Recipe Doctor: Elaine Magee MPH, RD

Cheesecake Factory’s Popular Eggplant Sandwich Gets A Makeover

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, we try to eat vegetarian as often as possible and I enjoyed the grilled eggplant sandwich at Cheesecake Factory the other day. I would like to make this at home but in a healthy form. Can you work on this for us?

A—That’s my favorite restaurant chain! They call it the Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich and it comes with roasted red peppers, red onion, melted mozzarella and garlic aioli on a toasted white flour bun. All the ingredients work nicely in a light home version except the garlic aioli and the white bun. Garlic aioli is a garlic mayonnaise with a history. They have been making garlic aioli, and serving it with fish, meat and vegetables, in the Provence region of France since the Middle Ages.

Our updated version will be made with a light mayonnaise (there are a couple brands now that use olive oil too) and some minced garlic and served on a toasted whole-wheat hamburger bun. This adds about 6 grams of fiber and assorted helpful nutrients and phytochemicals. Whole grains are more likely to be more satisfying and filling as well. I’m also using less of the mayo mixture than the restaurant does.

Our new sandwich has almost half the total fat and saturated fat but twice the fiber!

Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich
Original sandwich may contain around 500 calories, 25 grams fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat, and only 6 grams of fiber.

Makes 2 servings

2 whole slices of red onion (about 1/4-inch thick)
2 teaspoons olive oil (canola oil can be substituted)
1 extra long Japanese eggplant or 2 smaller ones, cut off ends and cut in half lengthwise
2 whole wheat hamburger or sandwich buns, toasted
2 ounces thinly sliced (or 1/2-cup shredded) part-skim mozzarella or fresh mozzarella
4 strips roasted red peppers–drained from jar (or brush fresh red pepper quarters with olive oil and toss on the indoor grill with the eggplant slices)
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise (made with olive oil or other)
1 teaspoon minced garlic, fresh or bottled
1 tablespoon crumbled goat or blue cheese (optional)

1. Begin heating an indoor grill (like a George Foreman) or a nonstick skillet if you don’t have an indoor grill on medium high. When hot, lightly brush both sides of both slices of red onion with olive oil and place on grill or skillet. Remove when both sides are nicely brown (about 4-5 minutes) and set aside.
2. Lightly brush flesh side of 4 eggplant slices with olive oil and place on indoor grill or skillet. Remove when both sides are nicely brown and eggplant is cooked through and tender (6-8 minutes). If you are grilling your red pepper instead of using bottled, you can grill the bell pepper at the same time as your eggplant if your indoor grill is big enough. Immediately place two of the eggplant slices on the bottom half of each toasted whole-wheat buns and top with mozzarella. Pop under a broiler or microwave for a minute or less to melt the mozzarella.
3. Lay two strips of roasted red pepper on top of each bottom half of the sandwich.
4. In small cup combine the light mayonnaise and minced garlic. On the top half of each of the toasted buns, spread half of the garlic mayonnaise mixture. Top each with a grilled onion slice and a sprinkling of crumbled blue or goat cheese if desired. Put the two halves of the sandwich together and serve!

Per sandwich: 410 calories, 17 g protein, 55 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 6.3 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 12 g fiber, 577 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 30 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .3 g, Omega-6 fatty acids = 2.1 g. Weight Watchers POINTS = 8

Elaine with Jory DesJardins on Tropicana Trop 50’s The Juice.

Hi everyone! A special shout out to all the mothers and grandmothers out there on Mother’s Day Weekend. Our Recipe makeover this month is one of my all-time favorite cookies! It’s got everything mother’s usually love or want–two kinds of chocolate and espresso! It’s also better for us than other fancy cookies because it’s 100% whole wheat, high in dark chocolate and cocoa which is rich in phytochemical antioxidants and a little lower in sugar.

The radio show was postponed - I’ll let you know when it has been rescheduled!. I also wanted to tell you about a blog radio show I’m going to be on this coming Monday discussing FOOD SYNERGY for people over 50:

You can listen live (you can even call in) or listen to the interview after the show on their website: Aging with Grace.

You won’t believe these cookies are whole wheat!

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, I am looking for a whole-wheat cookie to try out on my family that tastes fantastic. Do they exist?

A—When baking, I’ve been a lot braver with the whole-wheat flour lately…I’ve even created some 100% whole-wheat cookies! I thought I would share one of my favorites with you—Chocolate Espresso Cookies.

