Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a really amazing food.  It is loaded with protein.  It has a good amount of fiber and it is gluten free.  It is also incredibly simple to prepare.  It takes about as long as white rice, and is much better for you.  The downside to quinoa is that is is a bit pricey.  I paid $6 for a 1 pound bag.

This recipe came from My Kitchen Addiction.  Here is the link.  As with most recipes I try for the first time, I followed this one almost exactly.  Here are my minor changes.

• I used a can of corn instead of fresh.
• I cut back the olive oil by 1 tablespoon with fine results.
• I substituted honey for the agave syrup since that is not something I have in my pantry.
• The second time I made this, a mere week later, I added some dried oregano and a dash of cumin.

This is a great salad that I’m going to play with some more.  The possibilities seem almost endless!  I might try a quinoa salad with diced cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, feta, fresh parsley, mint and a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Greek oregano…quinoa tabouli! Yum.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  (or about 2 cups cooked black beans)
• 3 ears of steamed corn, cut off the cob
  (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed OR 1 can, drained)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (about half a cup)
• 1 lime, zested then juiced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.
2. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, red onion, red bell peppers and cilantro in a large bowl.
3. For the vinaigrette, whisk oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice and zest, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Combine cooked quinoa with vegetables, then mix in vinaigrette.  Serve room temperature or refrigerate.

So, is this quick, simple and clean-up free meal any good?  I thought so.  The recipe is from Eating Well and is full of vegetables.  I love when a meal is heavy on warm cooked veggies.  Having a salad can be a good way to get your daily amount of vegetables, but it can often become monotonous.  This is a good way to actually incorporate vegetables into your main course instead of having a separate salad with your meal.

I used more tomatoes than called for in the recipe, replaced the cubanelle pepper with an anaheim, and only used one shallot since the ones at the grocery store were monsters!  These guys were huge.  I also made the great error of leaving out the mustard.  This came to my attention as they were coming out of the oven…not the best timing.  So, I just spread some mustard onto the chicken after it was cooked, and all was well.  I am sure it would have been better had I remembered the mustard earlier, but it didn’t ruin dinner.  I served the chicken with white rice, and so the liquid that remained in the packets was a good sauce despite its thin consistency.  Since I had it on hand I used dried thyme, but I think that fresh would give this a much better flavor.

Overall, a good, tasty meal that can be scaled down to make a quick dinner for 2. If you’re like me, finding recipes and cooking for 2 is often a challenge, unless you want leftovers for the rest of the week.  A reviewer on eatingwell.com said she doubled the ingredients and cooked everything in a Dutch oven, so that is another way to go to serve a larger crowd.  Enjoy!

Chicken, Tomato & Zucchini Packets

From Eatingwell.com

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 sweet banana peppers, or cubanelle peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used 1 anaheim)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used 1)
• 1 1/2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. For the foil packets you will need 4 pieces of foil, about 18 inches in length.
3. Place a chicken breast in the center of one piece of foil and spread with mustard.
4. Toss zucchini, peppers, shallots, tomatoes, oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place about 1 1/4 cups of the vegetable mixture on top of each piece of chicken.
5. Close the packet to cover the ingredients. Starting at the top, seal the packet by folding the edges together in a series of small, tight folds. Twist the tip of the packet and tuck it underneath to help keep the packet closed. Place the packets on a large rimmed baking sheet (packets may overlap slightly). Bake until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F, about 25 minutes. (Carefully open one package to check for doneness and be cautious of the steam.) Let the packets rest unopened for 5 minutes before serving.

Thankfully, I came across a perfect summer side dish recipe from Erin at vittles for the voracious.  This salad would a great accompaniment to the grilled steak and the Asian flavors.

The salad has tons of yummy, crisp vegetables.  It tastes fresh but still has a great rich flavor thanks to the dressing.  You can change this recipe to fit your likes and needs.  Add any other vegetables that you like.  Erin suggests water chestnuts, broccoli florets, snow peas, and asparagus pieces.  Along with the recipe required broccoli slaw and edamame, I added extra purple cabbage and snow peas.

