The Greek Yogurt Miracle Solution (3 page)

Master these do-over recipes and you'll have a few simple swaps that you can rely on when creating your family's favourite meals.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups (22 tbsp)

Hands-on Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Let's face facts. some things in life just taste better with ketchup: french fries, mac 'n' cheese, onion rings and a good grilled cheese sandwich. Most prepared ketchup has loads of sugar in it, thanks to high-fructose corn syrup, not the greatest thing to be pouring onto your food. better-quality ketchups don't use these nasty sweeteners, but another option is to make your own. Although the calories are virtually identical, the do-over recipe is much healthier, with no corn syrup, refined white sugar or artificial sweeteners.

2 cups passata

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until reduced by half. Cool to room temperature and adjust seasoning to taste. Transfer to a resealable container and refrigerate. ketchup will last for up to 2 months in the fridge.

Per Serving (1 tbsp)

Before: 20 calories, 10 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 23 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 5.5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fibre, 5.4 g sugar, 0 g protein, 81 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol

Makes four 4-oz chicken breasts

Hands-on Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Having cooked and cooled chicken breasts on hand makes whipping up meals a breeze, but many marinades are loaded with oil. This simple all-purpose marinade adds lots of flavour without extra fat.

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Italian herb seasoning

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)

In a resealable container or bag, combine oil, lemon juice, Italian herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Seal and refrigerate for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 3 months.

To prepare from frozen, transfer to fridge and allow to defrost completely, about 48 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Tip:
Chicken breasts are often butterflied — sliced in half horizontally, with the two halves kept attached, thereby forming a butterfly (or heart) shape when laid flat — to make a pocket for stuffing the breast. Doing so also makes the breast thinner and uniform in thickness for fast, even cooking.

To butterfly, place boneless, skinless chicken breast on a cutting board, with one hand placed firmly on top. With a large knife held parallel to the board, cut through centre of chicken, leaving about 1 inch of flesh on the far edge so breast halves still hold together. Open up the breast like a book and stuff or season according to recipe.

Per Serving (one 4-oz breast)

Before: 327 calories, 16 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 154 calories, 4.4 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 1.5 g carbohydrates, o.25 g fibre, 0.2 g sugar, 25.9 g protein, 136 mg sodium, 67 mg cholesterol

Makes about 2 1/2 cups condensed soup (the equivalent of 2 cans)

Hands-on Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Canned soup is a base for many classic recipes that our mothers and grandmothers made, some of which get the dish do-over treatment in this book. Although it's a convenient ingredient, canned soup contains

MSG and is loaded with sodium, sometimes 850 milligrams in just 1/2 cup! I use evaporated milk in this recipe because it's more stable and has less chance of splitting than regular low-fat milk. Whip up a batch of this soup on Sunday to make weekday meals a breeze.

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1 garlic clove, minced, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

Flavour option of your choice (options follow)

1/4 cup whole-wheat or brown rice flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup non-fat evaporated milk

Flavour Options

Celery
: 1 cup minced celery

Chicken
: 1 cup finely diced cooked chicken

Mushroom
: 2 cups thinly sliced cremini mushrooms

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent. Stir in flavour option. If using mushrooms, cook for about 8 minutes until golden brown and softened.

Add flour and stir for 2 minutes, until golden brown. Stir in stock and milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened. Allow to cool before storing. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Cream of Celery Soup

Per Serving (1/2 cup)

Before: 100 calories, 6 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 106 calories, 3.1 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 14.5 g carbohydrates, 0.9 g fibre, 7.3 g sugar, 5.5 g protein, 276 mg sodium, 2 mg cholesterol

Cream of Chicken Soup

Per Serving (1/2 cup)

Before: 130 calories, 8 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 156 calories, 5.1 g total fat, 0.9 g saturated fat, 13.6 g carbohydrates, 0.6 g fibre, 6.7 g sugar, 13.4 g protein, 258 mg sodium, 27 mg cholesterol

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Per Serving (1/2 cup)

Before: 120 calories, 9 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 109 calories, 3.1 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 14.8 g carbohydrates, 1.2 g fibre, 7.2 g sugar, 6 g protein, 258 mg sodium, 2 mg cholesterol

Makes two 1-lb dough balls

Hands-on Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

This might be the best pizza-dough-with-no-refined-white-flour that you've ever had. Its lovely airy texture is thanks to the secret ingredient, vital wheat gluten, which helps keep the dough soft and elastic. The reason most whole-wheat pizza dough recipes contain white flour or have a dense, cardboard-like texture is that the bran in whole-wheat flour cuts through the dough like little knives, flattening all that airiness and elasticity you worked so hard to create. This recipe makes 2 dough balls; freeze or refrigerate one for future use if you don't use them both at once.

1 tbsp honey

1 cup less 2 tbsp lukewarm water (105–110°F)

1 package (1/4 oz/7 g) regular active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 tsp)

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

4 tsp vital wheat gluten

1 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

In a large bowl, combine honey and 1/3 cup water. Sprinkle in yeast and allow to proof, undisturbed (do not stir or move the bowl), for 10 minutes or until foamy. (If yeast does not foam, it is dead and the dough will not rise. Discard and start again with fresh ingredients.)

