Healthy, Scrumptious Summer Meals
If you're caught between wanting a great beach bod this summer and wanting all those tempting foods, you've come to the right place.
Pam Anderson, author of "The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great" (Houghton Mifflin), knows the weight-loss struggle firsthand: She's managed to shed 40 pounds - and keep them off for three years and counting.
On The Early Show Saturday, Anderson accepted our "Chef on a Shoestring" challenge and prepared a healthy, delicious three-course meal for four - and tried to do it on our slim budget of ... 40 bucks!
Her menu: Smoked Salmon Tartare, Barbeque Pork Tenderloin, and Double Chocolate Pudding!
To read an excerpt of "The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great," click here.
FOOD FACTS
Smoked Salmon: Smoked salmon is a preparation of salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured and then hot or cold smoked. Most smoked salmon is cold smoked, typically 80ºF. The cold smoking does not cook the fish, resulting in a delicate texture. Hot Smoking "cooks" the salmon, making it less moist, and firmer, with a less delicate taste. It may be eaten like cold smoked salmon, or mixed with salads or pasta.
Capers: Capers are actually immature buds plucked from a small bush native to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions of the world. Fresh caper blossoms are not especially flavorful, but their sharpness increases dramatically after sun-drying and brining in vinegar. The caper is often used as a seasoning or garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine.
Pork Tenderloin: As the name implies, this is a very tender cut. It cooks easily and quickly, so the best methods are the fast ones: pan-frying, grilling, sautéing, broiling, and quick roasting.
TAKE-HOME TIPS
RECIPES
Smoked Salmon Tartare
If you don't want the added calories of a cracker, serve a small mound of the tartare in teaspoons. Whether you enjoy this hors d'oeuvre on a cracker or from a spoon, you can top each bite with a small piece of very thinly sliced lemon, rind and all.
MAKES ABOUT 1 1/3 CUPS, SERVING ABOUT 7
INGREDIENTS:
1/8 cup drained capers
4 ounces smoked salmon
1 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/8 cup finely diced red onion
1 Italian or French baguette (sliced and toasted)
METHOD:
Pulse capers in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add salmon, dill, oil, and lemon zest and pulse until salmon is finely chopped and tartare is well-mixed.Transfer to a small bowl, stir in red onion, and serve.
38 calories per serving (4-5 teaspoons)
FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.
Barbeque Pork Tenderloin Foil Packet
While the oven preheats, simply toss and wrap the meat, flavoring, and vegetables in foil. Then put the packets in the oven, and 15 minutes later, you've got a colorful dinner. While the packets cook, you can relax with a glass of wine. How civil is that?!
To ensure that the meat and vegetables cook evenly, place the oven rack in the lowest position (or make sure the grill is good and hot) and arrange the meat or seafood in a single layer over the vegetables. Before opening the packs, let them rest for a few minutes to allow the residual heat to gently finish the cooking. If you want to take advantage of all the flavorful juices, accompany these dishes with a small amount of rice.
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS:
Meat
1 1/2 pound Pork tenderloin, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
Barbeque Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
4 large scallions, sliced thin
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper
Vegetables
Bell peppers (1 each red & yellow), stemmed, seeded, and cut into 4-inch-wide strips
1 Zucchini, sliced
METHOD:
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Or heat gas grill, igniting all burners on high, for at least 10 minutes.
Combine all of the ingredients for the barbeque sauce marinade and gently toss the pork and vegetables in a large bowl.
Divide mixture among 4 approximately 18-by-12-inch sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, arranging meat atop the vegetables, each in a more or less single layer.
Bring long sides of foil together, fold over about 1/2 inch, and crimp to seal. Repeat folding and crimping twice more. Fold ends in twice to seal completely.
If baking, set foil packets on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, let stand for 3 minutes, and serve.
If grilling, set foil packets on hot rack, cover, and grill for 8 minutes.
Remove from grill, let stand for 3 minutes, and serve.
For the rice, bring water with salt to a boil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
Add rice and stir once, and then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 20 minutes.
Remove pan from heat (do not lift lid) and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.
Fluff rice gently with a fork
About 375 calories per serving in the barbeque marinade
Double Chocolate Pudding
I like whole milk's richness in this pudding. If you prefer to use reduced- or low-fat milk, you could have a larger portion.
SERVES 6 OR MAKES UP TO 3 DOZEN TARTLETS
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Fresh raspberries
METHOD:
Microwave milk in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup until steamy hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, instant coffee or espresso powder, and salt in a medium saucepan.
Over medium heat, vigorously whisk in milk.
Continue to whisk until mixture thickens to pudding consistency, just a couple of minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate melts.
Pour into six custard cups or into an airtight container.
Serve warm or cover surface with a sheet of plastic to keep a skin from forming, chill, and serve cold.
Top with fresh raspberries right before serving. (Pudding can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
190 calories per serving.
HOW DID PAM DO WITH OUR $40 BUDGET?
1ST COURSE
Capers $2.49
Smoked Salmon $3.99
Fresh Dill $1.49
Lemon $0.33
Red Onion $0.48
French Bread $1.69
2ND COURSE
Pork Tenderloin $6.99
Garlic $0.39
Scallions $0.99
Barbeque Sauce $1.89
Bell Peppers $3.05
Zucchini .99
Rice $1.79
3RD COURSE
Cocoa Powder $2.79
Cornstarch $1.19
Instant Coffee $1.99
Bittersweet Chocolate $2.99
Raspberries $3.99
FINAL COST = $39.51!