Skinny You

Looking to lose weight?

I lost ten pounds and dropped two pant sizes without trying. In order to lower cholesterol, I started eating low-fat, high-fiber, vegetarian foods, and I added about 2 additional hours of exercise per week. I eat as much as I want of these healthy, delicious foods and I never feel hungry. You can lose weight and get healthier too without depriving yourself! It’s all about choosing the right foods.

Get started with the easy recipe below.

Black Bean Chili

Leftover black bean chili is great packed for lunch. Black beans are full of fiber and no-fat! Make sure you drain and rinse, if using canned, to wash off extra sodium.

2 15 oz. cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10 oz. can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
½ green or red pepper, chopped
½ large onion, chopped
½ package ground veggie burger* (6 ounces)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
2 cups of water
Salt & pepper

1) In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add onions and stir a few minutes, until onions start to soften.

2) Add green pepper and stir fry with onion for a minute or two.

3) Add chili powder, cilantro and cumin and stir.

4) Add veggie burger. Stir fry with other ingredients for a few minutes.

5) Add black beans, tomatoes with chile rellenos and water. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat.

6) Salt and pepper to taste.

7) Great with sliced avocado, diced purple onions, fresh cilantro or diced tomatoes.

Makes enough for four people with good appetites.
*I used Smart Ground Original veggie protein crumbles

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/vegetarianlight

Read Full Post »

Tofurkey

Tofurkey Feast

In my family, there are only two vegetarians. On Thanksgiving though, we have so many awesome vegetable casseroles, we certainly don’t need turkey. We’ve got mashed potatoes, several kinds of sweet potatoes, several kinds of cranberries, salads, roasted brussel sprouts, macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, spinach, stuffing, rolls….I could go on. And don’t get me started on the desserts.

So there is no need for me to make a tofurkey and bring it to our big family gathering. But I made one earlier in the week because I thought it sounded good. If you have never made a Tofurkey roast before and want to prepare one, be aware that it takes a long time to cook. A thawed tofurkey takes about an hour and a half, and if you are preparing one that hasn’t been thawed, add another 15 minutes.

The Tofurkey roast has a delicious stuffing in the middle of it made with seasonings and brown rice. There are directions on the package for a tofurkey baste consisting of olive oil, soy sauce, and sage. I also added rosemary. Then you peel and quarter white and/or sweet potatoes, carrots and an onion and place them around the tofurkey. I also added brussel sprouts and mushrooms to the casserole dish, but I waited until the roast was about half-way finished cooking since I figured they wouldn’t take as long as the root vegetables to cook. The package also has a recipe for mushroom gravy on the side that looks delicious and fairly easy, but I haven’t made it yet.

The recipe for the Mushroom Gravy (from the Tofurkey box or their website):

8 oz mushrooms, your choice, sliced
1/4 C sliced onions
1-1/2 Tbsps. oil
1/2 C white flour
2 Tbsp oil
4 cups stock, vegetable bouillon or soy milk
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper

Tofurkey is good food!

Lightly sauté the sliced mushrooms and onions in the 1-1/2 Tbsps oil. In another pan, combine and bubble the flour and 2 Tbsp oil over low heat for one minute. Whisk in the stock, bouillon, or soy milk, along with the soy sauce and black pepper. Cook until thickened, whisk out any lumps.Stir in the mushrooms and onions, and serve.

For more recipes using Tofurkey, check out www.Tofurkey.com.

The Tofurkey roast is delicious and with the vegetables around it, it makes for a real feast. It is comfort food and perfect for the cooler weather of Fall and cold winter evenings. Makes enough for four people. Also makes great leftovers, including sandwiches.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Read Full Post »

Vegetarian “Chicken” Piccata

Mock Chicken Piccata

I love the food network and I think my favorite show there might be the Barefoot Contessa. It seems like Ina Garten, the show’s chef, is always getting ready for something fun, like a party on the beach or Friday night dinner with Jeffrey. Plus she lives in a gorgeous mansion in the Hamptons. Although I love the show, a lot of the dishes Ina cooks are made with a lot of butter or other fattening ingredients, and are usually not vegetarian.

So I came up with the idea to take recipes from some of my favorite celebrity chefs and make them both:
1) Vegetarian, and
2) Healthier.

The first recipe in my experimentation is the Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Piccata. I got this from the food network website. My version takes out all of the butter, substituting vegetable broth for flavor and a slight bit of New Balance, which is supposed to be good for people with high cholesterol. I also made other healthy substitutions, like white whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour and whole wheat bread crumbs for seasoned bread crumbs.

I had a sinkful of dirty pots and pans after making this recipe, but the result was worth it. I have to say, it turned out really good. Thanks Ina.

Vegetarian “Chicken” Piccata

 This is the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe changed to be both vegetarian and healthier.

 2 Quorn brand “naked” chicken breasts (this is a mock chicken)
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
3 tbsp egg whites (= 1 egg)
¼ tsp lite salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tbsp water
1 slice whole wheat bread, turned into bread crumbs in the food processor
Olive oil

Sauce

½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp. Smart Balance lite
½ cup white wine
1/3 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
¼ tsp. pepper
2 tbsp capers
½ tsp dried or 1 tbsp fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1)    Mix flour, lite salt and pepper together in a shallow plate. In a second shallow bowl, beat the egg and water together. Put the whole wheat breadcrumbs on a third plate.

2)    Dip each Quorn chicken breast first in the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, and last in the bread crumbs.

3)    Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the Quorn chicken breasts and cook for a few minutes on each side. Then place them on a sheet pan greased with olive oil and bake an additional 5 or 10 minutes.

4)    For the sauce, add the Smart Balance lite to the sauté pan in which you cooked the chicken. Then add the lemon juice, wine, pepper, vegetable broth, parsley, capers and reserved lemon halves. Cook a few minutes. Discard the lemon halves. Spoon half the sauce onto two plates and top each one with one of the “chicken” breasts. Serve and enjoy.

Serves Two

Read Full Post »

Pasta and Vegetables: no trip to the grocery store required

If you like to cook, you probably always have different types of veggies in your refrigerator, in varying states of freshness. I am one of these people. The other day, I got home from work and hadn’t been to the grocery store in a while. Fortunately, there were veggies in the fridge, veggies that actually needed to be consumed sooner rather than later or they would be going in the trash.

Pasta and vegetables: the sauce

In addition to always having some kind of vegetables in the fridge, I also always have pasta in my pantry. Pasta and veggies can easily be combined to make a tasty dinner for one or many.

Use this recipe as a guide — feel free to change it to use the vegetables, fresh or canned, that you already have on-hand.

Pasta and Vegetables

1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced (I used a garlic press)
½ bell pepper, your choice of color, chopped (I used green and orange)
5 mushrooms, sliced
5 asparagus spears, cut in 1 inch pieces, with tough ends removed
½ of a 15 oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
Couple of handfuls of baby spinach or arugula
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ tbsp. dried basil
1 ½ tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. parsley, dried or fresh
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, torn, if available
½ cup water
Salt & pepper

Pasta and vegetables

1) In large saucepan on medium high heat, add ½ of oil and onion. Saute about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and sauté a few more minutes. Add all spices except fresh basil. Add diced garlic.

2) Add remaining ingredients except fresh basil and spinach. Bring to boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer while pasta cooks (choose your favorite pasta or whatever is handy in your pantry).

3) Add spinach and fresh basil and simmer a minute or two more.

4) Serve with your pasta (I used angel hair for this dish). Top with grated mozzarella or other Italian cheese, if desired.

Two servings.

Read Full Post »