A Bread-winning Recipe
For our readers who are following The F-Factor Diet:
It’s rare that I ever finish an entire loaf of bread before its expiration date. But I feel so guilty throwing out the not-so-fresh extra slices (especially when I can hear my mother’s voice in my head: “There are starving children in Africa!”) This paired with my New Year’s resolution to be more frugal led me to find a way I could use out-of-date bread in a healthy recipe. I had my “aha” moment when watching Giada De Laurentiis making a delicious Panzanella Salad on the Food Network. Panzanella salad is a rustic Italian salad that uses old crusty bread to soak up the juices of the vegetables and oil in the recipe. Of course, Giada use a white ciabatta bread (delicious, yet so unhealthy), so I modified the recipe and replaced the ciabatta with whole wheat bread for added fiber. Now I can continue buying my loaves of bread, guilt-free.
Whole Wheat Panzanella Salad
Total Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces 100% whole wheat bread, 2-3 days past expiration date
- 9 ripe tomatoes (about 2¼ pounds total), cored and scored on the bottom
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup drained roasted red bell pepper strips
- ¼ cup thinly sliced onions
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
- Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish
Directions:
- Cut the crust off of the bread. Cut into 2-inch slices and grill, drizzling about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on both sides of the bread. Once grilled, cut or tear bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside.**
- Submerge the tomatoes into a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl of ice water to cool slightly. Peel off the tomato skins, cut the tomatoes in half, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into 1-inch cubes and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk 1/8 cup of oil, ¼ cup of vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the bread cubes, tomatoes, and basil; toss to combine.
- Transfer half of the bread mixture to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish.
- Arrange half of the roasted peppers, onions, and olives over the bread mixture. Repeat layering with the remaining bread mixture, then the remaining roasted peppers and olives. Cover the salad and let stand at room temperature for flavors to blend, at least 1 hour.
- Garnish with the basil sprigs and serve.
**If you don’t have a grill you can make whole wheat croutons using an oven. Simply preset oven to 375 degrees and cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the cubes on the cookie sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Place the cookie sheet in the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until well toasted.
Nutrition Facts:
Per serving (2/3 cup): 195 calories, 10.8g fat, 1g saturated fat, 23g carbohydrate, 4.5g fiber, 5g protein, 285 mg sodium
What are your favorite bread recipes?
Did you know that what you do in your kitchen can have an impact on the environment?
That’s right -- the global food system may be responsible for as much as one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, and a University of Michigan study found that about one-third of the combined energy used in our food system is for home preparation and refrigeration. Yikes! Luckily, you can help make an eco-difference by how you cook.
In honor of Heart Health month and my Italian grandmother, I wanted to share a simple family recipe from a region of the world known for having some of the healthiest hearts — the Mediterranean. Mediterranean countries have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and cancer than many other countries (including the U.S.), most likely due to their diet of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, olive oil, as well as fish and wine.
There’s no reason Valentine’s Day should be just for lovers. I’ve always enjoyed having a group of single ladies over to celebrate, even when I’m attached. In fact this year, I’m engaged, but that’s still not stopping me from throwing a party, especially since the big day falls over the weekend! My fiancé will be there, of course, but so will some of my hitched friends and single girls.
Nothing says Valentine’s Day like chocolate. Every year without fail, I get at least one box of gourmet chocolate candies as a gift. Once that box is open, it’s not easy to have just one or two. In fact it’s pretty easy to eat about 700-800 calories worth of chocolate. Yikes.
This winter, my crock pot has become my new favorite kitchen essential. You just throw in all the ingredients in the morning, and voila, when you get back from work, you’ve got a balanced meal ready and waiting. And it seems no matter what I put in my crock pot, it always comes out tasty.
While I love pizza, picking some up for lunch is just not worth it to me — one slice can have as many as 500 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and zero grams of fiber, so you end up feeling hungry shortly after. That’s why I created my own easy-to-make pizza. It’s an individual healthy, cheesy pizza so you can feel like you’re indulging.
When’s the last time you threw a dinner party for your family or friends? Been awhile? Use our birthday as an excuse! It’s a great way to enjoy your loved ones in an intimate setting and will cost you loads less than having a big meal in a restaurant. And since you’re controlling the menu, you can make it as healthy as you’d like without the hidden calories and fat that usually comes along with restaurant prep. So here’s a menu that combines some of our favorite recipes that we’ve published this past year — plus a brand new deep chocolate cake recipe at the end. And, yes, it is as delicious as it sounds.
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