Tag Archives: Vegetarian

Scrambling!

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At the beginning of the year, the fitness group I belong to, Mommy and Me Fitness, initiated a fitness challenge to jump start everyone’s new year resolutions and get us all moving again, despite the dreary winter weather. At the same time, I’m in training for a real sprint triathlon in a few months and so I’ve been using this as the motivation to keep myself going during this hard part where I really don’t want to go to the gym and exercise. Melissa has been offering fun tips on the Facebook page for the challenge and it’s helped get me out of my rut.

I’ve been keeping an eye on my calories over the last year and noticed that I really don’t get enough protein. I don’t like it in general, so this has been a rough area for me. I do like cheese and I like eggs, so I’ve been making scrambles for myself a few times a week. I like to add either broccoli or kale to mine right now, but in the Spring, I think there will be asparagus too!  Even if I have this as an after workout snack, it’s filling without using up too many calories… the total calorie count (according to Livestrong MyPlate) is a mere 287. It does pack a nutritional punch with 20 grams of protein!

Feta and Kale Scramble

  • 2 eggs
  • a Sploosh of milk
  • 2 Tbsp. Feta cheese
  • 1 cup kale, chopped

Whisk the eggs well and add the other three ingredients. The feta is salty enough that I didn’t add any extra salt, but I did crack some black pepper into the eggs and added a pinch of garlic powder. I like my eggs dry, so it took a while to cook the eggs until I was satisfied. But you do what you like. :)

More quinoa love

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I’ve been having a rough time coming up with a good lunch plan for me and the kids.  Liam is on a peanut butter and jelly only diet and I’m not quite ok letting Sylvi eat that day in and day out.  And me?  Well, I’m keeping an eye on my caloric intake.  Not in the sense that I’m cutting hundreds of calories, but in the sense that I want what I eat to count.  I hate eating a healthy meal and then being hungry 30 minutes later.  That being said, I’ve spent a great deal of time scouring Pinterest looking for inspiration.

I happened upon a recipe that I thought would be excellent but when I tried it out, it was awful.  So I scrapped it and started it again.  This result was amazing.  Sylvi and I ate it right up, but Liam turned up his nose.  There wasn’t any jelly involved so I let it go.  I can’t say that this recipe is the quickest to put together, but the time was worth it.  This recipe makes enough to serve 4 as a main dish or 8 as a side.  I would omit the chicken if I were to make this as a side dish.  But that’s just me.  I’d also eat this straight out of the pan…

Creamy quinoa and vegetables

  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 crown broccoli, cut into small pieces
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 small zuchinni, shredded
Rinse the quinoa and then add it to a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water.  (I add 1/2 tsp. sea salt to the quinoa and then don’t add any later since the base ingredient is already seasoned.)  Bring the quinoa to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.  While the quinoa cooks, heat a skillet over a medium burner and add the olive oil.  Place all the vegetables and garlic in the skillet and cook until the broccoli is a crisp tender and still brightly colored.  Stir frequently.  Add the yogurt, chives and a few cracks of pepper and mix well.  Finally add in the broth and the cooked quinoa and stir so that the vegetables are spread evenly throughout the quinoa.  If you are using chicken, add it now.  As an added bit of flavor when you serve, grate some Parmesan over the top.

 

Meatless Monday… with Millet!

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To be completely honest, millet doesn’t normally equal yummy in my mind.   It’s all in the preparation, I know this now, which is why, when I opened up my copy of Clean Eating and saw the recipe for millet patties, I decided it would be something I wanted to try.   I’ve been looking for good source of whole grain that will cover the nutritional bases and still fill me up pretty well.   The original recipe calls for the patties to be cooked in a skillet and then baked, but I just baked them.  And I swapped out the sunflower seeds for flax meal.   It turned out pretty tasty and paired just great with kale and goat cheese.  Sylvi ate right up and was a little mad at me when I ate the last bite.  It’s a great change from couscous and vegetables for any lunch! 

Millet Patties (adapted from Clean Eating Jan/Feb 2012)

  • 1 cup whole millet, cooked
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, finely shredded
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup zuchinni, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp. flax meal
  • 1/4 cup. finely shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 Tbsp. dried parsley (or 2 Tbsp fresh if you have it)
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. dried mustard
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
  • Olive oil
In a large saute pan, pour some olive oil and bring to a low heat.   Saute the onion until translucent.  Add in the carrots, zuchinni and garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.  Stir in the millet and heat through.  Then, mix in the rest of the ingredients and form  into patties (use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop out the mixture to keep it uniform in size).  Chill in the fridge for about half an hour so the egg gets a chance to solidify the patties.  Then, in an oven preheated to 400 degrees bake the patties for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Pinspiration!

