Holiday Cooking for the Heart

(Family Features) – The holiday season has always been a time for celebration, togetherness and most of all, indulgent eating. However, with heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S. and about 24 million Americans with diabetes, a healthier take on holiday meals could benefit everyone.

Cheryl Forberg, R.D., consulting dietitian to NBC-TV’s “The Biggest Loser,” The New York Times best-selling author and James Beard award-winning recipe developer, has partnered with CanolaInfo to create a heart-smart, diabetes-friendly holiday recipe collection that allows people to have their cake (or pumpkin flan) and eat it, too.

“A diabetes-friendly diet is really how everyone should eat,” Forberg says. “That’s because heart disease and type 2 diabetes are largely preventable with a good diet, exercise and other healthy habits. These recipes prove that nutritious is delicious. Now that’s something to celebrate during the holidays!”

As a common ingredient in Forberg’s six holiday recipes, canola oil delivers on heart health. It has the least saturated fat and most omega-3 fat of all cooking oils and is free of trans fat and cholesterol. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a qualified health claim for canola oil on its potential to reduce the risk of heart disease, which affects 65 percent of people with diabetes.

Forberg’s diabetes-friendly holiday recipe collection includes these three recipes plus Warm Apple and Cranberry Sauce, Holiday Rapini Sauté and Pumpkin Flan. For the complete collection, go to www.canolainfo.org.

Did You Know?
Heart disease and type 2 diabetes are preventable the majority of the time.

Turkey Roulade

Ingredients

• Plastic wrap
• 1/2 boneless, skinless turkey breast, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 1/2 cups Cornbread and Dried Fruit dressing
• Kitchen twine
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Place large piece of plastic wrap on countertop. Place turkey breast half on plastic and cover.
3. Cover with additional plastic wrap. Using meat mallet, pound turkey to rectangle about 10 x 6 inches, about 1/4-inch thick.
4. Remove plastic wrap from top of turkey and spread dressing evenly lengthwise over surface, almost to edge. Roll turkey lengthwise. With kitchen twine, tie roulade lengthwise once and in several places across turkey. Discard plastic wrap.
5. In small bowl, mix together spices. Rub canola oil over all surfaces of roulade; rub spice blend evenly over roulade.
6. Place roulade in shallow roasting pan, then place in oven. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes or until internal temperature measured with an instant-read thermometer reads 155° F.
7. Remove roulade from oven and let rest 15 minutes before carefully removing twine and slicing into 16 half-inch slices. Serve with Porcini Mushroom Gravy, Warm Apple and Cranberry Sauce and extra Cornbread and Dried Fruit Dressing.

Serves
Yield 8 servings / Serving size 2 slices (4 ounces)

Porcini Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

• 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/8 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste

Preparation

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 5 minutes.
2. In 2-quart saucepan, heat canola oil over medium heat. Whisk in flour until blended and continue stirring until roux is lightly browned and develops nutty aroma.
3. Whisk in broth, optional salt and onion powder. Bring to a gentle boil until just thickened, stirring. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with pepper. Add softened mushrooms and any soaking liquid.
4. Purée gravy in food processor or food mill. Return mixture to saucepan. Heat just to a simmer.

Serves
Yield 2 cups (8 servings) / Serving size 1/4 cup

Cornbread and Dried Fruit Dressing

Ingredients

• 4 cups cornbread cubes, dried
• 4 ounces lean Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow or white onions
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 4 each dried apricots and pitted dried plums, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place cornbread cubes in large bowl and set aside.
2. In small nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, crumbling and stirring until brown and cooked through. Drain well and set aside.
3. In large nonstick skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat. Stir in onions, celery and carrot; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer, but don’t allow garlic to brown. Stir in sausage, apricots, plums, thyme, sage, marjoram and 1/4 cup broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; pour vegetable mixture over cornbread. Add parsley and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. (Dressing may be prepared to this stage a day ahead and refrigerated, covered.)
4. Whisk together egg and remaining 3/4 cup broth and pour over cornbread mixture, tossing well. Spray 2-quart baking dish with canola oil cooking spray (use larger baking dish if not reserving dressing for Turkey Roulade) and transfer all but 1 1/2 cups of dressing to baking dish. Cover dish with foil and set aside.
5. After Turkey Roulade has been in oven 30 minutes, place covered baking dish of dressing in oven. After 15 minutes (or when internal temperature of roulade, measured with instant-read thermometer, is 155° F), remove roulade from oven and remove foil from baking dish with dressing. Continue baking dressing for about 15 minutes or until top begins to brown.

Serves
Yield 6 cups (enough for Turkey Roulade and 8 side dish servings) / Serving size 1/2 cup

SOURCE:
CanolaInfo