Plain cooked chicken calories isn’t exactly a dieter’s main worry.  A single cup contains about 200 calories, is high in niacin, vitamin B6 and protein. 

Compare that with barbecued chicken wings or fried chicken and you are going to double or triple the calories and increase your fat intake.

As with many food items, look for recipes that do not use oil or fat.  If every calories counts, then look to chicken salads or use chicken sparingly for flavor and protein.

One downside to chicken is its cholesterol content.  A plain cup of diced chicken (about 5 ounces) contains just over a third of the daily recommended cholesterol input.  If your doctor prescribes a “heart healthy” diet, then keep the portion size small.

A Chicken in YOUR backyard!

10. Start by removing the skin – that is where the calories are.  Or simply buy boneless and skinless white meat for convenience.

9. Extreme high calories in a fast food chicken sandwich – Crispy FlameThrower Chicken Sandwich from Dairy Queen weighing in at 860 calories.

8. Calorie conscious fast food chicken sandwich – Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A – only 260 calories

7. COLOR OF SKIN – From FoodReference.com: “Chicken skin color varies from cream-colored to yellow. Skin color is a result of the type of feed eaten by the chicken, not a measure of nutritional value, flavor, tenderness or fat content. Color preferences vary in different sections of the country, so growers use the type of feed which produces the desired color.” http://www.foodreference.com/html/fchicken.html

6. White meat vs. dark meat – which wins?  That depends: there are slightly fewer calories in white meat but dark wins handily when it comes to iron, B vitamins and other nutrients.

5. Jerk Chicken – The term jerk refers to heavily spiced and often spicy hot seasonings which are dry rubbed or wet marinated.  Jerk recipes have their origins in Jamaica and the Carribean in general as a way of preserving meat similar to “jerky” or dried meat.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_jerk_spice for more information.

4. You are probably aware that eating raw or partially cooked chicken is dangerous because of salmonella. Chicken must always be cooked thoroughly to 167° F  (75° C) as measured using a meat thermometer pierced into the center of the meat.

3. Chicken bones can be boiled with vegetables and spices to make chicken stock and are a great starting point for flavorful chicken soup.

2. Chickens that are raised specifically for meat are called broilers.

1. Capons are castrated male chickens.  They were once commonly available in the US, but are hard to find today.  Chefs prefer them for their fattier, tastier meat.

Cooking Light Cook’s Essential Recipe Collection – 58 recipes for healthy, low fat meals.  Easily obtained for less than $10.
Betty Crocker’s Best Chicken Cookbook – A popular classic, need we say more? Inexpensive, too.

There are over 60 chicken breeds.  An amazing compendium of detail on each breed, complete with information on egg color, origins, behavior, etc. , is maintained by John Henderson of Ithaca College.

There’s a huge renewed interest in keeping backyard birds – you don’t need much room at all and it’s easy.  Witness the incredible following on the BackYardChickens.com web site. 

Raising Chickens

Are you in an urban environment?  Check out http://www.urbanchickens.org for lots of good information and advice.

Chickens not legal in your neighborhood?  Lots of people are pressuring their local government to allow small backyard flocks.  You’ll find support and advice on sites like http://urbanchickenunderground.blogspot.com/

Just how popular is this trend??  If Martha Stewart is in on the game, then it must be big time.  She recently had a show on backyard chickens – as reported on urbanchickens.net

Start at your local hardware or feed store (in the springtime) or shop online at places like Murray McMurray or My Pet Chicken http://www.mypetchicken.com McMurray has a minimum order requirement of 25 while MPC has the advantage of a low minimum order of just 3.

You’ll find them in Japanese and Asian restaurants where they are usually served salted and at room temperature. Typically, you eat the beans inside and discard the pods. Check your grocery or specialty foods store – they can sometimes be found in the frozen foods aisle.

In Chinese, young soybeans in the pod are known as maodoujia which literally translates as “hairy bean pod.” No matter what you call them, they are a specific species of soybean grown for early harvesting and are different than soybean crops grown specifically for their mature beans.

Cook them by steaming or boiling for 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t overcook – you don’t want a bunch of mush.

We are used to seeing edamame served salted at Japanese restaurants but edamame without salt is equally delicious.

Edamame calories are high in protein, fiber and potassium. According to http://www.soygrowers.com, soy beans are the world’s foremost provider of protein and oil.

