil

Combine the steak, bell pepper, corn kernels, cheese, and barbecue sauce in a bowl. Divide the mixture evenly and spread over half of each tortilla. Fold over, press down gently, and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add two of the quesadillas and cook, pressing down occasionally with a spatula, until the tortillas become crisp and golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the tortillas and cook an additional 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining oil and quesadillas. Cut into quarters and serve (Liz's family had them with vegetarian baked beans last night, and it was a great side dish).

Yummy Green Beans

We heard this afternoon from Charity, who posted and shared a recipe that she makes with the green beans she gets from her CSA. Well, it just so happens that Janice's parents were coming for dinner and were bringing green beans from their friend Mo's garden. Since the recipe looked so yummy Janice made it tonight. The adults all loved it and the kids, while a bit less enthusiastic (there is a lot going on in this dish), also gave the recipe a 'thumbs up.' So you don't have to search our blog for it, here is what Charity sent along. There are no ingredient amounts so just wing it. Janice cooked hers in a nonstick skillet and used extra virgin olive oil and lots of almonds, and garlic from her CSA. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Here's my "recipe" for green beans:
1. Cut green beans into 1-2 inch lengths. Add a bit of water and cook in microwave for about 5 minutes.
2. In a small sauce pan, saute plenty of garlic in a little canola or olive oil. After the garlic is tender, add slivered almonds. Stir constantly until almonds are toasted.
3. Add cooked green beans and just a bit of chopped dried apricots. Mix well.
4. Serve sprinkled with feta cheese.

Blogs-O-Plenty

A few weeks ago, Janice spent several days in San Francisco at the annual BlogHer conference. She was one of over a thousand women bloggers who gathered to gab and learn about … well, blogging! In your wildest dreams, you wouldn't believe the number of bloggers floating around out there in cyberspace including moms who blog about their kid’s day-to-day activities, food bloggers who share their favorite baby food recipes, and women who blog about political and social issues. Here are just a few of the cool blogs Janice discovered at the conference.

www.deliciousbaby.com/
www.foodblogsearch.com/
www.kalynskitchen.com/
www.kitchengadgetgirl.com/
www.motherswithcancer.com/
www.momcentral.com/

Janice went to BlogHer with McCain Foods. They were there to share the news about their new line of healthy potato products, sold in school cafeterias nationwide. Their Sweet Potato Fries as well as their Smiles have zero grams of trans fats (that's the artery clogging kind) and meet the guidelines of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, aimed at fighting childhood obesity. Janice is a big fan of McCain's sweet potato fries since each serving provides a whopping 100% of the daily requirement for immune-boosting vitamin A. How sweet is that! Ah, if only every school in America would serve them.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Do tell!!

Tiny Treats

Janice's 16-year old daughter, Carolyn, recently spent a week at a camp in Ferry Beach, Maine. When Janice, Don and Leah went to pick her up, they all got to enjoy one of Carolyn's favorite treats from the camp store, a "Teeny Tiny" ice cream cone. Talk about a great way to exercise portion control! In an age of super-sized portions (even so-called "kiddie cones" are now gigantic) the Bissex family appreciated the bite-sized serving.

If your kids are screaming for ice cream, be sure to listen to our Cooking with the Moms podcast from August 6th. The theme is Frozen Treats, and during the show, we share three homemade popsicle recipes and a Super Sundae with Strawberries.  Try our sundae recipe and let us know what you think!

Super Sundae with Strawberries
Makes 1 Serving

One small scoop lowfat vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream (about 1/3 cup)
Two strawberries, thinly sliced
Drizzle chocolate syrup
Drizzle caramel syrup
2 teaspoon toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
Small dollop light whipped cream

Spoon the ice cream into a bowl or parfait glass. Place the strawberries around the ice cream, drizzle with the chocolate syrup and caramel syrup, and sprinkle with the nuts. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 140 calories, 6g fat (2g saturated), 45mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 3g protein, 35% vitamin C, 8% calcium

A Crazy, Almost-Food Adventure

On a recent family vacation to Maine, Liz’s 13-year old son Josh decided to test his fishing skills one evening with a hook, some line, and a hot dog. What he caught was this giant lobster (estimated by Josh to be about 7 pounds). Well, since Josh has a conscience (a 7-pound lobster is over 30 years old) and knows better than to eat something he doesn’t have a license to catch, he gladly tossed the giant crustacean right back where he/she came from.
From catching fish to growing and harvesting your own produce, tell us about some of your exciting food adventures this summer! As always, we love to hear from you.