For the dressing I used Brianna’s Ginger Mandarin dressing, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce.  I don’t like a dressing-drenched salad, so this was just enough to get the flavor without losing the vegetables.

Here is Vittles link, and here is my variation.  This is a great salad.  Thanks, Erin!

Asian Vegetable Slaw

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 package (10 oz) broccoli slaw mix
• 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 cups shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup blanched snap peas

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup Asian dressing (I used Brianna’s Ginger Mandarin)
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce

Directions

1. Combine all vegetables (and mandarins) in a large bowl and toss together.
2. In a small bowl, whisk dressing, peanut butter and chili sauce.
3. Pour sauce over the vegetables and toss well.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

Many of the recipes sound not only healthy, but also delicious.  I am anxious to try some of the desserts, like these lemon squares.  Baked goods are not always the easiest to make tasty and healthy, so I’d like to find out if they’ve managed to mix tastiness and nutrition.

Tonight I made these garlic-y citrus shrimp and a warm quinoa salad with edamame and roasted red peppers in a lemony tarragon sauce.  I served this with whole wheat pita bread.  This meal is packed with protein, quite flavorful, fresh and totally satisfying.  I finished dinner feeling full, but full of really good food, so no guilt!

Another plus is that the meal was simple to prep and came together incredibly quickly.  Quinoa is so much better for you than rice, and it takes about the same amount of time as white rice, and half the time of brown rice.  It is similar in texture to couscous, but has a nuttier flavor and is more substantial.  Shrimp is one of the quickest proteins to cook.  A mere minute on each side is all you need, but any more time than that can yield  a shrimp that is overcooked and rubbery in texture.

The only change I would make is to leave out the walnuts.  I didn’t find that they added anything to the salad but crunch and more protein…which we weren’t exactly lacking here.

I will keep you updated as I try more recipes from this site.  I already have another EatingWell dinner planned for later this week; chicken and fennel flatbread pizza.  Yum.

Sizzled Citrus Shrimp

MARINADE & SHRIMP

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound medium shrimp, (30-40 per pound), peeled and deveined

SAUCE

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION

1. Combine lemon juice, wine, 2 teaspoons oil and garlic in a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Drain well, reserving marinade.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook, turning once, until barely pink, about 30 seconds per side; transfer to a plate. Add bay leaf, crushed red pepper and the reserved marinade to the pan; simmer for 4 minutes. Return the shrimp and any accumulated juices to the pan; heat through. Season with salt, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Edamame

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed (10 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup drained and diced jarred roasted red peppers, (3 ounces)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, preferably toasted

PREPARATION

1. Toast quinoa in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes aromatic and begins to crackle, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly.
2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook gently for 8 minutes. Remove the lid and, without disturbing the quinoa, add edamame. Cover and continue to cook until the edamame and quinoa are tender, 7 to 8 minutes longer. Drain any remaining water, if necessary.
3. Whisk lemon zest and juice, oil, tarragon and salt in a large bowl. Add peppers and the quinoa mixture. Toss to combine. Divide among 4 plates and top with walnuts.

The meringues were light and crunchy, the lemon curd and raspberries were perfect partners; tart and sweet, and the pistachios added such a wonderful richness to the whole dessert.  To top it all off, they were beautiful.  This is an impressive looking dessert, and Jackie said that it wasn’t all that complicated or tedious.  She even let the meringues sit in the oven overnight and they were still perfect.

Making individual dessert can sometimes me a pain, but these are incredibly easy to assemble.  I will definitely be putting this recipe away to make another time.  Thanks, Jackie!

