Category: vegetables

Ground Turkey, Veg & Brown Rice Dish

This is an all-in-one type meal, with lots of veggies, some lean ground turkey, and nutritious brown rice.  It takes a bit longer to cook brown rice, but you can put it on to cook while you prepare the veggies and start cooking them with the turkey.

What you need:

brown rice, 3/4 cup uncooked (I use Lundberg whole grain)

some lean ground turkey (or not, for a veggie option)

one large onion, preferably sweet

red bell pepper

carrot

olive oil

salt and pepper

optional: one can sweet corn, balsamic vinegar

What you do:

1.  Start with the brown rice:  bring rice and 1 & 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Cover, lower heat and simmer 45 minutes.  After that remove from heat and let sit, with the lid on, for 10 minutes.

2.  While the rice is cooking, get started on the veggies.  This won’t take the whole 55 minutes, so you can do other things for a while, then spend 20 or so minutes on the rest of the recipe.  First slice the onion into strips that are just less than 1cm wide.  In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium high, then add onions and cook them until they are slightly browned.

3.  Cut peppers into strips similar in size to the onions.  Add to the onions and cook for a few minutes.

4.  Grate the carrot and add to the other veggies.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the onions are quite brown.

5.  Place the veggies in a bowl, then cook the ground turkey until it’s not pink any more.

6.  Add the cooked rice to the turkey and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, for several minutes.  Now add the veggies (and optional corn) and cook until they are reheated.  Season with salt and lots of pepper (and add optional balsamic vinegar).

7.  Voila, you’ve got your one-bowl dinner, which is great reheated the next day(s) for leftovers.

I use cast iron frying pans because they are naturally non-stick.  As well, I don’t have to worry about scratching their surface, or the possible health risks that may be associated with Teflon.   To clean them, I make sure I scrape them while they are still hot, then scrub them  later.  I don’t use any soap on them.  From time to time I heat the pan up, then add some canola oil and rub it in with a paper towel.  This helps keep up that natural non-stick coating.

The handle can get hot, so I have a “Banana Handle,” which is made by Fred.

http://www.worldwidefred.com/bananahandle.htm

A New Yummier Healthier Coleslaw

Since cabbage is so good for you, I’ve been looking for new ways to eat it.  Since it’s not one of my favourites, this was a bit of a tough task.  But I modified a coleslaw recipe to make, what I think, is a lighter version of coleslaw that is tasty and great for you!  No mayo in this one!

Here are some of the main reasons to eat more cabbage:

cancer-fighting capabilities

vitamin C

fibre

potassium

low in fat and calories

and many more…

Here’s the recipe:

1/2 small head of cabbage, green or red

3 stalks broccoli, crowns removed

1 stalk celery

2-3 carrots

1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup raisins

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons olive or flax oil

3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper

What you do:

1.  Chop the cabbage finely.

2.  Peel and then grate the carrots.

3.  Peel and chop the broccoli stalks into disks.

4.  Slice celery thinly.

5.  Mix all dressing ingredients together, then mix it in with the chopped veggies in a large bowl.  Add the raisins and sunflowers.

6.  Let it sit for at least an hour before you eat it so the flavours can mingle.  It keeps well in the fridge, thus making it great for leftovers!

Kamut Salad

This kamut salad is delicious and high in protein.  I cooked the kamut and made the dressing, then just made up half the recipe for dinner, serving the kamut hot with the fresh veggies and chickpeas.  I used the leftovers for lunches by cutting up fresh veggies and mixing them with the dressing and cold kamut and chickpeas.

For the kamut:

3 cups water

1 cup kamut

Bring the water to a boil, then add the kamut.  Reduce the heat, put a lid on it, and let it simmer for 1 & 1/4 hours.  Then take the lid off and let it simmer until the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.

For the dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

1 tablespoon flax or olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix it all together with the following ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch scallion, sliced thinly

1 cup chopped mini cucumber

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables and Spaghetti Squash

This delicious recipe is great if you’re looking to increase your vegetable intake.  You could substitute pasta for the squash, but this is quite filling on its own.  If you want a bit of meat you could add a little hot italian sausage.

