Chicken with Bulgur Pilaf October 31, 2009

The following low calorie and time efficient recipe is from Real Simple. I gave it a go this week and it turned out super yummy! Bulgur wheat is an easy and healthful grain; give it a try and you wont be disappointed. The thing I really liked about this dish is that it was FAST! Dinner was on the table in 30 mins. which is perfect after a long day at work.

Serves 4

Hands-On Time: 15m; Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• kosher salt and pepper
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups medium-grain bulgur
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the broth, bulgur, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the skillet and bring to a boil.
3. Nestle the chicken in the bulgur, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the bulgur is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes.
4. Transfer the chicken to plates. Add the spinach and basil to the bulgur, stir until slightly wilted, and serve.

 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-bulgur-pilaf-00000000006984/index.html

Recipe rating: 3.5. out 5 stars

Be strong to the finish… October 31, 2009

Popeye had it right! Spinach does a body good! Seriously there are so many limitless health benefits to eating spianch!

 

Just copy and paste the following link from The World’s Healthiest Foods website into your web browser if you want to read all about them! http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=43&tname=foodspice

 

I have been adding spinach to everything these days. Who couldn’t use a little more vegetable goodness in their diets? I add fresh baby spinach into my salads, sandwiches and wraps. I have also been putting frozen chopped spinach into almost every meal. I put a generous cup or two into my spaghetti sauce. I also add a hearty helping to the pan when I making ground meat or soy meat tacos. It’s perfect added to an egg scramble. Another easy place to add spinach is in soups (like the Zuppa Osso Buco that I just blogged about!).

 

So think like our beloved sailor Popeye and eat more spinach mateys!

 

If you have any spinach tips, please share!

Zuppa Osso Buco October 31, 2009

Now that it is getting a little chilly outside I just LOVE to make soups. The following recipe is from Rachael Ray and is one of my favorites. She actually calls it is a “Stoup” because this soup is almost as hearty as a stew. The flavors are amazing!

 

Now if you have a problem with veal, you can use ground chicken or turkey. If you want to make this a vegetarian soup just delete the little meatballs all together and use vegetable broth instead of chicken; you’ll find it is still super yummy (I have done this a few times as well). What you don’t want to skip is the “gremolata” topping. I make my gremolata without anchovies because they honestly gross me out but the effect is still wonderfully tasty!

 

Just copy and paste the link below into your web browser.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/zuppa-osso-buco-recipe/index.html

 

This “Stoup” is a real crowd pleaser!

 

Recipe Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars! 

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins October 29, 2009

My vegan brother John forwarded this recipe to me from the VegNews Recipe Club (http://www.vegnews.com). ‘Tis the season for pumpkin so I thought I would give these a whirl. There are no animal products in these tasty muffins whatsoever so you don’t even have to wonder if it is safe to lick the spoon! The texture is a little bit denser than a typical muffin but I still think they are YUMMY!

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins (Note: I had way more mix than just 12 muffins, so I made 24 more additional mini-muffins to take with me to work!)

What You Need:

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup firm tofu, mashed
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup dried cranberries

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin purée, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and tofu. In a separate bowl, sift all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in dried cranberries.

3. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chili Roasted Potatoes October 29, 2009

I found the following recipe on Real Simple and it was a super easy and tasty side dish. I think it would also be good with sweet potatoes.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold or new potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Chili powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper

8 sprigs fresh Thyme

 

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Transfer to a roasting pan and cook, stirring once until crisp and golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. I sprinkled with a little more kosher salt after they were cooked.

 

Easy Breezy!

Lemon Pepper Rice w/ Spinach & Feta September 2, 2009

This really isn’t much of a recipe and all the ingredients are listed in the title but I thought I would blog about it anyway since it has been a recent side dish staple for me. I make a large serving double serving of it at the beginning of the week and I use it for my lunches and dinners throughout the week.

Cook 1 serving of brown rice (Usually 1 cup, dry).

Defrost 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach.

Mix the rice and spinach together.

Add 1tbsp. olive oil.

Season liberally with lemon pepper.

When ready to serve I top with a sprinkle of fat free feta cheese (If you are vegetarian, just don’t add the cheese).

Easy! See I told you, not much of a recipe but it sure does spice up what can become the  same ol’ boring brown rice. Plus you get extra vitamin & mineral goodness with the addition of spinach!

Healthy Beef Tacos August 17, 2009

I found the following recipe in the June 2009 issue of Shape magazine and thought it sounded super tasty. I found these tacos so very filling and flavorful. I loved the addition of bulgur to the dish and I think this recipe will even pass the test for most meat-a-tarians. The bonus is that these tacos are almost half the calories and 1/4 of the fat of your typical homemade beef taco. The only revision that I made to the recipe is that instead of 1 can of crushed tomatoes I used 1 can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno. SPICY!  Enjoy!

