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

Eggs for Every Occasion

When we asked for your favorite recipe using eggs for our recent giveaway (for a one-year supply of Eggland's Best Eggs, an Emerilware Cast-Iron Skillet, and an All-Clad Reversible Griddle) we received an interesting assortment of dishes -- from Cauliflower Custard to Breakfast Casserole to the winning recipe for Scrambled Omelet Breakfast Burritos shown below. We chose this recipe for its simplicity and the fact that Michele M. from Albion, IL used bell peppers in the dish (we took some creative license by leaving out the green bell pepper and using only red bell pepper but you use half of each if your kids like green peppers). We hope you enjoy this delicious breakfast burrito as much as we did.

Scrambled Omelet Breakfast Burritos
Makes 4 Servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
6 large Eggland's Best eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Sea salt to taste

3/4 cup diced natural smoked deli turkey
4 large flour tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Picante sauce or salsa

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook and stir until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sea salt, and turkey. Add to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are cooked through. Mix together the cheeses. Fill warm tortillas with egg mixture. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese. Top with picante sauce, if desired. Roll up burrito-style.

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Nutrition Information per serving: 400 calories, 20g fat (6g saturated), 780mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 25g protein, 30% vitamin A, 60% vitamin C, 30% calcium, 20% iron

An Encounter with Crisco!

Last week while Liz was tirelessly organizing recipes for our upcoming website redesign, Janice was in Chicago at a Food & Culinary Professionals executive committee meeting (the FCP group is part of the American Dietetic Association and attracts "foodie" dietitians like us). On Saturday, as part of a team-building exercise, the group stopped by The Wilton School of Cake Decorating to learn the art of making molded chocolate candies. Isn't it nice to know that dietitians can let their hair down once in a while for candy-making fun?

For Janice, the most hilarious and surprising part of the lesson was the moment her instructor told everyone to rub their hands in Crisco (turns out it's easier to work with fondant when your hands are greased up with shortening). Thankfully, it was the new trans-fat-free variety! Coming home with a box of homemade chocolate candies and a giant chocolate lollypop for Leah was a huge treat for her entire family!

Happy & Hydrated

Here’s a stat which may convince you to change your drinking habits: Eight out of 10 plastic water bottles used in the U.S. become garbage or end up in a landfill. One simple way to quench your thirst without all that waste is to switch to a reusable plastic bottle and to drink your water that way.

Recently, however, a growing number of consumers have shied away from the hard plastic bottles (namely #7 bottles) due to concerns over a chemical called Bisphenol-A (BPA). Rather than debate the safety record of BPA, suffice it to say that consumer demand has driven companies like Nalgene to create new #7 bottles made without this compound. The result is Nalgene’s new Everyday line of water bottles. They come in a rainbow of fun colors as well as numerous shapes and sizes. Now, adjacent to the #7 stamped on the bottom of each bottle, you’ll see the words, “other” or “BPA free” … noting that the plastic has been made without Bisphenol-A.

With summer just around the corner, we’re confident our kids will stay healthy and hydrated and our landfills less cluttered with our snazzy new water bottles (the photos show Janice’s daughters, Leah and Carolyn enjoying their new bottles). For more information check out
http://www.nalgenechoice.com/.