The sesame seeds are ground so they are easily digested and you can utilize their calcium and iron.

You need:

1 spaghetti squash

For the tomato sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

2-4 cloves, sliced

1 –  796 mL can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato paste

oregano – 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil – only fresh will do! *

1 tsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

For the roasted vegetables:

1 onion, chopped in large pieces

2 red, orange or yellow peppers, chopped in large pieces

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 zucchini, sliced about 2 cm

3-4 cloves garlic, cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons FRESH dill*

1/2 cup ground sesame seeds

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Start with the sauce.  While this cooks you will have lots of time to do the rest.  Chop onions, cook in a pot with a little olive oil, stirring occasionally for a few minutes.  Add garlic and cook until it has a hint of brown.  Add oregano, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes.  Give this a stir every now and then while you work on the rest of the recipe.

2.  Preheat oven to 425F.

3.  Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place face down on a baking pan.

4.  Chop veggies and lay out evenly on another baking pan.

5.  Drizzle olive oil over veggies, then pour lemon juice all over them.  Sprinkle  sesame seeds over top.   Season with a little salt and pepper, and top with chopped dill.

6.  Pop the veggies and squash into the oven.  Take the veggies out about half way through and give them a little toss.  They are done when they get a little brown.  The squash is done when you can run a  fork through it and it makes those spaghetti-like strings.

7.  Just before serving, stir the basil, salt and pepper, and brown sugar into the sauce.  Adjust to taste.

8.  To serve, place some spaghetti squash on the plate, top with some sauce, then top with some veggies.  Yum!

*Some herbs taste completely different when they are dried.  Dill and basil are two of those.  When I find some great fresh basil or dill I put them in the freezer.  They are great to use in cooking – frozen basil not really great for using as a garnish or in something uncooked because it doesn’t look fresh any more, but great for sauces. Continue reading Roasted Vegetables and Spaghetti Squash

Fresh and Healthy Quinoa Salad

This is a simple and healthy salad that works great for a lunch or picnic food.

Quinoa is a supergrain, originating in South America.  It is an excellent source of iron and fibre, and is a complete protein.  It is also gluten-free.

You need:

1 cup quinoa

1 can corn

1/4 red onion

1 jalapeno pepper

1 red pepper

1 orange pepper

juice of 1/2 lemon

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro or parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

What you do:

1.  Rinse the quinoa – this is important to rinse off the slightly bitter coating.  Place in a pot with 1 & 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover pot and cook for 15 minutes.  Take the pot off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool.

2.  Dice onions and peppers and chop cilantro.  Chop jalapeno, removing the seeds if you don’t like it very spicy.  

3.  Mix the veggies in with the cooled quinoa,  along with lemon and lime juices, salt and hot sauce.  You can add the juice along with the canned corn. 

4.  Mix it all up and it’s ready to go, but I like it after a few hours, as the flavours come together and the onion mellows a bit.

Un-Deepfried Zucchini

This one is for those times when you’re craving something that’s bad for you.  This is a much healthier version of deep-fried zucchini – but oven-baked.  I can’t stop eating them, and neither can anyone I’ve made them for.

Yum.

It’s simple, you just need:

1 zucchini

1/2 ish cup of bread crumbs (whole wheat, if you really want to be healthy)

salt & pepper

1 egg

Now just:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400C.

2.  Slightly beat the egg in a bowl with a fork.

3.  Put bread crumbs, salt & pepper in another bowl and mix.

4.  Cut the zucchini into 2cm thick rounds.

5.  Dip each zucchini slice into the egg, then the bread crumbs.  It helps to press the crumbs on a bit.

6.  Place the slices on a baking sheet.  I don’t grease mine and they come off fine. 

7.  Bake for 12 minutes on each side.

I eat them just like that, but you could make a ranch dressing with yogurt to keep it healthy.