Cholay II (Spiced Chickpeas)

What You'll Need:

1 lb Dried chickpeas
3 tsp Cumin powder (slightly heaping)
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ginger powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Salt (for water to cook chickpeas)
1/2 tsp Black salt
1/2 tsp red pepper (or less for mild heat)
1/2 Green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 Medium sized white onion, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 c. Cilantro, chopped
1 Tbs Lemon juice
3/4 c. Imlee (Tamarind Chutney)

What to do:

Cook dried chickpeas (without pre-soaking) in pressure cooker with 8 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt. Pressure cook (med-high pressure) for 45 mins; remove from heat and allow pressure cooker to cook and release pressure on its own. Once pressure has been released, drain chickpeas and rinse with cool water; place in large bowl.

Mix in all spices, vegetables and imlee. Garnish with fresh cilantro; serve chilled or warm.

 

Tips:
* If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can follow the directions on the package to cook the beans
*Imlee can be found at most Indian grocery stores; I'll be posting a recipe soon!

Chicken Tikka on Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Burger

Yield: 2 burgers 

What You'll Need:
For the Chicken:
(there will be left over chicken; there will be enough for at least 6-8 burgers):
2lb boneless chicken thigh meat
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/4 c. yellow or white onion, chopped
1/8c. white vinegar
2 capfuls Liquid smoke
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs. garlic powder
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 tsp red chili powder (use less for mild heat)
1 1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp (heaping) dried parsley flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala (can be found in most Indian stores)
1/2 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon

For the Stuffed Mushrooms:
2 portobello mushroom caps (flatter caps are better)
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. cilantro, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar (optional)
1/8 tsp lemon pepper
1/8 tsp black pepper


What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chicken:
In a large bowl, combine all spices, vinegar, liquid smoke and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Make sure the chicken is well coated with the spices; set aside and allow it to marinate at least 30 minutes (longer is better).

In a sauce pan, heat approximately 1 tsp olive oil over high heat. Add chopped onions and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to turn slightly transparent. Reduce heat to medium-high (closer to medium) add in marinated chicken; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan as necessary to prevent the spices from burning. Add chopped tomatoes; stir well. Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes,  add 1 Tbs. tomato paste and cook the chicken uncovered for an additional 5-7 minutes to evaporate most of the liquid. Turn the heat off, garnish chicken with fresh cilantro and set aside. Note: instead of cooking on the stove top, you can also grill the chicken; leave out the roma tomato and tomato paste. (grill approximately 6 minutes each side).

                                

Mushrooms:
In a bowl, combine the bell pepper, cilantro, vinegar, spices and minced garlic.  Place mushroom caps, gill side up, on a foil-lined tray. Divide veggie/spice mixture in to two portions and spoon on to the mushrooms (including the juice). Bake for 20 minutes in the oven.

To Assemble the Burger: 
Stack the chicken pieces on top of the mushroom cap (gill side up) on a burger bun. Add condiments and/or other toppings (I like sauteed onions with reduced fat provolone cheese and low-fat mayo).

Tips:
* You will have more than enough chicken left over for lunch or dinner the next day! You can enjoy with brown rice or naan (will be posting recipe soon).
* To reduce the sodium content further, you can reduce the amount of salt in the chicken and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken while cooking.
*To mix things up a bit you can make the burgers with just the mushroom caps or chicken; Or even serve as chicken tikka burgers with stuffed mushrooms as the side

Dressing-Free Greek Salad

What You'll Need:
3/4 of a cucumber, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. (approximately 20) pimiento stuffed manzanilla olives, rinsed and minced
1/4 c. red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 haas avocado (or any small avocado), diced
3.5 oz reduced fat, low-sodium crumbled feta cheese

What To Do:
Mix cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onions and bell pepper in a large bowl.  Gently mix in diced avocado and feta cheese. Tastes best when served chilled.

Tip:

*To reduce sodium content further: make sure to rinse the olives; you can reduce the amount of olives as well.

Foil-Grilled Balsamic Glazed Potatoes

What You'll Need:
2 golden potatoes, cubed (1" to 1.5" cubes; you can leave the skin on)
1 large yam, peeled and cubed (1" to 1.5")
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
5-6 white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 white onion, diced
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp hickory flavored liquid smoke
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (optional)


What To Do:

Preheat grill (medium-high, if using gas)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well so that spices, vinegar and oil evenly coat all vegetables and mushrooms.  Place potato mixture on a large piece of heavy duty foil. Fold foil to create a packet; fold edges upwards and seal (note: best results when the packet is made as pictured; you can make two if needed).  Place on grill with the seam side up so the dressing doesn't leak out of the foil pack.  Grill for 15 minutes, flip the foil packet and grill for an additional 15 minutes (take care not to accidentally poke a hole in the foil packet when flipping).

