Hi Roni — if you feel like you’ve gotten a few questions from Kathleen lately, well that’s because you have. ha! Lots of questions lately — I’m in the Weight Watchers, breastfeeding, working out ZONE right now…if only my 4-month-old could be in the sleeping thru the night zone…oh well…
so here’s a question about temptation and baked goods. I love your GLB recipes — [had Southwestern Turkey Burgers for dinner tonight!] I especially love the recipes for sweet treats. Cookies, bites, etc. my husband is not a ‘dessert guy’ – my 2 yr old has well, a 2 year old’s appetite. this is going to sound funny but I’m almost afraid to make GLB cookies/bites/muffins for fear that I will eat them all. I’m wondering if you have any tips — thinking maybe I should half the recipes or just freeze a bunch? baked good temptation….any experiences/tips/tricks welcome!

Hi Kathleen,

So so SO sorry for my late response. You’re 4 month old is now, what? 18 months?!? Geesh.. I’m behind. Anyway, it’s funny that you ask this question because I go through stages were I don’t want to bake/experiment for the same exact reason! Thankfully my 2 year old is now a 4 year old so he helps a bit but my hubby, like yours is just not a baked goods guy unless it comes in a prepackaged individually sealed bag. It’s sad. lol

The one thing about my ideas, especially the baked/treat ideas, is that they are generally low in portions because I am only baking for myself. I’ll be honest I haven’t tried freezing everything I’ve baked. Normally what I do is give things away. My more traditional cookie ideas like, Chocolate Cookie Crisps, Whole Wheat Dried Fruit and Walnut Oatmeal Cookies, and Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies can easily be made for others without thier knowledge of them being "lighter".

One thing I have froze with great success was my Honey Almond Bites but there’s one problem. I liked them so much I tried one frozen and then all bets were off. ;)

I do have some treat ideas that involve won ton wrappers that you can specifically make only what you want to eat (always a safe bet) like Chocolate Peanut Butter Sticks, Chocolate Ricotta Rolls, and the Black and Blue Dessert Cups. I’ve also been known to make a whole batch of Quick Chocolate Kettle Corn just for myself when I want something sweet. Although that’s probably not recommended.

I hope that helps a little and again, please accept my apologese for the late response.

Since I haven’t been too helpful let’s ask if anyone else has ideas for keeping the baked goods in check. Anyone have any tips?

I was wondering if you knew of any other good web sites besides yours that includes WWP with their recipes. I never really stray from your site, but I decided that I want to loose weight but I can’t afford to join Weight Watchers so I thought I would just go by a 28 point value system each day and see how that goes for me.

-Kelly

Hi Kelly!

You totally need to stray! There are tons of resources out there! Here are just a few I know of. . .

• http://www.laaloosh.com/
• http://www.recipegirl.com/category/recipes/weight-watchers/
• http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/
• http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/
• http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/
• http://www.thatsmyhome.com/healthy/weight-watchers/Index.htm
• http://dwlz.com/ <–The mecca of all things Weight Watchers!

Please feel free to add links to your favorite weight watcher friendly sites below!

Oh! and when I get some time I’m going to add link to recipes by point values. I can’t believe I haven’t done that yet!

Hope that helps Kelley. Happy recipe hunting! ;)

• Messy Kitchens
• My Take on Tofu
• Tips on Experimenting in the Kitchen

Roni, I bought some frozen cod and attempted to bake it, put Mrs Dash on it..oh my it was horrible…texture was awful and it tasted well tasteless. What can I do with this fish to make it edible? I have another whole bag of it…..help?
-Debbie

Hi Debbie!

A lot of people have trouble cooking fish. It took me awhile to figure out my problem was almost always overcooking. Cod is actually a very light fish with a nice texture, but you’re right it can get soggy, gross, even rubbery. You have to cook it correctly.

