Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn, Zucchini, and Grape Tomatoes Recipe

My weeks have been crazy busy lately, with work, school, working out, and studying.  One of the things I do to make sure I stay on track both calorie and time-wise is to make my meals ahead of time.  I like to make my lunches and dinners for the week over the weekend.  That way, I can just grab my lunch in the morning and go.  And when I stop by my apartment after work to grab my books before class, I can grab my dinner and eat it in class.  The nights I don't have class, I can go to the gym after work and not have to think about cooking dinner when I get back.  

I've found that certain grains and lentils have been really good for me for lunch - they're filling enough to get me through the second half of the work day, but not so filling that I'm in a food coma.  Lately, I've really gotten into quinoa, Israeli couscous, and whole wheat couscous.  I have several cans of beans sitting on the shelf, so I decided to come up with something using beans.  I have to say, this was a great decision.  This turned out so tasty, I almost ate it up today instead of putting it in the fridge for lunch next week.  The recipe makes 4 servings at less than 300 calories per serving.

Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn, Zucchini, and Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dry quinoa, rinsed

1.5 cups vegetable broth

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup corn kernels

1 zucchini, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

1.  Spray pan with the olive oil (I use my Misto!) and set on high heat.

2.  Once the pan heats up, add the onion, garlic, and zucchini.

3.  Saute the mixture until the onions are translucent and the zucchini is slightly brown.

4.  Add the quinoa, vegetable broth, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

5.  Uncover, fluff the quinoa, and make sure the liquid has all cooked away.

6.  Add the corn, black beans, and grape tomatoes and combine.  

Nutritional Information:

Serves 4.  Each serving is:

Calories: 295

Fat: 4

Carbs: 54

Protein: 12

Fiber: 11

Sodium: 596

Split White Lentil Stew (Urad Dal) Recipe

This is another quick and easy dish that can be thrown together after work for dinner, and the leftovers taken to lunch the next day.  It's quite low in calories, and very high in protein and fiber.  It's filling and tasty, and you can't ask for much more when you're dieting.  

Split White Lentil Stew (Urad Dal) Recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup urad dal

2.5 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon black mustard seed

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

You'll also need a pressure cooker

Directions

1.  Rinse the dal and cover with 2.5 cups of water.  I had to divide mine into two trays because I have a small pressure cooker.

2.  Add the salt, turmeric, cumin, lemon juice, garlic, jalapeno.

3.  Place trays in the pressure cooker and add about an inch of water to the pot, outside of the trays.  Close the pressure cooker and place on medium-high heat. 

4.  Remove from stove after 3-4 whistles.  Let the pressure cooker cool down for a bit before attempting to open it.

5.  Meanwhile, in the smallest pot or pan you own, heat the olive oil.  Add the asafoetida and mustard seed to the hot oil and turn off the heat.  The mustard seed will start popping, this is how the flavor is released.  Be very careful as to not burn yourself. 

6.  Transfer the cooked dal from the pressure cooker into a serving dish.  Add the olive oil, mustard seed, and asafoetida mixture to the dal and combine.  To retain flavor, but not add calories, I do not add the entire mixture, I just scoop out the seeds and little bit of the oil to add to the dal.  Nutritional information is based on only using about a quarter teaspoon of oil.

Nutritional Information:

Serves 2.  Each serving is:

Calories: 258

Carbs: 128

Fat: 1

Saturated fat: 0

Protein: 48

Fiber: 32

Sodium: 306

Tofu Burger Recipe

I love homemade veggie burgers and tofu burgers; I hate the frozen stuff from the stores.  After sampling a tofu burger patty at an Asian market, I decided to create a healthier, lower calorie version of it that I could enjoy on a regular basis.  At only 265 calories per serving, here's the recipe.

Tofu Burger Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu

Sandwich Thins (I used Arnold's brand, multigrain - only 100 calories each!)