Pistachio Pavlovas with Lemon Curd and Raspberries

Ingredients

Meringues:

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted pistachios, chopped

Lemon curd:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• Dash of salt
• 2 (6-ounce) packages fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 250°.
2. To prepare meringues, cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Draw 4 (4-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn paper over; secure with masking tape.
3. Place cream of tartar and 4 egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
4. Divide the egg white mixture evenly among 8 drawn circles on baking sheets. Shape meringues into nests with 1-inch sides using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle evenly with nuts.
5.  Bake at 250° for 1 hour, rotating baking sheets after 30 minutes. Turn oven off, and cool meringue nests in closed oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven, and carefully remove meringue nests from paper.
6.  To prepare lemon curd, combine whole eggs and 1 egg white in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Heat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, rind, juice, potato starch, and salt over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge. Gradually add hot juice mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return juice mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Spoon curd into a bowl; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill.
7. Arrange about 1/4 cup raspberries in each meringue nest; top with about 2 tablespoons lemon curd. Sprinkle the nests evenly with powdered sugar, if desired.  Sprinkle with a few chopped pistachios if you have any left over. Serve immediately.

I must somehow move on to my new life with a positive attitude and a determination to somehow manage a full time job and the rest of the things I need and want to do.  Hold on, there are women who have more demanding jobs than I do, AND they have children, AND they’re members of groups and clubs, AND they take care of their house, AND they cook dinner, AND do laundry, AND blog!  If they can do it, then measly little me can do it!

I will not allow my new Monday thru Friday, 8-5 (or 6 some days) job keep me from making dinner on the weeknights.  I will also not stoop to macaroni and cheese from a box or putting a frozen pizza in the oven.  I WILL make real dinner!  So, every week I will make, review and blog about quick and easy dinner recipes that can be accomplished by a full time working woman…like I will be as of August 24.

These recipes come from Epicurious Dinner Rush from issues of Gourmet and SELF.  They are both quite delicious.  The most time consuming thing about them is the chopping and prep.  I modified the quinoa recipe quite a bit after speaking with my wiser and younger sister, Sarah, who told me that the preparation of the quinoa in the actual recipe was a bit ridiculous.  I hadn’t ever used quinoa before, so I thought the process of washing it 5 times in cold water, cooking for 10 minutes in boiling water and then steaming it in a sieve for 10 minutes above the boiling water was normal!  Turns out, all you have to do is cook the quinoa as you would rice.  Hooray!  That little change made this dish much faster.

There is a recipe for lime and cumin dressing that goes with the salad, but I didn’t use it.  Instead of the olive oil based dressing, I simply tossed the salad with lime juice, cumin and some kosher salt.  I found the salad to be incredibly light and refreshing.  I thought about adding chopped tomatoes, but opted not to this time.  It would be delicious, though, so I may try it next time.  Here is the original recipe.

Shrimp is always a good choice for a quick meal.  Shrimp cooks quickly, just 2-3 per side, in a hot skillet.  The mango sauce has a great combination of flavors.  Sweet, spicy and perfect with the shrimp.  I served the sauce warm, but it would be good chilled also.  Here is the recipe from epicurious.

I served this meal with a few warmed corn tortillas, so Ben made shrimp tacos.  I liked it better without the tortillas, Ben liked his taco version better.  I think he likes when all the components of a meal come together in a nice little package.  He likes burritos, sandwiches, pizza, stromboli, lasagna, enchiladas, chimichangas and always seems to mix the food on his plate into a new casserole type dish.

This is a fairly quick recipe, and definitely a good choice for a weeknight dinner.

Shrimp with Mango Sauce

Gourmet, Makes 4 servings

• 4 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled, tails on
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (I used 1 teaspoon of minced garlic)

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Cook onion, garlic, ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, allspice, cumin and cinnamon about 3 minutes.
3. Add mango, vinegar, lime juice and sugar and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick; refrigerate in a bowl.
4. Toss shrimp with red pepper, garlic and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
5. Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until no longer translucent, about 2 minutes on each side. Let cool; serve with sauce.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Adapted from Gourmet | July 1994

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

• 3/4 cups quinoa (small disk-shaped seeds)*
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed if canned
• 1 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup corn (canned or fresh)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 tablespoons lime juice
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin, or to taste

1. In a saucepan bring 1 3/4 cup water to a boil.
2. Add quinoa and cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat.  Check that quinoa is cooked through.
3. While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool.
5. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, and coriander and toss well.
6. Add lime juice, salt and cumin and taste.  Adjust all these flavorings as needed.

