Easy Fast Dinner

My quest to lose those 10, (oops I mean 15 lbs) begins today! I signed up for a "Cardio Dance" class with my friend Andrea, which begins tonight. We meet twice a week for an hour for the next 5 weeks. So I decided I needed to make a quick easy meal before I go, what to make that won't be too filling but filling enough to give me energy (I'm going to need it!).

I made a really nice mushroom salad, followed with whole wheat tortellini with marinara sauce and a side of bruchetta. It took me 10 minutes to make, (as long as you have marinara sauce on hand) here's the recipes:

Mushroom Salad (Serves 1)

3-4 whole mushrooms, cleaned, sliced thinly

about 3-4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped

fat-free Italian dressing

1/2 teaspoon Parmesan cheese

Place lettuce on salad plate, top with mushrooms, a teaspoon of Italian dressing, sprinkle with

Parmesan cheese. EASY!

Whole Wheat Tortellini w/Marinara Sauce

1 cup whole wheat tortellini (you can find it in the refrigerated section at your supermarket)

Marinara Sauce (make ahead and freeze in portions) or you can purchase from grocery store

Marinara Sauce

Olive Oil spray

3 carrots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoon tomato paste

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

Spray a medium saucepan with olive oil, saute carrots, garlic and onions until soft. Add tomato paste, saute for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, 1 can of water, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered 1 hour. Stir every so often. Carefully pour into food processor, puree.

At this point you can freeze in batches.

Ok, so back to the tortellini, boil water, drop in tortellini, boil 7-9 minutes

Warm up marinara sauce (which you've either purchased or defrosted earlier in the day).

Place tortellini on plate, top with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan

Bruchetta

2 slices of Italian bread

drizzle with little olive oil on one side

Broil about 45 seconds to 1 minutes (watch! I burned my first try!)

Turn over cover with several slices tomatoes, drizzle with little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little sugar. Broil 1 minute.

ENJOY!

Eating Well 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan

I came across this terrific website "eatingwell.com" lots of great vegetarian recipes. One of my quests is to lose 10lbs, I've been trying for 3 years to lose 10lbs (actually some weeks its more like 15).
Eating Well has a 28 day diet plan specifically for vegetarians! If anything it has some yummy looking recipes. You can choose from 3 diet plans 1200 calories per day, 1500 or 1800.
I'm going to try it starting Monday, I'll let you know if I actually lose any weight!
To find website:
1. Go to "eatingwell.com"
2. Search: 28 day vegetarian meal plan
3. Click on first entry which is "Eating Well 28 Day Meal Plans-Eating Well
4. Click on "Vegetarian Meal Plans"
5. Pick you calorie count, 1200, 1500 or 1800.
Now, there might be an easier way to get to this specific site, I'm just not that computer savvy!
Good luck!
The "EatingWell" magazine is really a great magazine, although its not strictly for vegetarians, you can alter the recipes to make it vegetarian. It has great recipes for those in your family that aren't vegetarians. Enjoy!






Another great lunch recipe....

Actually this would make a great appetizer if you where having a party, it would even work for dinner with a nice salad (remember the Lime Vinaigrette from the other day?)
I varied this recipe from one I found on "foodnetwork.com". Another great resource for recipes.



Quesadilla with Lime-Cilantro Sour Cream
Olive Oil Spray
1 small green pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3/4 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 16oz can refried fat-free beans
1/2 cup low-fat Mexican cheese mix (or cheddar cheese would be ok too...make sure its low- fat!)
Lime-Cilantro Sour Cream (see below)


Spray the olive oil spray in a large skillet, heat over low-medium heat. Saute green pepper and onion until soft about 5 minutes or until soft. Add corn, cumin, salt & pepper. Mix together, set aside in bowl, add cilantro.

Working with one tortilla at a time, spread with refried beans, place in skillet bean side up, top with onion-green pepper mix, cover with cheese. (remember, you'll be making a second one, so divide ingredients evenly!) Top with another tortilla, cook until cheese melts about 4 minutes. Flip to toast other side. Slice into 8 wedges. Repeat with other tortillas. Serve with Lime-Cilantro
Sour Cream.

Lime-Cilantro Sour Cream
1/2 cup low-fat or fat free sour cream (remember heart healthy!)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 lime, juiced
Mix all ingredients until well combined.


Serves: 16 wedges

ENJOY!

