How to Re-do Your Mealtime Recipes... Friday 2-29-2008

Here I have a few mealtime recipes to show you how you can change your recipes to make them healthier. Below are recipes for Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Crock-pot Meatloaf.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts:

4 boneless chicken breasts ......4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup feta cheese (crumbled) ....1/2 cup of reduced fat feta
2 Tbsp. Parsley .... 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp. Basil ... 1 tsp. fresh chopped basil
1 tsp. garlic powder ...1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil ... 2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. Italian salad dressing ... 2 Tbsp. lite or fat free salad dressing
Large can diced tomatoes ... 2 large tomatoes, diced
1 small can of mushrooms ... 10-12 mushrooms, chopped

Mix cheese, parsley, basil and olive oil into a small bowl.
Cut a 3" or 4" slit on the thick side of each chicken breast and spoon in ¼ of the mixture in to each breast. Put the chicken breasts in a 9"x13" baking dish.
Wash out bowl; and mix together the tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and Italian dressing. Pour over the chicken breasts.
Good with brown rice.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 to 45 minutes.

Crock-Pot Meatloaf:

2-1/2 - 3 lbs. ground beef .... 2-1/2 - 3 lbs. ground turkey
2 eggs ....2 cage free eggs or egg substitute
1/3 cup milk .... 1/3 cup soy or rice milk
2 Tbsp. soy sauce .... 2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chili sauce .... Same
1 cup oatmeal ... 1 cup steel cut oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt .... ½ tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper .... Same
1 onion, chopped ..... Same or organic
2 garlic cloves, minced .... Same or organic
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley .... Same or organic

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Form the mixture in to a round loaf, which is about an inch smaller than the inside of the crock-pot. Place in crock-pot and cover. Cook for 8 hours on low setting. To take meatloaf out of crock-pot, use a fork and spatula.

In changing any recipe, here are a few suggestions you can try:
In any recipe if you can choose an organic product when substituting it is a healthier choice.

Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour.
Brown rice can replace white rice.
For ground beef use ground sirloin or ground turkey.
When choosing beef get the leanest cuts, such as flank, round, rump and sirloin and cut any extra fat off.
When choosing pork the leanest cuts are the leg, shoulder and loin.