fitover50

Maybe this is an out-moded concept - the idea of making New Year’s Resolutions. If so, I don’t care. I still find value in taking time to evaluate where I am in life and where I hope to go in the near future. By way of doing this, I take a quick glance back at the road behind me and I look ahead to where I want to go. Then I decide on a course of action that involves a few steps that will get me on the right path again. I call this course of action my “New Year’s Resolutions.”

As always, I will be looking for ways to improve my diet and my eating habits. I am a bit of an obsessive fiend when it comes to food, diet and nutrition. I’m always looking for ways to improve. I am, by no means, a “goody two shoes” when it comes to proper diet and nutrition. I’m just a good “wannabee.”

In pursuit of my goal to improve my diet this year, I am vowing to increase my intake of vegetables. To be absolutely, directly and point-blank honest, there have been days in my life where I know I have not consumed a single, solitary vegetable. Phew, there I said it. I’m not proud of that fact but, it is a fact, none the less.

So, as I prepare to reestablish a diet plan for myself, I am in search of new and interesting recipes. The one I have in my head right now is for some sort of stuffed shell recipe where the stuffing is primarily, or wholey, comprised of vegetables.

Am I off my rocker? Does such a thing exist? I would be greatly interested in finding such a recipe, so if you have one, and are willing to share it with the world, drop an e-mail. It will find its way into the world with little or no delay.

Nope, this time I’m not here to offer a recipe. Kitchen experiments are one of my great pastimes. I have lots of ideas to share. But this time I’m asking you to share with me, and others who might have an interest in some of the foods I would like to prepare.

Italian food is a huge favorite of mine. . . okay, so are Greek, German, American and Mexican. . . but, for the moment, the topic is Italian. I am looking for a stuffed shell recipe that has a crabmeat filling. Maybe cheese, maybe not, I’m willing to consider all options. I’ve looked online and in my vast cookbook collection and I’m having a problem coming up with anything. So . . . anyone out there with a crabmeat filling stuffed shell recipe who is willing to share, drop an e-mail so the world will come to know just how good your recipe is. I promise to try it and give my opinion and rave reviews in the near future.

Turn about is fair play - Is there anyone out there with a recipe need that is going unfulfilled? Again, drop and e-mail and a call will go out to help you in your search for the perfect . . .

With Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season upon us, many of us are starting to dust off the family collection of recipes and prepare to cook, bake and assemble those once a year culinary delights that tie us to our family and our childhood. I know I will be enjoying my traditional favorites of turkey, bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, a couple of vegetables and, for dessert, a chocolate pie.

What? You say my chocolate pie doesn’t match up with the traditional pumpkin pie you may be used to consuming at the end of your over-stuffed holiday dinner? Maybe not, but that is my tradition. It is my family tradition. Oh, we always had pumpkin pie and, believe it or not, mince meat pie for dessert as well. Those varieties had their followers at my family dinner table. But for me and several others, the holiday dinner always ended with chocolate pie.

Over the years a few traditions have changed. It’s still the turkey for the main course, but new and unique recipes for stuffing, variations on the theme for vegetables and a definite bend towards lower fat, more health conscious options has definitely emerged around the dinner table. For a while I even gravitated away from the chocolate pie.

But, not this year. This year will be dinner with family members of the old regime. The traditions will be the ones I grew up with.

Next year, who knows, maybe lobster tail and king crab legs on the menu for the holidays. That idea has a lot of appeal to me. I like to start new traditions so that, years from now, people will look back on the holidays and remember traditions that I am given credit for initiating.

What traditions do you hold onto? What new tradition would you like to start in your family this year?

In my continual pursuit of healthy living and nutritional eating, I am always on the lookout for new and interesting recipes. I have a lot of old favorites, but I’m always up for trying something new and, yes, even a bit odd. I’ve been looking at that requirement on the Food Pyramid that suggests five to nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables for optimal health. I love fruit and I don’t have trouble finding a place for it in my daily diet - as a treat. I can eat an apple as a snack, put peaches on my oatmeal or enjoy strawberries over ice cream. These ideas are fine.

What I really want right now is a serious fruit recipe - you know what I mean - something that incorporates food into a main course item in a meal. That’s what I want to ask you about. If you have a “serious” fruit recipe that you would like to share with the world, drop an e-mail and tell me all about it. I promise to include it in an upcoming post.

I love to be in my kitchen. Cooking old favorites, modifying recipes and trying out new ones is one of my greatest passions in life. I particularly like to try to mimic the tastes and flavors of favorite restaurant or fast food meals that I normally avoid because of their ridiculously high calorie, fat or sugar content. Everybody, it seems, has a passion for those little fried chicken pieces that are so tasty, yet so high in trans fat and calories. I have my own version of this recipe that I would like to share today.

1 lb. chicken tenders, cut in strips (it’s okay to cube a chicken breast if that’s what you have available)
1/2 cup flour
1 cup egg substitute
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
Paprika

Mix the Italian dressing mix with the bread crumbs.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, then dip in the egg substitute. Coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Dust with Paprika. Place in oven set a 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These have been a hit with everyone who has tried them. As you can see, they are baked, not fried.

If you have a modified recipe you would like to share with the world, drop an e-mail and it will make its way into cyberspace via Fit Over 50.

The appeal of fast food is, A) it’s fast, and B) because of its generally high fat content, it tastes good.

Most of us past the age of 50 remember childhoods where most of our meals were cooked at home and the dinner hour was a more leisurely affair. Somewhere along the way life became more complicated and home-cooked meals took a back seat to high-speed, high-fat “cuisine.” Many of us have given up pursuing the valuable life skill of cooking because we feel it is too time consuming to fit into our hectic lives.

While we may have been able to get away with that attitude as young adults, as mature adults we may find ourselves paying a price for the sins of our culinary pasts. We can’t change the eating habits of a lifetime overnight, but each small change we make will help us improve our health.

Try this simple recipe that will satisfy your craving for fast food fries while providing a colossally improved nutritional footprint.

BAKED SWEET POTATO STEAK FRIES

Preheat over to 425 ° F
Servings: 4

4 Sweet Potatoes
1 Tbs Olive Oil
Nutmeg
Cinnamon

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut in half, slice each half into 5 or 6 strips. Toss potato strips in a bowl with olive oil. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon and toss again.

Arrange potatoe strips in a single layer on baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Dust with additional light sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon, if desired.

Bake at 425 ° F, 25 minutes.

Variations: Substitute Italian Seasoning or Cumin and Paprika for the Nutmeg and Cinnamon, if desired.