I not only switched to whole-wheat flour when making these cookies, I also used a less fat margarine (with low saturated fat and no trans fat) instead of butter and decreased the brown sugar by 25%. The result surprised even me! These cookies are so moist and full of flavor. You can’t eat just one so I guess it’s good that we reduced the calories by 13%, grams of fat by 33%, saturated fat by 50%, and doubled the fiber!

Whole Wheat Chocolate-Espresso Cookies
If you want to skip the freezer step (putting the dough in the freezer to stiffen) you can continue on with the recipe, the dough will just be a lot softer and stickier to work with—but it will still work out well.

Original recipe contains 165 calories, 7.5 grams fat, 4.3 grams saturated fat and only 1 g fiber per 2 cookie serving.

Makes about 24 cookies

2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips–60% cacao (semisweet chocolate chips can also be used)
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons less fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon, 2 grams saturated fat or less and no trans fat per tablespoon)
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. Add chocolate chips to glass bowl or microwave-safe container and heat on LOW until chocolate chips are melted (stir after the first minute and after each 30 seconds after that). Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl combine whole wheat flour, cocoa, instant espresso, baking powder and salt with whisk or fork and set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, cream margarine and brown sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the egg or egg substitute until combined, scraping the sides of bowl midway to incorporate all of the dough. On low speed, pour in the cooled chocolate and beat until blended. Still on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until combined (do not over mix).
4. Wrap dough in plastic and flatten dough into a disk (so it cools faster) and set in freezer for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350-degrees and add powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls then roll balls in the sugar two times and place on prepared baking sheets, 2-inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes, cookies will still be soft but will have spread and the powdered coating cracked. Cool cookies on wire rack.

Per 2 cookies (12 servings per recipe): 144 calories, 2 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 1.5 g monounsaturated fat, 1.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 105 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 31 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .2 g, Omega-6 fatty acids = 1.2 g. Weight Watchers POINTS = 3

[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s brand new book, FOOD SYNERGY, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

Easy Lemon Olive Chicken For Your Indoor Grill

Q–Dear Recipe Doctor, I am the recipient of one of those George Foreman indoor grills and wondered if you had an easy recipe for chicken that would work with one of these.

A—This reader request inspired me to create a Mediterranean-style recipe for chicken using the indoor grill. You’ve got to like green olives though since that’s the base of the grilling sauce. What makes it easy is that you are preparing your lemon olive grilling sauce in the time it takes your grill to preheat. Simply put the grilling sauce ingredients into your small food processor or chopper and process (or chop) for about 10 seconds.

This is a nice light recipe since we are using skinless chicken breasts and the grilling sauce is made with a tablespoon of olive oil plus some lemon juice, green olives and spices.

Easy Lemon Olive Chicken

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimento or garlic, halved and firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (adding more is optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Start preheating your indoor grill on medium-high if it has a temperature control, otherwise just start preheating it.
2. Meanwhile, in small food processor bowl (or in a flat bottom bowl using a hand chopper) combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, green olives, black pepper, salt, and oregano by pulsing for about 10 seconds.
3. When grill is ready, place chicken breasts on the bottom grill and spread the lemon olive sauce evenly over the tops of the chicken. Lower the top of the grill and cook for about 8 minutes (check and make sure the chicken is cooked throughout).
4. Serve over steamed brown rice or other whole grain or use as the featured meat in an entrée salad or sandwich.

Per chicken breast: 230 calories, 35 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 1.6 g saturated fat, 4.9 g monounsaturated fat, 2.2 g polyunsaturated fat, 96 mg cholesterol, .5 g fiber, 469 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 35 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .1 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = 1.1 grams. Weight Watchers POINTS = 5

5-Minute Tiramisu Saves Your Time and Your Health!

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, My husband LOVES the Italian dessert, Tiramisu. It’s so rich that he is usually uncomfortable after he indulges. He thought you might be able to help.

A—From scratch this can be quite a lengthy dessert to prepare. I’m not one to spend more time in the kitchen than necessary so I whipped up a light, 5-Minute Tiramisu utilizing the fat-free, sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding mix as my base. I added the espresso flavor to the pudding while adding the rum flavor to the lite whipped topping. I found some packaged Italian ladyfingers in my local supermarket and I was in business. If you can’t find ladyfingers, you can use a light pound cake or spongcake or a similar lowfat cookie.

This 5-Minute dessert, which is surprisingly flavorful and filling, contains 175 calories, 3.7 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat and 17 mg cholesterol per serving compared to a more traditional Tiramisu with about 440 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 12 grams of saturated fat.

