Preface:
In the early
years of my eleven year marriage, I had a bad habit that used
to trouble my husband. With three babies under four years old
accompanying me to the supermarket, I would be so focused on getting
in and out of the supermarket without losing a baby or my mind,
I would rush through the shopping process and neglect to look
at the expiration date on any of the items I was purchasing. I
presumed that if it was on the shelf, it was good enough to buy.
And, sometimes, I was wrong. . .
My husband
would ask me, “Did you realize that the luncheon meats you
purchased yesterday expire today?” Or, “Why did you
purchase milk that will only be good for two more days?”
And so eventually I learned two things: One, to look at the expiration
date before I buy an item. And two: to shop at the supermarket
without kids in tow.
The food
we buy in the supermarket has a defined expiration date. Even
if we refrigerate it in the coldest part of our fridge, and treat
it with care, when the milk turns sour, or the luncheon meat turns
green, or the lettuce wilts, there isn’t a thing we can
do about it other than throw it away. Sometimes we can be creative
and make a delicious omelet out of some veggies with their last
bit of life in them, but most of the time, when it expires, to
the garbage can it goes.
When we are
born into this world, we come with an expiration date. None of
us knows what that expiration date is. Will we be given a long,
healthy life, or will we tragically leave this world too soon?
Will we know in advance when our end of days will occur, or will
our life be cut short accidentally, with no warning to ourselves
or our loved ones? We don’t know, and maybe that’s
for the best. But G-d does leave one thing completely in our control.
We can protect
our health to lengthen our life, (if it is G-d’s will that
we live a long life), or we can shorten the original “expiration
date” G-d has given us by destroying the body that houses
our soul. We can take the food that we are given and nourish our
bodies, with healthy food in moderation and a bracha, or we can
allow gluttony to transform the gift of nourishing food into a
destructive resource that could ultimately end our life through
heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, or any number of other
ailments.
Although
we could argue that everything is in the hands of G-d, even the
day we die, certainly we would all agree: How we nourish our bodies
probably does influence how healthy we are in life, and whether
or not we are to enjoy a vibrant, healthy, long life. When we
lose a loved one tragically, too early in life, we comfort ourselves
by thinking, “It must have been G-d’s will.”
When G-d has granted us a healthy body, free of genetic disease
or life-threatening challenges, we must learn to be good stewards
of such a gift.
I am a woman,
probably like you, who has struggled all my life with maintaining
a healthy weight and body. I have never been thin, and probably
won’t ever be. Long ago I stopped setting that as my goal.
What I hope for instead is to be healthy, to live long enough
to see my children reach the chuppah and if G-d is really good
to me, to see my grandchildren become bar mitzvah and to dance
at their weddings. This will be no easy feat as I am in my mid-forties,
my husband is in his fifties, and all three of our children are
still in elementary school. I ask G-d every day for help, and
I know my husband and I must do our part. Since I do all of the
cooking in our family, I am responsible for my own health, as
well as partially responsible for that of my husband’s and
childrens’. I take that responsibility very seriously.
This book
reflects the effort we’ve been making as a family to enjoy
the gift of good food, but to do so in moderation, and with healthy
ingredients whenever possible. This is not a diet book. There
are plenty of recipes in here which would be forbidden to someone
on a strict “diet.” This book is about eating well
and fun, enjoying good-tasting foods that are traditional for
Shabbos and weekday meals, and to do so without packing on the
pounds and increasing the odds of becoming ill and tired. It is
about making good choices daily, and doing the best we can. My
goal with this book isn’t to deliver you a flourless chocolate
torte that tastes sublime and is made, miraculously, without any
flour, eggs, or sugar. I’m not a magician, just a home-cook
who has spent hours in her kitchen experimenting with ways to
substitute ingredients, and to cut back on that which is harmful.
My goal was
to come up with an assortment of Shabbos and weekday meals that
taste pretty darn good, are easy enough to make, are made with
kosher ingredients that are easily found in most major supermarkets,
are affordable, and are reduced in carbs, fat, and/or calories
from the original recipe.
If you find
one recipe in this book that you and your family really love,
dayenu. If you find more than that, I’m doubly pleased.
If you buy this book as a gift for your friends and family, I
will be immeasurably grateful, and hopefully, so will they.
May you live
a long and healthy life and may G-d grant you strength and commitment
to taking the best care possible of the bodies we are gifted for
too short a time. And may Hashem bless my efforts in sharing this
book with you.
