Faster Than Lite

It’s hard to entertain if you have a hectic schedule; it’s even harder if you want to serve something that’s great tasting and low in fat. This menu is not only low-fat and delicious, but it can also be prepared in an hour or less.

Rock cod fillets are cooked in foil packets with shiitake mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, baby bok choy, ginger, garlic and green onion. The only side dish that’s needed is rice--in this case, rice stirred with toasted sesame seeds, green onions and sesame oil. For dessert, try a chilled mango pudding.

Start the dinner by making the pudding; it can be freezing in the ice cream maker while you prepare the rest of the meal.

While it freezes, measure the ingredients for the rice and prepare the fish packets. The rice will take just slightly longer than the fish to cook.

When it’s time for dessert, just remove dessert from the freezer and garnish with raspberries and a slice of lime.

Menu

Quick Rock Cod With Shiitake, Tomato and Green Onion

Sesame Rice

Mango Sorbet

Staples

Garlic

Salt, pepper

Rice

Sesame seeds

Sesame oil

SHOPPING LIST

2 tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

3 shiitake mushrooms

4 (4-ounce) rock cod or red snapper fillets

2 baby bok choy

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans nonfat chicken broth

3 mangoes

4 limes

1/2 pint raspberries

1 small piece ginger root

Wafer cookies

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GAME PLAN

1 hour before dinner: Puree mango and lime juice and freeze in ice cream freezer.

45 minutes before dinner: Prepare fish packets for baking. Measure ingredients for rice.

30 minutes before dinner: Start cooking rice.

20 minutes before dinner: Put fish packets in oven to bake.

Just before guests arrive: Spoon chilled mango pudding into glasses and put in freezer until ready to serve. Remove fish packets from oven.

QUICK ROCK COD WITH SHIITAKE, TOMATO AND GREEN ONION

2 tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

Salt, pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger root

2 large cloves garlic

2 green onions, sliced diagonally

3 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced

4 (4-ounce) rock cod or red snapper fillets

2 heads baby bok choy, cut into quarters lengthwise

1/2 cup nonfat chicken broth

Arrange 1/4 of tomato slices slightly overlapping in circle in center of piece of foil about 18 inches long. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with 1/4 ginger root, garlic, green onions and shiitake mushrooms. Place 1 fillet on top of vegetables. Place 2 pieces bok choy on each side of fish. Drizzle 2 tablespoons chicken broth on top. Fold over top of foil and seal sides. Repeat process with remaining ingredients.

Bake packets at 425 degrees until fish just begins to flake, about 20 minutes. To serve, transfer fish and vegetables onto plate. Stir juices and spoon over fish.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

133 calories; 285 mg sodium; 34 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 1.46 grams fiber.

SESAME RICE

1 cup rice

2 cups nonfat chicken broth

1/4 cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Bring rice and chicken broth to boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender and all broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Fluff rice with fork. Lightly stir in green onions, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Makes about 3 cups rice.

Each 1/2-cup serving contains about:

148 calories; 196 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.21 gram fiber.

CHILLED MANGO PUDDING

3 mangoes

Juice of 3 limes

1/2 cup raspberries

1 lime, sliced

4 wafer cookies, optional

Cut down each side of large mango seed and remove pieces of mango fruit. Peel fruit and put in food processor or blender. Cut any fruit from seed and add to food processor along with lime juice. Puree until smooth. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon into parfait glasses and keep in freezer until serving time. Sprinkle raspberries over top of each and garnish with slice of lime. Serve each with wafer cookie.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving, without cookie garnish, contains about:

120 calories; 4 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 1.85 grams fiber.