Recipe Rating: 4 out of 5

Unfortunately I cannot find the recipe on the Shape website so no link…

Fatty Tacos Lighten Up-  Shape Magazine – June 2009

Ground beef, cheddar, sour cream–read the main ingredients in a typical taco recipe and you can’t help but think: calorie bomb. Before you cross them off the menu, though, try this easy recipe from Sandy Gluck, food writer and host of Everyday Food on Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius XM. “You can slash the fat by swapping ground chuck for leaner sirloin and using lower-fat feta in place of cheddar,” she says. “The feta is tangy and creamy, so you don’t need sour cream at all.” Cluck also replaced some of the beef with bulgur, which has the same texture but is loaded with fiber. Other, ways this taco is terrific for your health: Romaine has almost 10 times the amount of beta-carotene in traditional iceberg and is higher in vitamin C and folate. And by using chili powder in place of taco seasoning, you cut the sodium content almost in half.

HEALTHY BEEF TACOS

Serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup bulgur

8 ounces ground sirloin

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 15-ounce can low-sodium crushed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 6-inch corn tortillas

4 ounces crumbled feta

2 cups shredded romaine

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium. Add peppers, scallion whites, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in bulgur. Add sirloin, chili powder, and cumin and cook, stirring until beef is no longer pink, for about 3 minutes.

Mix in tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes or until bulgur is tender.

Using tongs, hold each tortilla over a burner for about 15 seconds or until lightly toasted. (You can also wrap stacked tortillas in a paper towel and microwave them; wrap them in foil and heat them in a 350[degrees]F oven for about 5 minutes; or toast them in a dry skillet.) Spoon 1/2 cup filling down the center of each tortilla. Top with feta, romaine, and scallion greens.

Nutrition score per serving (2 tacos): 399 calories, 15 g fat (34% of calories), 7 g saturated fat, 44 g carbs, 22 g protein, 9 g fiber, 224 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 672 mg sodium

Panko Baked Mahi Mahi w/ Mango Salsa July 21, 2009

I made the following recipe last night and it was soooo super easy. If I was feeling a little more advantageous I would have made the mango salsa from scratch but alas I was looking for something quick and easy so I used  the fresh mango salsa from “Fresh & Easy” (PERFECT!) I served the fish along with some steamed broccoli and rice. A perfect weeknight meal that took less than 30 minutes from refrigerator to table.  

 

Ingredients

2 Mahi mahi filets, rinsed & patted dry with a paper towel

¼ cup melted butter

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2    tbsp. lemon juice

1    cup unseasoned panko bread crumbs

½ tsp. lemon pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 375°. Spray a baking dish lightly with olive oil cooking spray.

Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, and lemon juice in a shallow dish. In a another shallow dish, combine the panko bread crumbs and lemon pepper.

Dip each filet into the butter mixture, then place into the panko mixture and roll until the filets are coated. Place the fish into the prepared dish.

Press any leftover panko mixture on top of the filets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until fish is done.

Top with mango salsa. Easy Breezy!

Black Bean & Tomato Quinoa July 12, 2009

 

A client of mine gave me the following recipe from Sunflower Farmers Market. I added a few more vegetables to the original recipe because I had them on hand and who can’t use a little more veggie love in their life? I am a big fan of grain based salads; they are hearty and filling while still refreshing. They also keep well in the refrigerator for a few days and provide for quick and easy lunches. 

 

Black Bean & Tomato Quinoa a la’ Sunflower Farmers Market 

Ingredients 

1 cup quinoa, dry 

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small container of sweet cherry tomatoes, diced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup chopped carrots (my addition) 

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (my addition)

1 lemon

1 lime

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste 

Directions

1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions.

2. Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl and add the black beans and chopped vegetables.

3. Squeeze the juice of the lemon and lime into  the bowl. Pour in the olive oil to coat the ingredients or to your desired amount.

4. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Mix together and enjoy. 

 

Recipe rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Fish Baked w/ Spinach & Salsa July 12, 2009

 

My friend Kristin forwarded me the following recipe that her Mom gave her. This was such an easy, tasty and healthy meal! I just had to post it on my blog! I used Hoki which is a firm and sweet white fish from New Zealand. It held up excellently in the dish. I served the dish spooned over organic cooked jasmine rice. What a quick and excellent meal! I will definitely be making this again! 

 

Fish Baked With Spinach and Salsa (by: Barbara Robinson) 

Ingredients 

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 10 or 12 oz. bag spinach

1 cup salsa, drained (use a mesh strainer)

1 pound cod, tilapia, red snapper or other firm white fish, cut into 4 portions

Salt and pepper to taste

½ C crumbled feta cheese

 

Heat oven to 450. Spray an 8” square or other small glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

In a large skillet over medium low, heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir until it begins to color, about 1 minute. Add the spinach, a handful at a time and cook until it is wilted.

Stir in the salsa, then remove from the heat.

Arrange half the spinach mixture in a layer over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange the fish in a single layer over it. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the remaining mixture over the fish, then sprinkle with feta cheese.

 

Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish is opaque at the center.

215 calories per serving

Recipe Rating: 4 stars!