It’s just a general term. Granola bars often don’t really contain granola. They may be cereal, fruit and pasty or even a meal replacement, but we lump them all into the category of granola bars.

Because there are so many different types of bars in this category, it’s hard to compare them and come up with the best ones for your family.

You can start, though, by determining what you want this bar to do for you. Do you want it to replace a meal or just help you make it from midday till lunch? Is it more like a dessert, or more like a high-protein snack? Once you determine what you need, it’s easier to determine which products to buy.

If you’re after a healthy, all-purpose snack bar, look at the nutrition facts panel on the package. If it has less than 6 grams of sugar and more than 3 grams of fiber, it’s a pretty healthy choice. If you’re looking for a high-protein meal replacement, go for something that offers 10 or more grams of protein. And for a sweet treat or dessert? You’ve got a lot of leeway on that one. Go with whatever suits your fancy!

It’s getting chilly outside! Lots of us southerners grill year round, but when it’s rainy and windy, even the best of us decide against grilling out.

But here’s an idea: do you have a grill pan? I don’t mean an electric grilling machine (the George Forman style)—I’m talking about a grill pan. It looks like a skillet but it has ridges in the bottom that do a really good job of simulating your outdoor grill.

Food sits on the ridges in the pan, and juices and fat drain away. The ridges provide some charring and caramelization, so that gives food that yummy grilled taste. You can use your pan for just about anything—meats, poultry, fish and even vegetables.

Grill pans make grilling easy, especially when it it’s cold outside. Here’s a great recipe for Greek chicken that uses a grill pan. And if you’re outside at the big grill, it works great, there, too.

Grilled Greek Chicken
Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus chilling; Cook time: 10 minutes

3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs sherry or red wine vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp chopped parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp crushed red pepper.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
¼ tsp salt

Whisk all the ingredients except chicken and salt in a small bowl. Place chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least an hour, or up to 10 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove chicken from the plastic bag and discard the marinade. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt. Heat the grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Cook chicken 4 to 5 minutes per side until no longer pink.

Nutritional Information
Calories Per Serving: 160,   Fat: 4 g (1 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol:  75 mg, Sodium: 215 mg, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Fiber:  0 g, Protein: 27 g.

© 2009, Brookshire Grocery Co.  Nutrient counts are rounded to the nearest whole number.  All dietary and lifestyle changes should be supervised by a physician.

Carrots are a family-favorite vegetable. Stores recognize this, and Brookshire’s is no exception. If you cruise the produce section you’ll find full-sized carrots, baby carrots, petite baby carrots, shredded carrots and raw carrot chips.

Kids and carrots go together well. But have you ever wondered what to do with carrots other than eat them straight from the bag?  How about roasted carrots? Toss them lightly in olive oil, season with salt, pepper and cumin and cook in a 350 oven until tender and caramelized. Heat brings out the natural sweetness of carrots! You can also make glazed carrots by cutting up carrots and simmering with butter, sugar, salt and just a bit of water. When carrots are tender, uncover the pan and let the liquid reduce to a syrup.

But if your children only like raw carrots, there’s nothing wrong with that! Carrots are full of antioxidants and raw carrots maintain the vitamin A and other healthy goodness. Here are a couple of ideas that use uncooked carrots:

• Julienned: mix up a vibrant, spicy salad of julienned (shredded) carrots seasoned with an Italian vinaigrette dressing. Toss in a few sliced almonds.
• Sliced: Slice carrots into thin rounds. Serve alongside ranch or other dip, with toothpicks to make the dunking fun.
• Shredded: marinate shredded carrots and dried cranberries in orange juice with a dash of vinegar.
• Carrot-Raisin Salad: toss shredded carrots, raisins and crushed pineapple with enough mayonnaise to moisten. Chill and enjoy.

It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without turkey, would it? But sometimes, turkey is a lot of hassle. It’s big, it’s complicated, it takes up a lot of room in your fridge—but you know, once you get the hang of it, turkey isn’t that hard.  Just think of it as a big chicken, and follow the same rules you’d use when roasting a hen. And since we’re featuring turkeys on sale this week, this is the perfect time for a little Turkey 101.

If you choose a frozen turkey, allow plenty of thawing time—about 1 day for every 5 pounds of turkey. A 15-pound turkey would require three days of thawing time, so make sure to clean out the fridge to have plenty of room If you’re expecting 10 guests for Thanksgiving dinner, a 15-pound turkey will give you plenty of meat, plus some leftovers. 1 ½ pounds per person is a good way to estimate how large a turkey to buy.

Most nutritionists—and I’m a nutritionist—will advise you not to stuff your turkey. It increases cooking time and increases the chances of foodborne illness. It’s a much safer bet to cook the stuffing in a separate baking pan. If you do stuff your turkey, however, fill the turkey cavity only 2/3 full of loosely packed stuffing, and make sure the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees.

