Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

I found the original recipe for this leafing through a Cooking Light magazine during our recent trip to my bf's parents' lake home in Minnesota. One of bf's favorite things to eat is pizza and mine is Indian food so it seemed like the perfect thing to satisfy both of our needs - and of course I took my own steps to reduce the calories in it. The result was an extremely happy boy and girl. This can be made vegetarian or not, take your pick!

Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

Serves: 2 hungry people

Ingredients

• 2 Joseph's multi-grain flatbread* or 4 whole wheat pitas
• 1 12 oz. package Quorn Chik'n Tenders [12 oz. diced chicken breast can also be used**]
• 1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tsp garam masala***, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp finely minced fresh, peeled ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 10-oz. cans Rotel diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 3/4 to 1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese [We also sprinkled crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top]
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Exotic Dragon Fruit Cocktail

On my last trip to the local farmer's market I was feeling adventurous and of course the pretty pink thing in the corner caught my eye -- the dragon fruit. The best thing to compare a dragon fruit in to in terms of taste and texture is a kiwi. It's sweet and filled with tiny black edible seeds.

A few things to know about dragon fruit: a. the pink skin is not edible and b. selecting a ripe fruit is much like selecting ripe kiwi: squeeze it lightly and it should give, but not too much and look for fruit that is brightly and evenly colored with yellow to yellow-green leaf tips and stems.

Exotic Dragon Fruit Cocktail

Serves: 2

Give In to the Asian Persuasion + Lotus Root Chips

I cook a lot of Asian dishes - they're easy to make vegetarian and the varieties and options are endless. And, as the "foodie" culture has grown, so has the availability of ethnic ingredients at your standard grocery store. If you're really into cooking authentic dishes however, you're going to reach a point where certain ingredients become hard to find. That's when you make your first trip to an Asian or other ethnic market.

Vinh an Oriental Market in North Miami Beach

In Miami there isn't a huge Asian population so you won't find as many markets as you would say, the West coast, where there seems to be one on every block. In fact only 1.5% of the population in Miami-Dade is Asian (compare that to Seattle with 13% of the population). Either way there are several great markets in the area.

[Indian] Homemade Paneer

Whenever I ordered a paneer dish at an Indian restaurant (that tofu-like cheese curd) I always imagined it was made by some mysterious complicated process. That was until I asked my Indian coworker who exclaimed that it was in fact one of the easiest things to make. She explained it to me like this: boil milk, add lemon juice, allow to curdle and press in a cheese cloth. Now doesn't that sound easy?

Ingredients:

• Half gallon milk (whole or 2% reduced fat will give the best flavor)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Dried spices of your choice (you can get creative here, I used parsley)
• Cheesecloth & strainer

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Just about every recipe for roasted brussels sprouts uses oil so I decided to try out half of the recipe using just a little non-stick spray and a non-stick pan and the other half with olive oil. The result was very little or no difference in taste or texture so save yourself the calories and nix the oil altogether.  In short: You don't ALWAYS have to use oil when you cook as recipes would have you believe.

Based on a recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt
• pepper
• Balsamic vinegar

Recent Culinary Explorations - 6/2012

Enchiladas

In this post: Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust - Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Adapted From Penzy's Spice Catalog

The first time I made this I stuck to the recipe (which was horribly written & hard to follow - I'm surprised they actually published it that way in the catalog). The second time I changed it up a little by using butternut squash instead of potatoes and I made half with baked tofu and the other half with ground beef for the non-veggie head. I also used 2 minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and some canned enchilada sauce. Unique and tasty, it can be a very healthy meal. Cook the squash/potato chunks in the microwave to save time.

Sunday Dinner: Tomato & Cheese Pie with Bean & Corn Chowder

I swear my bf thinks I'm a nut but I can't help myself. I love holidays, special occasions and festivals and everything themed that goes along with them. I was completely unprepared for Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby this year but who says you can't celebrate after the fact? And pardon me for bragging but I did call the winning horse so even more reason to make a feast. The menu: Bean & Corn Chowder, Tomato & Cheese Pie and a Coconut Ambrosia Salad for dessert. The Tomato & Cheese pie was the biggest hit, but I really liked all three. I would normally make a lot healthier, lower cal versions of these, but I went with what was on hand and we made this our lunch/dinner for the day.

