Minestrone & Brussels Sprouts - A Holiday Recovery Meal

We traveled for Christmas, ate too many cookies, and suffered a bit from jet lag. For our first dinner back at home, I wanted a low-fat, high-nutrition, comforting meal. I made minestrone soup for everyone, broccoli and peas for N., and sauteed Brussels sprouts for the adults.

N. not only loved the minestrone - veggies and all - but she also requested some of our "sprouts." Then she requested more, and more, and more. We were amazed at her sudden love for them. Perhaps it was in the saute... or perhaps all the holiday food just left her body craving vegetables!

Easy Minestrone:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed
3-4 stalks of celery, diced
2-3 carrots, diced (I actually used about 12 baby carrots)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2-4 oz small dried pasta shapes (I used broken spaghetti, about 1 inch long)

1. Heat olive oil in large pot.
2. Saute onion and garlic for about five minutes, until onion is soft and translucent.
3. Add carrots and celery; saute another five minutes or so.
4. Add vegetable broth and bring to boil.
5. Lower heat, add spices, and simmer about ten minutes.
6. Add beans and pasta and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
7. Serve with parmesan cheese (optional). If needed, add salt and/or pepper to taste.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts:

10 oz fresh Brussels sprouts (I like the Trader Joe's bags)
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed

1. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and remove the tougher outer leaves (just the first layer). Cut each one into four quarters.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet until the butter is melted and they coat the bottom of the pan.
3. Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the Brussels sprouts, stir well to coat with butter & olive oil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
5. Continue cooking for about fifteen minutes until soft, stirring every 3-4 minutes to make sure they aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Porridge!

Life has been very busy lately, with little time for blogging. But I will try to do some more baby food entries before Nora becomes a toddler! She's now a very busy 9 1/2-month-old. Crawling, climbing, and dancing are some of her favorite activities!

There have been many new foods over the past couple of months, and a daily staple is "porridge." Porridge takes many forms, but always includes one or two grains*, a protein, and at least one fruit or vegetable. I mix it all together and serve it warm, and she usually loves it.

Some common combos include:

oatmeal - egg yolk - squash
oatmeal - egg yolk - banana
barley - tofu - broccoli - squash
millet - tofu - pumpkin
barley - tofu - broccoli - sweet potato
millet - garbanzo bean - green bean - peach (yes, really, she ate it!)
barley - lentil - green pea
barley - lentil - carrot

As long as you've got the basic ingredients on hand, you can make a quick, healthy meal in a short amount of time!

* I usually sprinkle a tablespoon or two of Earth's Best organic iron-fortified cereal into the porridge to increase its iron content.

Garbanzo Beans with Spinach and Spices

One of my favorite quick-and-easy recipes -- very low-fat and nutritious!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
2 T canola oil
2 T ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like it spicy)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 10-oz package frozen spinach
2 tsp garam masala (Indian spice blend)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the canola oil over medium heat until translucent.
2. Stir in the cumin, coriander, tumeric, and cayenne and heat for one minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer five minutes.
4. Add the garbanzo beans and simmer five minutes.
5. Add the spinach and simmer until fully thawed. Stir it in.
6. Add the garam masala and salt to taste. Simmer a few more minutes and taste to adjust seasonings.

Serve over brown rice cooked with a little tumeric in the water for yellow coloring.
Optional: If you make it spicy, serve with plain nonfat yogurt on the side.

Crockpot Black Bean Soup

This recipe is adapted from my newest cookbook: Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I have made it several times, and loved it every time! It's really quite easy, and the crockpot cooking method is very user-friendly. If you don't have a crockpot, I think you could make it in a regular pot, too.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried black beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 T canola oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 carrots, halved and sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced OR 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth, or more
2 bay leaves
1 T ground cumin
2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

1. Drain or partially drain* the beans and place in a crock pot with water to cover by three inches. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onions, garlic, carrots, and green pepper if using, until softened.
3. Add the vegetables, tomatoes, broth, and spices to the the beans.** Cook for at least another half hour to let the flavors blend.
4. Ladle some of the soup into a blender and puree. Return it to the crockpot and stir it in. It will thicken the soup. You can continue to puree until all of it is smooth, or leave some in chunks.

I like to eat it with sour cream or grated sharp cheddar cheese. You can also make this recipe with canned beans. I would use 3 15-oz cans and reduce the cooking time to six hours, with the vegetables included for the whole cooking time.

Weight Watchers points: 3 per cup of soup.

