Joy Bauer Slim & Scrumptious Book Review

What do you do when someone sends you a cookbook to review? You start making dinners based on the recipes of course! And… if the first one or two result in an absolutely fantastic meal, you just keep using the book and making more of the recipes.

Joy Bauer’s “Slim & Scrumptious” was just that book. Joy is a New York Times best selling author and the Nutrition Expert for the Today Show. In her book, she introduces us to why cooking at home is better for the entire family. Joy breaks it down to fats, salt, cuts of meat, condiments, wholesome foods, and portion control. She offers advice on how to save money by making more meals at home, some “must have” kitchen necessities (in the food cupboard and in the utensil drawer). Finally, how to make it fun in the kitchen with the kids.

Here are some of the recipes we enjoyed. *Minor adjustments were made to the recipes so they are not exact as found in the book.

Asian Noodle Soup:

This recipe uses Edamame, a fresh soybean almost complete in its nutritional makeup with complex carbs, fiber, protein, and omega-3 fats. In fact, Ted’s comment after enjoying this bowl of hearty soup was “I really love those Edamame!”. Me too!

Serves 4: Calories 344, Protein 25g, Carbs 45g, Fat 9g, Fiber 10g.

· 6 oz whole wheat thin spaghetti

· 40 oz reduced sodium vegetable broth

· 3 TBS reduced sodium soy sauce

· 2 tsp. finely minced pickled ginger – or use fresh

· 3 tsp. minced garlic

· 16 oz. bag shelled edamame (found in your healthy foods/special diets freezer section)

· 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, peeled and trimmed then sliced in half

· 1 large red bell pepper, sliced thin

· 2 heads bok choy – wash well, trim off the hard white end and cut into 2 inch pieces

· 4 scallions, sliced (white and green parts)

· 1 TBS toasted sesame oil

· 1 tsp. hot chili paste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Bring broth, soy sauce, ginger and garlic to a boil in another pot.

Add the edamame, mushrooms, pepper, bok choy, and scallions and return to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook 4-5 minutes.

Remover from heat and stir in the sesame oil and chili paste.

Add the pasta and serve. ENJOY!

Halibut and Pasta with Pea Puree: So much flavor in such a simple dish.

Serves 4  Calories: 524, Protein: 36g, Carbs: 80g, Fat: 9g, Fiber 12g

· 1 ½ TBS olive oil

· 4 plum tomatoes, diced

· 1 lb. Halibut (or other white fish such as cod), cut into 1” pieces

· ½ tsp. salt

· ½ tsp. black pepper

· ½ onion, chopped

· 2 tsp. minced garlic

· 1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth

· 2 cups fresh or frozen peas

· 12 oz. whole grain rotini or fusilli or other pasta

Sauté tomatoes in a large skillet over medium heat with the olive oil. Cook about 4 minutes.

Add the fish and cook about 3minutes. Season with ¼ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Coat a saucepan with non stick cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 4 minutes. Add the broth, peas, remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, cook your pasta.

In a blender, add the broth-pea mixture and puree until smooth.

Toss the cooked pasta with the fish-tomato mixture. Top with the warm pea sauce and enjoy!

ATTENTION MEAT LOVERS! This one’s for you!

Beef Tenderloin with Fig Reduction

*Ted couldn’t get enough of this meal. Dried figs are loaded with fiber and potassium. The meat is high in iron and protein.

Makes 4 servings: Calories: 272, Protein 27g, Carbs: 12g, Fat 6g Fiber 1g

· 1 lg shallot, minced

· 1 tsp. minced garlic

· 1 cup red wine

· 6 dried figs, sliced

· ½ tsp. thyme (1 TBS if using fresh)

· ½ tsp. black pepper

· 1 cup low sodium beef broth

· 4 oz. beef tenderloin medallions *Get the butcher to cut them for you if you can’t find medallions.

· ¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat a large saucepan with non stick cooking spray and preheat it over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, sauté 2-3 minutes.

Raise heat to medium high and add wine, figs, thyme and ¼ tsp. pepper. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes.

Add beef broth and return to a boil. Continue cooking 10 – 12 minutes.

While sauce is reducing, prepare steaks by coating a large ovenproof skillet with non stick spray and heat over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Place steaks on skillet and sear on one side 3 minutes. Flip over and transfer to the oven IMMEDIATELY. Cook for 7 minutes for medium doneness.

Top each medallion with fig reduction.

Lemon Dill Salmon Cakes – one of my favorites

This one got rave reviews at our table. Teddy ate with us this particular night and Ted said to me “How come Teddy has to eat with us for you to make one of the best salmon cakes ever?” NICE!

Serves 4: Calories: 205, Protein 19g, Carbs 13g, Fat 10g, Fiber 2g

· 15 oz. can wild salmon, drain, skin, bones removed

· ½ cup quick cooking dry oats

· 2 tbs skim milk (or use yogurt)

· 1 small shallot, minced (or use a green onion)

· 2 egg whites, beaten

· 3 TBS fresh chopped dill

· grated zest and juice of one lemon

· ½ cup non fat sour cream (or yogurt)

· salt and pepper

In a bowl, mix salmon, oats, milk(or yogurt), shallot(or green onion), egg whites, 2 TBS of dill, lemon zest, and HALF of the lemon juice. It will be a wet mixture.

Shape into 4 cakes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Prepare the sauce: Combine sour cream (or yogurt) with 1 TBS dill, and the rest of the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.

Coat a skillet with non stick spray and preheat over medium heat.

Place cakes on skillet and cook about 6 minutes.

Mist the top of the cakes with a little oil then flip over gently. Cook 4 more minutes.

Serve with a dollop of sauce….or a lemon slice.

Baked Tilapia with Spicy Tomato-Pineapple Relish

This was the first recipe I made from the book.

It was an obvious hit since it led me to cook all the other recipes you see in this post.

Serves 4: calories 180, protein 35g, carbs 4g, fat 3g, fiber.5g

· 4 x 6oz Tilapia fillets

· ¼ tsp. salt

· ½ cup well drained crushed pineapple

· 1 plum tomato, diced

· 1 tsp. hot chili paste.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.

Place fish on sheet and season with salt.

In a bowl, combine pineapple, tomato, chili paste. Divide topping evenly over fish. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

FINALLY, a  sweet delicious vegetable for any time and any main dish Roasted Squash with Pine Nuts

*Microwave the squash for 3-5 minutes to soften so you can cut it.

Serves 4: Calories 139, Protein 4g, Carbs 28g, Fat 3g, Fiber 5g

· 1 lg Kabocha squash (or 2 acorn squash) *I used butternut.

· ½ tsp. salt

· ¼ tsp. pepper

· 2 to 4 TBS pine nuts (you can used pecans, almonds, or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with non stick.

Use a sharp knife to cut the squash in half and scrape out seeds and fibers. *I peel my squash at this point given that it cooled off enough from the microwave.

place the hollowed side down on a cutting board and slice into ½ inch thick rings.

Arrange the rings in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Mist with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes.

Flip the rings over and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes but check frequently because the nuts will burn FAST – depending on which nut you use.

You can’t go wrong with squash. It’s naturally sweet and so satisfying.

To wrap it up, I highly recommend this book for making healthy, uncomplicated meals everyone will enjoy.

Make sure to check out the Joy Bauer web site for all her links from blogs, to books.  Quite the lady!

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