Our First "Live" Podcast Guest

"Cousin Andrea," perhaps one of our biggest fans out there, was the first "live" guest on Cooking with the Moms this week (www.MealMakeoverMoms.com). Ever since our weekly radio podcast launched back in May, 12-year old Andrea (Liz's niece) has been a devoted listener. In fact, every Wednesday when we post a new show to iTunes and our website, Andrea rushes home from school (or camp), runs straight to her computer, and listens to the show.

This summer, Andrea spent two weeks at Camp Medolark (www.Medolark.com) near Camden, Maine. On her way back to Connecticut, she stopped by the Moms' "studio" and sat in on our Frozen Treats show. You'll love hearing her talk about her adventures at camp (she got to take cooking classes!) and her thoughts on our Trio of Pops.

We hope you'll listen in each week just like Andrea does! In the meantime, here's a recipe for Watermelon Pomegranate Pops to whet your appetite for our August 6th podcast

Watermelon Pomegranate Pops
Makes 4 Servings

1 1/2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup Pomegranate blueberry juice

Combine the watermelon and juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into four 3-ounce popsicle molds and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. To remove the pops from the molds, run under warm water to loosen. If you don’t have popsicle molds, divide t he liquid between four paper cups. Cover each cup with foil, insert one craft stick through the center of each foil, and freeze.

* We like Minute Made Enhanced Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

Nutrition Information per Serving: 30 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 15% vitamin C

Join a CSA

For the past few years, Janice has been a member of the Farm Direct Coop CSA (community supported agriculture). We talked about CSAs this week on our podcast, Cooking with the Moms, and promised to provide information about joining one. But before we do that, for those of you who are not familiar with CSAs, they help to forge a relationship between consumers and local farms. When a consumer becomes a"member" or "shareholder" of a CSA, they pay an annual membership fee and in turn, receive a weekly basket of produce -- whatever happens to be in season. There are many websites out there devoted to CSAs. A good place to start is http://www.localharvest.com/. If you're a member of a CSA, tell us what you got this week and feel free to share any new or tried-and-true recipes.

Bon Appétit, Y’all

The next time you’re sitting in your doctor’s office, waiting for an appointment, don’t be surprised if you see Liz! For the past year, Liz has hosted the “Meal Makeover” TV segment for EverWell, a health and wellness video series now running in physician office waiting rooms nationwide. Last week while shooting a few of the segments in Atlanta – including our recipe for Caesar Salad with Feta and Dill which we talked about in this week’s Cooking with the Moms radio podcast -- Liz had the privilege of working with food stylist, Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking. Since Virginia spent the day making Liz’s food look great for the cameras, we thought we’d return the favor by sharing one of her delicious recipes with y'all.

Corn Spoon Bread
Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
2 cups whole milk
1 cup very fine yellow cornmeal
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Scraped kernels from 2 ears fresh sweet corn (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 large eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Butter an ovenproof casserole or round 2-quart soufflé mold. To prepare the batter, in a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cornmeal over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, whisking rapidly and constantly, until very, very thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the corn kernels, chives, and the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, stirring after each addition. To beat the egg whites, in a separate bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the warm cornmeal mixture. Transfer the lightened cornmeal mixture to the prepared pan; smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake until puffed and risen and the inside is firm, but moist, and the top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately while puffed and risen.

Reprinted with permission from Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis, copyright © 2008. Published by Ten Speed Press.
Photo credit: Ellen Silverman © 2008 http://www.tenspeed.com/

Chocolate + Zucchini = Delicious

When we hear the word, zucchini, we think "healthy," and when we hear the word, chocolate, we think "decadent." Lucky for us two of our favorite ingredients form the perfect partnership in cookies, cakes, cupcakes and quick breads. And apparently we're not the only ones who appreciate the culinary combination between the two; google zucchini + chocolate and you'll get nearly half a million results! If zucchini is growing in your garden or you happen to pick it up at the market, try our kid-friendly + nutritious recipe for Zucchini Squiggle Squares.