Sweet n' Spicy Pineapple Salsa

What You'll Need:
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
2 Tbs white onion, finely chopped
1/2 c ripe sweet pineapple, finely chopped
1/4c red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
pinch chipotle chili
pinch of cayenne pepper
dash of black pepper
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

What To Do:
Mix all ingredients together. Place in refrigerator for for at least an hour, to allow all flavors and juices to blend. Tastes great on grilled chicken or fish (try either one, grilled with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and topped with the salsa- yum!).

Meatless "Beef" Pastries (Low-Fat, No-Cholesterol)

Yield: 24 pastries

What You'll Need:
1 pack Yves Meatless Ground (Soy-based meatless ground "beef")
1 Tbs (heaping) ground coriander powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 c. yellow onion, chopped
1/4 c. water
salt to taste

8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
1 can olive oil spray
mini muffin tray


What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium sized sauce pan or non-stick frying pan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic powder and saute until golden brown.  Add meatless ground product and saute for about about a minute over medium-high heat.  Add in remaining spices, water and chopped onions. continue to cook over medium heat until water is evaporated (about 7-10 minutes).  Taste and add salt if desired (I added about 1/4 tsp).



Once the "meat" is cooked begin working with the phyllo dough. First, lightly spray the mini muffin tray with olive oil or low calorie butter spray.  Layer 4 sheets of phyllo dough on top of each other, lightly spraying each layer with olive oil.  Cut the sheets into 12 squares (cut in to 4 sections horizontally and 3 vertically).  Place each square (should have 4 layers) into the muffin tray.  Repeat this with the remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough.

 

Place about 1 tsp of the "meat" mixture inside each of the phyllo dough squares, fold the corners over to seal the "meat" inside as you go.  Spray lightly with olive oil or with one spray of low calorie butter spray; with your finger make sure the top of the pastry is slightly moist with either the butter spray or oil.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

 

Tips:
* Try using ground chicken breast instead of soy "meat" for a change in taste
* Store in the refrigerator. To reheat cold pastries, place on metal tray in 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes

Nutrition Information is an estimate based 
on an online tool.Serving size is per pastry

Strawberry-Avocado Muffins

Yield: 14 muffins

What You'll Need:
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (about 300 grams)
1 c. chopped strawberries
3/4 c. fat-free milk
1/2 c. avocado, mashed (about 1 haas avocado)
3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. egg whites
12 foil-lined cupcake liners (muffins will stick to paper liners)

What To Do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In medium sized bowl combine flour, sugars, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add chopped strawberries and toss well.  In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, avocado, egg whites and vanilla until well blended. There may be some chunks of the avocado left, try to break them up as much as you can. Mix milk/avocado mixture and flour mixture together until well blended.  Bake 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and tops spring back when touched.

Nutrition information is an estimation of
 1 serving; based off of an on-line tool

Spicy Tempeh Salad

Yield: 3 servings 

What You'll Need:

1 package Home style Tempeh - spicy veggie (I got mine from Whole Foods)

1 (8 oz) canned corn

1 c. green leaf lettuce, chopped

1/4 c. red cabbage, chopped

1/4 c. crushed olives (about half of a 4 oz can)

2 Tbs diced red onion

2 Tbs diced green onion

2 Tbs diced red bell pepper

2 Tbs minced cilantro

1 tsp low sodium soy sauce 

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp rice vinegar (optional)

Sweet and spicy spring roll dipping sauce (made with red chillies, garlic, vinegar, etc; can be found in Asian section of grocery store)

Shredded soy cheese (to sprinkle on top)

What To Do:

Cut tempeh into 1/2" cubes; saute over med-high heat with olive oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a frying pan for about 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown.  Once tempeh is cooked, remove from heat.  Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, combine corn, lettuce, cabbage, olives, red onion, green onion, bell pepper and cilantro; mix well.  Add in cooked tempeh and toss.  Before eating, drizzle sweet and spicy dipping sauce over salad as a dressing and sprinkle with a little bit of soy cheese. 

Tips:

*If you prefer, you can also grate or crumble the tempeh instead of cutting in to cubes

*To give the tempeh a slightly smoked flavor, try adding 1/4 tsp liquid smoke

*Try adding 1/2c cooked quinoa (boiled in 1c. veggie broth for about 15-20 mins) for added flavor and protein 

*You can mix the dressing into the salad before serving-- you will need about 3 1/2 Tbs, or to taste of dressing for the entire salad.

*This is a spicy salad! If you don't like food with too much heat, try regular flavored tempeh instead of spicy

Nutrition facts are an estimation of
1 serving; based off of an on-line tool