4th of July
Make your family celebration a healthy one! Small changes in your family favorites can have a huge impact on your health today and for all your tomorrows. Example: instead of heavy-laden fried chicken try grilled skinless organic chicken. It comes in all sizes and shapes and is free of antibiotics and hormones. Free-range, means the chickens are free to roam and eat good green grass full of nutrients that have NOT been sprayed with any chemicals. Find a brand that offers, happy, healthy chickens.
Tips for juicy tender chicken is not only to start with organic but also to not overcook it. And for heavens sake don't char it -- new evidence shows that charred meat is harmful to our health. When grilling control your fire, don't keep flipping the bird (oop's you know what I mean) every time you do you loose some of the precious juices inside. Flip only once when the juice begins to bubble up on top. Remove as soon as the juice appears on top after you've flipped it once.
The chicken or any meat will continue to cook once you've removed it to the serving plate. Make very sure that it is a CLEAN plate and not the one you placed the raw chicken on. Always allow any meat, chicken and fish to rest 5-10 min before you serve it. This redistributes the natural juices and makes for tender steaks and chicken.
You can season your skinless chicken with any herbs and spices you like. It is best to create your own and not buy blends, as you have no control over how much salt they contain. And you might even find they contain high fructose corn syrup when you read the label. Be creative mix together the flavors you like, hot and spicy, mild and sweet, whatever you like and remember to save BIG $ by buying your dried herbs and spices in bulk at the health food store. So don't throw away that empty bottle, you'll need it to refill from the tiny bags you fill-up at the bulk bin.
Another trick to tasty skinless chicken--I squeeze FRESH lemon juice over both sides of all fish and chicken I am going to prepare. Then I sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper, then the herbs or spices of my choice. Any time you are not grilling you can pan grill (page 15 in Cooking with Judy) by using a small amount of either olive oil or peanut oil if you like a crisper chicken. NO batter necessary for full flavor and juicy tender chicken for any holiday or any day of the week. Only takes minutes to prepare. You can use this method for frozen chicken or fish, which has been SLIGHTLY thawed.
To add to your festive celebration meal, try our Kale and Fennel salad packed with crunchy toasted walnuts and sweet dried cranberries. Kale offers the highest nutrient on the planet and your never know this luscious salad is made with Dinosaur grass. You'll find it on page 35 in Cooking with Judy. Perfect for any picnic or covered dish event. Does NOT need to be refrigerated and can be made 2-3 days ahead.
You'll also find a sweet treat with homemade sugar-free Dark Cherry Ice Cream on page 35. For the Chocolate Lover there is sugar free Spoon Chocolate on page 47. Again can be made days ahead.
And who wouldn't want to try NO Potato -- Potato Salad? You can make it the day before your event. Learn the trick to serving turnips and no one will ever know, page 26 in Cooking with Judy. There is even a Scalloped Turnip casserole, page 43, that is so yummy and I guarantee if you follow my peeling instructions NO one will never know it is turnips. You greatly reduce the starch and sugar when choosing turnips over potatoes.
You can download the electronic version of Cooking with Judy right now for only $6.99. All 60 pages are packed with affordable, healthy and delicious food choices.
Plus here is a FREE recipe for a Red White and Blue healthy salad found in Volume 3 of Cooking with Judy. Volume 3 also contains a homemade sugar free recipe for FRESH Peach ice cream.
Download Straw-blue-spinach salad.pages