Zucchini Squiggle Squares

Makes 18 Squares

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup 1% lowfat milk

1 packed cup peeled (if desired) and shredded zucchini (from a 7 to 8-ounce zucchini)

1 ripe large banana, mashed (1/2 cup)

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (or a bit more, if you love chocolate!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour , flaxseed, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, canola oil, and milk until well blended. Stir in the zucchini and banana. Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 170 calories, 9g fat (1g saturated, 0.9g omega-3), 120mg sodium, 21g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4g protein, 10% vitamin C

If you have a favorite zucchini + chocolate recipe you'd like to share, please post it to our blog.

Sweet Potatoes in a Flash

Our love for sweet potatoes is no secret, and we make the Sweet Potato Fries recipe in The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers frequently. There are days, however, when the thought of peeling, slicing, and baking those sweet potatoes is just too much, even for the Meal Makeover Moms. Our appetite for convenience recently led us to the supermarket where we cruised down the frozen food aisle in search of the best frozen sweet potato fries.

After a thorough review, we found a terrific and tasty product made with healthy oils, no trans fats, and less sodium than you typically find in a frozen potato product. If you have an opportunity to try McCain Sweet Potato Crinkle Cut Fries -- our "best of the bunch" winner -- be sure to let us know what you think! And while you're at it, to learn more about the nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes and clever ways to get kids to eat them (or other veggies for that matter), listen to the May 28, 2008 "Vegetables Kids Love" edition of Cooking with the Moms, our weekly radio podcast.

Attention all Tofu Lovers

A few weeks back, Liz ran into Kathlene, a mother of two, who asked for advice on giving her recipe for tofu spinach pie a flavorful and kid-friendly makeover. After taking a look, Liz quickly concluded that the recipe was a bit on the bland side and had more spinach than most young kids would be willing to eat. Let’s face it, sometimes recipes can go overboard on the healthy stuff, and while we love veggies, we recognize that too much of a good thing can be overwhelming. Anyway, after some makeover magic, here’s what we came up with.

Vegetable Garden Tofu Pie
Makes 6 Servings

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
One 5 or 6-ounce bag baby spinach
1 small carrot, peeled and grated (about ½ cup)
1 pound tofu, drained, cut into six slices, and patted dry with paper towels (any kind of tofu -- firm, silken or soft -- is fine)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup preshredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the spinach and carrot, and cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach wilts and the carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. Place on a cutting board and coarsely chop.
3. Meanwhile, blend the tofu, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a food processor until creamy. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the Cheddar cheese and the cooked veggies.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate and cook until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 170 calories, 10g fat (4g saturated, 0.1g omega-3), 500mg sodium, 7g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 16g protein, 50% vitamin A, 25% calcium, 15% iron

This weekend, Liz’s son, Simon, and his friend, Aram tried the pie and unanimously agreed it was “awesome.” Though we haven’t even sent the new-and-improved recipe to Kathlene and her family yet, we’ll be sure to report back once we get their reaction.

Snack Food Makeover

Over the past few weeks, we’ve crunched and munched our way through a bunch of new snack food products. The first was the new lineup of 100% natural nibbles from TrueNorth, made by Frito-Lay. TrueNorth snacks start with nutritious nuts including almonds, peanuts, pistachios, pecans or walnuts which are then used to create four varieties – nut clusters, nut crisps, nut crunchies, and whole nuts. We and our kids liked everything we tried, especially the Pecan-Almond-Peanut Clusters (Carolyn's favorite), the Pistachio Crisps and the Toasted Sesame Peanut Crunchies (Simon's favorite). It’s worth noting that all contain 5 grams of protein per serving and mostly heart-healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats.

Another snack line (also from Frito-Lay) that pleasantly surprised us was Pinch of Salt, a low-sodium version of Lay’s potato chips, Tostitos, Ruffles and Fritos. Instead of the usual 180 milligrams of sodium, each has 75 milligrams per serving. To us, they still satisfied our salt craving … but with a lot less sodium. Today, when Liz packed Simon's camp lunch, she gave him a handful of Fritos in a zip-top bag to eat with his sandwich. Janice, who is obsessed with guacamole, served it along with the Pinch of Salt Tostitos at her Fourth of July cookout.