Roasted Carrots

I can't believe its Friday already...where did Wednesday and Thursday go?
Hmm what did I eat the last couple of days, last night we had take-out Chinese, I had vegetarian chop suey, it was really good. Wednesday night I made it real simple, fresh corn on the cob grilled (yummy) with a baked potato and I made roasted carrots in the oven. Have you ever had roasted carrots? You'll never eat another boiled carrot again. Its easy.
Peel carrots, make a lot, you'll eat a lot.
Cut in half lengthwise, either spray with olive oil spray or mix with a teaspoon or so of olive oil.
Place on baking sheet.
Season with whatever seasoning you fancy. I used "Herbes de Provence" which is a mixture of thyme, basil, savory, rosemary and lavender.
I also season with a little salt and pepper.
Stir occasionally, bake for about 30 minutes until nicely caramelized.
Enjoy!

Dinner-Ahh Spaghetti Sauce

Years ago I lived and worked in Brooklyn, New York. I worked in a department store with a lady named Esther, she was a typical New Yorker (at least in my mind), she told you exactly what she thought, she didn't mince words, I loved her dearly, if she's still around she's probably 90. She gave me a wonderful spaghetti sauce recipe I use to this day, I'd like to share it with you and what's great about it, its Vegetarian!
Tribute to Esther Spaghetti Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 32 oz can whole tomatoes (puree in blender)
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until golden.
2. Add pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce tomato paste. Take cans of tomato paste and fill with water (or add 1 can water, 1 can of red wine) and add to mixture.
3. Add all spices.
4. Simmer at least 45 minutes.
VARIATION: You can really vege it up, in step 1. add any vegetable you want, zucchini, mushrooms, green peppers.
Also you can add 1 can of cannelloni beans at the end to add more protein.
Serve over any pasta...yummy and even better the next day!
ENJOY!

Interesting Reads

I love reading cookbooks, something my daughter finds odd...."Mom, how can you sit and read a cookbook"? I don't know, I find great joy in visualizing the recipes, image how they would taste, how easy is it to prepare, can I find the ingredients.
Two books I found very good for vegetarian cooking are:
"Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish

I think this is my bible for vegetarian cooking. Great recipes, easy to follow, heart healthy and most importantly....yummy
Another good book is "Cook Yourself Thin"

Even though this book isn't a "vegetarian book" per say,it has many vegetarian recipes in it and recipes that you could make leaving out the "meat"....
Both these books have the added benefit of helping you lose weight, of which I'm very fond of.
I'll keep you posted on other interesting reads!

Trying To Stay Vegetarian While Dining Out!

Last night I was going to cook but we decided to go out to eat instead. You can usually eat vegetarian at most restaurants even if you just get a baked potato and salad.
Last night I really felt like pasta (I just love pasta!), the menu had this veal dish (a huge no no), the side with it was angel hair pasta with zucchini, mushroom and spinach...perfect! So I asked for the side only, which cost me 1/2 of the price (another bonus). It was really good but unfortunately it was saturated with butter! I mean dripping in butter. Now, if I was "Julia Child" I would of loved it, but I'm trying to live a heart healthy life and butter isn't one of the items on my list (even though Julia's right, there's nothing better than butter). So, I guess the thing to do when eating out is to ask questions. I've found that most restaurants will accommodate. As Julia would say "Bon-a-petite" but without butter!

Cincinnati Chili

The other day I went to the book store to research vegetarian cookbooks.
I was surprised at how many Vegetarian Cookbooks there where out there, from Vegan (not there yet) to Vegetarian Crock pot meals, to low-fat Vegetarian Meals, then I saw it, the perfect book for me......"Vegetarian Beginner's Guide" by Vegetarian Times....

and to top it off, the bookstore I went to had a sale "all cookbooks where 30% off!!!" Ya-Hoo! It has some really wonderful recipes along with chapters like "Vegetarian 101", "So You Want to Become a Vegetarian". And to my amazement, there was a recipe for "Cincinnati Chili". I grew up in Cincinnati on "3-ways", I thought I would never have my most favorite guilt food again....I can't wait to try it. I'll let you know.

Back on Track

I was in Amsterdam for 5 days! It was wonderful. I fell off the vegetarian wagon....I did fairly well, messed up one day when I had a traditional Dutch meal consisting of mashed potatoes with sauteed onions and carrots (very good and vegetarian) but I messed up with what came with it...veal sausage! Probably the worse thing I could eat. I ate it but I must admit, I didn't love it.

Then on the way home I was stuck in New York, they just delayed my flight which meant I would miss my connecting flight, I was up for almost 24 hours, I was craving meat....so I ate a hamburger! I got so sick! I felt nausea's, it taught me a lesson....NO MORE MEAT!

So, I'm home, back to my own food, my own discoveries.

If you ever have a chance to go to Amsterdam....GO FOR IT! And yes, they have great vegetarian food!