Going sugar-free

It's been one week and I'm feeling great. No cravings and not tempted by the aisles of stuff in the grocery store when I shop. I know that facing my Mom's caramel cake is going to be the real test, but luckily that won't happen until the next family gathering and my mind should be acclimated totally by then.

It's not so difficult I suppose as I was sugar-free for many years before going off the wagon about seven years ago.

Why sugar free? It started years ago when I went to my dentist in North Carolina. He had a display in his waiting room showing sugar consumption growth over the years. He had a baby food jar with a teaspoon or so of sugar in it from way back when... next to it was a bigger jar, then a bag of sugar, then 2 or 3, increasing until the stack was my height and at least a couple of bags deep, a number wide. I was probably snacking on a candy bar when I saw it... well, no, I was going to the dentist so I wouldn't have been eating anything. But I certainly didn't have a problem with sugar!

It kind of stuck with me and made me curious. I picked up a few books on sugar. Statements like "if sugar were discovered today it would be banned" and "it's addictive" had me thinking more about my sugar intake. I started watching labels.

What a shocker! So many of the foods I ate had sugar in them. Things you wouldn't think needed sugar. Mayonnaise? hot dogs? spaghetti sauce? I started looking for products that didn't have sugar listed as an ingredient. Pretty soon I was completely sugar free and I felt great. I didn't have afternoon crashes or slow-downs. I slept better. I had more energy. It was enough to keep me on a sugar-free diet for many, many years.

I can still remember when I went off the wagon. Not sure why, either, but when I went, I went wholeheartedly. I ate almost a full plate of chocolate brownies, with icing no less! I was hooked. I almost got a rush...

Since then I've kind of tried off and on to go sugar-free but haven't been committed. I've lasted a day or so always using some excuse like "I don't want to toss all that good food in the freezer" or "I don't have time to cook". I'm the queen of microwave dishes these days....

But my son went carb-free to lose weight and as I was going on a long trip with him I decided to stick to the same diet. Once I got through the first few days, which was surprisingly easy, my body started remembering how good it used to feel. I decided to stick with it when I got back, especially since I'd already gone through what's usually the worst part.

Now I'm cleaning out the fridge and freezer. I've been shopping and am trying to remember all the great foods I used to eat. I'm learning to eat more veggies already! For some reason eating processed foods just takes away the enjoyment of fresh or even frozen vegetables on the plate. They're starting to have more flavor, be more satisfying.

One thing that saddens me is having to give up my Morning Star Farms products. They all have sugar in them. Talk about a surprise! I'm a vegetarian of sorts, have been since my teens. I don't eat meat or poultry. I will drink milk, eat cheese, have an occasional piece of fish so I'm not a true vegetarian by most definitions. I've enjoyed my meat subsitutes from Morning Star. No more. Next time I hit the grocery store I'll be looking at some of the other meat substitutes to see if they have sugar in them.

One thing I've learned is that saying I'll just eat a little bit of sugar on rare occasions is like saying I'll only do crack once a year. It just doesn't work like that. Why do you think they're now putting some form of sugar in almost every food? I dare you to try and fill your cart with foods that don't have sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose or similar listed in the ingredients.

I'm heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. Plenty of choices ranging from cereals to oatmeal to eggs...and even pancakes with fruit on top. I haven't added fruit back into my diet yet, waiting to make sure I'm well settled into sugar-free before adding fruit.

I'll try to keep you posted on how I'm doing off and on. I suspect I'll probably drop a few pounds along the way, which won't hurt my feelings at all! -  jmd

Simple One-Dish Meals Provide Delicious Comfort

(NAPSI)-Recent studies have shown that U.S. consumers have responded to the faltering economy by altering their dining habits, including preparing more meals at home. However, with time at a premium, Americans are turning to the ease and comfort of one-dish meals, such as hearty soups, stews and pasta.

One-dish meals offer busy home cooks the benefits of a traditional meal but require less time for ingredient shopping and food preparation. One-dish meals also offer recipe flexibility. For example, prep time can be shortened by substituting precooked sausage for raw, or using canned or frozen vegetables instead of fresh. The end result will still be a satisfying and nourishing dish the entire family will enjoy.

"Americans are embracing a new style of comfort food with recipes that are hearty and full of wholesome ingredients," said Jones Dairy Farm President Philip Jones, who is also a professionally trained chef. "One-dish meals have widespread appeal because they're easy, fresh-from-scratch dishes that taste like you spent hours in the kitchen."