Traditionally most Fish & Chip dishes are cod. So we know it’s good deep fried! Of course that sucks as I try to stay away from deep frying anything at home (although I do enjoy it out now and then) and no one but Emeril and Paula have deep fryers built into their kitchens. ;~P

I do like like mine breaded so I just bake it. Cod would work well as a replacement for the tilapia or Mahi Mahi in these recipes.

• Mahi Mahi Bites
• Crispy Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Really you can replace any mild white fish in a recipe that sounds good, with cod. So look for tilapia, halibut, orange roughy, or a sole recipe and just use cod instead.

Here are a few that caught my eye throughout the blogosphere that would work with cod (be warned some may not be "GreenLiteBites". :)

• Baked Tilapia with Onions, Peppers, Olives, and Feta
• Wasabi-Crusted Cod
• Thai Spiced Cod with a Spicy Tomato Topping and Egg Noodles
• Pan Roasted Tilapia with Grilled Vegetable Relish

Just remember cooking fish takes almost no time at all. Especially if it’s going to be close to the heat source, like pan frying or broiling. There is no shame in poking at it. As soon as the edge flakes off you are good to go!

OH! and since yours is frozen. Defrost it! Fish will always cook better defrosted.

I hope that helps a little! Since you have the bag try again and let me know how it comes out.

Does anyone else have any tips for Debbie? Or funny failed fish stories? :)

Hi Roni,

I love your site and how you put your own spin on recipes. I was wondering how long/many attempts does it usually take for you to get your recipe right? I had an idea for oatmeal made overnight in the crock pot/slow-cooker, so that my husband could have it at 4:30 am before heading out to work. I found a recipe on another site and the results weren’t to our taste, so I know I’ll be going through some trial and error until I get it the way we like it. Is this how you come up with some of your recipes? How many attempts until you either have it or give up? Just curious, do you have a crock pot oatmeal recipe? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

-Patty

Hi Patty!

What a fun question! Let me answer the simple one first so I can get all long winded about the other. :)

I do not have a crock pot oatmeal recipe although I’ve been considering trying it. I know others that do and I hope they chime in the comments. :)

Now onto my recipes, which I try REAL hard not to call recipes but ideas. For most of my dinner ideas I take one shot at it and I’m usually happy. I mean there are some I continue to experiment with like the Salisbury Steak with Noodles and I probably make it a little different every time. You have to remember my goal with GreenLiteBites isn’t to provide exact recipes that are perfect, I’m not a chef. My goal is to inspire and provide ideas to lighten and health up everyday meals. Most of my posts are more like archives of what I did to make the dish I made for dinner that night.

However, when it comes to more baking ideas, like Whole Grain Pancakes and Whole Wheat Banana Muffins I experimented a bit before posting. These ideas started with a goal (i.e. making a good 100% whole grain pancake) and I wouldn’t post it until I got to a certain point with the recipes. I’m doing this now with some cookies ideas. I’ve already made 2 batches trying to get them just right and I’ve been getting everyone I know to taste test them! If you remember my whole wheat pizza dough idea took weeks! My family was sick of pizza when I was on that mission! lol

Now, there are times I have complete flops that I don’t post about. It happens! :) Normally it’s when I’m trying to push the envelope reducing fat or using all whole grain flour without compensating for it. But again, my goal is to inspire and learn with you. To me it’s all about the journey, sharing and learning together along the way. This worked, this didn’t, kind of stuff.

Another goal of mine is to show people they don’t have to be a slave to recipes and they don’t have to have formal training to cook good healthy meals for their family. It’s about having fun, involving the kids and not blindly adding a stick a butter just because that’s what mom did. :)

Thank you SO much for the question, I hope I didn’t babble too much on ya!

-Roni

Hello!
I have been following your website and trying out some cooking recently and I have been having a blast. I never cook but I have found it to be fun! I apologize if this is a question you have already answered, but do you have a suggestion for a good tool to mince garlic? I have bought two and I haven’t been happy with either.
Thanks,
Julie

Hi Julie!

I’m so glad you are enjoying cooking! It really is a lot of fun! As for the garlic question, I use two things to mince garlic.

