My Pick: Lentils and Spinach

Lentils are delicious. If you haven’t experienced lentils, then you need to fix that. Immediately. They’re easy and difficult to mess up, which I greatly appreciate.

For this dish, start with some diced carrot and onion.

Then rinse some lentils and throw them in. I just used the whole bag. Because I’m like that. Lazy.

Stir it all together in the pan for a while.I believe simmering gently is the traditional cooking method for lentils, but I was just curious to see how frying it would work. (Calm down, not deep frying or anything. I had used a TINY bit of oil for the onions and carrots, so there was still enough moisture to “fry” the lentils. Sheesh.)

Mix it all up. Take a few green onions and chop them up.

 

Mix them in with the onions, carrots, and lentils. Season it as you like. I added garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Then work a bag of spinach in. Spinach wilts like crazy so it might initially seem like way too much, but it will fit. Trust me.

 

Getting there…

 

 

And ta-dah!!!! It’s truly delicious!

 

If you love sesame… well, first off, we could probably be best friends, because I love sesame and food preferences are probably the number one factor in friend compatibility. Or not. Actually, I’m guessing that’s not true at all.

But, if you love sesame, you should try this. I drizzled sesame oil over mine and added toasted sesame seeds. It was SO INCREDIBLY FANTASTIC.

 

I am having trouble finding accurate nutritional info for lentils (the ranges are all over the place!). Just know that this is a low-fat, high protein, and pretty darn good for you meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zucchini Pizza Pie

You might be thinking zucchini and pizza? Ew. But stay with me. Shredded zucchini is incredibly versatile. It adds moisture and flavor without the strong taste you might associate with a green veggie. It’s mild. Really. You’re going to have to trust me on this and just try it, meow.

So, I found this recipe at eat8020.com, which is a really great site! Everything on it tempts me. This particular recipe is called July Pizza Pie.You should click on the link for the full recipe and for higher quality photos. 🙂

Mince some garlic.

Blend some sundried tomatoes and ricotta.

Use a whole grain flatbread. I thought it was really tiny, which is why I took this photo… It turns out it was much smaller than what she called for in her recipe. Ohhhhhhhhh….

Spread the sundried tomato mix.

Grate some zucchini.

Gather your toppings: zucchini, red onion, lowfat cheese, tomatoes…

Assemble the goodness…

Bake in the oven until golden.

And serve with some greens. Yum!

Porteenie “Burger”

Want a delicious vegetarian sandwich? Well, here’s an option! Portabello mushrooms are used frequently as a meat substitute. I think they’re super tasty and can’t get enough… My husband and kids disagree. So, I don’t get to use them as main course entrees for dinner… but I do indulge every now and then.

Start with some porteenies. Aren’t they cute???

Stick them on a hot, nonstick skillet and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.

Flip them over once. Cook until they’re nice and golden.

Grab some kind of 100-calorie sandwich bread. I chose the Goldfish bread, mainly because it’s cute. My kids like it and I must admit, I enjoy my food just that much more if it’s cute, beautiful, or if it amuses me.

See? Super duper cute! It even has a smile!

Then layer that baby with lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber, the porteenie, sliced tomatoes, and some red onion. Okay, so I only added the red onion because it has such a lovely purple color and I hear that some people really like the zing it provides… But I’m somewhat of a wuss and really can’t do raw onion very well. So… it came off before I ate it.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on, put the top piece on, and you have a pretty hearty vegetarian sandwich! Enjoy!

Drool-Worthy Veggie Sandwich

So… take a multigrain roll, some cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.

Thinly slice the tomato, cucumber, and red onion. Layer with the lettuce… Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper…. and you get DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Bruschetta Tortellini

Whenever I have red tomatoes, I feel the need to buy basil. When I have basil AND tomatoes, I MUST make bruschetta. And when you have bruschetta (okay, FINE… I know it’s not bruschetta. The toast is bruschetta… but I call diced tomatoes, garlic, and basil bruschetta. Deal with it.), it is absolutely delightful to add fresh mozzarella. And if you want to make it more of a meal, you can add cheese tortellini. It’s pretty enough for company. 🙂

Boil cheese tortellini in a big pot of water.

Take beautiful tomatoes, basil, and garlic and mix them together. Good job! You’re a phenomenal cook!

Drizzle a little olive oil in, salt and pepper it, and add the diced fresh mozzarella. If you can do this, you know the way to win my love. Seriously.

Make it meal-worthy and add some cheese tortellini. No need for any kind of special sauce. This bruschetta is juicy enough to coat it.

Or put it on little toasts. Or do both. And add a side of zucchini ribbons. YUM.

 

Zucchini Squash Ribbons

Zucchini and squash are delicious and good for you! I usually see them cut into coins and roasted. Sometimes I like to make zucchini fries (delicious!). You can also cut them into really thin strips, boil them for a minute or two, and then season to your liking… I used a DAB of butter, salt, and pepper… YUM.

Take a zucchini and squash or two and slice them as thinly as possible. I’ve seen articles online saying you can use a vegetable peeler, but either I’m not skilled at using a vegetable peeler (very possible) or that just isn’t true…

Add them to boiling water for a couple of minutes. I added a chicken bouillon cube for a little more flavor, but you can skip that if you like.

I added a little butter and then salted and peppered them. You could add olive oil instead just to make it healthier. I was aiming to get my husband and kids to eat it, so I opted for a little butter… FAIL. However, I enjoyed every bite!