Meatless Taco Salad

I've been in a food funk here lately. With all the talk about pink slime, as well as other research into what is *really* in the food we absentmindedly buy at the grocery store, I've gotten to the point where I wish I was adept at mass gardening and animal farming so I could know exactly where my food is coming from.

I've been so disgusted by the pink slime reports lately that since last week, I've eaten NO meat at all. I've been in this daze, walking through the grocery store as well as driving down the road past all the fast food restaurants. Much of what I see is not an option in my head anymore, as disgusted as I am at the moment.

I don't plan to fast from meat indefinitely, but I do plan to cut red meat out of our diet now. We had already cut down significantly anyway on red meat, due to its strong link to colon cancer and heart disease. I figured we could get our protein elsewhere, you know? Ground turkey is a good substitute in most cases for ground beef, and recently we've been buying ground wild turkey from Whole Foods.

Anyway, with this has come more searching for tasty meatless recipes that we can live with. My big thing is trying not to sacrifice taste in eating healthier!

So, in this, I present you with a Meatless Taco Salad! We've decided to use some of the full fat products, particularly in dairy, to eat as little added crap as possible to the food. When fat comes out, something else (usually unnatural) goes in to preserve the taste. Ive decided that I'd rather have completely natural, even if that means more calories and fat.

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Ingredients

• 4 whole wheat tortillas (8 inches)
• 6 cups shredded romaine, or acceptable lettuce
• 1/2 cup no salt added canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives, drained
• Sliced jalapeno peppers, optional
• DRESSING:
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons ranch salad dressing
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning found here
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional

Directions

• Place four 10-oz. custard cups upside down in a shallow baking pan; set aside. Place the tortillas in a single layer on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 425° for 1 minute. Place a tortilla over each custard cup, pinching sides to form a bowl shape. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until crisp. Remove tortillas from cups to cool on wire racks.
• In a large bowl, combine the romaine, beans, tomato, cheese, onions, olives and jalapenos if desired. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad ; toss to coat. Serve in tortilla bowls.

Spinach Salad, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, Low Fat Apple Bread Pudding

With all the extras from the garden, it's easy to incorporate fresh veggies into your daily diet. Sometimes, you have to figure out ways to get creative with the abundance that comes with a well growing garden.

This is a healthier way to enjoy a family favorite while cutting out the red meat that usually goes into this dish.

Enjoy it!
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Healthy Spinach Salad

Salad ingredients:

• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 chopped scallions (include ~4 inches of the green part)
• medium coarse black pepper
• ~3-oz mild goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  
• black pepper

Whisk olive oil into the cider vinegar. Add pepper, and perhaps a tad of kosher salt, to taste.

Put all salad ingredients except cheese into a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Add goat cheese.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
serves 6

Sauce:

1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
3 minced garlic cloves
1 can 14 oz tomato puree, low sodium
1 4 oz can tomato sauce, low sodium
1 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 tspn crushed red pepper flakes

Vegetables
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions and drained
2 cups shredded, mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

In large pan, cook onion (for sauce) in oil until tender; add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in puree, sauce and seasonings. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes until thickened.

In large mixing bowl, combine vegetables and pepper. Put in a baking pan and cook at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Spread 1/4 cup of sauce in a baking dish. Layer with noodles, top with half the sauce, and half the roasted vegetables, and half the cheese. Repeat another layer.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, covered. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes until bubbly. Let cool slightly before serving.


Apple Bread Pudding
9 servings

• 1/4 C. granulated sugar
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 2 C. 1% milk
• 1 C. egg substitute
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 8 slices 100% whole-wheat bread, toasted and cut in triangles
• 2 large apples, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 Pint lowfat vanilla frozen yogurt (optional)
  

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9" square baking dish with nonstick spray. Mix sugar & cinnamon. In a bowl, whisk milk, egg substitute, brown sugar & vanilla extract. Arrange half the toast in baking dish; sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar and apples. Repeat layers. Pour milk mixture over top. Bake uncovered 40-50 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut in squares; serve with scoops of frozen yogurt.

Honey Garlic Pork Chops, Red Potato Bundles, and Grilled Cherry Tomatoes

It's summer time and that means everyone is breaking out their grills! Grilling gives food a unique flavor that can not be replicated by cooking in an oven and it just screams "SUMMER". It encourages interaction and fun times out doors.....yes, grilling is one good way to prepare food!

Besides, for some reason, it seems men really like to play with fire!

During the warmer months, we cook our frequently. Most times our menu consists of the traditional grilling fare; hot dogs for the kids, hamburgers, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and occasionally we will grill ribs or chicken.

