One of the most popular and delicious Chinese Food dishes is Sweet and Sour Chicken.

This saucy exotic dish usually contains too much processed sugar for our diabetic loved ones to enjoy.

Try making this healthy diabetes friendly version at home. It is easy to make and the ingredients can be found at any grocery store.

Substitute the chicken with tempeh or tofu to make it vegan or vegetarian.

1 lb. boneless chicken breast (tempeh or tofu can be substituted), cubed
2 tbsp. hot pepper oil
1 12 oz can of sliced carrots, drained
1 medium onion sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

1-8 oz can of mandarin slices or pineapple 8 with NO sugar added. Separate the fruit from the juice and save the juice.

Diabetes friendly Sweet and Sour Sauce:

Remaining juice from can of fruit
1 6 oz can orange or pineapple juice
½ c rice vinegar
2/3 c catsup
1 c artificial sweetening powder
4 tbsp. agar-agar or corn starch
¼ tsp. five spice Chinese seasoning
1/8 tsp. powdered ginger

To Prepare:

Brush the chicken, tempeh or tofu with vegetable oil. Place pieces in a shallow pan and place in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees. Bake until lightly browned (7-15 minutes) and turn pieces over to brown on the other side. Remove from oven and set aside.

Now its time to prepare the diabetes friendly sweet and sour sauce. Take out a sauce pan and pour in the juice, rice vinegar, catsup, artificial sweetener, Chinese spice powder and the powdered ginger. Turn the stove on low and blend together using a wisk. Let this mixture come to a low simmer.

While waiting for the liquid to simmer ready the agar-agar or corn starch by dissolving it in small amount of warm water. When the liquid simmers add the dissolved agar-agar or cornstarch and wisk until completely blended. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the liquid comes to a simmer again, this time it will begin to thicken. Turn off heat and cover.

Take out a large fry pan and heat it on a medium high heat, then add the oil. Add the onions and stir, add the peppers and stir, add the fruit and stir for 3-5 minutes. Add the cubed chicken, tempeh or tofu stir for one minute and add the prepared sweet and sour sauce. Stir all ingredients, cover and simmer on low heat until vegetables are slightly soft.

Serve over brown or white rice.

Image Credit – jarrodlombardo

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If you’re health conscious like me, you’re always looking for healthy substitutions for the foods you enjoy.

When I went on a search for whole wheat pita bread, I came up empty handed and disappointed.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and learn to make my own whole wheat pita bread.

Here’s a whole wheat pita bread recipe you can use to make this delicious and versatile treat in your own kitchen:

Ingredients

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup soy flour
2 teaspoons sugar free maple syrup
2 cups water brought to a boil
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt

Procedure

After bringing the water to a full boil, stir in the sugar free maple syrup slowly allowing it to dissolve completely.

Lightly sprinkle the dried yeast on top of this mixture. Let this mixture set for around 8-12 minutes or until it becomes noticeably frothy.

Add the salt followed by the 5 cups of flour. Use your hands to knead this mixture into a doughy consistency.

Apply flour to a smooth surface for rolling out the freshly prepared dough.

Take a handful of dough and roll into a ball. Lay this on the floured surface and roll the ball out using a rolling pin to a thickness of around 1/8 inch.

Repeat this with the remainder of the dough.

Allow the dough to rise for around 25 minutes. Turn and allow to rise another 25 minutes.

Place in oven and bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Allow to cool by wraping in a soft kitchen towel before serving.

Once you have your basic whole wheat pita bread, you’ll find so many uses for it.

Use it to make healthy pita bread sandwiches, by spreading a variety of sandwich spreads onto your freshly made bread, or dip it into a variety of homemade or store bought dips.

Pita bread tastes wonderful served with garlic roasted hummus, peanut butter, cheese spread, or guacamole.

Slices of pita are a great accompaniment for fresh soups and salads.

To make a healthy pita chips, spray lightly with olive oil and season with spices of your choice.

Bake in a preheated oven until brown and crispy.

Serve your fresh bread with low fat french onion dip.

You’ll love the taste and versatility of homemade whole wheat pita bread and you won’t have to feel guilty when you reach for a second piece!

Image Credit – iLoveButter

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When dieting, Mexican food can be a forbidden temptation.