Edamame in the Shell © Seapoint Farms

10. “Healthy” is the first word that should come to mind with edamame – they are a low-fat, low-cholesterol, and high-protein food.  What more can you ask for: easy preparation, super taste and high nutrition value?
9. Look for bags of frozen edamame in your local specialty food or health food store.
8. Edamame are popular in Japan and China but are catching on in the US – you will find them served as appetizers in Japanese and Chinese restaurants.
7. Worried about edamame calories?  You shouldn’t be.  There are only 125 calories per 100 grams.
6. Farmers in Kentucky and other states are now growing edamame.  The USDA has an interesting web page discussing US growing of edamame.
5. US products include those by Woodstock Farms, Trader Joe’s and Seapoint Farms.  You can buy Seapoint Farms products online from Amazon.
4. Grow your own edamame!  Buy seeds from Wannamaker Farms or other vendors online (See the “Grow Your Own” section below).  You can grow edamame just about anywhere in the US.
3. Edamame nutrion equals soy foods nutrition since they are made from the same thing.  There is a great facts sheet at soyfoods.org which discusses all aspects of soy-related nutrition issues.
2. Sprinkle the edamame with lemon juice after cooking or add soy sauce/tamari to the water when cooking to subtly enhance their flavor.
1. Edamame, maodoujia, vegetable soybeans, beer beans, sweet beans,  garden soybeans, green soybeans, immature soybeans, edible soybeans – they are all the same thing.

Edamame: 60 Tempting Recipes Featuring America’s Hottest New Vegetable – “These tasty beans are highlighted in 60 mouthwatering recipes. Whet your taste buds with Grilled Tomatoes with Edamame and Goat Cheese, Flank Steak with Jeweled Salsa, Balsamic Glazed Winter Vegetables, or Warm Scallop and Edamame Salad. Not just delicious, these recipes are packed with nutrients. But health benefits are just a bonus because the recipes are ones that any chef would be proud to serve his diners. No bland health food here but instead rich appetizers like guacamole and creamy soups such as Thai Seafood Bisque. Although the market has many cookbooks, this is the first to focus completely on Edamame-America’s Hottest New Vegetable.”

Soy of Cooking: Easy-to-Make Vegetarian, Low-Fat, Fat-Free, and Antioxidant-Rich Gourmet Recipes – “Soy of Cooking Now, you can create elegant meals that are as healthy as they are delicious. Soy of Cooking is a gourmet guide to preparing savory meatless dishes that incorporate nutrient-rich soyfoods into your diet—high in antioxidants and phytochemicals, as well as fiber and vitamins. With more than 170 enticing recipes, this innovative cookbook shows how to combine creative techniques and easy-to-find soyfoods to make healthy starters, main dishes, desserts, and more with tempting, artful presentations. Soy of Cooking defines 30 new and traditional soyfoods, most of which can be found in supermarkets and health food stores around the country. It also includes a guide to useful cooking techniques, tips on using spices,and soyfood exchange information.”

A few varieties include: “Envy”, “Besweet 2020″, “Beer Friend”, “Butterbaby”, “Butterbeans”, “Early Hakucho”, “Green Pearls”, “Misono Green”, “Shironomai”, “Tohya”  Seed companies that carry Edamame:  vermontbean.com, johnnyseeds.com, and Wannamaker Farms. Here are some direct links to buy seeds on Amazon.com: Edamame Green Soybean Seeds 50 Seeds at Amazon and Soybeans Edamame Black Seeds 7 Grams at Amazon

Soybean Plants © ARS/USDA

Growing your own healthy low-calorie edamame is easy.  Here is one person’s discussion of growing soy bean plants in flower pots on their deck.  Of interesting note in this blog post: soybeans have small root systems and thus you can plant them close together – in 2 inch spacings.  They put six plants in a large flower pot – lots of beautiful foliage and lots of edamame pods!

If you often find yourself in coveralls driving a tractor, then you will find the USDA page on growing edamame as a row crop more informative.

Finally, you will find this article at the National Garden Bureau web site to be most informative: history, seed varieties, growing and harvesting are all covered.

© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission.

10. The avocado once had a well-entrenched reputation for inducing sexual prowess. Avocados were not bought or eaten by any person wanting to keep their good name.
9. Fallbrook, California is the Avocado Capital of the World.
8. September 16th is National Guacamole Day.
7. The annual California Avocado Festival attracts 100,000 visitors to southern California every October.
6. Avocado is the only fruit color to define a generation.
5. The most common recipe for the avocado is some type of guacamole. During Super Bowl Sunday, in the US, about 50 million pounds of avocados are consumed.
4. All Hass avocados trees are grafted from one original Hass discovered by Rudolph Hass in the early 20th century.
3. Avocado calories have the highest protein content of any fruit.
2. The avocado tree is used as a warehouse; avocados can be kept on the tree for months after reaching maturity. They only soften when picked.
1. Avocados are a nutrient booster – Avocados act as a “nutrient booster” by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene as well as lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

Absolutely Avocado – “Take your taste buds beyond the ordinary with more than 50 recipes featuring the buttery smoothness of this favorite fruit. Soothe your palate with the delicate flavors of Avocado Crab Puffs. Warm up a cold winter’s night with Avocado and Almond Soup or impress your friends with your zesty Guacamole with Attitude. 24 color photos.”

