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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2020)
B Tuesday, February 11, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald BETWEEN THE ROWS Recipes To Help People Stay With The Keto Diet WENDY SCHMIDT Snowdrops overrules calendar’s claims of winter’s persistence Winter may only be half over, but I’m not fooled into thinking it will last much longer because the snowdrops are blooming at my parents’ house. The snowdrops have ancient knowl- edge that predates written history. They know when they are to bloom in the rhythm of the seasons. You know, I always preferred daf- fodils, but the snowdrop (Galanthus) is special because it is a very early sign that spring is on its way. Soon we’ll see buttercups, bluets, and baby blue eyes, then daffodils, lamb’s tongues (trout lilies or erytronium) and violets. Leaves that didn’t get raked last fall were still in good enough shape to be rolled into clay for a pottery project — quite to my delight. Between rain showers or sprinkles, the condition of things in the landscape can be checked periodically during the winter to make sure problems are not occurring. Check the level of seed in bird feed- ers and top them up between storms so the birds have a source of food (and water, if you are able to provide that for them). If there is not adequate rainfall, trees can be watered during the winter, as they can dry out. If you have garden questions or com- ments, please write to greengardencol- umn@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading! Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS Keto breaded chicken cutlets. K EEPING O N K ETO By Daniel Neman St. Louis Post-Dispatch My friends Mike and Robin have been on the keto diet for a couple of years. They lost a ton of weight, and they look fi t and trim — better than I’ve ever seen them, and I’ve known them more than 30 years. Their results are not unusual. The keto diet often leads to rapid weight loss. The trick lies in keeping it off. Mike and Robin have done it well, but a lot of people can’t. And therein lies a problem, according to Jennifer McDaniel, a registered dieti- tian and the owner of McDaniel Nutrition Therapy in St. Louis. “While you might gain benefi ts in the short term just like any other restrictive diet, most people — like, 90% of the people — have trouble staying on it. When they lose the weight and they can’t maintain the weight that they attained, that’s just another failed diet,” she said. The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbo- hydrates diet — “it’s like the Atkins diet on steroids,” McDaniel said. People on the diet strive to consume 70% to 80% of their calories through fats, as little as 5% through carbohydrates and the rest through protein. This helps us lose weight because it forces our bodies to burn fat for energy instead of its preferred fuel, carbohydrates. McDaniel recommends that her clients not go on the keto diet. The diet changes the microbiome in their bodies (the bacteria, fungi and more that live inside us). It is diffi cult for people on the diet to consume enough fi ber, which can lead to constipation and other gastrointestinal nastiness. And because carbohydrates hold onto water, people on the diet are often dehydrated, she said. And yet, as Mike and Robin and thou- sands of others can attest, it works. So I decided to try a few recipes to see how they tasted. See Keto/Page 2B Baking mix lets you handle cooking emergencies measuring cup and leveled 1 cup whole-wheat fl our or cornmeal, spooned into measuring cup and leveled 3 cups sugar: any combination of fi rmly packed brown sugar OR white sugar 3 tablespoons baking powder 2 teaspoons salt By Robin Mather Chicago Tribune If your morning routine includes a coffee shop stop to grab joe and a muffi n, you need this story. If your dinner menu’s looking a little unin- spired, you also need this story. We have a way for you to have your muffi n and eat it, too — any time of day, any way you want it. It’ll help your wallet, too. Whether you want sweet, chockablock with fruit and nuts, or savory, redolent with cheese and chiles or other savory ingredients, this baking mix lets you have muffi ns in minutes. The baking mix is also a boon to have on hand for last-minute baking tasks, such as when your child informs you at 9 p.m. that tomorrow is her day to take a treat, or when friends pop by unexpectedly. Store the mix at room temperature and make up a batch whenever you have a few minutes. Then freeze the cooled muffi ns in individual portions for