1. A good old fashion knife! I use the technique outlined beautifully on eHow.
2. My Garlic Press. Stick the clove in, squeeze the bejesus out of it and viola! Minced garlic!

I’m not sure what you are are using now, but don’t go gadget crazy, all you really need is a good knife! (and even my ‘bad’ knife does a good job.)

Hope that helps!

-Roni

Hi Roni,

Love your blog and GreenLiteBites. This is my 1st question to you ever but there are likely to be more!

I’d like to cook brown rice more often but it just takes too long when I only want to do a quick dinner. Do you ever cook up a big batch and freeze it? If you do what are your tips? If you don’t do you think it would work out ok?

Thanks so much for your time.
Crazylady :)

Ohhh Crazylady, you are going to make me admit something, aren’t you? I rarely cook brown rice from “scratch”. That’s right, you heard me. You said it, it takes too gosh darn LONG!

That being said I keep brown rice in stock for soups, gumbos, stews and crock pot meals but for everyday side dish type applications I’ve grown quite dependent on these little 90 second gems. There are a lot of brown rice instant alternatives nowadays so I scour the grocery store aisle for some fun “brown” side dishes.

As for your freezing question, I’ve never done it but searching the web I uncovered many people who do. There’s even a Yahoo question about it. :~)

Hope that helps and thanks for the idea! Maybe I’ll get a little less dependent on my instants and start making my own frozen instants! Mush cheaper!!

Hope that helps!
-Roni

Hi there, I tried your turkey burgers. I love the flavor. I cooked mine is a le creuset grille pan but they totally stuck to the pan and I generously added olive oil to coat the pan. Any tips on cooking these so so they don’t fall apart?? Thanks

-Beth

Hi Beth! I was going to answer you privately but then I realized others may also be having the same problem. Sticking is something very common when working with ground turkey and these burgers are no exception.

Here’s a few things that I do to keep in mind…

1. I use non-stick cooking spray when cooking on a skillet or on the grill. Surprisingly enough, I cook them a lot on the George Foreman and never had a problem sticking even without spray.
2. I form the patty and plop on the grill immediately. The recipe really makes a loose patty that doesn’t hold it’s shape for very long unless cooked.
3. Once it’s on the grill/pan (over medium-high heat) I do not touch it for at least 4-5 minutes. By that time there should be a good crust on the side that’s down that will hold it together and prevent sticking.

That’s it, really. Let me know if any of those tips help. If you are still having problems you could add another egg white to help hold them together a bit better. That’s really the “glue”.

Hope that helps! Thanks for your question!

-Roni

Update:See me make these burgers on video!

I LOVE your site. Thanks so much. Nutritionally, what is the difference between white potatoes and sweet potatoes? I am trying to squash a family argument! ;~)

Funny you should ask! I just came across this write up on Cooking Light!

I also know sweet potatoes rise blood sugar less then white and according to WHFoods, sweet potatoes have an antioxidant leg up on the white.

Me? well I chose sweet over white at home for the toddler and I. It’s not that I avoid white, I just like the extra nutrients and fiber the sweet potato offers. Plus I think they cook up faster, taste better and make the better baked fries! :~)

Hope that helps the argument. Did yo win?

Need help cutting a sweet potato? Click Here!

I recorded this before I left but it took forever to upload for some stupid reason. So here I am on, on the boardwalk with the laptop chatting with my mom and friend. I just got back from a run and I’m having a blast. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of the week!

My son is about the age of your son. How do you get him to try new foods? I wish my child ate as well as yours. Love the site!
Rene

Hi Rene!

What a GREAT question! This topic is near and dear to my heart as I set a goal to NOT have a picky child and I’ve been blessed with just that. I don’t know if I have all the answers as not all kids are the same. All I can do is share with you what strategies I used and how I introduced new foods to my little guy.

