Enstrom’s toffee is the buttery best—
and it’s also available in sugar-free!

But don’t toss out the “crumbs” at the bottom: They’re delicious on ice cream, cheesecake, yogurt or cake frosting.

In fact, Enstrom’s, one of our favorite toffee makers, sometimes sells crumbs by the bag for toffee fans who find many other uses for them (call—they’re not on the website).

• Read our article on “Things To Do With Toffee.”
• Read our review of Enstrom’s Toffee, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. It’s our very favorite; the sugar-free toffee is equally a masterpiece.
• Learn the difference between toffee and buttercrunch.
• Find more of our favorite toffees.

More than a few people we know turn to packaged diet entrées for weight loss or maintenance. The portion-controlled single servings help eliminate the risk of overeating.

But Consumer Reports found that some give you so little to eat, that you need to add more food. Others are very high in sodium.

Consumer Reports looked at 24 leading microwaveable meals—22 frozen and two shelf-stable—including Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers. Consumer Reports evaluated the nutrition info for each meal based on its label.

Here are some topline findings:

Delicious, low calorie and low in sodium.
Photo courtesy Kashi Company.

• Fourteen of the meals were tasty enough to recommend (that is, they rated very good in taste).
• Eight meals had more than the 600 milligrams of sodium that Consumer Reports set as a maximum, based on generally recommended guidelines. Healthy Choice Complete Meals Sweet & Sour Chicken, Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Steak Tips Portabello, and Kashi Black Bean Mango had the least sodium of the tested meals, each with an impressive 450 milligrams or less.
• While no clear winner emerged among brands, Kashi was the only brand to earn a very good rating for all of the meals included in the test. They’re a little pricier than some of the others, but deliver the quality.

You can find the whole report in the February 2010 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine.

Replace the ice cream and whipped cream
with cottage cheese and yogurt. Photo
courtesy California Milk Advisory Board.

Sprinkle with granola or cereal flakes and you have a delicious “banana split.”

It’s worth buying special banana split dishes—the entire family will love this one!

• Find more calorie-friendly foods in our Diet Nibbles Section.

RECIPE: MARVELOUS MEDITERRANEAN FALAFEL SLIDERS

Ingredients

• 1 envelope Manischewitz Falafel Mix from 6.4 oz box
• 2 pounds ground turkey*
• 1 cup mint leaves, chopped (plus more for garnish)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large Bermuda onion, thinly sliced
• 1 can tehina (tahini)
• 12 3-inch soft rolls
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, washed and patted dry
• Pepper
• Water

  *Use regular instead of “light” ground turkey for best results in this recipe.

The 2009 grand prize winner: Falafel
Sliders by Amy Siegel. Photo courtesy
The Manishewitz Company.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine falafel mix, turkey, mint leaves, black pepper to taste and 3-4 tablespoons cold water, to moisten. Shape mixture into 12 small patties.

2. Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Grill patties for 3-5 minutes per side, until no longer pink in center.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and Bermuda onion. Sauté for 10-12 minutes, until softened and golden.
4. In a small bowl, stir together tehina with ¼ cup water. Add more water to make a thinner sauce, if desired, set aside. Heat rolls in a 250°F oven for 5 minutes, or until warm.

5. To assemble sliders: On a plate, place bottom half of roll, lettuce leaf, cooked patty, onions, 1 tablespoon tehina and top half of roll. Garnish with additional chopped mint leaves. Serve remaining tehina sauce on the side for dipping.

The history of falafel.

Find more of our favorite international recipes.

Mmm—no wonder the Caesar is one of
America’s favorite salads. Photo courtesy
McCormick.com.

It was restaurateur Caesar Cardini, owner of Caesar’s restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, who created the salad in 1924.

• Read the history of the Caesar Salad.
• See the original Caesar Salad recipe—no creamy dressing, no anchovies.
• Forget the original recipe and make creamy Caesar Salad dressing.
• Combine two favorite American foods and make a Caesar Salad pizza. Since it’s technically a pizza, convince people who don’t like salad to eat it.