Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

recipe

Holiday Baking Swaps

‘Tis the season for baking homemade holiday cookies and treats! This is a wonderful family tradition with recipes that have often been passed down for generations. But is grandma’s cookie recipe steering you off track? Simple ingredient substitutions can help you create your own healthy holiday treats to start new traditions!

  • Oil and Butter- Swap for applesauce, grated zucchini, olive oil, or avocado
  • All Purpose (white) flour- Swap for almond meal, whole wheat flour, oat flour, or quinoa flour. It is important to note that flour swaps are not even and in many cases you must increase the liquid as well. Use other recipes as guidelines or begin with a partial swap.
  • Milk- Swap for almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or hemp milk
  • Eggs- Swap for bananas or 1 tbsp. chia seeds with 3 tbsp. of water
  • Sour Cream- Swap for plain Greek yogurt
  • Peanut Butter (with additives)- Swap for all natural peanut butter

Recipe of the Week: World’s Best Braised Cabbage

Ingredients:

  • 1 Medium head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
  • 1 large yellow onion (about 8 ounces)
  • 1 large carrot, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock, homemade or store-bought, or water
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt

Directions:

1-Heat the oven to 325. Lightly oil a large gratin dish or a baking dish (9 by 13 inch works well).

2-Trimming the cabbage: Peel off and discard any bruised or ragged outer leaves from the cabbage. The cabbage should weigh close to 2 pounds (if you don’t have a kitchen scale, consult the grocery store receipt). If the cabbage weighs more than 2 pounds, it won’t fit in the baking dish and won’t braise as beautifully. To remedy this, cut away a wedge of the cabbage to trim it down to size. Save the leftover wedge for salad or coleslaw. Then cut the cabbage into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges in the baking dish, they may overlap some, but do your best to make a single layer.

3-The Braise: Scatter in the onion and carrot. Drizzle over the oil and stock or water. Season with salt, pepper, and the pepper flakes. Cover tightly with foil, and slide into the middle of the oven to braise until the vegetables are completely tender, about 2 hours. Turn the cabbage wedges with tongs after an hour. Don’t worry if the wedges want to fall apart as you turn them: just do your best to keep them intact. If the dish is drying out at all, add a few tablespoons of water.

4-The finish: Once the cabbage is completely tender, remove the foil, increase the oven heat to 400, and roast until the vegetables begin to brown, another 15 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with fleur de sel or other coarse salt.

Variation: Braised green cabbage with Balsamic vinegar. You can also add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the cabbage to enhance it’s sweetness. In step 4, after you remove the foil, sprinkle on 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic and turn the cabbage with tongs to distribute the vinegar, then roast for another 15 minutes, uncovered as directed.

 

Original recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet can be found here.

Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato Pancakes

Prep (20 minutes) + Cook (20 minutes)

Makes 16 pancakes, or 4 servings

“In my family, latkes are one of the best parts of celebrating Hanukkah. These modern potato pancakes have a terrific blend of flavors and a nice crunchy texture without all the oil,” Aviva Goldfarb, recipe author.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 large white potato
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (optional for serving)
  • 1 cup naturally sweetened applesauce (optional for serving)

Directions:

    1. Using a hand grater, coarsely grate the potatoes and finely dice or grate the onion. Drain the vegetables then wrap them in a clean dish towel for a minute or two to get the excess water out.
    2. Transfer the grated vegetables to a large bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs. Thoroughly mix in the flour, salt and cayenne pepper (optional).
    3. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, scoop in spoonfuls of the potato pancake mixture and flatten them with the spoon or a spatula. Cook the pancakes for several minutes per side until they are browned.
    4. After each batch, add 1 – 2 Tbsp. oil to the pan and let it heat for a minute or two, to keep the pancakes browning nicely. If they start to get too browned on the outside before the middle is cooked, reduce the heat. Transfer the cooked pancakes to the baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while the rest cook.
    5. Serve them topped with the Greek yogurt or applesauce. 

Nutrition: Calories 300, Total Fat 16g, Sodium 620mg, Total Carbohydrate 32g, Dietary Fiber 4g, Protein 6g, Sugar 8g

 

Recipe adapted from Aviva Goldfarb, original recipe can be found here.

Recipe of the Week: Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples

An easy fall side dish that combines roasted Brussels sprouts and apples with walnuts, cranberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/4 c. dried cranberries
  • 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Toss Brussels sprouts and apple slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender and browned on edges, stirring halfway through cooking time.
  3. Transfer Brussels sprouts and apple to large bowl. Stir in cranberries, walnuts, and maple syrup.

Original recipe from Ohmyveggies.com