Portion Control Gadgets

Portions have become supersized over the years and consumers are no longer aware of how much food they are actually shoveling into their mouths. Knowing the proper serving sizes can help stop you from packing on extra calories as well as extra pounds.

The most notable changes the USDA has made emphasize that at least half of your grains should be whole grains (oatmeal, whole cornmeal, brown rice, etc.), and that half of your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables. The new guidelines stress adding more “color” to your dish.

Instead of vague serving size suggestions, the dinner plate proposes: 3 cups of dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), 2-3 cups of vegetables, 1.5-2 cups of fruit, 5-6.5 ounces of protein (fish, poultry, eggs, etc.), 5-8 ounces of grains (rice, cereal, pasta), and 5-7 teaspoons of sweets, fats and oils per day. Using these daily recommendations, you can start putting together more balanced meals.

Ligonberry Preserves

Ligonberry preserves are great with meat dishes, especially meatballs, but the ligonberry jam is also great on waffles, pancakes or just with toast. Here are some new ways of using the new super berry, Ligonberry.

Lingonberry Horseradish Sauce

Created for venison and elk, but we found it to be a favorite with turkey and roasts as well.

1 C fresh or frozen Lingonberries Or, use 1 1/2 C. Lingonberry Jam rather than fresh berries, sugar and water.
1/2 C sugar	1/2 C. sour cream
1 Tbs water	2 tsp. prepared horseradish

Mix ingredients together, chill and serve.

Lingonberry Sour Cream Sauce

A wonderful, and quickly prepared, dip for Swedish meatballs

• Mix 1/2 C. Lingonberry jam with 1 C. Sour cream. Heat briefly in microwave.
• Serve as a dip for Swedish meatballs (make and freeze the meatballs in advance) for an delightful and quickly prepared appetizer

Lingonberry Stuffed Croissants

A delicious breakfast or brunch treat.

o    Purchase a package of pre-made Crescent Roll dough. It is available in the dairy cooler of most groceries.

o    Pop open the dough tube and place 1 Tbs. of Lingonberry Jam on each dough square.

o    Fold over to form a triangle and follow the package instructions to bake.

o    In no time, you'll end up with a dozen stuffed croissants for a delicious breakfast or brunch treat.

Lingonberry Tortilla

Before I swore off carbs, I loved hot pepper jelly. By using Friendship Farm sugar-free lingonberry jam I was inspired to create this odd and yummy low carb treat.

o    Pan fry both sides of one Mission low-carb tortilla -- you want it a little crunchy

o    Melt a little shredded cheddar cheese on top.

o    Drizzle with Louisiana hot sauce.

o    Add 1 TB of Friendship Farm Sugar-Free Lingonberry Jam.

Lingonberry Recipes

Lingonberry Jam

A sweet but still tart jam with Swedish lingonberries. This goes really well with classic Swedish meatballs or fried herring.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 pounds fresh or frozen lingonberries
• 7/8 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Place lingonberries in a large pot with the water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes, and skim off any foam from the surface. Stir in sugar, bring to a rapid boil, and continue boiling for a few more minutes.
2. Ladle jam into sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Cover with lids, and screw on rings. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal. Refrigerate jam once the jar has been opened.               

Crepes with Lingonberry Jam

Crepe Filling:

• 2 cups lingonberry jam
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sliced mint

Batter:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint leaves
• Cooking spray

Fresh Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

For the filling:

Directions In a small bowl, mix together jam and cream cheese until well incorporated. 

For the batter :Add all batter ingredients to a blender and blend well.

For the whipped cream:

Using a hand mixer, blend ingredients together until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until serving.

Spray a nonstick crepe pan with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add 2-ounces crepe batter and rotate pan until batter adheres to the sides. Allow to cook for 1 minute. Once slight bubbles start to form on the crepe, flip with a rubber spatula. Remove from the pan, place on a platter and repeat with remaining batter. Set aside.
Place approximately 3 tablespoons jam mixture in center of a crepe and roll tightly. Repeat until all the crepes are filled and rolled. Serve on a large platter or individual plates with whipped cream alongside, if desired.

Petite Lingonberry Cheese Cakes

9-oz cream cheese (3 packages)

1/4 pound butter or margarine

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tsp vanilla

1 egg

Sour cream

Lingonberry jam

Cream together until smooth cream cheese and butter, divide into 24 balls and place one ball in each of 24 small muffin tins.

Press against the sides to line each tin evenly.Prepare filling and spoon evenly into each lined muffin tin.

FILLING:

Crush 6 oz cream cheese.

Beat in sugar, vanilla and egg

Bake filled muffin tins 20 minutes at 350 deg.(F)

Cool then spread each with sour cream and top with jam.

SALMON WITH LINGONBERRY SAUCE

Delicious with Baked or Grilled Salmon

2 lbs. Salmon Baked or Grilled

½ C. Pine Nuts                                  

½ C. Lingonberry Jam or Syrup ¼ lb. Unsalted butter

Few dashes of Lemon Juice Dash of Salt & White Pepper

ü Lightly brown pine nuts in the butter using medium heat.

ü When browning is done add lingonberry jam and lemon juice.

ü Wisk ingredients until smooth then add salt & white pepper to taste

Lingonberries

Lingonberries is the new super berry, it has a very high concentration of antioxidants and has been tested to kill bacteria.

The lingon berry tastes a little between a blueberry and a pomergranite, they are very tart on there own. The Ligon berry originates from Sweden and comes from a short evergreen shrub.

 Lingonberries grow wild in Scandinavian forests and in Northern Canada. These wild berries flourish in the summer during the midnight sun. They are small firm berries with a slightly sweet and slightly sour flavor.
The berries contain plentiful organic acids, vitamin C, provitamin A (as beta carotene), B vitamins (B₁, B₂, B₃), and the elements potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. In addition to these nutrients, they also contain phytochemicals that are thought to counteract urinary-tract infections, and the seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.





You can make lingonberry jam, lingonberry sauce and lingonberry pies, please check out the Lingonberry Recipes.