First, I breast fed. I’m not sure if it had a bearing on his eating habits but it was very important for me to do so. I set a goal of 6 months and the toddler, well, the "baby’s", main source of nutrition was breast milk until 8 months. At around 6 months I mixed whole grain infant cereal made with breast milk and offered him a little at meal times. Most of it didn’t actually go down but I thought it would be a good way to introduce new textures. Not long after, I started on pureed vegetables while still nursing a bit and offering the cereal.

I believed in not only introducing new foods and textures at that young age but I’m a firm believer in allowing the little ones to play with their food. I dug this video out of our home movie collection. This is the toddler at about 6 and 1/2 months cute and messy, just the way he should be. :~)

As you can see, nothing made it into his mouth, but I think it was a good way to lay the foundation of an experimental eater.

As the baby grew into the toddler, I focused on offering him the same foods that I was eating. In the beginning he ate a lot of pureed vegetable and fruits but very early I started offering cut up banana, canned carrots, peas and green beans. These were all soft enough I didn’t have to worry about chocking yet they gave him a chance to feel independent and try new textures.

Soft fruits and veggies soon turned into beans, halved grapes, cubed cheese omelets, cut up grilled cheese on whole grain and, if you believe it, corn on the cob. I stood firm on the “he eats what we eat” rule and when he was too young for the solids I’d puree our meals in the blender.

He didn’t always like what he was given but when he was young enough I didn’t care (actually, I still don’t). I remember one meal (he was about 7-8 months) he was eating jarred peas and jarred peaches. Every time we gave him the peas he make a face and vocally show his displeasure. I knew if that was all he was given he’d start spitting it out, so I started to alternate the peaches in so he didn’t know what to expect. Two scoops of peaches, 1 of peas, then 1 peach, 2 peas, 1 peach, 1 pea and so on. He never knew what to expect and every time he got the peas he’d yell, it was hysterical! I turned it into a game, and he ended up eating the whole jar of peas! (I swear I have this on video but I can’t find it!)

All in all, I wasn’t afraid to let him try things at a young age. I really think that is the key along with involving him in the food process, of course! I remember putting on a cooking show for him sitting in the bouncer on the island while I made my homemade sauce one Sunday morning. He has always been in the kitchen with me, involved in the meal preparation not just a recipient of the meal. I think that has made a HUGE difference in his willingness to try new foods.

Now that he is older and much more independent, I try to keep healthy snacks available and he (most of the time) asks and wants the good stuff for snacks. There are times (like tonight) were we have a handful of Swedish fish or a candy necklace, but I’m confident, at this point, that the occasional sugary snack is not going to kill him especially considering his overall diet is probably better then most adults! Overall my philosophy is everything in moderation except fruits in veggies, they should be in excess!

If you’re curious, at meal times he gets a mini plate of what we are eating. Does he eat it all and like everything? No, of course not, but (again, most of the time) he tries it. He’ll now tell me when he doesn’t like something and I respect it, just asking him to take one more bite before he leaves the dinner table. It NORMALLY works.

I hope that helps, as I said, this is just my experiences as a mom trying her best. It wasn’t always easy, but having a plan and sticking to it helps a bunch. Good luck and don’t get too frustrated!

-Roni

Hi Ronnie
I love all of what you do, but I cannot watch your videos any longer..  your son is adorable however…. can you get a babysitter… way too distracting and somewhat annoying –I’m sorry to say this…I so wish you could do your videos ALONE…  thanks for understanding..  Best of luck to you.

Patty,

I’m sorry to say, then stop watching.  My blogs are an extension of my life and my son is my inspiration. They aren’t produced pieces of work, they aren’t scripted they are me sharing myself, my ideas and my life to those that want to listen.

The fact that you would even write this comment leads me to believe that you really don’t get what it is that I’m trying to do. Which is to show people that it is possible to be busy, have a family, a job, other responsibilities and still make fun healthy meals at home. If you remove the family (aka my son) then what’s the point?

I’m sorry you find him (then consequently me) annoying. Please don’t bother to tell me, simply stop watching.

Thanks for wishing me luck, but I really do not understand.

-Roni