ShareThisAs the leaves change color and the temperatures drop, I yearn to prepare hearty meals. Chicken and dumplings, hot tamales and chili, beef stew and French toast are at the top of my list.
The sad thing is that after I've consumed one of these fabulous dishes, I'm more prone to hibernate than I am to get up and be productive.
According to Sarah Griswold, nutritionist for the Knox County (Tenn.) Health Department, our social lives change during the cooler months. We become less active and in turn, that makes it more difficult to maintain our weight.
"Research shows that people gain a couple of pounds during the winter months ... but we don't lose that weight over the next year, and so the weight can add up," she said.
If you're not the type to pull out a parka and go for a bike ride or hit a hiking trail on a brisk and breezy day, there are still ways to burn off extra calories in the comfort of your home.
"If you have stairs in your house you have a free exercise machine. Just go up and down the stairs, whether it's to the second floor or the basement (and) there's the old standby trick, if you're watching TV, get up and move during commercial breaks," Griswold said.
Using canned foods (8- or 16-ounce containers) as weights is another tip she offers for burning calories.
"Remain as active as possible and watch your portion sizes because this time of year is when the rich foods come out and the calories add up even faster," she said.
Lowering the fat and calorie content in recipes is always a good idea but it's especially important on holidays when families honor the day by gathering around the dinner table.
"If you are the cook, you are going to be able to tell the difference between grandma's traditional recipe and a lower-calorie recipe, but if you don't tell anyone else and do a good job with the food prep, a lot of people aren't going to be able to notice," she said.
The following cookbooks and recipes will help you get a head start on battling the wintertime bulge:
Ellie Krieger is a household name when it comes to healthy cooking.
The James Beard Foundation Award-winning author and Food Network Star has been helping people get on the right side of healthy food preparation for years through her cooking show "Healthy Appetite."
"Comfort Food Fix" (Wiley News, $29.99), Krieger's fourth cookbook, transforms the most hearty of dishes into healthy options.
For instance, if you love Shepherd's Pie, Krieger shows you how to transform a recipe that originally contained 710 calories per serving into a recipe that presents a lean 340 calories per serving. She has revamped a traditional chicken and biscuit pot pie recipe from 640 calories to a more manageable 400 calories and converted a recipe for double chocolate bread pudding from 470 to 240 calories per serving.
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS
Yields 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
6 medium shallots, sliced into rings (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 pounds thin fresh string beans or haricots verts, trimmed
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 cups cold low-fat 1 percent milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add 1/4-cup shallots and cook, stirring until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining shallots, cooking 1/4 cup at a time. Reserve oil in skillet.
2. Steam green beans in steamer basket over pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes, until bright green and still crisp.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon reserved shallot oil in deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until mushroom liquid is evaporated and they begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl.
4. Whisk together milk and flour until flour is dissolved. Add mixture to skillet and, whisking constantly, bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, whisking occasionally until thickened, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove pan from heat and stir in green beans, mushroom mixture, cup cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt and black pepper.
6 Coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon green bean mixture into prepared dish and sprinkle top with crispy shallots and remaining 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake until golden on top and bubbling, about 20 minutes.
Approximate values per 1 cup serving: 150 calories, 6 grams total fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 9 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 18 milligrams cholesterol, 330 milligrams sodium.
Source: "Comfort Food Fix" (Wiley, $29.99)
--Robin Miller, a nutritionist, food writer, cookbook author and host of Food Network's "Quick Fix Meals" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $29.99) has compiled the cookbook "Robin Takes 5" (release date is Nov. 1) in which recipes use only five ingredients with each dish containing 500 calories or less.
Of the 500 recipes in her new book, 380 are for main dishes, 60 are side-dish recipes and 60 are dessert recipes.
CARAMELIZED ONION SOUP WITH MELTED SWISS CROUTONS
Yields 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
1 teaspoon dried thyme
6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
4 slices sourdough bread, about 1-inch thick
4 (1 ounce) slices Swiss cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute 8-10 minutes, until golden brown and tender.
2. Add thyme and cook until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Add broth and bring to simmer. Simmer 10 minutes and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Toast bread slices in toaster or under broiler. Place bread in bottom of soup bowls and top with Swiss cheese. Ladle onion soup over top and serve.
Approximate values per serving: 274 calories, 11 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 28 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, 340 milligrams sodium.
Source: "Robin Takes 5" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $29.99)
--Liz Vaccariello, former editor-in-chief of Prevention Magazine worked with registered dietitian Mindy Hermann on this newly published cookbook, "400 Calorie Fix Cookbook" (Rodale, $27.99).
The first three chapters of the book get you in the right mindset for healthy cooking by revealing hidden calories and how to use standard kitchen equipment to monitor portion sizes.
Once you have decided on a recipe, tips are provided to help you pair an additional item to the meal without blowing the whole calorie count.
Each recipe is rated by a four-star nutrition system to help cooks see at a glance whether the dish contains the following: a cup of fruits and veggies or more (green star), good fats (red star), 7 grams of fiber or more (yellow star), 20 grams of protein or more (blue star).
PAN-SEARED COD WITH GLAZED TOMATOES
Yields 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
4 (4 ounces each) cod fillets
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tomatoes are soft and collapsed. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook 4 minutes or until vinegar has almost completely evaporated.
3. Rub all sides of fillets with remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Coat a large ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Place fish in skillet and sear on each side for 2 minutes.
4. Place skillet in oven and bake 3 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
5. Serve fish topped with glazed tomatoes.
Approximate values per serving (1 fillet and cup tomatoes): 170 calories, 4.5 grams total fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, 360 milligrams sodium, 9 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram dietary fiber, 21 grams protein, 4 percent calcium.
Source: "400 Calorie Fix Cookbook" (Rodale, $27.99)
(Contact Mary Constantine of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at www.knoxnews.com)
