Crock Pot Minestrone

After eating meat-containing (but very good) dinners all weekend, a healthy vegetarian meal was in order last night for a Meatless Monday. This soup was easy, since the crock pot did all the work for me, and tasted great. I loved the flavors of the swiss chard and yellow squash in it. I also made a big mixed green salad with lots of fresh vegetables to go along with it. There were lots of leftovers, so there was plenty for a healthy lunch today. This made quite a bit of soup, so I will be freezing some for an easy dinner in the future!

Crock Pot Minestrone

Ingredients

4 large stalks organic swiss chard
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cups organic vegetable broth
29 ounces canned organic diced tomatoes, undrained
16oz can organic kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15oz can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 organic yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 organic yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 organic carrot, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups whole wheat rotini pasta, uncooked

Directions

1. Remove stems from swiss chard and chop separately from leaves. In medium sized pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and swiss chard stalks and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

2. Add remaining ingredients, except for swiss chard leaves and pasta, to slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add pasta and chopped swiss chard leaves and cook for another 20-25 minutes on low, or until pasta is tender.

(Recipe adapted from April/May 2014 issues of Taste of Home Magazine)

What are the nutritional benefits of this soup? Kale is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K. It is also a good source of minerals calcium, copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorous. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), raise good cholesterol (HDL), and aid in blood sugar control.  Onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Canned tomato products contain more bioavailable lycopene compared with fresh tomatoes, and are high in vitamin C.Kidney beans provide lots of protein, folate, fiber, and iron. Garbanzo beans are packed with fiber as well as lots of great nutrients, including protein, molybdenum, manganese, folate, tryptophan, copper, phosphorous, and iron. Yellow squash is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, iron, folate, beta-carotene, and lutein. Bell peppers are one of the best food sources of vitamins A and C. Carrots are very high in vitamin A (with one cup providing over 400% of the daily value), and they are also an excellent source of vitamin C and fiber. Compared to white pasta, whole wheat pasta provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. 

Chicken Yakitori

We used our grill for the first time this season over to weekend to grill this chicken, and it was awesome! The yakitori sauce is similar to a teriyaki sauce, but is less sweet.  The great thing about this chicken recipe is that it is really quick, so would be great for a busy week night. We had a bunch of vegetables in the refrigerator that we needed to use, so we made some baked tomatoes, roasted asparagus and a salad to go with our dinner. Some brown rice and broccoli would be great with it too!

Chicken Yakitori

Ingredients

1 pound organic chicken thighs

1/4 cup sake

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup mirin

1 Tbsp sugar

2-3 wooden skewers

Directions

1. Preheat grill and soak wooden skewers in water for about 20 minutes.

2. Thread chicken thighs onto skewers. In a small sauce pan, combine sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. 

3. Place skewers on grill, turning and brushing with sauce frequently. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through.

(Recipe adapted from The Complete Chicken Cookbook, ed. Justine Harding)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Chicken is an excellent source of protein and is rich in B vitamins. Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene and vitamin C. Asparagus is high in vitamin K and is also a great source of vitamin A, folate and iron.

Feta Shrimp Skillet

This is an awesome healthy dinner recipe that was in my Taste of Home magazine that arrived last week. And it only took about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish. The brown rice that I made to go with it did take an hour, though. This was filling without being too heavy and was really good with brown rice. This would also be really good with along side a salad. I think I will make this again in the summer time with a fresh greek salad to enjoy outside on the deck with a cold glass of organic chardonnay!

Feta Shrimp Skillet

Makes ~4 servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
29 oz canned organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup white wine
1 lb cooked shrimp
2 Tbsp fresh organic parsley, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. In large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute. Stir in tomatoes and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

2. Add shrimp and parsley and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until shrimp are heated through. Remove from heat and sprinkle with feta cheese.

(Recipe adapted from April/May 2014 issues of Taste of Home)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), raise good cholesterol (HDL), and aid in blood sugar control.  Onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Canned tomato products contain more bioavailable lycopene compared with fresh tomatoes, and are high in vitamin C.  Shrimp are an excellent source of protein, providing 24g of protein in a 4oz serving. Shrimp are also a good source of vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. Feta cheese is a great source of protein and calcium.