This casserole came together really quickly.  I cooked the rice earlier in the day and kept it in the fridge until that evening.  I also prepped my onion and mushrooms in the afternoon.  I like cooking a dish like they do on food shows.  Bowls of pre-cut ingredients ready to go.  I almost felt like giving verbal instructions to my dog as I cooked this…but I decided against it.

The only hard part about this casserole is waiting the hour it takes to bake.  It smells so lovely that you’ll want to dig in as soon as the aroma starts to take over your kitchen.  Remember, patience is a virtue.  This is delicious.

I used brown rice, low fat cottage cheese, low fat sour cream, added 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped tarragon with the garlic to punch up the tarragon flavor.  Maybe I would add a bit more salt, or cook my rice with salt, next time.

Mushroom and Brown Rice Casserole

• 1/2 pound (8 ounces) brown mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
• 1 large onion, well chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese (low fat)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (low fat)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons plus a bit more fresh tarragon, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Spray a baking dish (I used a 9×9) with cooking spray.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat saute the mushrooms in olive oil and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt. Stir every minute or so until the mushrooms have released their liquid and have browned a bit. Add the onions and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes or until they are translucent.

Stir in the garlic and 2 teaspoons tarragon, cook for another minute and remove from heat. Add the rice to the skillet and stir until combined.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and salt.

Combine the rice mixture and cottage cheese mixture in a large bowl, stir until well combined.

Turn out into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese.

 Cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 or 30 minutes more or hot throughout and golden along the edges. Sprinkle with more of the chopped tarragon, and the remaining Parmesan and enjoy.

Serves about 8.

I made 2 batches of these cookies.  One with butter, and the other with vegetable oil.

I found this recipe on The Whole Grain Gourmet.  I didn’t change much in the recipe.  I didn’t have any molasses, so I mixed 3/4 cup dark brown sugar with 1/4 cup water.  I used a tablespoon of this mixture in place of the tablespoon of molasses.  I also used pecans instead of walnuts.  And of course I used 1/2 cup butter is the butter recipe instead of the 1/2 cup oil.

Appearance

I was surprised at how similar the two cookies looked after baking.  Going in to the oven I would not have predicted this outcome since the dough in the bowl looked quite different.  There are slight differences in the baked cookie.  The butter cookies were a little thinner and spread a bit more than the oil cookies.  The latter had a bit more height to them in the center.  

Texture

You can tell by looking closely and holding each cookie that the oil cookie is more dense.  At first bite there is more initial crunch to the butter cookie, but that doesn’t last too long.  A few chews into the cookie and they both have the same wheaty, substantial texture.  If I were to be incredibly critical, then I would say that they was more chew to the oil cookie…but not a great deal more.  

Taste

The moment of truth…the taste of the cookies are not very different.  The butter cookie seemed to be sweeter, or so my taste testers say.  Maybe the butter brings out the sweetness?  I don’t know.  The honey is a nice sweetener.  It isn’t too sweet so the raisins really stand out.  I liked the presence of pecans, but the pieces I used were too small.  Next time I wouldn’t chop them quite so small, maybe just cut the pecan halves into fourths.  

These cookies taste healthy.  I like the oats and texture of the wheat flour.  I also like not feeling so guilty about eating these!  If I have a choice, I will opt for an oatmeal cookie with butter, sugar and all-purpose flour.  I guess I just like my cookies sweet and unhealthy.  As a healthy option, these are very good.  I gave some to a 5th grade girl I know, and she liked them.  So, if your kids want cookies, these are a good healthy alternative.  I may try adding dark chocolate chips next time and using half all-purpose and half wheat flour.

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Courtesy of The Whole Grain Gourmet

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (a pinch more depending on the moisture of the mix)
• 1 1/2 cups of Large Flake Rolled Oats (smaller flake is ok too)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon (I actually use about 3 Tbsp–got to love cinnamon)
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup oil or 1/2 cup unsalted room temperature butter 
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses
• 1 egg (beat with 1 Tbsp Water)
• 1 tsp Vanilla

• 1/2 cup raisins (1 cup for my Dad’s batch)
• 1/2 cup walnuts (more for my Dad’s)!!

