Veggies & Wine

posted by Deb on Jan 16

O.M.G. this recipe turned out so freaking good! This recipe is adapted from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. The recipe calls for basil but I didn’t have any being that it’s January in NJ so I replaced with spinach. I gave these an A. My husband wanted the potato slices thicker (I sliced mine using the food processor slice blade) so they would be more ‘meaty’.

This is a low fat vegan pizza that totally satisfies my pizza cravings without missing animal products at all!

SPINACH AND POTATO PIZZA

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut int 1/4″ slices
• salt and pepper to taste
• oregano to taste
• basic whole wheat pizza dough
• 1/2 cup baby spinach, washed
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 2 tbsp white wine

Directions:

1. Place the oven rack on the lowest level of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Arrange the potatoes on a lightly oiled baking sheet and season with salt & pepper to taste.
2. Bake until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet saute the onions in the white wine until carmelized, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and season with oregano, salt and pepper and set aside
4. Spread the onions over the prepared pizza dough. Top with spinach and tomatoes, then arrange the potatoes on top.
5. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 12 minutes.
6. Cut the pizza into 8 wedges and serve

Nutritional info: Calories: 330; fat: 4.7 g; carbs: 65.5 g; fiber: 10.5 g; protein: 10.8 g

posted by Deb on Jan 16

This is a heavily modified recipe from allrecipes.com. The original recipe is Zucchini Potato Bake. Didn’t have zucchini and my husband doesn’t care for it too much so I actually improvised and it was a resounding success. Approval from everyone — finally! Very good and easy and of course low-fat vegan.

Spinach Potato Bake

Prep Time: 15 mins; Cook Time: 1 hr; Ready in 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups packed spinach ** My family requested even more spinach **
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 bell pepper (any color)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used homemade whole wheat bread and threw it into the food processer for a few minutes)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• paprika to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Boil potatoes in large pot until tender (about 30 minutes)
3. In a large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in wine until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add spinach to onions and garlic to wilt
5. In a baking dish toss together the potatoes, onion/garlic/spinach mixture, bell pepper, bread crumbs.
6. Season with red pepper flakes, paprika, salt and pepper
7. Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and lightly brown.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 163; Fat: 1.2 g; Carbs: 32.2 g; Fiber: 5.3 g; Protein: 5.4; Cholesterol: 0

posted by Deb on Jan 14

My husband has been on me to learn to make “Italian gravy” like his grandmother for years but I’ve never been able to replicate his grandmother’s sauce. Last night was a stroke of luck so I must document the recipe. My husband actually said “this sauce is good”. Holy crap!

The red wine adds a lovely flavor and also keeps the sauce low-fat.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup red wine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 – 1 cup red wine (depending on how thick you like your sauce)

Directions:

1. Saute garlic in 1/4 cup red wine until fragrant – about 1 minute.
2. Add remaining ingredients except additional red wine. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. I don’t like a heavy bay leaf taste so I remove after ~15 minutes.

That’s it .. pretty easy and taste great and doesn’t take all day to make!

posted by Deb on Jan 10

This is a basic pizza dough recipe using whole wheat flour. Most recipes call for a 1:1 ratio of whole wheat flour to all purpose flour. I don’t follow this and just put in a smaller amount of the all purpose and the dough has turned out great. Very hearty pizza dough that will add fiber and keep you full longer.

Pizza Dough

Yield: 1 12″ pizza crust

Serves: 4

Ready in 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• small amount of oil

Directions:

1. Proof the yeast by combining the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Let sit for ~10 minutes until the yeast is foamy  **
2. While the yeast is proofing, combine the remaining ingredients except the oil.
3. Very lightly oil a bowl for your dough and set aside
4. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture. Mix well until the dough holds together. Knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is smooth.
5. Put dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a wet cloth. Let rise for 1 hour (or until dough has approximately doubled in size) in a warm, draft free area **
6. After dough has risen, punch down to release the air. Roll out onto pizza baking sheet and let rise for another 10 minutes before adding toppings.

** For proofing the yeast I like to put the bowl in the oven (oven off of course) and turn the oven light on. This is a warm area that allows the yeast to foam correctly. For rising the dough I read a great trick online — boil a small pot of water while you are kneading the dough. Once hot and boiling place in the oven (off of course) with your bowl of dough which is covered with the wet cloth. This additional heat and moisture helps the dough to rise since whole wheat dough tends to take longer to rise than white flour.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 210; Fat: 1.1g; Carbs: 45.5g; Fiber: 7.5g; Protein: 8.2 g

posted by Deb on Jan 9

This recipe is modified from the 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook. I doubled the amount of potatoes because the ratio of potatoes to oil was not good — way too oily. We had this for our main dish with a huge salad. This is definitely more of a nice light summer recipe vs the middle of winter dinner. I gave it an A- … my husband gave it a B- (he liked the taste but wasn’t convinced it was very healthy). Forgot to take a picture yet again. I probably won’t be making this one again until the summer … but it is very good!