Bean & Corn Chowder

A dairy free "chowder" that's very healthy and excellent as leftovers!

Servings: 8

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" pieces
• 1 large celery rib, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large can pink beans, drained and rinsed (Rinsing canned beans reduces the sodium content by up to 40%)
• 2 packages frozen corn
• 2 cups water
• 32-oz. container vegetable broth (approx. 4 cups)
• 2 tsp no-calorie sweetener
• 1 1/2 tsp seafood seasoning such as Old Bay
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper 
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, if desired

Peanut Butter & Jelly Parfaits

Amazingly tasty and healthy dessert. Made with fat free Greek yogurt.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfaits

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp strawberry jam
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 3 mini dark chocolate bars (optional)

1. Heat peanut butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, peanut butter, jam and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined.
3. Divide chopped up strawberries into two bowls, top with yogurt mixture and shavings from one chocolate bar. Top each bowl with one chocolate bar each.

Nutrition facts per serving (makes 2): 232 cals, 24g carbs, 8g fat, 17g protein (not including the chocolate)

[Indian] Potato & Seitan Curry with Peas and Carrots

Indian food really is not the most attractive to look at but this recipe turned out surprisingly pretty. I took a lot of liberties with the original recipe trying to find the right flavor while stripping it down into a lower calorie meal.

 Mis en Place: to "put in place." Probably the most important lesson I've learned about cooking.

Potato & Seitan Curry

Yield: 6 servings

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 package seitan chunks, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  
• 2 large onions, chopped 
  
• 8 oz. carrots, thinly sliced  
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1" chunks  (leave skin on for added nutrients)
  
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
• 1 1/4 cups frozen peas  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder 
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper  
  
• 1 tsp ground coriander  
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger  
• 1/4 tsp garam masala *not required, but I thought it added a nice, more complete flavor
• 1 14-oz. can coconut milk  (used Iberia brand - 300 cals per can)
• 1 cup (or more as needed) water 

Favorite (Free) Foodie Apps

These are a few of my most used apps & more reasons I love my iPad!

MyFitnessPal - I know I mention & will mention this non-stop (kind of like those CrossFit people that talk about NOTHING BUT CrossFit!) but it really is my most used app. Available on the iPad, iPhone, Android Market and from your browser. It's simple and reliable and I use it to track my daily food and exercise and calculate recipe nutrition facts. You can save your own recipes and create reports on your fitness and nutrition progress. There is also a forum where people can submit their own healthy recipes.

Pepperplate - a recipe box for your iPad. Access from the iPad app or through your browser. It allows you to upload a photo, create shopping lists and menus and share recipes via email, Facebook or Twitter. Also has cooking timers in case you need an extra in the kitchen.

Tuna & Quinoa Burgers and Zucchini Fries

Recently I was reminded how much food ends up going to waste in our homes and it motivated me to take a closer look at the way I use the food in my kitchen (to be honest, it's mostly for personal budget reasons - thanks for the frugal gene dad!). I decided that this week I would avoid the supermarket and stick to what I already have.

Yesterday I browsed for recipes based on the ingredients next in line to go bad in my kitchen: 1/2 an onion, 2 zucchini, spinach, half a jar of marinara sauce and a box of matzo meal (though not about to go bad, I need to use it up). With only slight alterations and additions, these recipes were the perfect fit (adapted from postings on the MyFitnessPal.com community forums).

 

Tuna & Quinoa Burgers

 This "burger" without a bun was definitely a healthy choice although could have used a little more spice. Next time add some Old Bay seasoning, chopped up pickled jalapenos (they would have been in there trust me, but I was out!) and maybe even add some goat cheese into the actual mix.