* Draining the rinse water from the beans reduces flatulence but also eliminates many of the B-vitamins that have soaked out into the water. I usually do a partial drain to try and get the best of both options.
** You can add the sauteed vegetables and the spices before or after cooking the beans. However, the tomatoes, vegetable broth, and salt should not be added until after the beans are completely cooked.

Hummus

I tasted my first hummus in the summer of 1995, and have been a major fan ever since! It's nutritious and oh-so-delicious. Here is my basic recipe:

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2-6 cloves of garlic (depending on your preferences), peeled and halved
1/2 cup tahini paste (sesame paste)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
juice and pulp of one lemon, or 3-4 T lemon juice
1 T ground cumin
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Put the beans and the garlic in a food processor with the large blade attached. Process until most of the beans are pureed.
2. Add the tahini, olive oil, water, and lemon juice. Process until smooth.
3. Add the cumin, salt, and pepper. Taste for flavor. Add more salt and pepper as needed.

Refrigerated, can last for up to a week. Eat with fresh vegetables, crackers, pita bread, or make into hummus-and-cheese sandwiches.

Optional additions: fresh basil leaves, fresh tomato, fresh parsley

Phil's Burritos

My stepfather, Phil, makes his own version of these, which are quite delicious. Mine are lower-fat and have less sauce somehow, but I still call them "Phil's Burritos." They are super easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

8 large tortillas (I like whole wheat)
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 very large or 2 medium jars of salsa
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or a little more)
sour cream

1. In a large bowl, mix together the beans, onion, most of the salsa, and most of the cheese.
2. Put a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture into each tortilla and fold it into a burrito shape.
3. Bake the burritos in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees, covered with tin foil, for 30 minutes. I prefer a glass baking dish -- or two, if they don't all fit -- but metal works just fine.
4. Remove the tin foil, sprinkle the burritos with the remaining cheese, and bake 15 minutes more.
5. Serve with salsa and sour cream on the side. Yum!

Spicy Bean Hot Pot

It's not chili... it's not soup... what is it? Spicy Bean Hot Pot!

This recipe comes from a cookbook my mom gave me several years ago called 30 Minute Vegetarian Recipes. All the recipes, while maybe taking a little longer than 30 minutes, are really very easy and don't require complex ingredients. This bean dish is surprisingly good, and has it's own unique taste. It's that type of favorite dish that I often don't remember to make, and then one day I make it, and think, "Why don't I eat this more often?"

I've pretty much stuck to the recipe in the book, but increased the amounts and changed the serving suggestions.

Ingredients:

1 medium or large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T canola oil
1 T ground cumin
1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup tomato paste
several tablespoons of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, to taste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white (cannelini) beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheddar cheese for serving

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute the onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir in the cumin and saute another 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and hot pepper sauce. Stir well and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans. Add a little bit of water if necessary, but not much. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
4. Season with salt, pepper, and additional hot pepper sauce to taste.
5. Serve with grated cheddar cheese. I like to have baked potatoes or fresh bread on the side.

Here is the cookbook -- I don't know why it's sideways.

Fava Bean Snack

There are days when I have a hard time getting my protein in. And there are days when I don't have much time to cook. I recently discovered this tasty snack, and now I can't get enough!

I buy the frozen fava beans at Whole Foods. They aren't too expensive. I throw some in a bowl and microwave them for one minute. Then I take it out, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a few shakes of salt, stir it up, and put it back in for another 40-45 seconds. YUM! Warm, salty, and fairly nutritious. I eat them with a spoon.

Moroccan Couscous

Tonight I made this recipe -- one of my favorite dinners. It's very easy and full of flavor. It's also got tons of nutrition, including the healing powers of turmeric!

The recipe is adapted from The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. I've omitted a couple of ingredients, adjusted the spice levels, and added garbanzo beans for protein. I like to serve it with plain yogurt on top. Don't be put off by the long list of spices. I usually just line them up in order on the counter right before I start cooking, and move down the line with my measuring spoons.

Sauce ingredients:

2 T canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
6-7 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups vegetable broth
1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 - 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
2. Stir in the spices and continue sauteing for 2-3 more minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and the broth, bring to a gentle boil.
4. Add the garbanzo beans, return to a simmer, and cook 10-15 more minutes until heated through.
5. Serve over couscous (recipe below) with yogurt on the side.

Couscous ingredients:

2 cups vegetable broth
1 3/4 cups water
1 T butter or margarine
2 cups regular or whole wheat couscous

1. Combine the first three ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil.
2. Lower the heat to its minimum level and stir in the couscous.
3. Cover for five minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Let sit for two minutes before fluffing and serving.