Wishing You a
Happy & Healthy New Year

Make 2016 Your Healthiest Year Yet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Too many of us are too familiar 

with this New Year's  scenerio... 

the ball drops, you vow to keep 

your distance from carbs and spend  

the rest of the year on the treadmill, but two weeks intoJanuary, your  motivation plummets, your starch cravings have become difficult to ignore, and  you've skipped morethan a few days at the gym. Come February, your sneakers  have collected dust and you've forgotten all about your New Year's resolution.

Swap Sugary Drinks For Water
Water is one of the best tools for weight loss  because it 

doesn't have any calories.It is also a great appetite 

suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're 

really just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, 

no sugar, so drink plenty to help your weight-loss.  

Aim For 5 Servings Of Fruits And 

Veg Per Day 

Fruit and vegetables taste  

delicious and there's so much 

variety to choose from.  They're 

a good source of  vitamins and minerals, and dietary fiber. They can also help reduce the risk of  heart disease, 

stroke and some cancers. Fruit and vegetables are low in 

fat and  calories and high in taste.

Add More Fiber to Your Diet
Fiber-rich foods decrease hunger, so you are likely  to 

eat less during the day. You can easily add more to your 

diet by having high  fiber cereal for breakfast, or as a 

snack mixed with yogurt in the  afternoon.

Eat Breakfast
Did you know... in order to gain weight, sumo  wrestlers  in Japan don't eat breakfast? Really! Skipping  breakfast slows down the metabolism and encourages weight gain.Start your day with a  breakfast  that combines fiber and lean  protein, in order to rev up your  metabolism and keep you full till lunchtime.
Increase your Dairy Intake
Not getting enough calcium triggers the release of a hormone that causes fat storage. Meeting your daily 

calcium  needs helps you burn fat more efficiently. 

Choose low-fat dairy  products for the nutrients your body needs, without the extra calories.

Spice it up
Increasing your intake of capsaicin temporarily boosts your  metabolism and 

helps you feel satiated after meals. Try adding Tabasco sauce to your eggs, 

curry to your soup, and  hot peppers to your chili. Spices will add flavor and health benefits to your  dish.

Start your Meal with Soup
Soup is one of the most filling foods, and a big  bowl of it is a great way to avoid   higher calorie temptations.  Aim for  broth based soups   filled with vegetables, which tend to have a lot fewer  calories than cream based soups. 

Remember, these tips are not just for weight loss  but also to make you feel more energized, stronger, healthier and younger. Live  a better quality of life.  Don't give up because you splurged.  DON'T GIVE UP !!
Good luck in sticking with the resolutions and  shedding the pounds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Schedule Your Nutritional Consultation Today

Don't wait! Schedule meal services for yourself or a loved one today.
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Gingerbread Tips and Tricks

Everywhere you turn the aroma of cinnamon and spice waft through the air. Gingerbread is representative of all things Holiday spirited. These favorite treats were one of the were one of the first sweet treats used in winter celebrations, and they are still a fan favorite.


Hi, I',m Chef Heather from the Chocolate Mousse Catering and I'd like to offer you some quick tricks on how to fill your home with the fresh scent and taste of gingerbread.

Tip 1: Do not over mix your dough. Over mixed dough will create tough cookies.

Tip 2: Chill your dough for at least 1 hour then dust with confectionery sugar and flour for no hassle rolling

Tip 3: Lightly mist your cookie cutter with cooking spray for easy slip-away cutouts

Tip 4: Bake your cookies until just the edges crisp up, the cookies will firm as they cool

Tip 5: Gingerbread cookies can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and maintain their integrity and flavor. So if you're considering a large gingerbreading projects but the idea of cooking is overwhelming, go ahead and make a few pieces day by day and store them in an airtight container until you're ready to assemble!

For more baking tips and tricks this Holiday season, check out our website at Chocolatemoussecatering.com, follow us @chocolatemoussecatering on Twitter and/or visit our Facebook page

Call us anytime at (845) 518-6533 and reserve our services for your next event!

