What I made for dinner tonight: a healthy vegetarian meal for 2

June was a jam-packed month for my family and I, and July ain’t looking much different. The move to a bigger place was successful, most of the cleaning and organizing has been done, and we are starting to really like our new home. My sister had her baby, a healthy baby girl :) Summer is just getting started, and I know it will be gone in a blink of an eye so I am trying to take as much advantage of the time I have.

For today’s Meatless Monday recipe, I once again featured my favorite root vegetable in the starring role: the beet. Paul went to the store and selected a nice looking bunch so I popped 2 in the oven and threw what else we had together to make quite a tasty and low fat meal. This would be a great way to recover from a 4^th of July weekend filled with hotdogs and hamburgers.

Oven-roasted Beets with Green Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

2 Large beets, peeled and trimmed

2 handfuls of green beans, trimmed

1 cup white rice

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp butter (I used regular, but you can use margarine)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dry parsley or 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Preheat your oven to 450. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil completely, then put on tray into oven for 45 minutes or until tender enough for a knife to slide right in. Meanwhile, cook the rice for 10 minutes and steam the green beans for 5-7 minutes, depending on how tender you like them. When the beets are done, set them aside to cool and fry the garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until brown and fragrant. Mix the butter, parsley, salt and pepper into the rice. Set each item onto 2 plates and top the green beans and beets with the garlic and oil and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and parsley. Serve with a nice white wine if available.

You can, of course, substitute the white rice for brown and slice up the beet any way you choose. I went with the "sliced orange" style, which is appealing to the eye and looks a little like a rose. You can also skip the butter to lower the fat even more and just mix any excess garlic and olive oil into the rice instead to give it a little extra flavor.

 

We gave some of the beet to Lily to try. I think she ate about 2 small pieces, then threw the rest on the floor. These were very sweet and soft beets, so we were surprised she didn’t like it. Oh, well. Its normal for a tot to be a picky eater as we all know, but do feel free to offer it up to your little one all the same. She liked the rice of course, and she also had:

2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp steamed mixed peas and chopped carrot

For baby:

1-2 tbsp pureed peas or carrot (4 months+)

or

1-2 tbsp pureed beet (8-10 months)

Parsley is typically the underrated herb that you normally find as a garnish on your plate in some restaurants. Yet, parsley is packed with vitamins A and C and especially K. Parsley has been shown to benefit the heart and contains antioxidant flavonoids such as luteolin.

A lesser known benefit of parsley is it’s “chemoprotective” properties; it contains oils that can neutralize cancerous carcinogens. Add it to meats when you’re grilling to utilize this effect.

One of the best things about parsley is it’s cheap! You can get a nice bunch from just about any supermarket for $.50-$1.00. Smells great too!

And, it being the 4^th and all, I couldn’t get away without posting some kind of healthy grill recipe. We’re all familiar (I believe) with grilling vegetables, but here is a simple and tasty less-traditional way to grill corn on the cob.

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

6 tbsp queso fresco, divided

6 tsp chili powder, divided

2 limes cut into 6 wedges

Extra lime wedges for garnishing

Rub each ear of corn with a lime wedge and sprinkle with a tsp of chili powder. Wrap each ear in tin foil and cook on grill until brown but not burnt, turning every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle each with about a tbsp of the queso fresco and an extra lime wedge if desired. SO GOOD! Enjoyed best with an ice cold Corona Light.

I first had grilled corn this way at a small, but very popular Mexican diner in the Chelsea area of NYC. I wish I could remember the name of the place; I only recall that it was on a corner near the 23^rd Street Path Train station. You can use this seasoning for other vegetables as well. I’ve tried it on asparagus and tomatoes and it was awesome both times.

Note: Queso fresco is a light, crumbly, slightly acidic Mexican cheese. If you can’t find it or queso blanco, you can sub with feta, Monteray jack or cheddar.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!!!

Somethin' sweet n' spicy

Happy May, everyone! For this week’s Meatless Monday recipe I chose a sweet and spicy Chinese dish with juicy tofu and crisp green beans. This is one of my favorites and keeps well for leftovers. Since I’m starting this month with an eastern-style dish, maybe I will make it the theme of this month. I know plenty of Asian-style dishes, including Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern, so I should be able to provide you with lots of tasty, zesty dishes to try out this month that don’t include meat or even dairy. I hope you like!

Szechuan Tofu and Green Bean Stir-Fry

(Adapted from Eating Well magazine)

Ingredients:

½ cup water divided
¼ cup soy sauce (low sodium recommended)

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp balsamic vinegar or Chinkiang vinegar if you have

2 tsp sugar or 1 tsp agave syrup

¼ tsp crushed red pepper or to taste

1 tsp + 2 tbsp corn starch divided

14 oz package of extra firm tofu, drained

2 tbsp canola oil

4 cups green beans, trimmed and cut in half

4 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

To drain the tofu, remove from packaging and wrap in two paper towels, then place on shallow plate. Place another plate on top of it and leave it for at least 30 minutes up to an hour. The pressure from the plate will slowly drain the liquid from the tofu without putting too much weight on it.

While tofu is draining, whisk ¼ cup water, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar or syrup and 1 tsp cornstarch together in small bowl and set aside. Once the tofu is drained, cut into small cubes and pat dry if needed. Toss the tofu in a bowl with the remaining 2 tbsps of cornstarch until coated.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add the tofu, spread evenly across the pan's surface. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then turn and stir gently. Continue cooking while stirring occasionally until light brown and crispy, for about 3-5 minutes, then transfer to plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add the rest of the oil then the green beans, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the remaining ¼ cup of water and cook up to 5 minutes until green beans are crisp yet tender. Stir in the reserved sauce then cook stirring for about 1 minute, then add the tofu and stir cooking for another minute. Once sauce is thickened to the consistency of a thin syrup, remove from heat and serve alone or with brown rice.

For baby:

Approximately 3 tbsp crumbled tofu

Approximately 3 tbsp steamed green beans

Serve as is for baby or tot who eats finger foods, puree for baby who is still spoon-fed. You can add some oil and garlic for the child over 9 months if desired. Canola oil is loaded with omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, which are important fats for a growing child. Omegas contribute to brain development and also help support the heart. Garlic may not be to some baby and tots’ liking, but you are probably already familiar with the commonly known benefits of garlic for cardiovascular health and lowering cholesterol, and garlic is also a surprisingly rich source of vitamins C and B6.  

Some information on soy and tofu: There is a lot of controversial information going around about tofu, mainly concerning the addition of female hormones and the possible impairment of thyroid function. There is not too much evidence supporting the negative effects, and from doing my own research and possessing the knowledge that in Asian cultures soy is a dietary staple and these findings have not impacted their cultures to a state of trans-gendered people running around with thyroid disease, I think the best thing to do is just eat soy products in moderation, as you should with any food. Don’t eat soy-based products every day, even though fermented soy such as tempeh is considered safe, moderation is still key to any well-balanced diet. Fresh soy beans are totally safe and super healthy though.

Soy-based foods are a well-known staple in vegetarian and vegan diets, and many of the people who do suffer from the impairments brought on from over-consumption of soy and tofu consume non-organic or GMO soy. NOT A GOOD IDEA. Eating anything that is genetically modified triples (if not more) your chances of contracting a disease or impairment. Eat fresh and organic as much as possible, and if you must eat something that’s processed yet considered good for you, such as tofu, don’t eat it everyday! There are plenty of meat and diary-free foods out there to choose from.

If you didn’t catch it last Monday, I posted a pure, unprocessed plant-based recipe for a yummy beet and spinach soup. Great hot or cold!

Thanks for reading!!!!