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

Sesame seeds

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Pepper

Directions:

1. Crumble tofu in a large bowl.

2. Add panko, sesame seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to the tofu and combine.

3. Form tofu mixture into four patties.

4. Heat pan and spray with olive oil (I used my Misto).

5. Cook patties until brown on both sides (about 4 minutes on each side).

6. Toast sandwich thins and serve with your favorite burger toppings.  I used baby spinach, dijon mustard, and red onion slices.

Nutritional Information:

Serves 4.  Nutritional information is just the patty and bun (before adding burger toppings).

Each serving is:

Calories: 265

Carbs: 32

Fat: 10

Saturated Fat: 2

Protein: 17

Fiber: 7

Sodium: 446

Super Simple Stir Fry Recipe

I haven't posted a recipe in a while, so I thought I'd share this quick and easy vegetarian stir fry recipe. It's so simple and takes only about 30 minutes, so it's great to prepare after a long day of work. It makes two servings, so I usually just have one for dinner and have the second serving for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

1 container Baked Tofu, Teriyaki Flavor (I use the Trader Joe's brand, but any brand will work, the savory flavor works well too)

Bag of frozen veggies (or fresh, I like bell peppers, so I used a bag of mixed green, red, and yellow peppers)

2 teaspoons Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

2 tablespoons Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce (or any stir fry sauce of your choice)

1 teaspoon corn starch (optional)

3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked

1. Wash the rice, cover with water, and set in the rice cooker to cook.

2. While the rice is cooking, cut up the tofu bricks into bite size pieces.

3. Add the tofu and veggies to a hot pan, cook on high heat. You don't need to add oil because the moisture from the frozen veggies will prevent anything from sticking.

4. Once a significant amount of water has cooked away, add the Sriracha and Stir Fry Sauces.  

5. If your sauce is looking too watery, combine the corn starch with a little bit of water and add to the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, cook for one minute, then turn off the heat. As it cools slightly, the sauce will become much thicker.

6. Serve the stir fry over brown rice.

Nutritional Information:

Serves 2.

Each serving is:

Calories: 418

Carbs: 67

Fat: 8

Saturated Fat: 1

Protein: 20

Fiber: 10

Sodium: 1155

Guilt Free Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

I love me some sweet potato fries, but they're just so high in calories and fat.  Trader Joe's has healthier-than-restaurants-but-still-pretty-bad-for-you option that we usually get when we go grocery shopping, but, alas, they were out when we went on our last trip.  So, I became determined to make a healthier, but still delicious version.  This recipe comes out to 150 calories a serving, so you could actually eat the entire recipe for only 300 calories!

Guilt Free Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bag Trader Joe's peeled and pre-cut sweet potato spears (or you could do the work of peeling and hacking apart a regular sweet potato)

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt

garlic powder

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 475°.  Move racks so that you have one on the highest rung in your oven, and one on the middle one.

2.  Lay the sweet potato spears on some paper towels to absorb any moisture.  Sprinkle with salt to draw out water.  Dab the spears with a paper towel as you see the water drawn out.

3.  Dump the spears on a baking sheet and mist with the olive oil (using my handy dandy Misto).  Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. 

4.  Place the baking sheet in the oven on the top rack and bake for 7 minutes.

5.  Flip the spears on their sides and bake for another 7 minutes.

6.  Reduce heat to 350° and move baking sheet to the middle rack.  Bake for another 10 minutes and turn off oven.  Leave in the oven for 15 minutes.

You should end up with some delicious, crispy sweet potato fries that won't leave you craving the bad stuff:

This makes two servings, but it wouldn't ruin your diet to eat the entire recipe.

Nutritional Information:

per serving

Calories: 150

Carbs: 30

Fat: 4

Saturated Fat: 1

Protein: 2

Fiber: 6

Baked Lemon Garlic Mahi Mahi with Tzatziki Recipe

I know I say this about all of the recipes, but seriously, this was fantastic!  I've been in a Greek mood for the past few days, so I threw this together the other night, and served it with the Greek couscous salad I made the other day.  