Guac Off! – A humorous look at the avocado while presenting irresistible recipes. Every review has given it 5 out of 5 stars! “With 30 recipes for classic exotic and extreme guacamoles there is a guac to suit every occasion from the green chile-enhanced Brooktown Classic to the ultra-spicy Scarface Guac.”

Avocado varieties, known to botanists as “cultivars,” are created by grafting branches from an original “mother tree” onto rootstock. The seeds from a given tree will not produce trees with fruit of the same quality and characteristics.

Avocados from different varieties vary in overall size, while avocados are long and skinny, others are much more round. Different varieties also ripen at different times of the year so we can enjoy avocados year round. Skin color also varies – from a somewhat smooth green skin to a very rough, bumpy dark green/black.

Hass avocados are probably the best known here in the US – it produces fruit all year long and accounts for over 80 percent of the worldwide commercial product and over 95% of what is grown in California.

© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission.

Other named varieties include Anaheim, Bacon, Creamhart, Duke, Fuerte, Ganter, Gwen, Hass, Jim, Lula, Lyon, Mexicola, Mexicola Grande, Murrieta Green, Nabal, Pinkerton, Queen, Puebla, Reed, Rincon, Ryan, Spinks, Topa Topa, Whitsell, Wurtz, Zutano. Over 1000 named varieties are known, but only a small number are grown commercially.

Here is a brief primer at Gardenweb.com with questions and answers. They say it takes between 3 and 4 years before a tree will “begin setting fruit.” Note that the growers at the Avocado Growers Association suggest it could take much longer.

Buy a 5-year old avocado tree from Clifton’s Nursery for $69 at Amazon.com. According to avocado.org, it takes 7 to 15 years for an avocado tree to begin producing fruit. We found Zutano and Bacon varieties.

The Avocado Growers Association has the best concise directions for growing an avocado from seed.

Finally, a discussion with video of one person’s experiments with growing avocados from seed.

Avocado.org has almost 200 videos, many are discussions with growers or watch this video on cutting an avocado.

Fresh Food Fast

I like Fresh Food Fastbecause in addition to the fantastic recipes it is laid out in a really useful manner. After the introduction, tips for using the book, pantry instructions, equipment and pressure cooker sections the recipes are divided seasonally. The book is almost 300-pages long and you can buy it for about 25 bucks.

Each season has 12 complete meals and there is a dessert section at the back of each season section. At the beginning of each meal there is a Market List that includes fresh produce, dairy, pantry ingredients. Then you have the list of equipment needed, the game plan to create the meal and speed tips.

There are informative sidebars scattered through out the book as well and the pictures are delicious. This cookbook is the trifecta of cooking… it saves you time, money and calories.

I found this Amazon Review summed up the power of the book nicely:

“This book has changed my life- seriously! My kids and husband are now convinced that I am a good cook, and we can all sit down to a delicious vegetarian dinner every night of the week! The recipes are easy to prepare, and once you start using them, you will have most of what you need on hand to create almost anything in the book for that season! It’s really terrific; I can’t recommend it highly enough!!”

Below is my current favorite recipe from the winter section of  Fresh Food Fast. This salad is served with Provençal Garlic and Herb Broth. I asked Tina what our meal had cost. She did a quick calculation and said the meal cost about 8 dollars for 4 people. Not bad.

Warm White Bean Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Smoked Mozzarella

This is a true winter salad – warm and savory. The smoked mozzarella really adds another layer of flavor, but you can use regular mozzarella if you like. If your tomatoes are very dry, soak them in very hot water to cover until supple. Yield: 4 servings
½ cup firmly packed sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup diced red onion (about 1 medium)
½ teaspoon course sea salt or kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1 cup thinly sliced peeled carrots (bout 2 medium)
1 cup thinly sliced celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15-ounce) can while beans, drained
4 cups arugula leaves, for serving
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1. In a large sauté pan over high heat, combine the oil, onion and ½ teaspoon of salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary and red chili flakes and sauté for 1 more minute. Add ¼ cup water and cover the pan. Cook over high heat until the vegetables are just crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
2. Uncover the pan and turn off the heat. Stir in beans, tomatoes, mozzarella, and vinegar and season with salt.
3. Toss the bean with the arugula and served garnished with chopped parsley.

