Sweet and savory food sometimes go together, sometimes they don't. Today, it's both in a lunch to go.
A packed lunch all started with the lunch pail, didn't it? Did you take a lunch to school when you were a kid? Do you pack one for your kids?
Today, everyone's buzzing about the "jar" on the go for working moms and dads. Lunch in a Mason jar is pretty brilliant way to compete with all those zip and click plastics. Not such a bad idea. It's a good way to save money and eat healthy, too.
The
Mason jar has been around for a time. It was invented and patented in
1858 by Philadelphia tinsmith John Landis Mason (1832–1902). The most
common U.S. brands of Mason jars are Ball and Kerr.I counted on jars to make jam back in the day. Today, I use them to save coins. I sometimes stuff Christmas candy inside and put a bow around the jar. Why not fixin's for a salad? Well, it's a trend or a fad, but definitely a spin on the old lunchbox, isn't it?
Unfortunately for the creators of the lunch in a jar idea, a jar isn't the only way to make-and-take lunch with you.
Sweet and Savory Harvest Salad with Bacon Bits
1/2 cup Granny Smith apple wedges
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Lite Ranch Dressing
1/4 cup seedless red grapes
3 slices OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, cut into strips
2 cups torn mixed salad greens
1/4 cup KRAFT Natural 2% Milk Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles
1 tsp. OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Bits
PLACE apples in resealable container. Add dressing; seal container. Toss to evenly coat apples with dressing.
TOP with layers of remaining ingredients; seal container. Refrigerate until ready to pack in an insulated lunch bag and head out the door. TOSS salad just before serving.
Nutritional Information (amount per serving)
Calories 250; Carbohydrates 26g; Cholesterol 40mg; Fiber 3g; Fat 11g; Sodium 890mg; Sugars 16g; Protein 13g
You probably won't be surprised to learn that 68% of bacon's calories come from fat, almost half of which is saturated. That's the finding of WebMD. Each ounce of bacon contributes 30 milligrams of cholesterol.
Eating foods rich in saturated fats can raise your cholesterol levels, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. If those saturated fat-rich foods are also high in dietary cholesterol, cholesterol levels tend to rise even higher.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to less than 7% of your total calories (that’s less than 16 daily grams of saturated fat for someone eating 2,000 calories a day).
Under those guidelines, it might seem sensible to limit your enjoyment of bacon, and only bake it for your meal occasionally. You can also switch to turkey bacon, which is lower in fat and cholesterol.
When it comes to increasing the risk for certain cancers, things get downright scary for bacon lovers. Not only is bacon considered a red meat, it’s also a member of the dreaded "processed meat" group (even turkey bacon falls into this category). NO amount of processed meat is considered safe to eat, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Enjoy a BLT now and then, but use good judgement. It's probably wise to not make bacon a staple in your meat drawer. Enjoy in moderation.
Bacon tastes great baked in the oven instead of fried in a skillet. It's easier to drain off the fat, too.
Bacon bits can be fresh fried and broken into bits, bought as real or imitation. Bacon bits are small pieces of cooked bacon typically used as condiment, sprinkled on soups, salads and baked potatoes. It's a good way to enjoy bacon in moderation.
Difference between sweet and savory is that one reflects a sugar sensation and the other does not. A salad is savory, but it could include sweet slices of strawberries or a sweet salad dressing, which makes the salad both sweet and savory. For the home kitchen cook, you want to include a little sweet with savory flavors in the meal to satisfy the tastebud senses. That usually means dessert.
Sweet Winter Lemon Cake
Serves 16
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cold milk
1-1/4 cups water
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
HEAT oven to 350ºF. PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; pour into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. BEAT dry pudding mixes, granulated sugar, milk and water with whisk 2 min.; pour over batter in dish. Place baking dish on baking sheet. (Baking sheet will catch any sauce that might bubble over sides of dish as dessert bakes.)
BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 min. (Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutritional Information (amount per serving)
Calories 280; Carbohydrates 44g; Cholesterol 40mg; Fiber 0g; Fat 2g; Sodium 400mg; Sugars 33g; Protein 4g
Source: Kraft Sweet, Oscar Mayer Savory
When meal planning, choose a portion from each food group. Typically, most adults need 6 to 11 servings of grain products per day; 3 to 5 servings of vegetables; 2 to 4 servings of fruit each day; 3 cups of dairy products every day; and 2 or 3 ounces per day of meat which equals 2 servings.
Sensible portion sizes and limited number of servings keep even the most decadent sweet and yummy desserts part of a balanced diet.