Passover Onion Dill Rolls

Just because it's Passover doesn't mean you have to revert back to eating foods made with white matzo meal for eight days. Even the Jewish food companies are waking up to the fact that their customers want to eat healthy whole wheat products during Passover. I'm going to give you a recipe for Whole Wheat Passover Onion Dill Rolls that is so delicious you might want to make it at other times of the year. In the bigger cities with large Jewish communities you can buy whole wheat Matzo meal, and that's what you will need for this recipe.

If you can't find whole wheat Matzo meal you can make your own by grinding large pieces of whole wheat matzo in the food processor. Many groceries now are carrying whole wheat matzo. Now with the whole wheat Passover products you can stay on a healthy eating plan and still keep Passover.

Passover Onion Dill Rolls
These chewy and delicious rolls make a filling breakfast during Passover or at any other time.

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Splenda sugar substitute
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat matzo meal
• 4 eggs; I use eggbeaters for this recipe
• 1 small onion, chopped and sauteed
• 1 tablespoon fresh dillweed, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried dillweed

Please follow these directions.

1. Saute the chopped onions in a small skillet until browned and soft.
2. In a medium size bowl mix together water, oil, Splenda and salt.
   
3. Add the whole wheat matzo meal and eggs and mix well.
4. Add the cooked onion and dillweed to batter and mix well.
5. Wet your hands and form into rolls
6. Place rolls on cookie sheet that has been sprayed heavily with cooking spray.
7. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for an hour until browned.

Makes 12 rolls.

Applesauce Spice Bran Muffins

Getting started on a new way of eating can be done slowly and gradually. Instead of using whole milk you can start using 2% milk. Six weeks later then switch to 1% milk, and 4-6 weeks after that start using skim milk. This small change alone will save lots of calories and will also cut down on saturated fat. You can do the same thing with brown rice. Instead of always using white rice start using brown rice occasionally. In 4-6 weeks use brown rice half the time, and in another 4 weeks only use brown rice. The same thing goes for whole wheat pasta. Start out by using it occasionally, but gradually use whole wheat pasta more and more until you are only using it instead of cooking with white pasta. If it takes 6 months to make these gradual changes that's fine. The main thing is to start now.
Cut yourself some slack and allow for cheating. It's not what you eat once in a while that will hurt you; it's what you eat on a regular basis that counts. If you can't live without that piece of chocolate cake, then eat it. Limit yourself to one moderate serving, and eat it slowly enjoying every bite. You need to be able to eat your favorite treats once in a while. Just knowing you can have whatever you want occasionally will help you to stay with this plan.

Applesauce Spice Bran Muffins
Applesauce makes these spicy muffins extra moist, and bran gives them extra fiber. Sometimes I add a cup of fresh cut up fruit to the recipe but they're good either way.

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Follow these directions.

1. Spray the bottoms only of a muffin tin for 12 muffins
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, bran, brown sugar, baking soda, salt cinnamon and cloves.
   
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, applesauce, oil and walnuts. Mix until blended, but do not overmix. If mixture is too dry you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of non-fat buttermilk.
   
4. Spoon into muffin tin and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
   
5. Let cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes and then turn out and finish cooling on wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Applesauce Carrot Bread

Eating healthy is a hot topic today, but with the demands on people's time and the confusing array of diet plans out there few people even know where to start. This blog is for you whether you are at a normal weight and want to eat better so you can feel good and live longer, or whether you are struggling with a weight problem and need to take control of your waistline and thus lower your risk of obesity related diseases. The Low Glycemic eating plan is for anyone who wants to eat healthy regardless of their weight status. Low glycemic is a fancy word for low sugar. I'll introduce this eating plan, and in future blogs I will offer tips on how to get started on a healthier life. Stay tuned!

Despite all the push for low-fat foods in the past 20 years Americans are fatter than ever, and along with the rise in obesity there is an alarming epidemic of obesity related diseases like Type 11 Diabetes. Nutrition experts used to tell us that eating low-fat foods was the answer to the
battle of the bulge. It ain't so. Sugar is the problem and not fat. It's important to eat healthy fats and to avoid trans fats, but sugar is the culprit. Americans eat a shocking amount of sugar and a lot of processed foods. The low glycemic diet avoids foods that are high on the Glycemic Index. These are foods that are digested very quickly and can cause a surge in insulin production in your body. High glycemic foods get blood glucose levels up and keep them up. You'll notice that I don't use these foods in my recipes. White baking potatoes, corn, beets, white flour, white bread, white rice, pineapple, watermelon are some of the offenders. There is a dazzling array of foods to enjoy in the Low Glycemic eating plan such as whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy, chicken, meats, seafood, nuts and healthy oils. My recipes cut back on sugar, fat and salt, but every one of them tastes terrific. These recipes prove that food is meant to savor and enjoy.
Stop thinking of food as an enemy that makes you fat; food is nourishment and a source of pleasure that you can share with your loved ones.

The following recipe uses applesauce to create a moist, flavorful bread that can be frozen in individually wrapped slices. With a cup of hot tea this is a perfect dessert. I tried out this recipe on my daughter, and she loved it. So will you.

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup non-fat buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. Use white whole wheat flour if available. If not use regular whole wheat flour.
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Follow these steps

1. Spray the bottom and sides of a loaf pan and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, allspice, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and mix well. Add grated carrots to dry ingredients and stir. Add eggs, brown sugar, canola oil, applesauce, vanilla and buttermilk to flour and mix well. Do not over mix; just make sure the flour is blended into the wet ingredients. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts. Mix again. If the batter is too stiff you may have to add a little more buttermilk. Add a tablespoon at a time.
   
3. Spoon the batter into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean then the bread is done.
   
4. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.