Contents:
Breakfast,
Bread and Dessert 1
Apple
Crepes Pareve 2
Lime Granita Pareve 5
Pull-Apart Challah & Wheat Rolls Pareve 6
5 Pounds of White-Wheat Challah for Kitchen Aid Pareve 8
Apple Flaxseed Muffins with Walnut Streusel Dairy 12
Out of the Ordinary Applesauce Pareve 14
Baked Apples with Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream Pareve or Dairy 16
Birds in a Nest Pareve 18
Chana’s Grandma’s Applesauce Cake Pareve 20
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Pareve or Dairy 22
Raisin Bran Muffins Dairy 24
Chocolate Babka Pareve 26
BlueBerry Crepes for Dessert or Breakfast Dairy 28
Bourbon & Pecan Chocolate Torte Dairy or Pareve 30
Decadent Chocolate Cheese Cake without All the Fat Dairy 32
Tri-Color Mocha Cheese Cake Dairy 34
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies Dairy 36
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Pareve 38
Splendid Splenda Brownie Muffins Dairy 40
Walnut Brownies Pareve or Dairy 42
Chocolate Chunk Mocha Brownies Pareve 44
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Pareve 46
Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies Dairy or Pareve 50
Chocolate Chip Cookies Pareve 52
Mint Chocolate Cookies Dairy 56
Chocolate Mousse Dairy 58
Rich Chocolate Pudding with Amaretto Whipped Cream Dairy 60
Non-Dairy Chocolate Pudding Pareve 62
Breakfast Omelet Dairy 63
Chocolate Pudding Pie Dairy 64
Fruit Crumble Pareve 66
Date Cake with Toffee Sauce Dairy 68
Diet Soda Duncan Hines Cake Pareve or Dairy 70
Brownie Bliss Dairy 72
Butterscotch Sour Cream Cake Dairy 74
Granola Pareve 76
Hot Fudge Cake Dairy 80
Lemon Buttermilk Pie Dairy 82
Lemon Meringue Pie Pareve 84
Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches Dairy 86
Hearty Whole Wheat Rolls-Breadsticks Pareve 88
Summer Berry Pie Dairy or Pareve 90
Yogurt & Fruit Smoothie Dairy 92
Cranberry Cookies Pareve 93
Frozen Yogurt - Four Variations Dairy 94
Zucchini Craisin Bread Pareve 98
Zucchini-Pecan Flaxseed Bread Dairy 100
Poultry and
Beef 103
Barbecued
Chicken Meat 104
“Barbecued” Slow Cooker Chicken Wings Meat 106
Marinated Grilled Chicken Meat 108
Beef Stroganoff Meat 110
Warm You Up Chili Meat 113
Chicken Cutlets with Challah Bread Crumbs Meat 114
Chicken Nuggets All Dressed Up Meat 116
Chicken & Vegetable Pot Pie Meat 120
Elana’s Braised Chicken & Vegetables with Scallion
Rice Meat 122
Cholent AZ Style Meat 124
Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken with Cabbage Meat 126
How Could This Be Good-For-You-Fried Chicken? Meat 128
Lemon Garlic Melt-In-Your-Mouth Chicken Meat 130
Beef, Turkey & Veggie Meatloafs Meat 132
Melba Toast Chicken or Chicken Cutlets Meat 134
Simple Roast Chicken for Shabbos Meat 136
Phyllo Cups with Diced Chicken, Garlic, & Onions Meat 138
1-2-3-Salsa Chicken Meat 140
Portabella & Extra-Lean Beef Burgers Meat 142
Tasty Thanksgiving Pastries Meat 144
Turkey & Butternut Squash Stew Meat 146
Dairy, Fish
and Pasta 149
Apricot
Salmon with Spinach Rice Pareve 150
Tasty Tilapia Dairy 153
Gourmet Calzones Dairy 154
Angel Hair Pasta Salad Pareve 156
Shalosh Seudos Salmon or Tuna Salad Pareve 159
Goat & Feta Cheese Fritatta for Breakfast or Dinner Dairy
160
Cottage Cheese Pancakes-Crepes Dairy 162
Eggplant & Mushroom Parmagian Dairy 164
Eggplant - Zucchini Roll Ups Dairy 166
Fresh Tuna or Bluefish Baked in a Parchment Packet Pareve 168
