What's for Dinner?

Happy Wellness Wednesday! We've got a great recipe to answer that nagging question, "what's for dinner?". It's Cashew Chicken!

Chicken is an excellent source of lean protein and cashews provide healthy fat.  This recipe fits into heart healthy and diabetic meal plans.  One serving contains less than 100mg sodium, is equivalent to two carbohydrate exchanges and is under 300 calories.

The recipe calls for toasted cashews.  To toast cashews start out by spreading in a single layer in a skillet. Simply cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly browned.  Remove immediately from skillet and you're ready to go!

 

Cashew Chicken
Makes 4 Servings

10 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups fresh mushrooms sliced
1 red or green bell pepper cut into strips
1 can (6 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
2 cups hot cooked brown rice
1/4 cup toasted cashews

1. Place chicken in a large resealable food storage bag.  Whisk cornstarch, wine, soy sauce and garlic powder in a small bowl until smooth and well blended.  Pour into bag with chicken.  Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Drain chicken; discard marinade.  Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add green onions and cook while stirring 1 minute.  Add chicken, cook and stir 2 minutes or until browned.  Add mushrooms, bell peppers and water chestnuts, cook for another 3 minutes while stirring.  Vegetables should be crisp and tender and chicken cooked through.

3. Serve chicken and vegetables over rice, top with cashews.

We hope you will incorporate this recipe into your weekly meal plan.  By having a menu set for your week it makes grocery shopping and meal preparation much easier.  A meal plan or weekly menu helps us to stay on track with healthy eating and avoid reaching for convenience foods or detouring through the fast food drive through.

Stay healthy friends

-Julie

Fat: the Good, the Bad and the Tasty

Dietary fat is making a comeback.  It was pretty unpopular in the 90’s but recently we’ve started to identify the benefits of including healthy fats in our diet.  Let’s start by addressing a myth: fat makes you fat…false!  Regularly eating more calories than we burn will cause our bodies to store fat. 

Dietary fats are essential in providing energy and supporting cell growth.  Stored fat provides our bodies insulation and protects organs.  Fat aids in the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D, E and K.  The daily recommendation for dietary fat is 20-35% of total calories.

Unfortunately only some dietary fats provide positive benefits for our health.  Trans fat, also identified as partially hydrogenated oil, is a man-made fat that has been linked with increasing risk for development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  Excessive consumption of trans fat can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol.  Trans fat can be found in many pre-packaged convenience foods as well as fried foods, pastries, margarine, cookies and potato chips. 

Saturated fat is found in animal products and eating too much of this can raise total cholesterol.  Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature and can be seen in cuts of meat.  It is not necessary to avoid animal products to reduce saturated fat intake.  We can limit saturated fat intake by choosing lean cuts of meat, trimming visible fat and selecting low-fat or non-fat dairy products.  When preparing cuts of meat it is best to grill, bake, broil, roast, poach or steam instead of frying or breading.

Monounsaturated fats have a positive effect on health when eaten in moderation and in place of trans and saturated fats.  Monounsaturated fat helps to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease and some are high in the antioxidant vitamin E.  Monounsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils, peanut butter, avocado, nuts and seeds.

Polyunsaturated fats are another healthy source of dietary fat.  Like monounsaturated fats they can help reduce total cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease.  Omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids are part of the family of polyunsaturated fats, they aid in brain function and growth.  You can find polyunsaturated fats in flax seeds, chia seeds, seafood, soybean oil, olive oil and macadamia nuts.

We hope this will help you when reading food labels and preparing meals.   Choosing unsaturated fats, limiting saturated fat and avoiding trans fat will support heart health and overall wellness.

-Julie