Recipe: Spicy olive and turkey pita sandwich
"The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook"
Taste how an ordinary turkey sandwich becomes instantly extraordinary with a hearty topping of spicy olive salad. When using olives, it’s important to watch the sodium content of your other ingredients. Boar’s Head and Applegate Farms are two good sources for lower-sodium turkey breast.
Ingredients
- 10 pitted green pimiento-stuffed olives, chopped
- 10 pitted black olives, chopped
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 1 whole wheat (6" diameter) pita, halved crosswise
- 4 ounces deli-sliced lower-sodium turkey breast
- 1⁄2 cup mixed greens
Preparation
1. Combine the green and black olives, vinegar, oil, and red-pepper flakes in a small bowl.
2. Fill each pita half with 2 ounces turkey breast, 1⁄4 cup greens, and half of the olive mixture.
Tips
MUFA: Olives
Nutrition per serving: 242 calories, 15 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 12 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 1,177 mg sodium,* 2 g fiber.
*Limit saturated fat to 10% of total calories — about 17 grams per day for most women — and sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams.
Serving Size
Yield: 2 servings; Time: 10 minutes
Recipe: Guacamole
"The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook"
Guacamole, a dish with Central American roots, is traditionally prepared in a molcajete, a type of mortar and pestle carved from lava rock. Owing to the avocado’s soft, silken texture, a bowl and fork work just fine, too. Beyond MUFAs, avocados also contain beneficial amounts of potassium and folate, two nutrients also important to heart health.
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed avocado
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1/4 white onion, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 or 2 fresh jalapeño chile peppers, minced
- 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2–1 teaspoon green or red Tabasco (optional)
Preparation
Combine the avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, peppers, salt, and Tabasco (if using) in a medium bowl. Stir until combined. Serve immediately.
Tips
MUFA: Avocado
Nutrition per serving: 100 calories, 1 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 8.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 224 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
Serving Size
Yield: 8 servings; Time: 10 minutes
Recipe: Chicken piccata
"The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook"
Capers are actually immature buds plucked from a small bush native to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions of the world. Pickled in vinegar brine or packed in salt, they are often displayed in small, narrow jars. To keep the sodium count under control, choose the brine-packed ones.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons capers, minced
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Lay the tenders on a work surface. With a smooth scaloppine pounder or a rolling pin covered in plastic wrap, flatten to 1⁄4" thickness. Dredge the cutlets lightly in the flour.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the skillet and heat until sizzling. Place the chicken in the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and cooked through.
3. Add the lemon juice, parsley, and capers. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Season to taste with the pepper. Serve the chicken with the pan juices.
Tips
Note: Pounding the chicken breasts to an even thickness is an important step because it allows the chicken to cook evenly so both ends are moist and delicious.
MUFA: Olive oil
Nutrition per serving: 235 calories, 21 g protein, 4 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 49 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
Serving Size
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 15 minutes
Recipe: Best-for-last chocolate mousse
"The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook"
As a garnish, pretty chocolate curls turn a humble fruit cup into a restaurant-worthy confection. Making them is as easy as drawing a vegetable peeler along the edge of a bar of chocolate. Use the short wide edge to make small tubular curls; use the longer, narrower edge for thinner, longer shavings.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces soft silken tofu, drained
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1⁄8 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
- 1⁄2 cup fat-free Greek-style yogurt
Preparation
1. Place the tofu, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the chocolate and blend for 1 minute. Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and blend for 1 minute longer or until incorporated. Pour into a large bowl.
2. Fold in the yogurt just until blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips
Note: For chocolate semifreddo, place the mixture in a 9" loaf pan lined with foil. Cover and freeze for 3 to 4 hours or until just set. Serve immediately.
MUFA: Chocolate
Nutrition per serving: 271 calories, 11 g protein, 40 g carbohydrates, 18 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 19 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
Serving Size
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 10 minutes
Recipe: Granola parfait
"The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook"
This elegant parfait is the perfect way to start any morning, and it’s so easy to put together! Raspberries offer nearly 50 percent more antioxidant activity than strawberries do, according to research conducted in the Netherlands.
Ingredients
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 container (5.3 ounces) fat-free Greek-style yogurt
- 1 1⁄2 cups granola
Preparation
Layer the banana, raspberries, yogurt, and granola in 2 tall glasses. Serve immediately.
Tips
MUFA: Walnuts
Nutrition per serving: 420 calories, 14 g protein, 67 g carbohydrates, 13 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 14 g fiber.
Serving Size
Yield: 2 servings; Time: 5 minutes
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