Homemade Gefilte Fish or Fish Patties Pareve 170
Maple-Glazed Salmon Pareve 171
Kamut Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara Sauce Pareve 172
Simple Spaghetti Pareve 174
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole Dairy 176
You’ll Never Miss the Noodles Lasagna Dairy 178
Orange Essence Tilapia Pareve 180
Dressed Up Gefilte Fish Pareve 181
Phyllo Lasagna Dairy 182
Traditional Vegetable Lasagna Dairy 184
Salmon in a Phyllo Nest Pareve 186
Soy-Glazed Salmon with Orange Tarragon Mayonnaise Pareve 188
Fancy Salmon with Five Minutes Prep Pareve 190
Spinach & Cottage Cheese Pie Dairy 192
Stuffed Shells Dairy 194
Vegetables,
Soups and Side Dishes 197
Barley
with Mushrooms Pareve 198
Guacamole Fiesta Pareve 199
Green Bean French Fries Pareve 200
Broccoli Salad Pareve 202
Challah Stuffing Meat 203
Cream of Cauliflower Casserole Dairy 204
Chickpea Salad Pareve 206
Chocolate Sorbet Pareve 207
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Mushroom Garnish Dairy or Pareve
208
Creamed Spinach with Mushrooms & Shallots Dairy 209
Cream of Mushroom Soup Dairy 210
Cream of Tomato Soup Pareve or Dairy 212
Black Beans & Avocado Pareve 213
Eggplant, Mushroom & Pastry Appetizer Pareve 214
Homemade French Fries Plain or with Balsamic Vinegar Pareve
216
French Onion Soup Meat 218
Goat Cheese Stuffed Portabellos Dairy 220
Lemon Rice Pareve 221
Wild Mushroom Bruschetta Pareve 222
Mushroom Strudel Pareve 224
Roasted Onion Tart with Balsamic Vinegar Pareve 226
Orange Cashew Rice Pareve 228
Crockpot Barley Mushroom Soup Pareve or Meat 229
Sweet Red Cabbage Pareve 230
Savory Noodle Kugel Meat 231
Tasty Rice Pilaf Pareve or Meat 232
Simple & Light Garden Salad with Dressing Pareve 234
Sarah’s Super Salad Pareve 236
Sesame Sugar Snap Peas Pareve 237
Sherry-Balsamic Vinegar Cherry Tomatoes Pareve 238
Eggplant-Tomato-Zucchini Casserole Dairy 239
Simple Brown Rice Pareve 240
Spinach & Water Chestnut Dip Dairy 242
Sun Dried Tomato Dip Dairy 243
Spinach or Mushroom Bourekas Pareve 244
Sugar Peas & Pasta Salad Pareve 246
Summer Squash Chowder Dairy 248
Summertime Corn Fritters Dairy 249
Sweet Gingered Carrots Pareve 250
Veggie Pie Pareve or Dairy 252
Zucchini Buttermilk Soup Dairy 254
Red Soup Pareve 255
Zucchini Potato Pie Dairy 256
Off the Beaten
Track 259
Chicken
Satay Meat 260
Chocolate Tomato Soup Cake Ick! 263
Black Bean Burgers with Guacamole & Corn Salsa Pareve 264
Curry Chicken & Pasta Salad Meat 266
Date Bread Pareve 268
Homemade Vegetarian Egg Rolls Pareve 270
Fancy Whipped Cream Dairy 272
Fried Gefilte Fish Pareve 274
Fried Rice Pareve 276
Gazpacho Pareve 278
Hummus Pareve 280
Hungarian Chicken Soup Meat 282
Hungarian Noodle Pudding (Stiriai Metelt) Dairy 284
Menjaderah - Lentils & Rice Pareve 286
Moroccan Chicken & Couscous Pareve 288
Gingered Plum Soup Pareve or Dairy 290
Sweet Rice Pudding Dairy 291
Quesadillas Dairy 292
Stuffed Wantons or “Pot Stickers” Meat or Pareve
294
Tarte Tatin “French Caramelized Apple Pastry” Dairy
296
Thai Chicken Wings Meat 298
Tilapia with Jalapeno Pepper Sauce Pareve 299
Decadent Flourless Chocolate Torte Dairy 300
Recommended Resources 305
Magazines
306
Cookbooks 306-307
Cooking related Books (other than cookbooks) 308
Website & Cable Television 308-309
Housewares & Kitchen Food/Products 309
Do
you have these ingredients to use up? 310-315
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