Fresh Veggie Pita

This is my version of one of my favorite meals from a restaurant called Yours Truly in my hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It is a really healthy lunch or dinner and an easy and delicious way to get in some fresh leafy greens. When I was working full time before my son was born, I used to make these stuffed pitas for my husband and myself to take for lunch. It takes just a few minutes to get them all stuffed and toss some dressing in a little to-go container. To add some protein to these, I will sometimes add some cheese or hummus to them.  The original version from Yours Truly uses Muenster cheese. For dinner at home, these are great on their own or alongside a bowl of soup.  It's not warm out quite yet, but this is a really nice quick and healthy meal on a hot summer day!

Fresh Veggie Pita

Ingredients

1 whole wheat pita
2 cups fresh organic spinach leaves
1/4 fresh avocado, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 fresh organic cucumber, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 fresh organic tomato, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 Tbsp fresh balsamic vinaigrette, or your favorite dressing

Directions

1. Cut pita in half so you have 2 "pockets." Place avocado and cucumbers in bottom of each half, then stuff with spinach. Place tomatoes on top of spinach. 

2. Serve with dressing on the side, for dipping.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Compared to white pitas, whole wheat pitas provide more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Spinach is packed with fiber,  vitamins K, A, C, B2, B6 and folate, and the minerals iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium and potassium. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats that have been shown to boost HDL (good cholesterol), and are an excellent source of vitamins C,E and carotenoids lycopene and beta carotene, as well as the minerals selenium and zinc. Cucumbers are an excellent source of vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C. Tomatoes are high in fiber, lycopene and vitamin C.

Mushroom & Onion Whole Wheat Pizza

Making a homemade pizza is a really great way to use up vegetables that are just sitting in your fridge that would otherwise go bad. When I opened my fridge this time, I had some red onion and mushrooms that needed to be used up, so onto our pizza they went! I had some of this whole wheat pizza dough in the freezer already, and I find that if the dough has been frozen, it actually rises again as it thaws, and is much easier to roll out, as compared to when I have just freshly made the dough. I have found some really good canned organic pizza sauces, and some brands, such as Muir Glen, use BPA-free cans. Canned and jarred tomato products provide more bioavailable lycopene, as compared to fresh tomatoes, which is great. But just beware of what brand you are buying so that you can be sure that it is not in a canned lined with BPA. Here is a link for a list of companies whose cans are BPA-free: 

http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-canned-food-brands/

Mushroom & Onion Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients

Whole wheat pizza crust (use 1/3 of dough and freeze the rest)
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
6oz fresh cremini mushrooms
1 cup organic pizza sauce (I used Muir Glen because their cans are BPA-free)
1 1/2 cups organic mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Grease rectangular cookie sheet with olive oil and roll out pizza dough until thin and in rectangle shape. Place dough on top of cookie sheet and remove excess dough around edges of pan with a knife.

2. Place pizza dough in preheated oven and bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with pizza sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and place vegetables on top. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Canned tomato products contain more bioavailable lycopene compared with fresh tomatoes, and are high in vitamin C. Red onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Mushrooms  are an excellent source of minerals selenium and potassium as well vitamins riboflavin, and niacin, and are the only item you will find in the produce section that supplies some vitamin D!  Mozzarella cheese provides lots of protein and calcium.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

I like a good lasagna, and I tend to always make the usual traditional lasagna with ground grassed beef and cheese. This time, I wanted to try to re-create a roasted vegetable lasagna that was made for us by a friend when our son was born. I didn't have a recipe, so I loosely followed one I found on the Taste of Home website, and it turned out really great! We ended up freezing most of this because we knew we wouldn't have any opportunities to eat leftovers in the following days, so we have a future dinner or two waiting for us in the freezer!

To save some time, you can roast the vegetables ahead of time and toss them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble your lasagna.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Makes ~9 servings

Ingredients

1 medium-sized organic eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices

8 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 small organic zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices lengthwise

2 organic red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch slices lengthwise

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper, for seasoning

15oz organic ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated organic parmesan cheese

1 organic free-range egg

26oz jar organic marinara sauce

12 lasagna noodles

8oz organic mozzarella cheese, shredded

3 Tbsp fresh organic basil, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 baking pans with olive oil. Place eggplant and mushrooms in a mixing bowl, and zucchini and red peppers in another mixing bowl. Combine olive oil and garlic powder and pour half of mixture in each bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix until vegetables are evenly coated. Place eggplant and mushrooms on one baking pan, and zucchini and red peppers on the other. 

2. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, turning vegetables over halfway through. Remove eggplant and mushrooms. Roast zucchini and peppers for an additional 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles as directed on package.

3. In small mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan and egg. Mix until evenly combined. 

4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

5. Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles, followed by half of ricotta cheese mixture, half of vegetables, a third of remaining marinara sauce, and a third of the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with half of fresh basil. Repeat layers and top with remaining 4 noodles, pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese.

6. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

(Recipe adapted from tasteofhome.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal?  Eggplant provides fiber, B vitamins and folate. Mushrooms  are an excellent source of minerals selenium and potassium as well vitamins riboflavin, and niacin, and are the only item you will find in the produce section that supplies some vitamin D! zucchini is a good source of  fiber and vitamins A, C and folate. Bell peppers are one of the best food sources of vitamins A and C. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), raise good cholesterol (HDL), and aid in blood sugar control. Ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses are all excellent sources of protein and calcium. Jarred tomato products contain more bioavailable lycopene compared with fresh tomatoes, and are high in vitamin C.

Beef & Sweet Potato Pockets

This is another recipe from the Feed Zone Portables cookbook, and it was even better than I thought it would be! I changed the recipe a bit by making a 100% whole wheat pastry crust, instead of traditional white flour crust. Next time, I think I will use just partial whole wheat flour because it made the dough really dense and hard to roll thin enough.  And honestly, the filling was so good on its own that I may skip the crust altogether in the future, which would make this a really fast and easy dinner. Preparing the dough and rolling it out for the individual pockets took a good amount of time. I made this crust with butter because it seems that our son has outgrown his dairy allergy, which is awesome! But if you are looking for a dairy-free whole wheat pastry crust, click here. If you were to use these pockets for high intensity endurance exercise/activity, as the original recipe is intended for, using white flour and white rice would be a better option to have less fiber and a more quickly-broken-down source of carbohydrate.

I served these with some steamed broccoli, but they would be good with any green vegetable!

Beef & Sweet Potato Pockets

Ingredients

Pie Crust:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup cold water

Filling:
8 oz grass-fed ground beef
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (~1 cup)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups organic brown rice, cooked
~3 cups organic chicken stock (for cooking rice, instead of using water)

Directions

1. To make the pie crust: Pulse together flour, salt and cinnamon in a food processor. Add butter and blend until butter pieces are no longer visible. Transfer mixture to large bowl and add cold water gradually, using hands or spatula to turn the dough and mix. Add more water or flour, as necessary, until dough takes shape. Divide dough into 12 portions, forming into balls.  Wrap dough and chill (30 minutes in the freezer, or at least one hour in the refrigerator.

2. To make filling: Cook ground beef over medium-high heat until browned. Drain excess fat. Cooked cubed sweet potato in microwave until tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Combine beef and sweet potatoes in a bowl and add soy sauce, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and cinnamon.  Mix until evenly combined and then fold in rice.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat muffin tin with canola oil.

4. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out each ball of dough, on a lightly floured surface, until it is big enough to fit in the form and fold back over the filling. Transfer dough to muffin forms, gently pressing into place and letting excess dough hang over edges. Place enough of the filling mixture into the dough pocket to be level with the top of the muffin tin. Fold excess dough over filling and gently press together to form a seal.

5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until crust turns golden

(Recipe adapted from Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of On-The-Go Food for Athletes by Biju Thomas & Allen Lim)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Compared with conventional beef, grass-fed beef is lower in total fat, higher in omega-3 fatty acids and higher in vitamins, particularly vitamin E. Brown rice is unrefined, so contains it's original abundance of iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, antioxidants and fiber. Sweet potatoes are very high in vitamin A (one cup provides over 400% of the daily value!) and are a great source of vitamins C and B6, and the mineral manganese. Broccoli is packed with vitamins C and K, and is also a good source of folate and calcium.