quick grab-and-go snacks. It’s better to freeze the baked muffi ns than to freeze the batter. Having the mix on hand allows for easy improvisation. Add a little vanilla to the batter if you’re going for sweet muffi ns. Top the muffi ns before baking with a simple streusel of 3 table- spoons fl our, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons softened butter, if you like. Or, while the muffi ns bake, you may wish to make a simple glaze or icing from powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to gild them when they’ve cooled. Some sweet add-in combinations that I espe- cially like include: For each batch of 12 regular or six large muffi ns: 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 cup milk ½ cup oil: melted coconut oil, canola oil OR vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla, for sweet muffi ns (optional) 2 ¾ cup baking mix (above) Add-ins: up to 1½ cups any combination of fruit, vegetables, grated or diced cheese, baking chips, nuts or toasted coconut 1. Make the baking mix: In a large bowl, whisk together fl ours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune-TNS Combine thoroughly and portion for storage. The baking mix is a boon to have on hand for last-minute baking tasks, such as when 2. At baking time, heat the oven to 400 your child informs you at 9 p.m. that tomorrow is her day to bring a treat, or when degrees. Line the cavities of a muffi n pan with friends pop by unexpectedly. paper liners. 3. Combine egg, milk and oil in a large bowl. On the other side of the fence, savory muffi ns Whisk to combine well. Add baking mix and your match up well with simple suppers of choice of add-ins; combine with 15 to 20 strokes. Prep: 30 minutes soup, stew or chili. Some savory add-in There will still be streaks of white showing and Bake: 28-31 minutes combinations that have pleased me include: the batter will be lumpy. Do not overmix. Makes: 4 batches, or about 36 large or 48 small 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels 4. Fill the muffi n cups three-quarters full with muffi ns + ½ cup shredded cheddar + ¼ cup the batter. Bake, 10 minutes. Then reduce oven diced roasted chiles OR 1 tablespoon temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until a tooth- chili powder + 2 teaspoons cumin Keep this mix on hand for easy muffi ns in pick inserted in the center of a muffi n comes out 1 cup diced brie (with rind removed) a jiffy. After mixing the ingredients, divide the clean, 8 to 11 minutes more for regular-sized muf- + ½ cup chopped walnuts batch into recipe-sized portions and store in 1 fi ns, or 15 to 20 minutes more for large muffi ns. 1 cup thawed frozen chopped spinach + ½ ¾ cup toasted coconut + ¾ cup diced quart canning jars or zip-close quart bags. It 5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before trans- cup crumbled feta + 2 teaspoons dried pineapple + 1 tablespoon rum extract keeps perfectly well at room temperature for ferring muffi ns to a rack to fi nish cooling. oregano + 1 teaspoon dried rosemary ¾ cup diced apple or pear + ¾ cup chopped dates 6. Once cool, the muffi ns can be individually several months. Whisk the dry ingredients for ¾ cup diced ham + ¾ cup diced 1 cup peanut butter chips + ¼ cup powdered each batch to be sure they’re well blended. The frozen on a baking pan before transferring to Swiss or Emmentaler cheese + 1 peanut butter + ¼ cup cocoa zip-close bags for longer storage, up to 3 months. baking temperature instructions are a little teaspoon cayenne pepper ¾ cup mashed banana + ½ cup chopped walnuts unusual: If you put the muffi ns into a hot oven Thaw by microwaving for about a minute or al- ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese + ¾ cup cooked, 1 cup mashed pumpkin or butternut for a short time, they rise higher and look better. low them to thaw naturally at room temperature. crumbled bacon + 2 teaspoons sage squash + 2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1 Then reducing the temp lets them continue to ½ cup pesto + ¾ cup pine nuts + ½ cup teaspoon each of nutmeg and ginger Nutrition information per serving: 221 calories, cook through. grated Parmesan (sprinkle some of 1 cup fresh blueberries (toss these with the dry 10 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 30 the cheese on top before baking) ingredients so they won’t sink to the bottom of Baking mix: g carbohydrates, 14 g sugar, 3 g protein, 204 mg the muffi ns) + 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 7 cups all-purpose fl our, spooned into sodium, 1 g fi ber MULTIPLE MUFFIN MIX