5-Minute Tiramisu with 60% fewer calories and more than 75% less fat, saturated fat and cholesterol!

The original dish might contain around 440 calories, 31 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, and 215 mg cholesterol per serving.

Makes 4 servings

1 box (1 ounce) JELL-O Sugar Free Fat Free Cheesecake Instant Pudding
1 1/2 cups cold fat free or lowfat milk
2 tablespoons cold espresso (or strong coffee simmered down from 1/2 cup to 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup lite whipped topping

8 lowfat ladyfingers

1 cup lite whipped topping
1 tablespoon dark rum (or add 1/2 teaspoon rum extract)

4 lowfat ladyfingers (optional)

1. In large mixing bowl, beat pudding mix into 1 1/2 cups cold milk and espresso until blended and thickened or beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 cup of lite whipped topping.
2. Spread slightly heaping 1/4-cup into the bottom of each individual dessert cup (for a total of 4 custard size cups). Lay about 2 ladyfingers (broken in half if necessary to fit) over the top of pudding in each dish.
3. In small bowl, blend 1-cup whipped topping with rum and spoon one-fourth of the mixture into each of the serving cups.
4. Top the rum-spiked whipped topping with the remaining pudding mixture (about 1/4-cup for each dessert cup.
5. Garnish the top of each serving with one ladyfinger if desired. Cover each dish with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve!

Per Serving: 175 calories, 5 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 3.7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, .2 g monounsaturated fat, .2 g polyunsaturated fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 368 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 19 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = 0 g, Omega-6 fatty acids = .2 g. Weight Watchers POINTS = 4

[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s brand new book, FOOD SYNERGY, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

Convenient & Gourmet–Butternut Squash Risotto Cakes

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, I visited a deli this summer that sold risotto cakes in the shape of a triangle. I would love a healthful version of a risotto cake for a fast lunch or dinner that could be easily reheated in the microwave. Any suggestions?

A— I’m a big risotto fan and one day I was experimenting in the kitchen (which doesn’t happen too often) and somehow I ended up with a yummy roasted butternut squash risotto. To this day, it’s one of my favorite risottos. So for this reader’s request, I converted this favorite risotto recipe into risotto cakes with an extra baking step thrown in. They hold the wedge shape nicely (the brown rice holds its shape too but is a little more crumbly than the white rice) and you can wrap each risotto cake up individually after baking if you would like and freeze or refrigerate them for convenient reheating later. If you want to make 8 entrée servings, double the recipe and bake the risotto in a 9 x 13-inch dish.

Using brown rice decreases the calories per serving by 23 and increased the fiber per serving by one gram.

Butternut Squash Risotto Cakes
The equivalent amount of risotto made the more traditional way contains around 490 calories, 25 grams fat, 15 grams saturated fat and 77 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.

Makes 4 entrée servings or 8 side dish servings
3 cups butternut squash cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1, 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut and cut into cubes)
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
4 cups chicken broth (lower sodium if available)
1 cup leeks (white and pale green parts), rinsed very well and thinly sliced
1 cup medium-grain rice (brown rice can be substituted)
1/2 cup dry white wine (beer or nonalcoholic beer can be substituted)
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half or lowfat milk
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (more for garnish optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a jellyroll pan with foil. Add the squash cubes and 2 teaspoons olive oil to large nonstick saucepan; toss well to coat the cubes. Spread them onto the prepared jellyroll pan and bake until tender and lightly golden (about 30-40 minutes), stirring after 20 minutes. (Keep the oven on 400-degrees for later).
2. While squash is baking, add the chicken broth to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover to keep warm until needed.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in the large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring often, until soft and lightly brown (about 4 minutes). Add the dry rice (white or brown) and stir frequently for one minute.
4. Pour in the wine or beer and simmer, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed (1 to 2 minutes). Reduce heat to low and add 1/2-cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring frequently, until absorbed (about 3 minutes).
5. Add remaining stock, 1/2-cup at a time, each time allowing stock to be absorbed before adding more. Stir each time you add stock. Right about the time you’ve added all of the stock, the rice should just be tender and the mixture should look a little creamy.
6. Gently stir in the roasted squash cubes, the fat free half and half, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley and cook about a minute or two, just until everything is heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
7. Coat the inside of an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with canola or olive oil cooking spray and spread butternut squash risotto mixture evenly inside the dish. Bake in 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cut into 4 triangle wedges for main dish servings or 8 small triangle wedges for side servings.
Per entrée serving (with white rice): 335 calories, 9 g protein, 57 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 4.1 g monounsaturated fat, .9 g polyunsaturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 490 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 19%. Omega-3 fatty acids = .1 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = .5 gram. Weight Watchers POINTS = 6
[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s brand new book, FOOD SYNERGY, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

Best Bread Pudding Gets Even Better!

