Make your own tasty, low-fat croutons
| • | Island ways of eating |
By Elaine Magee
| |||
 |
|
||
Q. We eat a lot of salads in our house and we can only find white-flour croutons. Can you help?
A. Croutons are easier to make at home than people think. And they keep well in a sealable plastic bag so you can make a nice batch of croutons to last a couple of weeks. When you make them yourself, you are in the driver's seat; you get to decide what bread to use, what seasonings to use, and what and how much oil to use. The first step is to find a nice 100 percent whole-wheat or multigrain roll (a French roll perhaps) that you like. The rest is easy. Spray both sides with canola or olive oil cooking spray and season with your choice of garlic and herb seasonings (such as Mrs. Dash brand). Bake and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Now you have tasty but lower-fat croutons that actually add a couple of grams of fiber to your salad.
These croutons are great for green salads and as the base for appetizers served on or with crackers.
The same serving size of store-bought croutons — about 30 croutons makes six servings — contained 123 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat and 328 milligrams sodium.
GIGANTIC GARLIC PARMESAN CROUTONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut whole-wheat roll into 1/3-inch wide slices. Coat both sides of each slice with cooking spray. Set the slices onto nonstick jellyroll pan. Sprinkle the tops lightly with half of the Garlic & Herb seasoning (or to taste) and turn the slices over and sprinkle the tops with remaining seasoning.
Bake them in the middle of the oven for about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the tops of the croutons with Parmesan and bake them for a few minutes more, until croutons are golden and crispy. Let croutons cool. Store them in an airtight resealable plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of "Food Synergy." Find out more at www.recipedoctor.com.
