Cream Sauce

I love cream sauce, and this one is slightly better than the traditional recipe that uses butter, white flour, and whole milk.

Last night I made this and put in some red pepper flakes and a can of chopped tomatoes in juice. I served it over whole wheat penne with chopped chicken. It was creamy, spicy and delicious!

For 4 servings:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 cup nonfat milk, room temp or slightly warm if possible
at least 1 teaspoon salt (more, to taste)

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan on medium until it is fragrant but not smoking. Sprinkle in the flour while whisking. Allow to cook 1~2 mins, whisking occasionally.

While whisking, slowly pour in the milk. The colder the milk, the more slowly you must pour and the more vigorously you must whisk.

Allow to thicken before seasoning.

Some ideas of healthy things you can add to this basic sauce to suit your tastes include:

• Herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, or herbs de provence
• Seasonings such as garlic, red pepper flakes, paprika, or chipotle chili powder
• Mild seafood such as scallops, shrimp, crab, halibut, or clams
• Spring veggies such as asparagus, carrots, peas and zuccini and/or summer squash
  
• A jalapeno or canned chipotle chili in adobo, or
• A can of chopped tomatoes in juice

Or any appetizing combination of these things! This sauce is so delicious and so much fun!

This cream sauce with nothing added has:
58 Calories per serving; 3.4 g fat (53%), 2.3 g protein (16%) and 4.5 g carbs (30%)

The traditional cream sauce with nothing added weighs in at:
69 calories per serving; 4.9 g fat (64%), 2.2 g protein (12%) and 4.2 g carbs (24%)

Plus, there is only 1 mg of cholestorol in this sauce, while the traditional sauce has 14 mg. That's 93% less!

Creamy Salad Dressing

I love this creamy dressing and it's super healthy, too!

The following dresses four large servings of salad generously:

1 cup low fat plain yogurt
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp coarse salt (or, to taste)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper (or, to taste)

Calories per server 43; Fat 1g (22%), Protein 3.3g (31%), Carbs 5 (47%)

"No Stove" Summer Dinner

If you don't have a grill I highly recommend getting even a tiny, cheap one. Grilling is a great, healthy way to cook during the summer. It keeps you from having to heat your house up with your oven or stove! My favorite summer dinner, which we are cooking up tonight, is:

Buttermilk and Herb marinated grilled chicken breasts:


1 cup (or 2 half pint containers) lowfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 (approx) tsp fresh ground pepper
4 6 to 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic free range are the most delicious)


Combine the first four ingredients in a flat bottom bowl or deep pie plate. add the chicken and marinate 30 mins at room temperate or overnight or longer in the fridge.
Preheat your BBQ and grill on medium 5 to 8 mins per side (depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces). We have a gas grill with two burners. We preheat both on high, then turn one side down to low, put the chicken on the low side and close the lid.


This has 329 calories for each 6 ounce breast. Approx 13 g fat, 1 g carbs, and 50 g protein.


I serve this with bread salad...yum!


2 medium tomatoes sliced into wedges
4 1 inch slices of whole wheat bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
juice from 1 small lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mint (or basil) cut into thin ribbons
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Allow to macerate for at least 5 and up to 30 mins. Toss before serving.


157 Calories; 9g fat; 16 g carbs (3g fiber); 4g protein.


These recipes and picture are from everydayfoodmag.com