We also just got back from vacation. Since we ate most of our meals in the hotel suite, which had a kitchenette, it means we ate hot dogs, mac and cheese, canned pasta, fruits and sandwiches. I was ready to make some real food again!!

For this night we grilled pork. It was easy to make but it does need to be marinated for at least 4 hours, and ideally for 8 hours, before grilling.

I also like to make foil packets of chopped veggies and/or small potatoes in individual sizes. It's an easy way to get vegetables on the grill as well, and not have to cook those separately indoors. Personally, I think the texture is better than cooking them indoors.

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Honey Garlic Pork Chops
serves 4

(this is not gluten free unless you use a special gluten-free soy sauce)

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 boneless pork loin chops, about 6 oz each

In a gallon size ziploc bag, combine all ingredients and seal. Turn to coat and refrigerate for 4-8 hours, turning every so often to evenly marinate.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat for about 16-18 minutes or until juices run clear.

Red Potato Bundles
4 servings
(this dish is gluten free)

• 12 small red potatoes, quartered
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• dash pepper
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Place the potatoes evenly distributed on 4 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil the potatoes, garlic, and onion. Top with rosemary, pepper and cheese. Drizzle with oil. Fold in edges of foil and seal tightly. Grill for about 40 minutes. Carefully open foil to allow steam to escape.



Grilled Cherry Tomatoes
(this dish is gluten free)

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  

Place tomatoes in heavy duty foil about 24x12 inches.

In skillet, saute garlic and oregano in butter for about 2 minutes. Pour over tomatoes. Seal foil tightly. Grill 8-10 minutes and turn once. 4 servings

Vegetable Grill Out Night: Zippy Corn on the Cob, Hearty Grilled Vegetables, Broiled Tomatoes

With summer comes the vegetable garden. The squash, zucchini and tomatoes are starting to yield in our garden and this is the first meal where we've been able to incorporate them into dinner this summer. Expect more recipes involving these veggies since they tend to grow at a faster pace than growers can use them! Not only that, we have been trying more and more to have a vegetable-only night at least once a week. We do not always succeed at that, but we do try.

To gain the full nutritional value of squash, including zucchini, the skins must remain on. Squash is high in carotene, as well as many other nutrients (like magnesium, potassium, folate, and fiber) needed for heart health. Many nutrients found in all squash varieties help to protect against certain cancers (lung and colon, for instance).

Corn also has a healthy dose of magnesium and folic acid, as well as being rich in fiber and B vitamins. It also aids with heart health, as well as management of diabetes, hypertension and kidney function.

And tomatoes. We've addressed the many benefits of tomatoes before. All in all, vegetables are some of the most nutritious foods one can eat. We all knew that, of course, and it doesn't have to be a chore to get in your recommended intake of daily vegetables to increase your nutritional benefit. Good recipes are all it takes to make eating your vegetables a tasty necessity.

You can grill these vegetables, or cook them in the oven. I opted for the latter, only because it was cleaner that way. But you choose!

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Zippy Corn on the Cob

• 4 medium ears of sweet corn
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place ears of corn, husked and silks removed, on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, combine ingredients and mix well. Brush or pour equally over corn, covering all sides. Fold foil around corn and seal tightly. Grill, over medium heat, about 25 minutes, turning once. (or you can bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes)


Hearty Grilled Vegetables

• 12 small red new potatoes, halved
• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
• 3/4 lb fresh mushrooms
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 medium green pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 small zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into chunks
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (optional)

Place all ingredients except butter and cheese in large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, or divided up into smaller pieces of aluminum foil. Drizzle butter over top, and sprinkle cheese on top. Fold foil up and seal. Grill for 20 minutes each side over medium heat. Or, place foil packet in baking dish and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with brown rice


Broiled Tomatoes

• 2 large tomatoes, cut in half
• Parmesan
• oregano
• olive oil

Place tomatoes cut side up on broiler pan. Sprinkle with parmesan and oregano and drizzle with olive oil. Broil for 3-4 minutes, until tomato softens.

Dijon Crusted Chicken, Southwest Corn and Tomatoes, and Green Beans in Creamy Dill Sauce

It's been awhile since I updated, I know! In the meantime, there have been several recipes I have tried with good results for everyone! This one in particular was a hit with the kids. I was also quite surprised at how well it turned out. If you are trying to eat light, yet get a hankering for Fried Chicken, this chicken recipe will hit the spot without the guilt.

So, okay, yes yes it involved frying a bit. That's not always a bad thing. Deep frying is bad, yes. But some oils have good fat in them. I have a hard time believing it, you know. That certain kinds of fat actually help your body stay thin. But it is true. Our body needs fat to be healthy and then trick is picking the right kinds ---- and not eating fat overall in excess.