Other recipes include: Sesame Noodles with Tofu Steaks and Baby Asian Greens – Spicy Corn Frittata with Tomatoes and Scallions – Pan-Seared Summer Squash with Garlic and Mint – Radish, Orange and Avacado Salad and Leek and Turnip Soup with Potatoes and Chard.

Fresh Food Fastis also going to help me plan my garden. The veggies that are a little pricey in my neck of the woods are the ones I am going to grow in my garden and I will buy the rest from the farmers market or the store. Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hourby: Peter Berley and Melissa Clark

The Marlboro Cookbook

You can’t buy the cookbook in stores but you can find it at flea markets, in secondhand bookstores and used on Amazon.com. It is well worth the effort to find this cookbook. And it is cheap to buy.

I have a friend who herself does not smoke but she has a vast network of smokers and city workers who collect empty cigarette packages for her. When we would go shopping in the catalog it was not a question of whether we had saved up enough miles for an item but how many of that item we were going to order. We often wondered when they were sending her the iron lung.

The book is quite small measuring only 5.5 x 5.5 inches. It has a spiral binding and the paper is coated both making the book easy to have open on the counter and to wipe off spills. There are notes pages for you to make notes on and wonderful pictures of both the recipes and manly men cowboy shots of steers, pick up trucks and chaps. It’s one tough little cookbook.

Over 25,000 entries were sent into the judges of the Chili Roundup. After many months of tasting, begging and brawling for more the top 50 were chosen. There are some great recipe names in the book: “Sedona Sunset” “You’re Not Man Enough” and “Eric’s Wooden Parrot Chili”.

Now I have a confession to make. I have not gotten past my first two recipes in the book because they were just so good that every time I go to make chili it is one of them. My two favorites are “Jamaican Me Some More Chili” and “Margarita Chili”. The ‘rita chili is vegetarian but both Chris and I have thrown hamburger in it. You can also do without the tequila but really why would you want to?

And we can also attest that if you ever have a chili dinner party, which you really should, that these two are a great combo for “with” and “without meat” selections.

I find chili to be a bargain food for me because I love it. I can eat on a pot for a week, be happy and have little or no waste. I also will make pots and freeze individual portions for later.

Below are my two favorite recipes. Try them out and and you will not be disappointed. Then you will be tracking the book down on Amazon.com just like Chris did after he cooked out of mine.

Margarita Chili
By Kimbery Seis, Antigo, WI

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ c. tequila
2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 28-oz. cans kidney beans
2 28-oz. cans black beans
¼ tsp. Ground pepper
½ tsp. Crushed red pepper (or more!)
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
3 Tbsp. Fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from ½ lime
course salt and lime slices (opt. garnish)
extra cilantro (opt. garnish)

Personally, I will give up the tequila before I will give up the garnish. That’s half the fun.

Heat oil in skillet and add chopped onion. Cook until slightly soft; then add garlic, chopped green pepper, chopped red pepper and tequila. Cook until onion is slightly golden. Place this mixture in the cooking pot and add tomatoes and beans. Place the pot over a burner at a medium to high heat until mixture is hot.

Add ground pepper, crushed red pepper, salt, thyme, cumin and chili powder. Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. After one hour, add chopped cilantro. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add limejuice and cook for the final 15 minutes.

To serve wet rims of bowls, turn bowls upside down on a plate of course salt and turn (as if salting the rim of a margarita glass). Fill bowls with Margarita chili and add lime slices and cilantro as garnish, if so desired. Trust me you want to desire. Serves 6

Jamaican Me Some More Chili
By Donna Myers, Milwaukie, OR

2 pounds of lean pork cut into cubes
1 cup of orange juice
½ cup of lime juice
½ cup of lemon juice
¼ cup of olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 large onions, sliced
4 green bell peppers, seeded and sliced
2 Tablespoons of cumin
1 Tablespoon of oregano
¼ teaspoon of cloves
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
½ cup raisins
½ cup of water
2 16-ounce cans of Caribbean-flavored black beans, undrained (or, if necessary, 2 16-ounce cans of regular black beans I have always used regular beans)

Optional: serve with sour cream, lime wedges, flour tortillas and/or shredded cheese

In a sealed gallon storage bag, marinate the pork cubes in the orange, lime and lemon juices overnight. Drain off marinade. In a frying pan, sauté the pork cubes in the olive oil until brown.

In a 3 ½-quart slow cooker, add all the ingredients and stir once. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serves 6