Pie Tips

Pie is my husband's second love (I'd like to think our boys and I place first)!  He has 2 favorites, Hot and Cold... in other words, if it's a crust with ANYTHING in it, he is happy.  Now, although Geoff isn't too picky, he does know a good pie when he tastes one. 

There are 2 key components to Pie Perfection... first is the crust and the second, the filling.  In this first installment, we will dive into creating an amazing crust.

Let's start with the recipe:      

Double Crust

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups        Flour

1 tsp                 Salt

1 tsp                 Sugar

1 Cup                COLD butter, cut in small pieces 

1/4 Cup             COLD shortening

6 - 8 Tbl            ICE COLD water

Directions:

1- Cut your fat into small pieces and add to your measured flour and salt and sugar.  Combine the fat quickly by pulsing in a food processor or blender. Your mixture should resemble coarse meal.

2- Slowly add the water and continue pulsing. It should still look dry. Grab some with your hand and squeeze. It should hold together, if it didn't, add a little more water and mix quickly. Test again.

3- Divide the dough in half. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Push the dough into a flat disk.

4- Refrigerate for at least an hour.  

When you are ready to roll...

5- Lightly flour your board. Begin by rolling from the middle of the disk up. Turn the dough one quarter and repeat. Always roll in one direction and turn the dough often making it just large enough to fit your pan.

6- Carefully fold the dough in half over your rolling pin, pick it up and lie the dough on the pie plate (if it tears, just pinch it together again, or use scraps to repair any holes).

7- Roll out the second disk of dough.

8- Prick the pastry with a fork.  Wrap with plastic wrap and freeze the crusts until ready to fill.

Now that you know the basics, here are some tips to make sure your crust is top notch.

- When rolling out your dough, make the top crust slightly thinner than the bottom crust.

- To keep an empty pie from collapsing, gently place a slightly smaller straight-sided cake pan down on top of the crust.  Bake for about ten minutes, and remove the cake pan. Use a fork to prick any places that puff up, and bake until the crust is a light golden color.

- To avoid a soggy crust, fill the crust and get it into the oven or freezer, quickly.

- If you freeze your pie, do not thaw before baking, bake in the frozen state, adjusting baking time accordingly.

Now that the perfect crust is ready, let's talk filling...  There are many types of pie, fruit, custard, and savory...

In this segment, I am going to focus on fruit pies.  Fruit comes in all shapes, sizes, flavors.  Because of this cooking times and quantity of fruit needed in a pie varies. 

When assembling a pie, apples should fill the crust to an inch above the edge, cherries, blueberries, and similar fruit are filled to just below the rim of the pie pan. The fruit will expand when it gets hot and tends to run out of the edges if overfilled.

Here are guidelines for the quantity of fruit needed for a 9" pie:

• Apple: 8 small, 5 large = 6 to 8 cups
• Apricot: 10-12 medium = 5-6 cups
• Blackberry: 6 (1/2 pint) baskets = 6 cups
• Blueberry: 3 pint baskets = 6 cups
• Cherry: 1 pound = 6 cups
• Peach: 10 -12 small or 6-7 large = 5-6 cups
• Pumpkin: 1/2 pound =1 cup
• Raspberry: 6 (1/2 pint) baskets = 6 cups
• Rhubarb: 6 medium stalks / 5-6 cups
• Strawberry: 4 pint baskets = 6 cups
• Sweet Potato: 1/2 pound =1 cup

Now that the fruit is picked out, you need a thickener.  Here are some choices:

Cornstarch                                                                                                                                          
Is a good thickener to use with fruit to make a filling because it does not have any flavor and creates a smooth texture. It also does not thin when reheating a slice of pie.  Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour, but doesn’t work well if the filling is high in acidity.

Tapioca

 Is often used because it can hold more fruit juices than other thickeners without becoming rigid.  It is not recommended for a lattice top pie or other open fruit pie, as it hardens when exposed to the hot air of the oven. However, it can be used with a two-crust pie.  Tapioca has no flavor and  cooks quickly. If you use tapioca, let the filling mixture stand for at least 15 minutes before you spoon it into the crust to bake. This will allow for more efficient thickening. When you prepare a pie filling, mix the thickener first with sugar and any spices to prevent lumps and uneven thickening, then add the fruit. Granules are gritty if under cooked but are clear and soft when fully cooked.