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The Mommy and Me Fitness group in town has a blog and they have been doing monthly food spotlights.  This month, the food spotlight was Quinoa.  It’s a nifty little food that is chock full of amino acids, which combine to form proteins, so it’s kind of a super-food in my eyes.  I’m used to eating quinoa in the form of a salad called Tabbouleh, but I hadn’t ever experimented with it.  Anyway, shortly before I read Julie’s post, I had seen these little quinoa bites pinned all over people’s Pinterest boards and I was intrigued.  And intrigued enough to play with the recipe.

I added some flavor and more vegetables so that I could use these as a complete meal for my lunches.  This recipe made 3 dozen little bites, there were less than a dozen left after Matt and I “tested” them.  They were so good!  And I just couldn’t stop eating them.  I dipped them in a mixture of sour cream and Italian dressing, but you could eat them without a dip.  One tiny note though before I share the recipe, if you decide to make these in a mini muffin pan without the wrappers, make sure you grease the cups well.  I didn’t and had to ah… convince… some of them to come out of the pans.  Other than that, you may need to hide them from your husband, because shockingly, mine certainly enjoyed them!

Veggie Feta Quinoa Bites

  • 2 c. cooked quinoa (this is 1 c. dry quinoa)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 c. finely shredded carrot
  • 1/2 c. finely shredded zuchinni
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbsp. minced sundried tomatoes
  • 4 oz. feta cheese
Saute the onions until transparent in a dash of olive oil.  Then add in the carrot, zuchinni, garlic, and sundried tomato and mix well.  Remove the pan from the heat, mix in the spices, feta and eggs.  Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and fill 3 dozen mini muffin cups to the top with the quinoa mixture.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Lighter

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Phew!  After the holiday that started for us on Saturday and the onslaught of food it brought, we needed a bit of a break.  So we took a break from the leftovers and had burgers.  This recipe took less than 15 minutes start to finish and even my husband enjoyed them… as long as I promised that they would never replace the meat.  He declared them filling, which is something that you don’t often get out of my husband regarding meatless foods.  I loved them and they going on that ever-lengthening list of foods for me to eat at lunch!
Black Bean Burgers
  • 1 15 oz can of Black Beans
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/3-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 cloves garlic

Peel the carrot, garlic and onion.  Roughly chop and then place in the bowl of a food processor.  Drain the black beans and rinse them.  Add them to the food processor.  Puree.  Add the bread crumbs and the seasonings.  Then, add the flour as needed until the puree is thick and will stick together into patties.   Heat some coconut oil (or another neutral oil) in a skillet and then place each patty in the oil.  Fry until the patty is crispy, about 1 minute.  Turn the patties and finish frying.  Serve on a bun as you would a “normal” burger, garnishing however makes you the happiest!

Sloppy

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Recently, I started to crave the dishes my parents made as I grew up.  The more I think about it, the main ingredient in most of those dishes is lentils.   So down the road I headed to our new bulk foods store and bought a pound.  I have been doing so reading up on how to cook lentils and other legumes and it would seem that not everyone feels you need to soak them overnight before cooking them, but I like coming in the kitchen in the morning for my coffee and seeing the bowl of soaking lentils on my stovetop.  Now, all I need are those pans with the wonky handles I hated scrubbing cooked rice off of and I’d be 15 again.  This recipe is an adaptation of my dad’s sloppy joe sauce, but it still tastes like home.
With this meal, I also celebrated the end of the processed ketchup in our home.  I had bought two HUGE bottles for making sloppy joes for Liam’s birthday party last summer.  I gave away one, but have been slowly chipping away at the other bottle.  Really, for as much I’ve been wanting to get rid of the processed things in our home, I hate to waste.  And even though the only time we use that ketchup is when we have cookouts, I just couldn’t waste it.  I may have danced a little on the way to the recycling bin. 
As far as the family reviews on this meal, Matt ate it without complaint and said that he didn’t notice a difference in taste, but the texture got his attention.  He also said he didn’t want to take it for lunch at work.  No one in his office is vegetarian.  I get it.  Liam spit his out and declared it “yucky”.  He’s 2, I ignored him.  Sylvia didn’t get anything but a bit of the bun and the roasted sweet potatoes.  Currently, she’s my best eater in the house.  I loved it and I will be making it again to freeze for my own lunches.
Sloppy Lentils

  • 1 c. lentils, soaked over night and cooked until tender
  • 1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 c. ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

Heat the oil in a saute pan and add the onions, peppers and garlic.  Stir in the lentils and mix thoroughly.  Then, add in all the ingredients for the sauce and bring to a boil.  Then, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.   Serve on buns.  Makes 8 sandwiches.