The original recipe calls for olive oil but it has a high temperature tolerance. So I use canola. It's almost as good as olive oil health wise, and some say it's better.

As for the green beans: I am not a fan of dill. But, my husband liked it a lot and I didn't think it was half bad, despite my aversion to dill.

Dinner Tonight is:

Dijon Crusted Chicken
Southwest Corn and Tomatoes
Green Beans in Creamy Dill Sauce

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Dijon Crusted Chicken
serves 4
(1 chicken breast half = 169 calories, 5 grams fat, 380 mg sodium)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tspns Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tspn dried thyme
• 1/4 tspn pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves (4 oz each) (I use tenders)
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tspns olive oil (or canola)
• 1 tspn margarine

Place first 5 ingredients in shallow bowl and mix together. Brush chicken with mustard; roll in crumb mixture.

In large skillet, cook chicken in oil and margarine over medium heat 5-6 minutes each side.


Southwest Corn and Tomatoes
(6 servings)

This dish is gluten free!!

(2/3 cup = 130 calories, 5 grams fat, 205 mg sodium)




Ingredients

• 1 pkg (16 oz) frozen sweet corn, thawed
• 5 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/2 tspn kosher salt

In large bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and garlic. Drizzle with oil; toss to coat. Transfer to a baking pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring twice. Spoon into a bowl. Stir in cilantro and salt. Serve warm.


Green Beans in Creamy Dill Sauce
(5 servings)
2/3 cup with 5 teaspoons sauce = 59 calories, 2 grams fat, 283 mg sodium


Ingredients

• 1 pkg (15 oz) frozen cut green beans
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspooons flour
• 1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dill weed
• dash pepper
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

Cook beans according to package directions.

Meanwhile in skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth.

Stir in vinegar, salt, dill, and pepper. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Reduce heat. Stir in sour cream; heat thoroughly but do not boil. Drain beans and serve with sauce.

Vegetable Night!

We're back to starting to follow a more stringent healthy diet again. This summer we have been lax -- well, really, since the spring. When we cook at home, we're using the same healthful ingredients but the warm weather and kids out of school has brought along with it being away from home. When away from home, it becomes easier and easier to make bad food choices since restaurants are usually involved.

Well, this has finally caught up with us. I've gained about 3-5 lbs and D has gained some as well. Also, his blood pressure shot up sky high this past weekend after we had spent the whole week with the grandkids taking them out to various places. There was healthy food involved, but there was also a lot of bad food involved as well.

So, it's back to cooking at home for dinner and I am also packing D's lunches again. Right now, he is getting mostly raw stuff in his lunch to help bring his blood pressure down, because raw foods have very little sodium. It seems to have worked after the first day. It's not down low, but it's out of the big red danger zone that it was in the other night.

This also means that I am back to buying and using fresh veggies and herbs in the dinners we cook. `tis not bad, just more work. When using fresh food, preparation and chopping is usually involved and it can be time consuming for those who don't have an 30 minutes just to chop the needed ingredient for dinner. The way I look at it is, it's worth it! To be healthy, to get rid of the massive amounts of sodium, fat and calories that is in pre-prepared food or canned goods, it's worth it.

In the meantime, I am hoping that the kids pick up on what they see and grow to think that's the way it should be. I know that my father never allowed sugar in the house unless he was baking, which was usually Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Other than that, we always had artificial sweetner and very seldom used actual sugar. This is something I have carried over from my childhood, as I can actually feel the granules of sugar when it's used in drinks and such and I don't like it! Just as well......we get enough processed sugar in breads and starches and cereals.

Last night we had a couple of things that I have made before, so I am just gonna copy and paste the recipes for those, but I also made a new dish --- Creamed Spinach. I got this recipe out of a low fat cookbook, so it's rather healthy.

This whole meal, with the serving sizes suggested and without dressing or cheese on the salad, is only 271 calories, 5 grams of fat, and virtually no sodium. How's that for a healthy meal??I also included the individual nutritional information with each dish, in case you want to make them separately to add to other dished you may make.

Add non fat yogurt and fresh blueberries/strawberries for dessert!

So Dinner Tonight is:

Garden Salad
Spaghetti Squash
Creamed Spinach
Broiled Tomatoes
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Garden Salad

This salad when using iceburg and without dressing or cheese, contains:

59 calories
0 fat
virtually no sodium

• 2 cups of lettuce of choice
  
• 1/4 yellow squash, sliced
• 1/4 cucumber, sliced
• 1 small portobella mushroom, sliced
• 5 cherry tomatoes
• 3 baby carrots, sliced lengthwise
• Parmesan Cheese (optional)
• low cal, low fat dressing of choice
• Add more raw ingredients of choice
  

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Serve.



