Vegetables

It's far easier to grab a sugary snack instead of vegetables if you aren't prepared. The simplest thing to do is to get a bunch of fresh vegetables early in the week, chop them up, and store them in a 1 or 2 gallon ziploc bag.

Through out the week, simply grab the cut veggies for a snack, or even to easily cook up a stir fry.

Dinner Salad for Champions

Unlike most salads that fill you up and leave you hungry later, this one will last until your next meal.

2-3 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
4 tbsp hummus
6-8 oz oregano and chili crusted tofu
10-12 asparagus

Evenly disribute the tbsp of hummus throughout the salad. Cook the tofu over med/med-high heat in olive oil, dusted with oregano and chili powder until browned. Cut asparagus into sections of three and cook in frying pan after tofu for 2 minutes. Drizzle salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil. Fresh ground white pepper to taste.

The Best Fresh Vegetable Substitutes

Let's face it, fresh vegetables are not always looking their best at the grocery store, and if our of season they are ridiculous in price. You can't just stop eating your vegetables, what would your mother say?

I've come accross two fresh vegetable substitutes, and they are quite possibly the next best thing, and with NO prep time.

1. Pacific Shores - Stir Fry Vegetables

What's in them? Chinese pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, green soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots, and mushrooms.

What a blend, especially for a stir fry (hence the name.) I got them at Trader Joe's but I'm sure they are also available at other whole food store type places.

Per serving = 7g of carbohydrates, 10g of protein and 45 calories

2. Acme Brand - Fiesta Blend Vegetables

What's in them? broccoli, carrots, white beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, Italian style green beans, and red peppers.

Vegetables with a twist, so tasty in so many ways. A nice variety to get away from just eating broccoli.

Per serving = 10g of carbohydrates, 3g of protein, and 60 calories

Honey Mustard Ginger Cinnamon Roasted Yams

Such a healthy side dish, and tastes great!

First, honey mustard dressing can be tricky. Sometimes it's too sweet, sometimes it's too spicy, so for this recipe you need to find the honey mustard recipe that suits your taste. Once you have it, you'll need to add in ground ginger and ground cinnamon to taste.

Peel and chop 2-3 large yams, be sure that the cut pieces are all uniform in size.

Place inside a large ziploc bag.
Coat with Honey Mustard Ginger Cinnamon dressing.
Let set for 4-6 hours.

Spray cooking/baking sheet with olive oil.
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Evenly place yam pieces on cooking/baking sheet.
Rotate pieces until lightly browned on all sides.

Serve warm with dinner, or cool as a snack.

Arugula and Gluten Free Pasta Salad

I know, I know, gluten free anything has to taste not so good, but it is!! The Ancient Harvest Quinoa brand has quite possibily the best tasting gluten free pasta I have ever had. Trust me.

For 2 servings...

Cook half a box of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta as per directions. Set side to cool.

You'll need...
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup goat cheese
2 cups arugula
fresh ground white pepper to taste

Once the pasta has cooled, add in the sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and white pepper, and mix.

When ready to serve add in arugula.

Yum!

Brunch Omelette

Typically omelettes could be an excellent choice for any meal, usually breakfast. This one I recommend saving for later in the day, as the more intense flavors might not sit well in a weak, morning stomach.

1/4-1/2 cup sliced baby portobella mushrooms
1/2 cup diced asparagus (thin ones, and discard the bottom ends - not the tips)
2 egg whites
1 egg
blue cheese

Warm the baby portabella mushrooms and asparagus in a frying pan, use extra virgin olive oil, not too much. Low heat about 2-3 minutes.

Mix the 2 egg whites and 1 egg in a bowl with a fork. Pour egg on top of mushrooms and asparagus.

Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese on top of egg. Fold omelette in half and cook.

Warm Almond and Bean Salad

As much as I love a good salad, I can also get disgustingly sick of them. I once had grilled romaine at a restaurant and thought it was fantastic, so this idea came into my mind and it's very tasty.

You'll need...
One head of Romaine Lettuce
16oz can of drained Light Red Kidney Beans
1/2cup of Slivered Almonds
Oregano
Buttermilk Spice

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Chop the Romaine Lettuce and place in a rectangular baking dish.
Sprinkle with Penzey's Buttermilk Spice.
Once the lettuce starts to brown slightly add the Almonds and Light Kidney Beans.
Sprinkle with Oregano.
Cook in oven for 4-6 minutes longer or until the kidney beans start to split.

Serve Warm. Yum!