In The News: Daily Sodium Intake Over 1500 mg Linked To Higher Stroke Risk

A sodium intake greater than the American Heart Association's recommended level, 1500 mg/day, has shown to increase the risk of stroke, according to a recent study published in the journal Stroke. The researchers found that there was a 17% increase in stroke risk for each additional 500 mg consumed AND those that consumed 4000 mg per day had a 2.6 fold increase stroke risk vs. those consuming less than 1500 mg. A summary of this compelling study can be found by clicking HERE To check out the abstract from the study, click HERE Also, click HERE for a link to all my lower sodium recipes!

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Greek Chicken Pizza

My husband is passionate about a Greek inspired pizza from Fresh Brothers so I thought I’d try and emulate it at home- pretty darn good with way less calories!

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat pita
1/3 cup finely cubed cooked chicken
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon thinly sliced red or white onion
2 tablespoons chopped olives (black or kalamata)
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons low fat feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the sauce on the pita and then add the onions, basil, oregano, olives and chicken. Sprinkle the pita with the cheese. Place the pita on a baking sheet cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned/crispy.

Makes one pizza, one serving

Serving size 1 pizza Calories 310 Protein 24 g Carb 41 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 3 g Fat 7 g Saturated fat 2.5 g Sodium 840 mg

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Fabulous Food Finds: Oat Flour

Since I have started trying to make more gluten-free recipes, namely baked goods, I thought I was doomed to need to use commercial gluten-free baking mixes that have all kinds of additives yet were devoid of whole grains and fiber. That was until I discovered oat flour. Bob’s Red Mill has a gluten-free variety (or you can make your own by grinding up oats in the food processor). 1/3 cup has 160 calories, 3 grams of (mostly unsaturated healthy) fat, NO sodium, 26 grams of whole grain carb, 4 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. I was impressed by these stats so I thought I’d give it a try, while hoping the taste of my recipes would not suffer. The results? Surprisingly successful! I have actually read that oat flour can replace all purpose flour 1:1 in some recipes and I have had success in sub-ing it in for whole wheat flour in my Autumn Apple Cake, Ginger Pear Cake and Apple Crumble recipes. I have also used it in my Pumpkin Spice Cake, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Carrot Cake Macaroon and White Chocolate Walnut Cookies recipes with a great result as well. Still wanting to try working with coconut flour and almond meal too so if and when I do I’ll be sure to post any good recipes I come up with!

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Carrot Cake Macaroons

A fun and reasonably healthy Spring treat- go ahead Easter Bunny!

Ingredients:

2 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
½ cup honey
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
4 tablespoons white whole wheat flour, all purpose or Gluten Free Oat Flour (such as Bob’s red mill) if you are on a gluten-free diet
½ cup liquid egg whites
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, spices and coconut in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together the eggs and honey. Slowly add the flour/coconut mixture to the larger bowl with the egg whites and honey until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the carrot, pecans and raisins. Drop in small spoonfuls (using a scooper is helpful) onto greased cookie sheets and bake 11-15 minutes, until tops are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned.

Makes about 30 cookies

Serving size: 1 cookie Calories 70 Protein 1 g Carb 7 g Fiber 1g Sugars 5 g Fat 4.5 g Saturated fat 3.5 g Sodium 0 mg

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