55 basic low fat Recipes

margarine, boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes, salt, black pepper, yellow onion, coarsely chopped, garlic cloves, minced, curry powder, ground cinnamon, grain white rice, chicken stock , basic, canned tomato, drained and coarsly chopped, cauliflower , broken into small flowerets, raisins, frozen peas, plain low-fat yogurt or 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

shells manicotti (1 box) or 12 -14 cannelloni tubes (1 box), ricotta cheese (low-fat or part-skim), freshly grated parmesan cheese (divided 3/4 cup & 1/4 c), egg yolks, chopped fresh basil, lump crabmeat (optional) or 1/2 lb roasted & shredded cooked chicken (optional) or 1/2 lb chopped fresh spinach (optional), salt, fresh ground black pepper, tomato sauce (any jar sauce is fine, ricotta parmesan is my fave or use your favorite homemade basic .), butter or 4 tbsp margarine, all-purpose flour, milk (i use 1%), salt, fresh ground black pepper, nutmeg

recipe basic burger , with whole-wheat buns, ripe avocados, lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh basil, scallions, white and light green parts, sliced, garlic, roughly chopped, tinned anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry and chopped , optional, mayonnaise, low-fat plain greek yogurt, salt, pepper, alfalfa or radish sprouts, asian mayo, pesto mayo, spicy ketchup, ranch ol, baconator

chicken stock (or vegetable stock), cornflour, skim evaporated milk (or soy milk), chicken stock, extra, onion powder , to taste, dried chives, dried parsley, salt & pepper, to taste

dry lasagna noodles, cooked and drained, fresh basil leaf , torn into small pieces, white sauce, shrimp or 1 1/2 lbs crab or 1 1/2 lbs imitation crabmeat or 1 1/2 lbs mussels or 1 1/2 lbs oysters or 1 1/2 lbs squid (basically, your choice), fat free mozzarella cheese or 2 cups low fat mozzarella, shredded, fat-free cottage cheese, shredded parmesan cheese, egg

chopped eggplant (about 3/4 lb), chopped zucchini (about 2 medium), chopped seeded plum tomato (about 3/4 lb), chopped red bell pepper, chopped onion, garlic cloves, minced, olive oil, salt, black pepper, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh parsley, low-fat milk, all-purpose flour, grated asiago cheese, fat-free cream cheese, softened, ground nutmeg, dry white wine, salt, freshly ground black pepper, basic crepes

chopped cucumber, low-fat sour cream, chopped fresh dill, bottled minced garlic, basic blintzes, smoked salmon , cut into thin strips, dill sprigs (optional)

olive oil, bottled minced garlic, sliced green bell pepper, chopped onion, sliced mushrooms, low-fat pasta sauce, chopped cooked chicken breast, hot cooked basic pasta, preshredded fresh parmesan cheese

olive oil, mushrooms, coarsely chopped, dried oregano, garlic clove, minced, dry white wine, tomato paste, all-purpose flour, part-skim ricotta cheese, grated fresh parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper, all-purpose flour, low-fat milk, salt, ground nutmeg, grated fresh parmesan cheese, basic crepes, no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained, grated fresh parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley (optional)

plain low-fat yogurt, prepared horseradish, sliced basic grilled flank steak (about 12 oz), whole wheat flatbreads (such as flatout), chopped romaine lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber

reduced-fat creamy peanut butter, water, low-sodium soy sauce, grated peeled fresh ginger, crushed red pepper, hot cooked basic pasta, matchstick-cut carrots, coarsely chopped snow peas, chopped green onions

sweet italian sausage (without casings), cut in small chunks, rendered bacon fat or butter, chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped bell pepper, chopped garlic, chopped fresh thyme, kosher salt, chopped scallion, chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, snipped fresh chives, freshly ground black pepper, turkey stock or low-salt chicken broth, crushed red pepper, basic cornbread, crumbled