For all of my Jewish friends (and my family), potatoes and Matzoh can get a little boring near the end of Passover. I decided to make French Fries and wow..it's been a long time since I've had a REAL french fry. However, my homemade french fries were super delicious that I don't think even the restaurants can compare to my latest healthy creation.
For those celebrating Easter (or for anyone who enjoys a healthy muffin), I took a spin off carrot cake and created a fiber-filled muffin with a super delicious pineapple topping.
I find the muffin delicious due to the scrumptious-sweet topping.
Enjoy and happy holidays!
Passover French Fries
2 Idaho Potatoes (peeled)
1-2 tsp olive oil
Pepper and additional spices/herbs
1. Cut potatoes in half and slice into fries. Continue slicing until the fries are thin.
2. Soak fries in cold water for 30 minutes to remove starch.
*Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
3. Place fries on paper towel and let dry for 10 min (this is important to make a crunchy fry).
4. Place fries on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss.
5. Add pepper and additional spices, toss again.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until brown and crunchy. May need to toss in the oven around 30 minutes.
*This is Karel's plate - I have made him a sardine-dish the night before every race where he has landed on the podium so I guess I am becoming superstitious. This is his sardine + black bean pizza on pita bread.
Carrot muffins with pineapple cream cheese frosting
Dry:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp chopped walnuts
3 tbsp chopped cranberries
Wet:
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses (you can use honey)
1 apple (peeled and shredded)
1 cup shredded carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 capfull vanilla extract
1/4 cup water (at the end)
Topping:
3 tbsp crushed pineapple
2 ounces fat-free cream cheese
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1 capfull almond extract
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix well.
3. Combine wet ingredients (except water) and stir well.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir until well combined. Add water and mix.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins (sprayed with non-stick spray) about 3/4th tall
*I made 12 muffins and 9 mini muffins
6. Bake for 12-20 min. or until top of muffin is golden brown and firm on top.
7. When muffins are cool, blend pineapple, cream cheese, sugar and extract until almost smooth (it will probably look a little clumpy cause of the pineapple).
8. Place a tsp or two of topping on each muffin.
6 comments:
hello! i just got your irongirl email about how many calories we "should" be eating. i wanted to tell you that i really don't think you should include such specific information in a mass email because 1) the max calories you recommended was 1900 and 2) people (especially active people) have very different caloric needs. this information (to eat 1900 calories) could be very triggering for people with eating disorders. i am 5 ft 4 and weigh 120 pounds and easily eat 2500 calories a day because i am so active. just wanted to point this out to you!
Caitlin-thanks for reading my Iron girl article.
As far as specific calories I am not a proponent for high-er calorie diets. I also encourage people to have a range of calories rather than counting calories. I believe that every person has a minimum calorie requirement range that is built on whole foods, rich in complex carbs, lean/low fat protein, fruits, veggies and healthy fats. This could be around 1600-2000 calories for women and 2200-2800 calories for men (as an example). If you have read my previous Iron Girl articles of blog posts, you will see that I have mentioned that athletes should include 100-200 extra calories per hour of training on top of minimum requirements. However, just because you "burn" calories does not necessarily mean that you need to replace all of those calories. Based on the information in my dietetic education and graduate education, it is important to recognize that the physiology of the body is unique in how it handles food. Therefore, it isn't just about eating it is more about what and how much you are eating based on your activity routine.
Regardless if your goal is to lose/maintain weight, recovery and get stronger or just exercise for fun, it is important to take into account the type of workout based on HR, the length of workout, what types of fuels are being oxidized for the majority of the workout and the best type of fuels to properly recover from the workout in order to reduce risk for injury and repair damaged tissues. Perhaps on a 3-4 hr workout day you may find yourself needing 2500 calories (1800 daily calories + 300-800 extra calories through recovery nutrition and mini snacks during the day) but I don't encourage my athletes to eat the same amount of calories on a daily basis. As an Ironman athlete, I do not consume a high calorie diet on a daily basis or during training. My focus for people is more of the timing of nutrition, the types of nutrition during training (if needed) needed to sustain effort/training and an individualized training plan which will encourage efficient training as opposed to quick depleting training. Although there are many people who experience eating disorders, demonstrated with an excessive need to exercise and maintain a low calorie diet, I have found through my dietetic and exercise physiology education that the majority of our population is struggling with overweight and not so much underweight. Also, my focus on this blog and through Iron Girl is geared to people learning how to understand how to eat a more balanced diet to support exercise.
I have checked out your blog and I know you are very active and have a lot of opinions in the world of nutrition and exercise. I appreciate your opinions but just remember that the human body can be complex and the idea that "a calorie is a calorie" does not always hold up in the world of exercise physiology. I have spent many years understanding the human body, with many certifications and degrees to back up my personal points of views. As an athlete myself, who has a very healthy relationship with food, I hope that I can continue to educate and inform others on how to eat for fuel, all while losing/maintaining weight, eating for health and improving performance.
thank you again for checking out my blog.
Yum, nice looking low-oil french fry recipe. Love my potatoes, but I don't deep fry or use much oil in cooking, so this is a really nice alternative.
Marni:
Thanks for responding to my comment. I'm not an RD so I appreciated hearing your scientific perspective.
Caitlin
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