Baked Lemon Garlic Mahi Mahi with Tzatziki Recipe

Ingredients:

Mahi Mahi Fillets (I had 9 oz)

8 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Salt

Pepper

Ground cumin

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 cucumber, shredded

Directions:

1. Rinse the mahi mahi fillets and pat dry.

2. Place the fillets on tinfoil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle three quarters of the minced garlic over the fillets.  Drizzle a few tablespoons over the fillets and sprinkle with pepper.  

3. Bake at 375° for 6 minutes.  Flip the fillets over, spooning some of the garlic onto the top.  Drizzle remaining lemon juice over the fillets, sprinkle with pepper and bake for another 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

4.  For the tzatziki, combine the Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, the remaining portion of the minced garlic, and two tablespoons of lemon juice.  Do not strain the liquid from the cucumber, this will help to thin out the tzatziki.  Add ground cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.

To serve, spoon some of the tzatziki over the mahi mahi.  I plated mine with some of the Greek couscous salad I made the other day.

Makes 3 (3oz) servings

Nutritional Information:

Per 3oz of fish, and 1/3 cup of tzatziki

Calories: 95

Carbs: 4

Fat: 1

Saturated Fat: 0

Protein: 18

Fiber: 1

Greek Couscous Salad Recipe

This is a quick and easy (and tasty!) recipe that I usually throw together on the weekend and take to work for lunch through the week.   Only 291 calories!

Greek Couscous Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat couscous

1 cup vegetable broth

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup chopped red onion

2 cucumbers, chopped (I used persian cucumbers because they're seedless)

1/2 can of pitted black olives, halved

4 oz. light feta, crumbled

2 tablespoons lemon juice

10 tablespoons fat free, very low calorie Italian dressing (I used Kraft Free Zesty Italian, only 15 calories)

pepper and garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

1.  Bring the vegetable broth to a boil.  Remove from heat and add the dry couscous to the broth.  Stir until the grains are completely immersed in the liquid.  Cover, and let stand for five minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, chop up the veggies and add to a bowl.

3.  Fluff the couscous with a fork and let cool.

4.  Add the Italian dressing, crumbled feta, and lemon juice to the veggies and toss until the veggies are coated with the dressing.

5.  Add the cooled couscous to the bowl of veggies, stir, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Voilà:

Makes 4 very large servings.

Nutritional Information:

per serving

Calories: 291

Carbs: 43

Fat: 6

Saturated Fat: 1

Protein: 11

Fiber: 7

Indian Quinoa Recipe

I've never had quinoa before, but have heard about all the health benefits and how great it tastes, so I picked up a box at Trader Joe's.  Its been sitting in the cupboard for a few weeks now, since I had no idea what I wanted to do with it.  I sucked it up tonight and decided to give it a go and make it for my lunch for tomorrow.  I figured I'd treat it like couscous or rice, and give it an Indian twist.  My inspiration is this Indian fried rice dish my mom used to make that I love.

Quinoa Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa (red or white, I used white)

1.5 cups vegetable broth (or water if you don't have any broth)

2 shallots, chopped (use a medium red onion if you don't have shallots)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

From left to right: Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, Garam Masala, Turmeric, Cayenne, Ginger Powder

Cooking Directions:

1.  Bring the quinoa and vegetable broth to a boil and simmer on medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes.

2. In a separate pan, sauté the shallots in the olive oil for about a minute, then add the garlic.  Add all of the spices and cook for another two minutes.

3.  Add in the cooked quinoa and the lemon juice, stir and serve!

This turned out so good, I can't wait for it to be lunchtime tomorrow so I can eat this!

Makes 2 main dish servings, or 4 side dish servings.

Nutritional Information:

Serving size: 1 main dish serving (half of what was made)

Calories: 511

Carbs: 72

Fat: 20

Saturated Fat: 2

Protein: 12

Fiber: 6