Cooking Studio

1. Nutrition Discussion and Cooking
Demonstration
PARTY PERFECT
Festive party appetizers without the guilt
Cranberry Chicken Salad Cups
Garbanzo Guacamole
Mini Spanakopitas
recipes available at cancerperspectives.org

2. Party Perfect
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and let’s face it, holidays happen all year
long and we’re always looking for something interesting and tasty to serve to the
people we care about. What better time to treat your party guests to some new
hors d’oeuvres while showing off your culinary skills. In addition to selecting
items that were uncommon, the real challenge was to make sure the items
prepared were healthy, as this is the primary goal in the cooking studio.
Borrowing from Asian food preparation, wonton skins were formed into cups to
be used as containers or holders for a variation on chicken salad. Instead of deep
fat frying the wonton skins, they were baked, thereby cutting down on the fat
content. The chicken salad contained chopped mandarin oranges and crystallized
ginger, which added a real “kick” to the flavor. Chopped fresh cranberries were
used as a colorful, festive garnish!

3. Mini Spanakopitas were also selected for this demonstration. A few
modifications were made to the spinach mixture: the feta and cottage cheeses
used in the preparation were low-fat. Additionally, only egg whites were used in
the mixture. The toughest challenge, however, was handling the phyllo dough.
Once the airtight packaging around the dough is opened, steps need to be taken
to prevent the dough from drying out. As one peels off the sheet of dough to be
used, the remaining dough needs to be covered with a moist paper towel.
Typically, phyllo is layered and brushed between the layers with copious amounts
of butter contributing significantly to the calories of phyllo based recipes. We
modified this by brushing the layers with a mixture of egg white and water. It left
us with a flakey and tender product without the added fat calories! After
layering, the dough is cut into narrow strips and approximately one tablespoon of
the spinach mixture is placed at one end. One corner of the dough is folded over
the mixture, forming a triangle. And you keep folding back and forth, similar to a
flag being folded, until you get to the end of the strip. And presto, it is ready for
the oven. Once baked, allow the golden brown phyllo pastry to cool before
popping the Spanakopita into your mouth! Delish!!!

4. The final item prepared on this day was an interesting hybrid of guacamole and
hummus, both very popular party dips. Garbanzo beans were pureed with the
avocado which increased the protein and fiber content and added some texture.
Using slightly less avocado had the added benefit of decreasing the overall fat
content. Whether one dips pita bread, Melba toast, or raw veggies into the
garbanzo guacamole, it was a new and tasty variation on an old standard!

5. Cranberry Chicken Salad Cups
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 8 minutes
Per Appetizer: 1 ½ diced cooked chicken breast (skinned before cooking and
cooked without salt)
½ cup canned mandarin oranges in water, drained
¼ cup nonfat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced green pepper
3 tablespoons jellied whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 teaspoon minced crystallized ginger
2 teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
32 fresh or frozen wonton skins, thawed
Vegetable cooking spray
Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)
Fresh cranberries (optional)

6. Cranberry Chicken Salad Cups Cont.
1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Cover and chill.
2. Place 1 wonton skin in each of 32 miniature (1 ¾-inch) muffin cups coated
with cooking spray. Press wontons against bottoms and up sides of cups. Coat
wontons with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until
wontons are crisp and golden. Let cool completely in pans.
3. Spoon chicken mixture evenly into wonton cups. Remove wonton cups from
pans, and serve immediately. If desired, garnish with parsley sprigs and
cranberries.
Yield: 32 appetizer (42 calories each).
Per Appetizer:
Carbohydrate 5.8g
Protein 3.3g
Fat 0.5g
Fiver 0g
Cholesterol 8mg
Sodium 72mg
Calcium 7mg

7. Mini-Spanakopitas (Greek Spinach Pies)
Recipe from Cooking Light June 2001
Yield: 20 appetizers (serving size: 1 triangle)
Filling:
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
Remaining ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
5 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

8. Mini-Spanakopitas (Greek Spinach Pies) Cont.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare filling, place spinach in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Place over
medium heat; cook until spinach wilts. Place the spinach mixture in a colander,
pressing until barely moist. Combine the spinach and cheeses in a bowl; set aside.
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the
green onions; sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Stir the green onions and the next
5 ingredients (green onions through 2 egg whites) into spinach mixture.
Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 egg white in a small
bowl, stirring with a whisk. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time, cut each sheet
lengthwise into 4 (3 1/2-inch-wide) strips; lightly brush phyllo sheet with egg
mixture (cover the remaining phyllo dough to keep it from drying).
Spoon about 1 tablespoon spinach mixture onto one end of each strip. Fold one
corner of the opposite end over mixture, forming a triangle; keep folding back
and forth into a triangle to the end of strip.
Place triangles, seam sides down, on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
or until golden.

9. Garbanzo Guacamole
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Chill 30 minutes
2/3 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, halved
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup peeled, cubed avocado
2 tablespoons canned chopped green chiles
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup seeded, finely chopped tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

10. Garbanzo Guacamole Cont.
Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add first 3 ingrediants. Poricess 20
seconds, scrapping sides of processor bowl once. Add 3/4 cup chopped onion
and next four ingredients; pulse 5 times or until mixture is chunky
Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in tomato and green onions. Cover and
chill thoroughly. Serve with commercial baked tortilla chips.
Yield: 2 cups (13 calories per tablespoon)
Per Tablespoon:
Carbohydrate 1.9g
Protein 0.5g
Fat 0.5g
Fiber 0.4g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 20mg
Calcium 5mg

11. Fat Facts About Avocados
Most fruits and vegetables are virtually fat free – except avocados. A medium
avocado contains about 300 calories, with a whopping 88% of those calories from
fat. Although this fat is monounsaturated (the kind that may help lower blood
cholesterol levels), you can’t ignore the fact that avocados are mostly fat.
But you don’t have to eliminate this fruit from your diet. Instead, use avocados in
reduced amounts by combining them with other ingredients-like we’ve done in
Garbanzo Guacamole. You’ll still enjoy the flavor but without all that fat.