While yeast is proofing, in another large bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, wheat gluten and salt. Once yeast is foamy, add remaining water, 2 tbsp oil and vinegar to yeast mixture. Pour in flour mixture and gently fold in with a bowl scraper or spatula until just combined. (Mixture will form a very wet ball.) Coat the bottom of another large bowl with remaining oil (ensure bowl is large enough so that, when doubled in size, the dough will not reach the top). Transfer dough to bowl, rolling ball a bit to coat with oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, set aside at room temperature and let dough rise for 1 hour. Dough will be very soft and sticky.

Lightly dust work surface with about 1/4 cup flour. Transfer dough to floured surface and roll lightly in flour. Gently knead dough for about 1 minute, dusting work surface with more flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking. Form dough into a ball and return to bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, set aside at room temperature and let dough rise for 30 minutes.

Transfer dough back to floured work surface and cut dough in half to form two balls. Dusting work surface with more flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking, lightly knead each ball for about 30 seconds. Reform into balls. Dough is now ready to be formed into a crust or saved for future use. To store, wrap each dough ball individually in plastic wrap. Dough can be kept refrigerated for 24 hours or frozen for up to 1 month.

To use from refrigerator:
Remove dough from fridge and let warm at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Form a pizza crust.

To use from frozen:
Thaw dough in fridge overnight. Remove dough from fridge and let warm at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Form a pizza crust.

Per Serving (1/8 dough ball)

Before: 183 calories, 5 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 94 calories, 2.9 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 15 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fibre, 1.2 g sugar, 3.2 g protein, 99 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol

Makes 2 cups

Hands-on Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

The purists out there will balk at this recipe, but here's my theory: whipped cream is a waste of calories and fat. There, I said it. Just half a cup of whipped cream tips the scales at 11 grams of fat and more than 100 calories. I'd rather have a few slices of bacon or a nice piece of dark chocolate instead, thank you very much. If you're craving a little fluffy stuff on top of your dish do-over dessert or milkshake, this simple recipe will do the trick with a fraction of the fat.

1 tsp unflavoured gelatin powder

1 cup skim milk

2 tbsp organic icing sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine gelatin with 2 tbsp milk and set aside for 5 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine remaining milk, sugar and vanilla and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and add softened gelatin, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer mixture to a stand mixer or medium stainless-steel mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate until mixture begins to thicken slightly, about 15 minutes.

Using whisk attachment or an electric whisk, beat on high speed for about 8 minutes, until thick and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate, or serve immediately. It will last for up to 24 hours refrigerated.

Note:
whipped cream must be stored in the fridge. It will deflate if left to stand at room temperature, though it can be re-whipped.

To re-whip:
Divide whipped cream in half, whisk half of mixture until smooth and gently fold into remaining mixture. Serve immediately.

Per Serving (1/4 cup)

Before: 103.5 calories, 11 grams total fat

Dish Do-Over: 20 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 3.5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fibre, 3.5 g sugar, 1.3 g protein, 14 mg sodium, 1 mg cholesterol

Serves 10

Hands-on Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes + 4 hours marinating time

I grew up in the Niagara region, so frequent trips to Buffalo, New York, for its famous chicken wings and for bargain hunting was always something to look forward to on the weekends. The skin-to-meat ratio of a chicken wing makes it fatty enough on its own, but then we deep-fry them, toss them in hot sauce loaded with butter and dunk them in a blue cheese sauce that has as its base mayo and sour cream. For this do-over, I use skinless drumettes (the meaty upper part of a chicken wing) instead of full chicken wings, marinate them in a brine for extra juiciness and flavour, and lighten up both sauces. Even die-hard Buffalo wing purists would approve of these changes.

5 lb skinless chicken drumettes

Brine

1/3 cup kosher or sea salt

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

8 cups water

Blue Cheese Dip

1 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 tbsp skim milk or 1% buttermilk

1 small garlic clove, minced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Buffalo Wing Sauce

1 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare brine: In a large resealable container, whisk salt, honey, vinegar and cayenne into water until dissolved. Add chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare blue cheese dip: In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cheese, green onions, milk and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and place a baking rack on top.

Drain wings, discarding brine. Arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, turn wings over and continue to bake for another 20 minutes, until golden and crispy.

While wings are baking, prepare sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk together hot sauce, butter, honey, vinegar, cayenne, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Warm over medium heat until barely simmering. Cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss chicken with sauce to coat. Serve with blue cheese dip and carrot and celery sticks.

Per Serving

Before: 411 calories, 36 g total fat

Dish Do-Over: 256 calories, 11.5 g total fat

Nutritional information: 4.7 g saturated fat, 23 g carbohydrates, 0.1 g fibre, 4.8 g sugar, 31 g protein, 1604 mg sodium, 88 mg cholesterol