Spaghetti Squash

1 cup has:
42 calories
0 fat
10 grams of carbs
4 grams of sugar
28 grams of sodium (very, very low)


1. Pre-heat Oven to 400 degrees.

2. After cutting and cleaning the seeds out of the spaghetti squash, place 1/2 cup of water in a casserole dish. Place the squash open side down in the water. Bake for an hour.

3. When you take it out, the outside of the squash will be very very soft, as well as hot. I use an oven mitt to pick up one half of the squash, and take a fork and clean out the inside into a large bowl. It will come out in strands, like spaghetti. Do this with both halves.

4. Use about 1/2 stick of Smart Balance butter (a 50/50 butter blend with omega fats) and toss with the squash.

5. Serve, adding pepper if desired.


Creamed Spinach
Makes 4 servings at 137 calories and 4 grams of fat per serving

• 2 lbs of fresh spinach
• 2 cups of 1% milk
• 1 small shallot clove, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon oil
• i teaspoon unsalted butter (we use Smart Balance, a butter blend that's healthier)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch (you can use flour, but cornstarch has no sodium)

1. Trim the spinach and rinse in cold water. Shake and squeeze the excess water from the leaves. Put spinach in a large pot, cover and cook on medium high heat until wilted (about 3 minutes).

2. Pour into colander and rinse with cold water to cool it. Squeeze out excess water and coarsely chop.

3. In a small saucepan, mix milk, shallow, garlic and thyme. Bring to boil, then immediately reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4. When milk mixture is close to finishing, place oil and butter in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat to melt butter. When melted, add the cornstarch and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.

5. Strain the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring constantly with whisk. (Discard the milk solids left behind from the garlic and shallots). Cook, stirring constantly with whisk for about 5, 10 minutes or until thickened.

6. Add the chopped spinach. If sodium is not an issue, season with salt and pepper. Cook one minute to heat thoroughly.



Broiled Tomatoes

One large tomato has about 33 calories, less than 1 gram of fat, virtually no sodium, and comes packs with a good 1/3 of your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Of course, they're also a wonderful source of lycopene an antioxidant known for its disease prevention properties. Sinply factor in the sprinkle of parmesan into your calorie intake.

• 4 large tomatoes
• basil
• parmesan cheese

1. Halve the tomatoes
2. sprinkle with basil and Parmesan
3. Broil for 2-3 minutes

Makes 4 servings.

Slow Cooker Ribs, Corn on the Cob and Cucumber Salad

For a family reunion dish, I chose a slow cooker recipe that I found. Amid the usual hamburgers, hot dogs and fried chicken, I though that it would be a welcome change.

I was correct! I now have a feeling that I will be expected to make this dish every year.

It's good for summer time cookout too. You can complete the last step on the grill as called for, or not. At the reunion, I didn't and it turned out great! I simply added the BBQ sauce to the crock pot instead.



Dinner Tonight is:

Slow Cooker Ribs
Corn on the Cob
Cucumber Salad
Freshly cubed watermelon

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Slow Cooker Ribs Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs of pork loin back ribs
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1 medium onion, sliced in strips
• 1/2 cup cola carbonated beverage
• 1 1/2 cups of BBQ sauce

1. Spray inside of a 5 qt slow cooker with cooking spray. Remove outer skin from ribs.
2. In small bowl, mix garlic, brown sugar, pepper and liquid smoke. Rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs in 4-inch pieces. Layer ribs and onion in the slow cooker. Pour carbonated beverage over ribs.
3. Cover; cook on low heat for 8 hours.
4. Heat grill. Remove ribs from slow cooker; drain and discard liquid. Place ribs on grill over medium heat; brush with BBQ sauce. Cover grill. Cook 15 minutes.


Corn on the Cob:

Ears of corn, husked

Seasoned butter:
Beat together one stick softened salted butter, two cloves garlic, one teaspoon pepper and one teaspoon dried dill. The result is amazing on corn.

1. Soak ears of corn for 15 minutes in water.
2. Remove corn from water and shake off excess water.
3. Rub seasoned butter lavishly over corn.
4. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Cucumber Salad:

• 3 cucumbers, peeled and cut
• 8 oz sweet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 small purple onion, cut
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• squirt of dijon mustard
• Greek seasoning

1. Add cucumber, tomatoes, and onion to a bowl.
2. In a small bowl add red wine vinegar and dijon mustard. Whisk until miked well. Add oil and whisk.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve; pour dressing mixture over cucumbers and tomatoes. Add Greek Seasoning to taste. Toss.