This modern Italian pasta dish is gluten-free but can also be prepared with whole-wheat spaghetti.

Spaghetti Puttanesca with Sausage

Makes 4 servings

8 ounces brown rice gluten-free spaghetti

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 (28 oz.) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained

½ cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon chopped capers

2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 2 minced anchovy fillets

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (7 oz.) package Jones All Natural Golden Brown Sausage Links/Patties, sliced or cubed

1 cup (4 oz.) diced fresh mozzarella cheese or quartered ciliegine mozzarella balls

¼ cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovy paste and pepper flakes; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in sausage; simmer 5 minutes. Drain spaghetti; transfer to 4 shallow bowls. Stir fresh mozzarella cheese into sausage mixture; serve over spaghetti and top with basil.

More delicious one-dish meal recipes are available by visiting www.jonesdairyfarm.com.

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Dried fruit and prune juice add flavor and depth to holiday stuffing

(ARA) - Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, one thing's for sure - no holiday meal is complete without it. Sometimes savory, often sweet, but always delicious, stuffing is one of the most anticipated dishes on the holiday table.

Stuffing is an easy-to-prepare, versatile holiday dish that can include succulent meats, sweet fruits and savory herbs. Incorporating both dried and fresh fruit into stuffing is a California tradition, adding depth of flavor.

"Dried fruits, such as cherries or prunes, are a great addition to any holiday meal," says Chef Victoria Comfort, executive chef of Black Kite Cellars in California's Wine Country. "I enjoy adding them to stuffing because they add moisture, sweetness and texture to the dish and pair beautifully with a succulent roasted turkey."

One of Chef Comfort's surprise secret ingredients is prune juice. Made from plump, juicy California prunes, prune juice can help retain moistness in the stuffing and can also be a great base for sauces and glazes. This holiday season, Chef Comfort has shared her recipe for Country Sausage, Apple and Cherry Stuffing. This dish pairs Italian sausage with prune-juice plumped dried cherries, striking the perfect balance on the palate of sweet and savory.

"Cooking is about a balance of flavors. Sunsweet Prune Juice is one of those ingredients that contributes a complexity to many recipes," Chef Comfort says. "In the Country Sausage, Apple and Dried Cherry Stuffing, the prune juice is used to counter balance the tartness of the dried cherries. The subtle fruitiness and sweetness of prune juice makes it the perfect flavor enhancer."

Sunsweet Growers, the world's largest handler of dried tree fruits, offers several stuffing recipes using dried fruit on its Web site, www.sunsweet.com.

"Every holiday season we get a flurry of consumer requests for recipes from everything from stuffing to quick breads," says Stephanie Harralson of Sunsweet Growers. "While many people think of Sunsweet products as naturally powerful snacks, they can also be fantastic ingredients. We always get rave reviews for our stuffing recipes."

Chef Comfort's recipe for Country Sausage, Apple and Cherry Stuffing along with other delicious holiday recipes, can be found at www.sunsweet.com.

Country Sausage, Apple and Cherry Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Sunsweet cherries
3/4 cup Sunsweet prune juice
5 cups French bread, cubed and dried
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup parsley, washed and chopped fine
2 eggs
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a skillet, brown the sausage; remove excess fat and add the vegetables and garlic. Cook briefly, about two minutes, and set aside. Put the cherries in a saucepan with the prune juice, bring to a boil and set aside. Put the bread cubes, sausage, vegetables, apples and parsley in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs and chicken broth together, and pour over the bread mixture, mixing until everything is well distributed. Drain cherries and add to the stuffing mixture, tossing again. If the mixture is too dry, add more broth 1/4 cup at a time. Place in a lightly greased 13 by 9 inch pan and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 10 minutes to crisp. Serve warm. Makes eight to 12 servings.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Palate-Pleasing Plates That Save Cents

(NAPSI)-Looking for meals that bank on flavor while saving cents? You can find a repertoire of recession-proof and nutritious recipes online at a new section of the Idaho Potato Commission's Web site called Watching Waistlines & Wallets: www.idahopotato.com/waistlines_wallets.

One of the key ingredients in each recipe is an Idaho® potato. An average 5.3-ounce spud has only 110 calories, contains zero fat and cholesterol and is packed with nutrients including 45 percent daily value of vitamin C, nearly twice as much potassium as a banana, fiber, protein, vitamin B6 and complex carbohydrates. At about 25 cents per potato, that's a lot of nutritional bang for your buck--and even better, your quarter.

