Thank You Readership! Guest-Chef & Registered Dietitian Roberta Schwartz Wennik Brings Vegas to Your Kitchen with Spin-A-Recipe® Slot Machine

By Anthony Sepe

Each Sunday, I thank my readership for their loyalty and dedication to my blog, by providing a healthy recipe.  For those that know, this is a healthy repeat, but for those that are unaware and are new to the blog, this is my way of “giving back.”  It is also a way to “Pay it Forward.”  Each Sunday, not only will you have a healthy recipe, but you will have an expert in the field of dietetics, food and nutrition, provide the healthy recipe to you.  It is my pleasure to introduce to you this week, my friend and my colleague, Roberta Schwartz Wennik, M.S., RD, and her recipe:  “Chicken in Tart Cherry and Rosemary Sauce over Wild Rice Waffles.”

 

ABOUT ROBERTA SCHWARTZ WENNIK, MS, RD

Roberta Schwartz Wennik, M.S., R.D., is a registered dietitian, culinary nutritionist and a trained MBTIÒ (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®)  practitioner. She also is the author of numerous books, including Is Your Personality Type Making You Fat? (visit www.advantagediets.com for more information), Boomer’s Guide to Getting the Weight Off For Good, and Your Personality Prescription, as well as a freelance writer for popular magazines and a former newspaper columnist. As spokesperson for a national brand, she has appeared on television and radio. She is included in Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who of American Inventors (having received a patent for a unique nutrient monitoring system called Drawing the Line on Calories, Carbs, and Fat), and Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare. In her free time, Roberta volunteers her time with the Snohomish County Literacy Group.

Roberta’s latest endeavor is Spin-a-Recipe®, what she likes to call a “Vegas experience in your kitchen”. Play the recipe slot machine at www.spinarecipe.com to select healthy recipes and ingredients. Spin again and create hundreds of variations of each recipe. The following tasty and healthy recipe, “Chicken in Tart Cherry and Rosemary Sauce over Wild Rice Waffles “ was created on the slot machine. Enjoy. Do visit and take a spin for delicious nutritious dishes done your way!

 

 

Waffles:
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 whole eggs
4 tablespoons canola oil
Vegetable oil cooking spray

Chicken and Sauce:

1 pound chicken breasts

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves (allow extra if plan to garnish with a sprig on each plate)

1/3 cup dried tart cherries (e.g. Montmorency)

2 tablespoon canola oil

2 scallions, chopped
1 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fat-free or regular half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Prepare wild rice according to package instructions.  Cook until tender but not so long that the kernels burst their shells.  Drain well.
3. Meanwhile, rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and then the kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Place in a foil-lined baking pan and cook in the oven until cooked through and tender.
5. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Pull meat apart with forks into shreds.
6. Waffles:  Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Whisk together all the wet ingredients in another bowl (except the vegetable oil cooking spray).  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, gently whisking until just combined.  Fold in the wild rice.  Follow waffle iron manufacturer's instructions to cook, greasing with the vegetable oil cooking spray.  Keep cooked waffles warm while you prepare the rest of the dish.
7. Gravy: In a medium saucepan, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté the chopped scallions and carrots until they take on a bit of color.  Add the chicken broth and rosemary.  Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the broth has taken on a deep flavor from the rosemary.
8. Strain the broth and then return to the heat.  Add the tart cherries.  Continue to simmer until the fruit has softened and plumped.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
9. Stir together the water and cornstarch.  Add to the broth and continue to stir until well incorporated.  Continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
10. Finish the sauce off with the cream, continuing to cook a minute or two to heat the cream.  Stir the chicken shreds into the sauce.
11. To serve:  Place a waffle on each dinner plate.  Top with the chicken mixture and serve.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, if desired. 

Enjoy!  Be sure to stop by and visit Roberta.

Thank you for reading,

~Anthony

Cooks Corner Recipe: Un-Fried Chicken

      Dear Readers:  I absolutely love this recipe.  If you like or even love chicken, I think that perhaps, you might even love this chicken recipe, too.  I am interested to know how you liked this recipe; give it a try and please let me know!  One of Oprah’s Cooks’, Rosie Daley, describes the secret to the success of this recipe is to make sure that both the chicken and the yogurt are very cold (hence, soaking the chicken in the ice water.)  The preliminary soaking will help the breading adhere and produce a crisp coating, much like that of fried chicken.  If, you’re serving the chicken on a platter, rather than on individual dinner plates, it looks great on a bed of flowing kale or lettuce. Enjoy healthy nutrition!

Ingredients:

1. Light cooking spray
2. 6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
3. 3 whole chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
4. 3 1/2 cups cups ice water
5. 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

Breading:

1. 1 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
2. 1 cup all-purpose flour
3. 1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
4. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
6. 1/8 or pinch of black pepper
7. 18 or dash cayenne pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
9. 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
10. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation:

• Coat a baking sheet with 3 sprays of vegetable oil.
• Put the chicken in a large bowl with the ice water.  Put the yogurt into a medium bowl.  Set both bowls aside.
• Toss all the breading ingredients into a  large, tightly-sealing plastic bag.  Seal and shake well to mix.
• Remove 2 pieces of chicken from the ice water.  Roll each piece in the yogurt.  Put the chicken into the plastic bag, reseal, and shake to coat thoroughly.  Transfer the breaded chicken to the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat the process until all 12 pieces are breaded.  Spray the chicken lightly with the vegetable oil.
• Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 1 hour, turning the pieces every 20 minutes to allow even browning.
• Serve hot or at room temperature.

Source: In The Kitchen With Rosie, Oprah’s Favorite Recipes, © Rosie Daley 1994.

Healthy Recommendations to Fight-Off Cancer with Food

By Anthony J. Sepe

http://fromadietititiansperspective.blogspot.com

http://www.medicalnutritiontherapyservices.com

Along with the American Cancer Society, here are some healthy recommendations to fight -off cancer with food:

• Choose most of the foods we eat from plant sources.
• Limit intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources
• Be physically active
• If alcohol is consumed, do so in moderation

Recently, I was asked for a healthy recipe version for Buffalo Chicken Wings/Legs.  Here’s my recipe, which illustrates how a recipe can be modified, still taste good, be simple, as well as be healthy, too.  Enjoy!

© Healthy Buffalo Chicken Wings/Legs

Developed and reprinted with permission from Anthony J. Sepe

Buffalo Chicken Wings/Legs

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup red hot sauce
2. 2 T vinegar
3. 1/2 cup of fat-free  chicken broth
4. 2 T Molly McButter or Smart Balance
5. 10-20 skinless chicken legs

Preparation Method:

1. Mix all ingredients for sauce and heat over low heat for 10 minutes.
2. Pour over chicken legs on baking sheet.
3. Bake 350 degrees until brown; approximately 20-25 minutes

Suggestion: Serve with cut-up raw vegetables and low-fat or fat-free ranch dressing.  Garnish with lemon wedges.