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Hint: when measuring out the honey, spray the measuring cup with oil or baking spray–your honey won’t stick.
3. Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn’t binding together very well, you may wish to add an egg white.
4. COOL the mix for 20 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 335 degrees (lower temperature due to the honey in the recipe which will burn more easily).
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet 
7. Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie. The cookies freeze very well and make a great snack! Enjoy.

The Butter Cookie

Upon mixing the butter with the honey, molasses and egg I was worried by the little nasty chunks of butter.  After adding the dry ingredients the dough came together fine. 

The Oil Cookie

The dough was very sticky and looked runny.  I thought it would run all over the cookie sheet creating one big cookie after baking, but they held up great in the oven.

Here is some information about fat substitutes from bettycrocker.com.

Low Fat Substitutes

• Applesauce and plain yogurt are good fat substitutes in most recipes. For maximum texture and flavor, replace no more than half the amount of the fat listed in the recipe. If a recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter, you can substitute 1/4 cup applesauce, saving 44 grams of fat and 400 calories (the fat and calories in 1/4 cup margarine)
• Mashed ripe bananas work well as fat substitutes in carrot or banana cake or muffins.
• Purchased fruit puree mixtures, usually prune—based, also are good and work especially well in chocolate, spice and carrot cakes. Follow the label directions.
• Replace 1 whole egg in a recipe with ¼ cup fat-free, cholesterol-free egg product substitutes (such as ConAgra’s Egg Beaters®) or 2 egg whites—you’ll save more than 10 grams of fat and 100 calories.

Another way to make a healthier baked good is to use whole wheat flour instead of, or in addition to, all purpose flour.  

• All purpose flour is a blend of soft and hard wheat and it is what I typically use in all of my baking.  Sometimes I will use cake flour.
• Whole Wheat flour is made from the whole kernel of wheat, the bran and the germ, so it is higher in fiber and other nutrients.  It does not contain as much gluten as all purpose flour, so it will not rise as much.  Most recipes will use a combination of wheat and white flour.
• White Whole Wheat flour is milder in flavor than whole wheat but still contains more nutrients and fiber than all purpose flour.  It is made from white wheat instead of red wheat.

I have my doubts about these replacements.  There is a flavor and texture in baked goods that is changed (and not for the better) when a replacement is used.  Imagine using applesauce instead of butter in a shortbread!  Crazy talk!  However, I have decided to try some of these healthier options in my baking.    

Today I will use whole wheat flour in a cookie recipe.  This recipe also uses honey instead of sugar.  No SUGAR?  I know.  Did I mention that there isn’t any butter?  Have you passed out yet?  Fan yourself, take a few deep breaths.  We will get through this together.  There is an egg in this recipe.  So, all is not lost.

The recipe uses oil instead of butter.  I was a bit confused about this replacement.  I know butter isn’t exactly a health food, but neither is oil.  So, I searched a bit and discovered these differences between oil and butter in baking.

Nutrition Facts

Butter (1 ounce, 28 grams)

• 201 calories
• 23 grams fat (14 grams saturated)
• 60 mg cholesterol
• 81 % fat

Vegetable Oil (1 ounce, 28 grams)

• 248 calories
• 28 grams fat (4 grams saturated)
• 0 mg cholesterol
• 100 % fat

Baking Results

Butter

• Provides flavor in baked goods
• In cookies, causes some spread while baking
• Creates a crisper texture

Vegetable Oil

• Adds no extra flavor in baked goods
• In cookies, will not spread while baking
• Creates a denser, more cakelike, texture

Ok, so butter is a bit high in cholesterol since it is an animal product.  The oil has no cholesterol.  Oil does have more fat, but only 5 grams more.  The oil also has less saturated fat.  Well, oil it is then.  Wait…the baker and butter lover in me is screaming!  I love the flavor of butter in baked goods.  What is the solution?  Try both.

So, today will be a taste test of butter vs. oil in a whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookie.  I will fill you in after I slave away in the kitchen.

My butter vs. oil info came from these sites:

http://www.ochef.com/225.htm

http://www.baking911.com/pantry/fats.htm

http://www.nutritiondata.com/