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, Could you please make the following recipe lighter and more healthful by reducing the amount of sugar and still have it taste as good?

A—Bread Pudding is one of those dishes that taste much better than it sounds. I thought the recipe that this reader sent to me looked familiar and sure enough, it’s Paula Deen’s recipe from 2007. I of course, not only reduced the sugar, but I couldn’t help but lower the unhealthful fats and increased the fiber. For denser bread that would handle being soaked with the egg custard mixture, I cubed whole-wheat bagels instead of white Italian bread. I cut the granulated sugar in half in the egg custard mixture and then cut the brown sugar by 33% in the topping and by 50% in the brandy sauce. I that sounds like a lot of cutting but it still tastes wonderful and plenty sweet.

I used 3 eggs and 1/2-cup egg substitute instead of 5 eggs in the bread pudding and fat free half and half instead of whole milk. To trim back on the fat and saturated fat, I used 2 tablespoons of less fat margarine or whipped margarine instead of half a stick of butter in the pecan crumb topping and 2 tablespoons of less fat margarine and 2 tablespoons fat free half and half instead of a stick of butter for the brandy sauce. I also eliminated the egg called for in the sauce (I thought the sauce would be better for it aesthetically and nutritionally). This light version was a winner! I will definitely make it again and every friend that tasted the dish, begged (and I don’t use this word lightly) for the recipe. Enjoy!

Even Better “Best” Bread Pudding
(almost 40% fewer calories and more than 50% less fat and cholesterol, more than 70% less saturated fat and double the fiber!)

Start this recipe the night before by cubing the bagels and leaving the bread cubes out overnight to harden up.

Original recipe contains about 545 calories, 23 grams fat, 9.5 grams saturated fat, 147 milligrams cholesterol and only 1.5 grams of fiber per serving.

Makes 12 servings

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs (higher omega-3 if available)
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 cups fat free half and half
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 cups cubed whole wheat bagel (about 2 1/2 bagels), cut and allowed to stale overnight
(if you don’t want to do this just toast the bagel halves and cut them into cubes)
Topping:
2/3 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
2 tablespoons less fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon) or whipped butter
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Brandy Sauce:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons less fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon) or whipped butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat free half and half
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy,

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray.
2. In large mixing bowl, blend together granulated sugar, eggs, egg substitute, fat free half and half and vanilla, beating on medium speed. Stir in bagel cubes and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile in small bowl, blend together topping ingredients (brown sugar, margarine or whipped butter, and pecans) by mixing with fork until crumb mixture forms.
4. Pour bagel and egg mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until set and golden brown on top.
5. To make brandy sauce, in nonstick saucepan, blend together 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons each margarine and fat free half and half, 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1/4 cup brandy with whisk. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is a little foamy (this takes a few minutes)—then turn off heat. The sauce will be creamy in color. Serve each portion of bread pudding hot or cold with a nice drizzle of the brandy sauce.

Per serving: 338 calories, 7.5 g protein, 54 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 4 g polyunsaturated fat, 58 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 242 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 27 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .5 grams, Omega-6 fatty acids = 2.5 grams. Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s brand new book, FOOD SYNERGY, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

Check out my segment on Top 10 Synergy Foods from my appearance on The View From the Bay. (Sorry, there’s no embed code on the ABC site.)

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season! Thanks so much for signing up for The Recipe Doctor Club and I hope you will continue to subscribe to this free club (and feel “free” to tell all your friends about it too) in 2009.

And if you have a moment, I hope you’ll check out my latest book, FOOD SYNERGY (sorry, it’s not free but it’s pretty cheap on amazon.com!) It makes a great holiday gift for anyone on your list that is interested in reaching a higher level of health and dramatically reducing the risk of the 4 chronic disease (diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and cancer). Food synergy is the new language of nutrition and this is the first book on the market to tell you all about the latest food synergy research and what it all means to you.

And please enjoy the recipe for Gingerbread Muffins (below), they really do taste as great as they smell baking in the oven.

Holiday Favorite That’s Good For You!

Q—Dear Recipe Doctor, I love the smell and taste of gingerbread. I’ve looked up several recipes for gingerbread cake online and found they call for lots of butter and sugar. Have you ever thought about lightening up gingerbread cake?