So what do you get for your work? Turkey is full of health benefits. It’s low in cholesterol and fat, and it provides nearly 50 percent of the daily allowances for folic acid. That helps protect against birth defects, some forms of cancer, and heart disease. A 3-ounce serving of turkey has about 100 calories and plenty of protein. It’s good for you! It’s what you put on the plate along with the turkey that leads to problems!

If you’re new to all this,  you can contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline for answers in English or Spanish from 10am to 4pm weekdays (or 8am to 2pm on Thanksgiving Day) by calling 1-888-674-6854. 

Chocolate Pilgrim Hats

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves 10

To make our cute Thanksgiving pilgrim cookie hats, place 10 fudge-stripe cookies,  chocolate-side up, on a tray lined with wax paper.

Heat 2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave on medium power, until melted.

Thin to drizzling consistency with a bit of cream and a tsp of butter.  One at a time, stick a wooden toothpick into a large marshmallow, dip it into the melted chocolate, and place it in the center of the cookie. Use another toothpick to hold down the marshmallow and pull out the original toothpick. Drizzle with more chocolate, if necessary, to completely coat the marshmallow.

Chill hats until the chocolate sets. Use decorator icing to create belt buckles on the front of each hat.

Going gluten-free can be a challenge, but you can do it! Your health (and your family’s health) is worth  the extra time and energy.

One of the easiest ways to regulate the gluten your family receives is to host events yourself. Have the open house at your place—you’ll have more control over what goes on the table and can point out (to your family) which foods are on the gluten-free list. Make sure there’s a big tray of raw veggies, one type of chip that is gluten-free and some sliced cheese. That way, you’ll know there’s something to eat!

Nobody needs to remind you that it’s cold and flu season. And most definitely, nobody needs to remind you that the H1N1 virus (formerly known as swine flu) is causing a panic around the world.

Whether or not you’ve had a flu shot, everyone’s awareness about germs has been raised this year. I keep a pump bottle of hand sanitizer on my desk, and lots of people pop in and use it. Here’s another way you can keep germs at bay: disinfectant wipes. They come in pop-up containers and individually wrapped packets.

The whole point is to clear away germs in a way that hand sanitizer and spray can’t. Disposable wipes have direct contact with surfaces and can give you peace of mind when you’re around germ-y areas: public waiting rooms, hotels, rest rooms and all around the house.

Because they’re portable, you can keep one with you at all times—because you never know when a contagious person may have been one step ahead of you.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus refrigerating
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs caramel topping, divided
1 Honey Maid Pie Crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs Planters Pecan Pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 (3.4 oz) pkgs Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Directions:
Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle  with 1/2 cup pecans. Beat milk, pudding, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spread into crust. Refrigerate 1 hour.  Top with remaining Cool Whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

Recipe and image provided by Kraft Foods.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Beat Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter, spread, sugars, egg and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients at low speed just until blended. Divide dough in half.

Roll each dough half about 1/8 inch thick on well-floured board with well-floured rolling pin. Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 7 – 9 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool completely on wire racks. Re-roll dough trimmings to cut additional cookies. Decorate, if desired, with icing, decorative sprinkles and candies.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Cookie: 34, Fat: 1 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g), Cholesterol: 3 mg, Sodium: 43 mg, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Fiber: 0 g, Protein: 1g

©2009 Unilever WEST08 16094

Taco salad. Easy peasy. Anyone can make it and it tastes just fine. But if you’re going to make taco salad the centerpiece of a homemade dinner, here’s the secret to making AMAZING taco salad: it’s the dressing. The dressing ties it all together and turns it into a salad experience—one you’ll remember and share again and again.

So this weekend, why not try our special Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad? It’s simple to toss together, even after a busy day. But the flavors will transport you…and after that, restaurant taco salad just won’t be good enough. Trust me.

Chipotle Chicken Taco salad
Serves 4

Prep time: 34 minutes

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 Tbs minced chipotle, canned in adobo sauce*
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbs lime juice
1/8 tsp salt

Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (about 2 breasts….maybe from a rotisserie chicken?)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup diced avocado
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (8 oz) can corn, drained

*Chipotle chile: If you’ve never used this product before, look in the Mexican foods aisle. It’s in a small can. The sauce is what’s hot and spicy.

To prepare the dressing: combine all ingredients and let stand a few minutes while you prepare the salad. This will blend flavors. Note: if you like hot foods, add some of the adobo sauce from the chilies. Go easy with the adobo: just a bit!

To prepare the salad, combine all ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss again to coat. Serve immediately.

For a more special salad, place the lettuce on a large plate and arrange the salad ingredients in separate mounts on a plate; then drizzle with the dressing.

Good for diabetic and gluten-free diets (always read product labels to be safe).

Nutritional Information
Calories Per Serving: 249,   Fat: 8 g (2 g  Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 50 mg, Sodium: 550 mg, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Fiber: 7 g, Protein:23 g.

© 2009, Brookshire Grocery Co.  Nutrient counts are rounded to the nearest whole number.  All dietary and lifestyle changes should be supervised by a physician.