French Style Potato Salad

Serves: 6-8 for a main dish – more as a side dish

Prep time: 15 mins; Cook time: 30 mins; Ready in 2 hours

Ingredients

• 3 lbs potatoes, scrubbed & unpeeled
• 2 tbsp minced parsley
• 1 tbsp chives, minced
• 1 red onion, diced
• pinch of tarragon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp sugar

Directions

1. In a large pot boil the potatoes until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes
2. Transfer to a large bowl and add the parsley, chives, onion and tarragon. Set aside
3. In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Pour the dressing onto the potato mixture and toss.
4. Chill 1-2 hours before serving

posted by Deb on Jan 4

I used to make this smoothie with kefir but since going vegan that is a no-no so the replacement is soy milk. Packed full of vitamins and minerals! Great for a late morning breakfast after coffee.

Green Smoothie

Serving: 1-2 (my husband and I split this)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• Frozen banana (if you use a non-frozen banana add a few ice cubes so your smoothie is nice and chilled)
• 2 additional fruits of your choice. I change this up from frozen blueberries, apple, orange, melon. Any fruit that is starting to go bad just throw it in the there.
• 1 tbsp Flax seeds
• Spinach (about 1 cup)

Directions:

1. In a blender (or food processor) add in this order .. banana, soy milk, fruit, flax seed then stuff as much spinach in as will fit.
2. Blend up. This takes me awhile and you might have to take a wooden spoon to shove everything to the bottom if you are using a blender.

Technorati : green smoothie recipe, vegan

posted by Deb on Jan 2

Yesterday was my first 100% vegan day – 1/1/2010. Went very well and I feel as though I ate healthy and no cravings. I made Naan (not vegan due to egg) which I didn’t eat and Moroccan Couscous. The naan is actually very easy to make vegan. Sub the milk for soy milk and just eliminate the egg. I made it with the egg for 2 reasons … 1. we had 1 egg left in the fridge 2. I am doing Eat for Life / McDougall plan and can’t eat flour so I knew the egg would deter me because I love me some naan!

I was very nervous about this recipe but it was actually very good and filling. Very easy to make with the help of a food processor. This is a modified version from allrecipes.com.

This is a McDougall friendly recipe (i.e. vegan, low-fat)

Prep time: 15 mins; Cook time: 45; Ready in 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) vegetable broth (or water)
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 large potatoes (or 4 small), peeled and sliced
• 1 sweet potato, sliced
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15) oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 pinch curry powder
• 3 cups cooked couscous

Directions

1. In a large saucepan heat a few tablespoons of veggie broth over medium heat. Saute onions until tender – about 3 minutes.
2. Add sliced veggies and remaining vegetable broth. Bring to boil then simmer until cooked (about 30 minutes)
3. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomato sauce and spices. Simmer until heated through (15-20 minutes)
4. While the veggies are simmering cook the couscous according to package directions.
5. Serve veggie mixture over couscous and enjoy

Nutritional Info: Calories: 244; Fat: .9g; Carbs: 52g; Fiber: 7g; Protein: 7.6g

NOTE: This can be gluten-free by substituting rice for the couscous.

Technorati : indian vegan recipe, low fat vegan, vegan recipes

posted by Deb on Dec 31

I found the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart on Facebook so I am starting on 1/1/2010. So I got 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook for my birthday and I am going to use that book for my recipes. I will try to modify to reduce the fat intake if necessary. My goal is to post the recipe and my results and modifications everyday for 21 days.

Thanks to my wonderful family I also got a bunch more vegan books. Currently reading The China Study now. I will be in hiding for the next 3 months reading all the books I’ve gotten!

Here is the menu but I will modify (lower the fat and make them vegan if necessary) the recipes and post. Page numbers below refer to 1,000 Vegan Recipes book.

Friday 1/1/2010 FIRST DAY

• Moraccan Couscous
• Naan

Saturday

• Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce – Page 198
• Salad

Sunday

• Carrot Soup

Monday

• French Style Potato Salad – page 68
• Salad

Tuesday

• French Onion Soup – page 149

Wednesday

• Veggie Lo Mein This link is for Chicken Lo Mein but it’s really good so I just make it without the chicken — very good.

Thursday

• Vegan Fajitas

Friday

• Potato & Kale Soup – page 146

posted by Deb on Dec 29

My sweetheart daughter bought me a brand new crockpot for my birthday so I decided to break it in with a hearty, low-fat, vegan stew. Since this is Christmas week and everyone is off it’s great to have a stew that everyone can dip into when hungry.

Crockpot Veggie Stew

• 5 medium potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups water (or veggie broth)
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Feel free to add addition veggies such as green beans, corn, zucchini, eggplant … the more veggies the better is my motto.

Technorati : crockpot recipes, low fat, low fat vegetable stew, vegan

posted by Deb on Dec 23

I love the fact that potatoes are an allowed food on the McDougall program. The problem is finding a topping to replace my beloved sour cream. This is a nice alternative. Nutritional yeast does take a bit of getting used to but I really like it. I make this for a quick lunch that is satisfying, healthy, low cal and low fat.

I couldn’t calculate the calories due to not being sure exactly how many servings are in the recipe but it’s low — in the ~60 calorie range if you use a few spoonfuls (not including the potato) and trace fat.

Cheezy Baked Potato

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Microwave potato until tender (my microwave is about 4 minutes)
2. Place all ingredients except potato and soy milk in blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed
3. Pour mixture into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until it starts to thicken, then let it bubble for 30 seconds. Whisk vigorously.
4. Whisk in the soy milk to the finished ‘cheese’ and heat thoroughly
5. Pour on baked potato and you have a low fat/ low calorie meal.

Technorati : , low fat recipe, vegan cheese baked potato recipe