Lentil Love

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Today
is the last day of the month and technically the final day of October
Unprocessed.  I’ll be continuing with the same basic rules, however. 
The holidays are coming and I’m aware that there is refined sugar in our
future, I’m not a fool, but I don’t want to let everything fall by the
wayside again.  I’m still shooting for at least 1 vegetarian dish a week
on our table and I’m continuing with the whole grains.  Liam and Matt
are adapting well and I’m finding that I have really missed my old ways.
This recipe is very loosely based on the recipe for Mojadra in Feeding the Whole Family. 
I used the basic format, but added in my own seasonings.  I loved it! 
And Liam, well, he ate some of the lentils by mistake because he was
digging out the rice, but he still ate!
Mojadra
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 cup lentils
  • water
  • 2 Tbsp. ghee
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. tumeric
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp. dried cilantro
  • 1 cup. coconut milk
  • salt
Place
the lentils in a bowl and cover with water.  Soak over night.  Drain
and rinse the lentils, checking for rocks.  Put the lentils in a medium
pan and cover with water up to about 1 inch over the lentils.  Add in
1/2 tsp. salt.  Bring the lentils to a boil and boil for 1 minute. 
Lower the heat and cook for roughly half an hour, or until the lentils
are tender.  Cook the rice by adding 2 cups and 2 Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp
ghee and a dash of salt to a pan.  Bring the water up to a boil and when
it’s reached a boil, turn it down to low heat.  Cock the lid on the pan
to allow the steam to escape (so the rice doesn’t boil over) and then
cook until the water is all gone and the rice is tender, about half an
hour.
In a large skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the ghee until
tender and fragrant.  Add in the spices and saute.  Stream in the milk
and stir until well blended.  Add the lentils and heat through.  Serve
over the rice. 

The first meatless Monday in our home!

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And the toddler ate well!
When I first met Matt, I was still largely a vegetarian.  I enjoyed my vegetables and had a faint hope that I’d find someone with the same tastes to share my life.  This was not the case.  While Matt politely ate my parent’s meals whenever we were together, he informed me that he never wanted to see sprouts or tofu in our home.  So then, I actually had to learn how to cook food beyond steaming broccoli and brown rice.  Anyway, this Thanksgiving marks 7 years of love and many, many extra pounds.  There are days when I wish I could have my vegetarian body back… but then, I’d also be 22 years old so… 
 Anyway, I’ve been craving good, homemade falafel for a long time, but it’s a lot of work (I thought) and I didn’t have a recipe that was reliable.  A few weeks ago though, I saw a post on a friend’s Facebook page about how she had made falafel and I decided that despite Matt’s aversion to meatless foods, I’d make it.  I used the base recipe from Feeding the Whole Family and then did what I remembered from when I had made it at home.  The only complaint that I had about this recipe is that it didn’t make enough for me to have leftovers.  Matt ate and enjoyed it and Liam even ate it pretty well.  The chickpeas were sweet and there was just the right amount of seasoning.  I made pitas to go with this and I’ll be sharing the recipe tomorrow!
Falafel:
  • 3/4 cup dry chickpeas
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 small onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 1 Tbsp. dried cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 cup. whole wheat flour
In a medium sized pan, place the dry beans and cover with water.  Soak them 10-12 hours.  Drain the chickpeas and cover with water up to 1 inch over the top of the bean.  Sprinkle in about 1 tsp salt.  Bring the water to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Then reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the beans to cook until they are fork tender, 30-45 minutes.  When the beans are done, drain and rinse them.  Set them aside to cool.

Place the onion and garlic in a food processor and chop.  You can leave them in a rough chop or almost puree them.  I chose to almost puree mine so that the texture would be smooth.  Then, add in the beans and puree.  You may need to stream in some water so that the puree doesn’t become too thick and you can blend it easily.  (Once the texture is what you want, add in the spices and flour.  The original recipe does not call for flour, but I recall my parents using cooked millet in their recipe to give it some body and help it stick together.  I was very pleased with the texture of the falafels.)

In a large skillet, heat a few Tablespoons of oil so that when you sprinkle a bit of flour in, it sizzles.  Drop your falafel mixture into the oil in the shapes you’d like.  My father used to form his into rounds or patties.  I just scooped a full spoon’s worth and flattened it out once it was in the pan.  Cook until golden brown on each side.  Serve in pita with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, hummus and plain yogurt.  I like to put a thin schmere of mayo on one side of the pita and then load it up with hummus and veggies.  Yum. 

I’m posting this recipe as part of Sweet Peas and Pumpkin’s Meatless Monday Challenge!