One Bite at a Time

Hello  my Foodie Friends!   

As I am trying to maintain my New Year’s resolution of healthier eating, I realize a key piece is portion control.  Over the years, our society has reverted to larger serving sizes. Larger portion sizes and increased consumption have impacted the health of America and worldwide (foodinsight.com). 

Many of us grew up being told to “finish all of the food on your plate”.  I know that even today, I feel obligated to finishing a beverage or plate of food regardless of the portion size. Preparing food at home gives us a better consideration of portion size. Resizing our portions may seem a challenge. However, using portion control as a healthy-eating strategy can give us the ability to each more foods while normalizing our portions. Practices we can use are to use a smaller plate or use smaller cooking items as we make our recipes, and take one bite at a time by taking smaller bites. Ramekins are an item that can be used for a variety of dishes and can assist with cutting down serving sizes. A ramekin is also known as a souffle’ dish. It is a small bakeware vessel that is a small straight-sided ceramic dish used for preparing and serving individual portions. 

There are so many uses for a ramekin.Here are a few:

You can bake eggs in a ramekin.  Eggs have been put on the bad food list in the past, but the truth is that they are a good protein option for starting your day. The cholesterol in eggs is in the yokes, so if that’s a concern you can always use just egg whites. Use ramekins to bake eggs as an alternative to the typical fried or scrambled eggs. Just crack an egg into a ramekin coated in nonstick cooking spray, pour one tablespoon of low-fat milk over it and season as desired. Try adding shredded low-fat cheese or Canadian bacon. You can also put vegetables like spinach, tomatoes or diced peppers on the bottom of the ramekin before adding the egg. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. The temperature of the egg should reach 160 degrees F, according to safety guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Bread pudding is usually a decadent dessert, but you can fit into your healthy diet. Using your favorite bread pudding recipe and preparing it in ramekins allows you to have a small single serving, keeping calories under control. You can also experiment with swapping some of the ingredients to boost nutritional value. For example, use whole wheat bread and low-fat milk instead of white bread and heavy cream or whole milk. 

Mini pot pies and meatloaves: Portion control and attractive food presentation are both advantages you’ll get when preparing main dishes in ramekins. Serving a personal a pot pie or meatloaf to your family will likely be a hit, especially for kids. You can still prepare your recipes for these classics as usual and then divide the prepared food among the ramekins before baking. You may need to cut down the amount of your original recipe, however, if you plan to use only a few ramekins. If you’re concerned about grease filling up the ramekins when cooking mini meatloaves, try placing a piece of bread — preferably somewhat stale or toasted — in the bottom of the dish. The bread will absorb a large amount of the grease. It will also help to use leaner ground beef; try to use 90 to 93 percent lean.

Fruit desserts: Ramekins are ideal for many classic desserts, such as custards, mousses and even mini baked cheesecakes. They also work well for baking individual fruit desserts, such as crisps and cobblers. Crisps use a topping primarily made with dried oats while cobblers are flour based. An additional advantage to preparing desserts this way is that you can use a variety of fruits to prepare several different crisps or cobblers at once.

One of our favorite uses for ramekins is for single servings of mac n cheese.. Mac n cheese is down home comfort food and it makes you feel all warm and cozy. These little ramekins are ideal for individual servings of mac n cheese. I love the whole experience – I hold the ramekin as I scoop some out and I feel the warmth of it since it just came out of the oven. I scoop in and get a large spoonful of cheesy goodness. Along with the cheesy inside there is this crunchy and crumbly topping that might even be the best part of the dish. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs to pick up an array of sizes of ramekins and cool tools to assist you with your culinary needs. Enjoy those ridiculously delicious single serving creations. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. 

Take Care, John & Paula