Let us know if you or your kids have recently discovered any better-for-you snack products.

An Extraordinary Kid’s Menu

This past weekend, Liz, Tim, and 9-year-old Simon traveled to Kennebunkport, Maine for a quick getaway. On Saturday, after a morning of bike riding (yes, they rode by George & Barbara Bush’s gargantuan seaside estate) and an afternoon of window shopping, they ate a truly memorable meal at Bandaloop, a restaurant featuring organic and local foods – everything from free-range chickens to field greens. One of the coolest things about Bandaloop was their kid’s menu (which Simon, an adventurous eater, promised to order from after his previous night’s uber-expensive meal of lobster).

Unlike most kid menus devoid of vegetables and loaded with chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and mac & cheese, Bandaloop’s menu was outstanding. Chef W. Scott Lee (who, by the way, has two kids of his own), created a kid’s menu brimming with great nutrition: Homemade-to-order Macaroni and Cheese, a Snack Plate of assorted cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and dip (add tofu or chicken for an extra dollar), Grilled Chicken Plate with broccoli and mashed potatoes, and the Fish of the Day (haddock or salmon) with veggies and rice. Kudos to Chef Lee for essentially serving smaller portions of adult foods (AKA real foods) to kids!

Let us know if you have seen any innovative kid’s menus in your travels.

Salmon: Second Time Around

What do you do with one leftover grilled salmon steak? Who in the family gets to eat it the next day? This was the dinnertime dilemma Liz and her family faced last night. Well, to be fair, Liz took the leftover salmon, flaked it up and then used it in a simple pasta dish. This quick, toss-together dinner was a huge hit with everyone at the table (Josh missed out because he's at sleep-away camp for a month). Though we haven't tried this yet with a pouch or can of boneless, skinless pink salmon, we suspect it would work just fine.

Bowtie Pasta with Salmon & Peas
Makes 4 Servings

8 ounces dried bowtie pasta
1 cooked salmon steak (6 to 8 ounces), flaked
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 1% lowfat milk
1/2 cup all-natural chicken broth
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the saucepan.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the canola oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk the milk and broth slowly into the flour mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer and stir gently until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Toss the salmon and peas in with the pasta. Pour the cheese sauce on top, heat through, and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 410 calories, 11g total fat (3g saturated, 1.0g omega-3), 250mg sodium, 50g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 27g protein, 20% vitamin A, 15% calcium, 10% iron

Liz, being the best co-author in the world, was kind enough to save Josh's portion for Janice, Don and the kids to try. Check back later to see what the Bissex gang thought of the recipe.

A Better Burger

If you haven't had a chance to listen to our new Cooking with the Moms radio podcast, we hope you'll tune in here. This week's show features recipes and tips for grilling up a better burger. We hope our recipes for Cheesy Black Bean Burgers and Lean Mean Cheeseburger make their way to your next backyard cookout. We know you'll enjoy every bite as much as we have ... especially Liz's boys, Simon and Josh.

Lean Mean Cheeseburger
Makes 4 Servings

2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1 pound ground beef (93% lean or 95% lean)
1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning blend (such as Montreal steak seasoning)
4 seeded or whole wheat hamburger buns, split
4 slices lowfat cheese, such as Cheddar or American
Lettuce leaves, optional
Tomato slices, optional

1. Place the oats in a food-safe plastic bag. Seal bag securely, squeezing out excess air. Roll over bag with rolling pin to crush oats to a fine consistency.

2. Combine the ground beef, oats, and steak seasoning blend in a large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Lightly shape into four 1/2-inch patties.

3. Place patties on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 11 to 13 minutes to medium (160°F) doneness, until no longer pink in center and juices show no pink color, turning occasionally.

4. Line the bottom of each bun with lettuce and tomato, as desired. Top with the burger and cheese slice. Close sandwiches.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 318 calories, 10g fat (4g saturated, 3g monounsaturated), 519 mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate, 3.5g fiber, 33g protein, 15% iron