Green Curry Fritters

I hound my dad at every opportunity to eat less, put down the salt shaker, cut out the butter, consume less alcohol, start an exercise routine, and the list goes on and on. Frankly, the man doesn’t take the best care of himself…and selfishly, I wish he did. He has a gym membership and a daughter that’s a dietitian. I review his labs, make suggestions, and yet…nothing ever changes.

Unfortunately, my dad has this non-healing wound on his leg. Wanting to take the “non-Western” route, he has been seeing a chiropractor for the past many, many weeks receiving infrared treatments. I haven’t done any research myself, but based on conversations with my mom, it all sounds very experimental. As it would end up, my dad’s wound is still not healed.

Last night, my dad called. He wanted to know what a “gluten-free diet entailed”.

“Let me guess, your chiropractor suggested this?” I asked.

“No, his assistant suggested it.” he replied.

Head –> Tabletop. I love that everyone is a nutrition expert giving advice. And worse, that advice is received and adopted!

No symptoms, no testing…just a blind suggestion to cut out gluten. Would it cause harm? No. But none of my suggestions were any that he took into consideration (i.e. exercise, reduced alcohol intake, etc.). He did try an amino acid supplement I suggested. Small victories.

When I had gotten through rattling off all the foods that contain gluten (and naturally, many of the foods he enjoys most) he was still determined to cut out gluten. He also shared that he was total to cut out fruit because “it contains sugar”. Seriously? Should I tell my dad this conversation is bordering on offensive? Thankgoodnessmydaddoesnotreadmyblog.

Gluten-free friends, swap out the panko for gluten-free breadcrumbs and this here is one of Cooking Light’s top recipes of 2012. I wouldn’t say these were my favorite recipe from Cooking Light in 2012, but they were definitely a solid recipe that I would give an “A” to!

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Green Curry Fritters from Cooking Light

2/3 cup panko
1/4 cup green onions, diagonally sliced
1 lb ground chicken breast
2 Tbsp canola or olive oil-based light mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp green curry paste
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sambal oelek (chile paste)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large egg
2 Tbsp canola oil, divided

Directions:

Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine mayonnaise and the next 7 ingredients (through egg). Add mayonnaise mixture to chicken mixture; mix lightly until combined. Divide into 10 equal portions; gently shape each portion into a small patty.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl. Add 6 patties to pan; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure.

Yield: 10 fritters

Nutrition Information (per fritter): 113 calories; 5.8 g. fat; 49 mg. cholesterol; 253 mg. sodium; 5.1 g. carbohydrate; 0.5 g. fiber; 11.3 g. protein

Result: These were moist and had great flavor. They did, however, need something on them. I mixed a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with an equal amount of fat-free plain Greek yogurt and just a bit of the green curry paste. It definitely took these from an “okay” meal to a “very good” meal. Simple to make, these also reheated great. Enjoy!

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The second session of parent-child cooking classes start tonight…it’ll be a busy day and a busy next 4 weeks! So worth it when the families love the program so much!

Be well,