Loaded with cheese, sour cream and all sorts of other high-fat goodies, traditional enchiladas are a guaranteed diet buster.

For a healthy alternative, try these tasty vegetable enchiladas.

They are loaded with veggies and the reduced fat cheese and sour cream significantly reduce the calorie count without sacrificing taste.

Ingredients:-

1 Tomato (Roma works best, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.)
1 small yellow onion
½ Cup frozen sweet corn
1 small green pepper (red, yellow or orange can also be substituted)
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Cup of grated reduced fat (or non-fat) cheddar cheese
½ Cup reduced fat (or non-fat) sour cream
1 teaspoon Taco seasoning
Dash or two of Tabasco
4 Large burrito size tortillas (Make sure to purchase a variety without unnecessary trans or saturated fat. If you can find whole wheat or whole grain tortilla shells, they can help add some extra fiber to the dish.)
½ jar of salsa

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9”x13” baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

Finely dice up the onion, tomato and pepper. Mix in the corn, cover and cook all the vegetables together in a microwave safe bowl for 3 minutes.

Stir in the black beans, re-cover and microwave for an additional minute.

In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream, cheddar cheese, taco seasoning and Tabasco together.

Stir the vegetables into the cheese mixture. Add pepper and a little bit of salt to taste, if you like.

Spoon one fourth of the filling mixture into the center of each tortilla. Fold up bottom and top ends of the tortilla and roll up like an enchilada.

Spoon a liberal amount of salsa over the top of each enchilada. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges. Enjoy!

Pair with a vegetable or fruit salad for a tasty, well-rounded meal.

These vegetable enchiladas can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated overnight prior to baking them.

If you have leftovers, don’t worry! They also make a great leftover lunch the next day.

Image Credit – ozmafan

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President Truman, Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe were all reputedly truffle lovers and the ancient Romans and Greeks considered truffles to be an aphrodisiac as well as have healing powers. The 18th century French politician Brillat-Savarin described truffles as “the diamond of the kitchen” and the poet Lord Byron consumed them for inspiration. And as everyone knows, truffles are not cheap – in 2009, a truffle weighing just over one and a half pounds sold for $150,000. But just what is it about these tiny mushrooms which are usually found in the middle of the night by a pig or a dog, that makes them so highly sought after and valuable?

Throughout history, food and drink that is scarce or difficult to grow or harvest has been regarded as prestigious or valuable – a rare vintage of wine, caviar or Japanese Kobe beef. One of the reasons truffles are so expensive is that they are difficult to find and only grow in certain places. Truffles grow underground close to the roots of several different types of tree, including the oak, pine, poplar and beech and also prefer soil that is well drained. They can be found in parts of northern Italy, central France and various other parts of Europe and Asia, as well as in the Pacific Northwest. The prized black truffle is found almost exclusively in parts of southern France and Spain, while the even more valuable white truffle is only found in the Perigord region of France.

Truffles haven’t always been the rare and precious delicacy that they are today. French farmers and peasants enjoyed them regularly during the 18th century – despite the fact that the same truffles were fetching high prices in Paris food markets, where they were perceived to be an occasional and lavish treat. Louis the XIV also declared his fondness for truffles and they became popular among the noble classes of the time, as both their flavor and aroma were considered to be exotic.

Truffles were also cultivated in rural France during the 19th century, although the combined effects of growing industrialization and the First World War meant that they became almost impossible to produce and consequently far more expensive. Today, despite various experiments, no effective way has been found to cultivate them in large amounts; authentic truffles are still found by specially trained pigs or dogs, only adding to the allure and making the whole process expensive and labor-intensive. This cost is then passed on to the consumer – truffles from Europe typically sell in the United States for between $1,000 and $2,000 per pound.

However, truffles aren’t just revered due to their scarcity; they also have a wonderful and unique taste that has contributed to their popularity and reputation. It’s fair to say that truffles don’t taste quite like any other food, although they do have a rich earthy and garlicky aroma to them and a flavor more delicate than their appearance would suggest. Truffles are perhaps an acquired taste – although once you have acquired it, you can enjoy one of the world’s most sought after and celebrated foods.

Image Credit – rdesai

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