Arrowroot                                                                                                                                              
Is not a desirable choice because it thickens before the boiling point of fruit fillings in the pies.  It imparts no flavor of its own but provides a high gloss, and just 1 tablespoon will firm up each cup of liquid. It’s fine for high- and low-acid fruit mixtures, but it creates a gloppy mess if mixed with any dairy product.

Potato Starch                                                                                                                                        
This gluten-free starch's main advantage over other starch thickeners is that it's a permitted ingredient for Passover, unlike cornstarch and other grain-based foods. Liquids thickened with potato starch should never be boiled.

Once the fruit and thickener are chosen, all that is left is flavoring with lemon juice, sugar, and spices.  Bake and Enjoy!

Some additional helpful tips:

• -Bake on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil to catch any juices that may run over the edge.
• -Rotate the pie 180 degrees midway through baking. This helps the pie to cook evenly and balances the surface browning.
• -When cutting, wet the knife with hot water to make a clean cut that won’t tear the filling.

“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.”
― Yogi Berra

Healthy Changes for a Happy New Year

Happy New Years (ok, so I'm a day or 2... or 3 late)!

 

     Too many of us are too familiar with this New Year's scenerio... the ball drops, you vow to keep your distance from carbs and spend the rest of the year on the treadmill, but two weeks into January, your motivation plummets, your starch cravings have become difficult to ignore, and you've skipped more than a few days at the gym. Come February, your sneakers have collected dust and you've forgotten all about your New Year's resolution.

     Sounds too familiar, right? Well, you are certainly not alone!  Two of the most common New Year's resolutions are to lose weight and exercise more often.  Rather than setting yourself up for failure, why not start 2011 off on the right foot by making healthy life changes you can actually keep? 

     A few EASY ways that you can keep your healthy resolutions all year long are to make small changes that will transform your life.  Here are some suggestions to make the most of your New Year’s resolution:

Aim For 5 Servings Of Fruits And Vegetables Per Day

Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's so much variety to choose from. They're a good source of vitamins and minerals, and dietary fiber. They can also help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Fruit and vegetables are low in fat and calories and high in taste!

Swap Sugary Drinks For Water

Water is one of the best tools for weight loss because it doesn't have

any calories.  It is also a great  appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're really just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar, so drink plenty to help your weight-loss.

Eat Breakfast

Did you know... in order to gain weight, sumo wrestlers in Japan don't eat breakfast?  Really! Skipping breakfast slows down the metabolism and encourages weight gain. Start your day with a breakfast that combines fiber and lean protein, in order to rev up your metabolism and keep you full till lunchtime.

Add More Fiber to Your Diet

Fiber-rich foods decrease hunger, so you are likely to eat less during the day. You can easily add more to your diet by having high fiber cereal for breakfast, or as a snack mixed with yogurt in the afternoon.

Increase your Dairy Intake

Not getting enough calcium triggers the release of calcitrol, a hormone that causes fat storage. Instead meeting your daily calcium needs helps you burn fat more efficiently. Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products for the nutrients your body needs, without the extra calories.

Spice it up

Increasing your intake of capsaicin (the compound that gives hot sauce and chili peppers their kick) temporarily boosts your metabolism and helps you feel satiated after meals. Go ahead and heat things up.  Try adding Tabasco sauce to your eggs, curry to your soup, and hot peppers to your chili. Spices will add flavor and health benefits to your dish.

Start your meal with soup

Soup is one of the most filling foods, and a big bowl of it is a great way to avoid higher calorie temptations. Most soups are low in calories and high in fiber, making them healthy and satisfying. Aim for broth based soups filled with vegetables, which tend to have a lot fewer calories than cream based soups.



 Remember, these tips are not just for weight loss but also to make you feel more energized, stronger, healthier and younger. Live a better quality of life.  Don’t give up because you splurged. DON’T GIVE UP !!
     Good luck in sticking with the resolutions and shedding the pounds.

Enjoy!
Chef Heather