A—I’m totally with you on the smell and taste of gingerbread being a welcome holiday experience and food tradition. I concocted a recipe for gingerbread muffins that I hope will satisfy your hankering. It’s more of a muffin than a cake because I’m using less sugar and a lot less fat than is normally called for in a gingerbread cake. Of course, I also switched to half whole-wheat flour and replaced one of the eggs with egg substitute. Instead of whipping the brown sugar with the butter, I used a mixture of canola oil, rich in monounsaturated fats and plant omega-3s, and fat free sour cream (or light cream cheese).

These muffins ended up being super moist and flavorful and a great way to celebrate the holiday season…oh yeah…and they were low in calories, fat and saturated fat too!

Gingerbread Muffins (27% fewer calories, and more than 50% less fat, saturated fat and cholesterol!)

A traditional recipe of unfrosted gingerbread cake contains 205 calories, 6.5 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, and 36 mg cholesterol per muffin-like serving.

Makes 20 muffins

1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fat free sour cream or light or fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1/4 cup egg substitute
Powdered sugar for dusting over the top of the muffins if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Add muffin liners to 20 muffin cups.
2. In a small bowl, combine baking soda with boiling water and stir briefly then set aside. In a large bowl, combine flours, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves nutmeg, salt and baking powder with whisk.
3. Fit your electric mixer with the paddle attachment then in a large mixing bowl, combine canola oil, light cream cheese or sour cream, and brown sugar together by beating on medium speed. While beating on low speed, add in molasses, the baking-soda mixture and the flour mixture. Now beat in the egg and egg substitute.
4. Fill muffin cups each with about 1/4-cup of batter. Bake until the top center of a muffin barely springs back when gently pressed (about 22-25 minutes). Let the muffins cool then dust the tops with powdered sugar if desired.

Nutrition Information Per muffin: 150 calories, 3 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 3.1 g fat, .3 g saturated fat, 1.9 g monounsaturated fat, .9 g polyunsaturated fat, 11 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 250 mg sodium. Calories fat: 18%. Omega-3 fatty acids = .3 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = .6 gram, Weight Watchers POINTS = 3

[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s brand new book, FOOD SYNERGY, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

This recipe is from the new edition of my book (that was just released):
Tell Me What to Eat if I Have Acid Reflux.

I just thought I would share it with you in time for the holiday season!
We cut almost a stick of butter from this recipe and switched to a smarter fat (canola oil), lowered the fat from milk, decreased the salt, eliminated the egg yolk and used more than half whole wheat flour!

Wheat Cloverleaf Rolls
(With over 50% less fat and saturated fat, over 90% less cholesterol and 2 grams more fiber per roll)
Original recipe contains 183 calories, 7 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol and only .5-gram fiber per roll!

Makes 16 rolls

1 cup + 3 tablespoons lowfat milk, make warm to the touch by heating briefly in the microwave
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
Pinch or two of freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (.25 ounce) or 2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise or bread machine yeast
Canola cooking spray

1. Set bread machine to DOUGH cycle and add the ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order listed or follow the instructions of your bread machine manufacturer if different from the following:
2. Add the milk, sugar, canola oil, sour cream, and nutmeg into the pan. Then add the whole-wheat flour and the white flour. Pour the salt into one corner of the pan and make a well in the center of the flour that’s in the pan. Pour the yeast into the well.
3. Press “START” and the dough cycle should take about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Once that is complete, place dough on a lightly flour sheet of wax paper and lightly cover the ball of dough with the flour.
4. Coat the inside of 16 muffin cups with canola cooking spray and begin preheating the oven to 400-degrees with the rack in the middle position.
5. Cut the big ball of dough into four equal pieces. Then take one of the pieces and cut it into 4 more pieces (each of these pieces is equivalent to one roll). Take one of the roll pieces and cut it into 3 equal parts. Gently roll each part into a ball and place all three in one of the prepared muffin cups. Continue with the remaining 3 pieces (filling a total of 4 muffin cups).
6. Repeat with remaining dough to fill all 16-muffin cups. Spray the tops with canola cooking spray. Place muffin tins on or near the preheating oven (or anywhere fairly warm). Let rise, loosely covered with a thin kitchen towel until almost doubled in size (about 40 minutes). Bake until golden (15 to 20 minutes). Enjoy!

Per Roll: 143 calories, 4.5 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, .4 g saturated fat, 1.6 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 2.5 g fiber, 146 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 19 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .3 Omega-6 fatty acids = .6, Weight Watchers POINTS = 2