Twice-Baked Idaho® Potatoes with Sausage & Cheese

Servings: 8

8 large Idaho® potatoes, scrubbed

2 teaspoons olive oil (optional, for a softer-skinned potato)

12 ounces ground turkey sausage

1 cup skim milk

1 stick (½ cup) margarine or butter

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

pinch white pepper (optional)

¼ cup chopped chives (optional)

1 8-ounce package reduced-fat, shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425° F. Pierce potatoes with a fork several times. Rub potato skins with olive oil if a softer potato skin is desired. Bake potatoes directly on the middle oven rack for 50-60 minutes or until they yield to gentle pressure. While the potatoes are baking, cook the turkey sausage. Drain the sausage, crumble it and set aside. While potatoes are still hot (use oven mitt to hold potato), cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the interior flesh of the potato into a medium-size bowl, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick all around. Using a potato masher, mash the potato flesh. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until hot, but not boiling. Add milk to potato a little at a time, mashing it together each time. Mix in butter and mash all until smooth. Add salt, white pepper and chives, if desired, and mix together thoroughly. Stir in the shredded cheese and sausage. Turn oven to 400° F. Using a spoon, gently fill the potato shells with the potato mixture, mounding it up high. Place filled potatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until hot.

Estimated Nutritional Analysis per Serving: 476 calories, 21 g fat, 48 g cholesterol, 738 g sodium, 18 g protein, 53 g carbohydrates

More Recipes

For more recipes, visit www.idahopotato.com/recipes.

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New-Fashioned Sausage Cassoulet

(NAPSI)-If you're one of those people who order cassoulet whenever you see it on the menu, you have lots of company. Most people love cassoulet and order it because it's a dish they think is hard to make at home. Well, here's a recipe that shows this French dish is really simple to make yet complex in flavor:

New-Fashioned Sausage Cassoulet

Yield: 4

1 teaspoon olive oil

¼ pound fully cooked smoked sausage, cut in 2‑inch lengths

½ pound fresh Italian sausage links, cut in 2‑inch lengths

2 cups chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes including liquid

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

2 whole bay leaves

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 (14- to 15-ounce) can white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausages to drain in a paper towel-lined bowl.

2. Discard all but 1 teaspoon pan drippings. Add onion to hot pan drippings and cook until tender. Add garlic and sauté only until fragrant, about 30-40 seconds.

3. Stir in tomatoes with liquid, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, cloves and beans.

4. Bring mixture to a gentle boil. Return sausage to pan. Cover and gently simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to allow flavors to develop.

5. Remove bay leaves. Serve cassoulet in individual shallow soup bowls.

For more recipes from the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, go to www.hot-dog.org. To receive a free recipe booklet, "Sausage Recipes From Around the World," send a stamped, self-addressed, business-sized envelope to Sausage Recipes, 1150 Connecticut Ave, NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036.

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Cabbage Roll Up

My mouth was watering as I read the recipe for the Onion Pie. It would be delicious using our very own Vidalia onions! I'm most definitely going to try the Corn and Shrimp Soup, too. I have a recipe for Confetti Soup which has a lot of the same ingredients but no shrimp. I may have to toss some seafood into the Confetti Soup to see what that would taste like. I'll share that recipe later since we already have one corn soup in County Cuisine for now.

Here's another idea for a side item to go with the Onion Pie:

Cabbage Roll Ups

1/4 stick butter (or margarine)
1 cup cooked rice (brown rice works well as does regular white rice)
1 large head cabbage
1 1/2 lb. ground round steak
2 Tbsp. minced fresh onion (I usually increase the amount of onions)
1 can tomato sauce OR 1 can tomatoes
garlic salt to taste

Cut around the core of the cabbage and remove. Put head of cabbage into boiling water. As leaves soften, remove and drain. Add cooked rice to raw meat in separate bowl. Saute onions in the butter. Add onions to meat and rice mixture. Mix well by hand; if the mixture feels too dry, add a little bit of the canned tomatoes or sauce.

Holding a cabbage leaf in hand, put a scoop of the meat mixture into center and fold the leaf around it.

Layer in foil lined baking dish. Cover with any remaining cabbage leaves. Pour tomato sauce or tomatoes over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 275 degrees for approximately 2 hours. You'll need to watch it closely as the cabbage will burn. I usually end up adding more tomato sauce.

As a variation you might want to try some of the excellent canned tomato mixes (Italian, Mexican and others).

Putting a little sausage in the mixture (best to cook it just a bit first, although not completely) adds a nice bite.

Happy New Year!
Claire