Cheap Add-Ons - #2

Sometimes I get a hankering for dill pickle. I guess it's a taste you have to appreciate. I don't understand how you can't enjoy that biting, sour tone - it makes me pucker up and hum in happiness. Or maybe it's just me.

Dill pickles pack a punch for the price. Add them to a salad or sandwich for an extra zing and crunch, and cut back on the croutons and chips (carbs and calories!). The tang of the pickle plays off nicely against the slight sweetness of mayo (light!). Am I the only one who enjoys the combination of sweet and sour together? The Chinese food industry certainly profits off of it.

The best part about the dill pickles, if the nutrition label is to believed, is that it's 0 calories. All that flavor and no calories sounds like an amazing deal to me. The only number that isn't 0 is the amount of sodium, which is to be expected as it is a pickle.

Cereal Stuffer

So eating healthy isn't always tasty. Whole grain and whole wheat taste especially nasty to me; no one can convince me they don't taste like cardboard. But it really is better for you.

I can't bring myself to switch over completely, so I found a compromise.

Until recently I wasn't a big cereal person. I stuck to Special K Chocolate cereal, probably because of the sweetness of flakes and the deception of the fake chocolate. Then I switched to Honey Nut Cheerios (or Honey Nut Spins, the Walmart brand, for the price difference) and became addicted.

The guilt kept nagging me until I gave in and also bought a box of Toasted Whole Grain Oat, the healthier brother of the Honey Nut Spins. Considering my aversion to whole grain, I decided to trick myself. Here's how I have my cereal now:

1 part whole grain cheerios

2 parts honey nut cheerios

1 banana

1 - 1.5 cups 1% milk

Chopping a banana into my cereal ensures at least 1 serving of fruit in my day. You can also thrown in your favorite nuts like almonds or walnuts; both are excellent for your health. Beyond that, if you're brave enough to experiment, you can try things like raisins, dried cranberries or some other fruit instead of bananas. But for me, the above formula works just fine.

This breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or snack) fills me up and keeps me going till the next meal. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, so it's definitely on my top-10, go-to meals list.

Honey Glazed Walnuts: Pick Me Up Snack

I caught Video: Maple Glazed Walnuts on FoodNetwork while flipping through channels and thought it was a good idea.

This new health kick I've been on (trying anyway), made me think honey would be a better substitute for the maple syrup. It has far fewer calories and no sugar. Not to mention it only takes 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves

1/3 cup honey

pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Heat a skillet/pan on medium heat.

2. Add the walnuts, honey and a pinch of salt.

3. Stir for 3 minutes, allowing the nuts to roast and the honey to caramelize.

4. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

5. Store in an airtight container or zip-lock bag.

This makes for a healthy snack, since the walnuts have a high content of Omega 3 fat and the honey is low in calories and sugar. You can use other nuts, such as pecans and peanuts, as well. You can also add raisins, dried cranberries, dried fruits, dates, etc. to add more texture and health value to this snack.

Nuts are a great source of energy so make this snack in bulk and store it in the fridge (to prolong the shelf-life of the nuts). Grab some and take it with you to work/school to keep you going. Go for these honey-glazed walnuts when you're hungry, instead of the chips and cookies.

This is so good I ate half a batch as soon as it was cool enough to pick off the plate! This would make a fabulous topper on an ice-cream sundae, even better than regular nuts.

Healthy Eating

Contrary to the tag-line, I do recognize the need to eat healthy. While most of my cooking is NOT health-conscious by design, I do make an effort to reduce the risk of heart-attack by substituting margarine for butter and using less oil than specified.

Recent, personal developments have motivated me to try to lead a more healthy life-style. Like I've said, that's not entirely possible for me given my current living arrangements, but I will be making a conscious effort. I doubt very much my recipes will reflect this, but there well may be more posts about healthy eating from now on. Let's see...

Till inspiration, motivation and a new recipe strike... me gusta mucho queso ;)