I was at the grocery store and saw on one of the display table a wierd plastic contraption. I looked to see what it was. It turned out to be a Breakfast Sandwich Maker made by a company called Progressive. It is designed to be used in a microwave, and will cook 1 or 2 eggs, and some bacon. I bought it.
When I got it home, I washed it, decided to give it a shot. Instead of using eggs, I used Egg Beaters, and instead of regular bacon, I used turkey bacon. I also used fat free cheese.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 strip turkey bacon
1 slice fat free american chees
1 hamburger bun
Directions:
Pour the 1/4 cup Egg Beaters into the egg part of the Breakfast Sandwich Maker. Cut the bacon into two shorter parts and place in the bacon area of the Breakfast Sandwich Maker. Put the lid in place. Microwave on high for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Place the cooked egg on the bottom half of the bun. Cover with the slice of fat free american cheese. Lay the bacon on top of the cheese, and place the top half of the bun on top. Eat. Be careful as the egg gets very hot.
I was in the mood for a BLT sandwich last night, and decided to see if I could make a low fat BLT sandwich.
Ingredients:
low fat Turkey bacon
Reduced Fat Hellman’s Mayonaise
Bread
Lettuce
Tomato
Directions:
Slice a couple strips of the turkey bacon in to 4 shorter strips. In a non-stick skillet, fry the turkey bacon over medium heat (don’t use any grease or oil). Toast a couple slices of bread. When the bread is done toasting, spread a thin layer of the Reduced Fat Hellman’s Mayo on each slice of bread. Lay the strips of bacon on one slice of bread. Cover with some lettuce, and a couple thin slices of tomato. Place the other slice of bread on top, and eat.
Very simple, and very good. Much lower fat than a regular BLT!
After trying and not liking Hidden Valley’s fat-free ranch dressing, I did a post about it. But a close friend of mine recommended trying Kraft Free Ranch Dressing.
So last night when I was at the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner, I decided to try the Kraft fat-free ranch dressing. I picked up a bottle, and also picked up some salad mix as well.
When I got home, I placed the salad in a bowl. I sniffed the ranch dressing, and there was a touch of bitterness to it, but not as bad as the the Hidden Valley brand stuff. I poured some of the dressing on, tossed the salad a bit, and took a bite. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. It was not nearly as bitter as the Hidden Valley fat-free stuff.
So the Kraft Free ranch dressing shows some promise. I will have to try it in some other contexts such as in a chicken sandwich, and with oven baked french fries.
I love ranch dressing. It is great on salads, and also for dipping veggies, and even french fries. And Hidden Valley makes the best ranch dressing. I think they may have invented it, but I am not sure on that.
But ranch dressing is not low fat. They also make a light version, and a fat-free version. I decided to try the fat-free version as a sandwich spread. I tried it with a ham sandwich, and the fat-free ranch dressing was strong and bitter. Too bitter. I didn’t totally dismiss it yet.
I made some low-fat KFC chicken (from my recipe), and my wife wanted to use it as a dip. So we tried it. My wife said it was “okay”, but I thought it was still too bitter.
I will try the light version, and see if it is better. I did a search for nutritional info on the Original version of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, and saw that a serving has 30 calories, with only 8 calories coming from fat. That works out to fat calories being about 27%. That is nowhere near as bad as I thought. But a serving is only 7 grams. 1 gram is protein, 5 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of fat. I will have to see how much dressing makes up 7 grams.
I picked up a new cook book last week title The Busy People’s Low-Fat Cookbook. The recipes look pretty simple. I decided to try one of the simplest of the recipes in the book. I bought four 1/4 inch thick slices of 97% fat-free ham at the grocery store last night, and also some apple butter. I figured the apple butter would be in the section with the jellies and jams. I was right, but it still took a while to find.
I laid three of the ham steaks on my Jennair grill, and while they were grilling, I slathered to top of the steaks with a teaspoon apple buter each. After they had grilled for a bit, I flipped the steaks, and then coated the other side with the apple butter. After they had grilled on then side for a bit, I flipped them again to carmelize the apple butter that I had just put on. Then I served them.
They were pretty good, and easy to make. They didn’t take hardly anytime at all, and they were pretty low fat. One drawback is that the apple butter left my Jennair grill and total mess. They can also be grilled in a skillet with some non-stick spray.
I will have to try some of the other reciped in the book. Most of them are more involved than this one, but still only take 10-15 mintues.