Pasta With Dolled-Up Sauce

I was tired and ready to do something quick. I made whole wheat spaghetti with pasta sauce. Yes, the pasta sauce was organic and had no sugar or preservatives and all that. I also dolled it up. I sauteed minced onions and garlic in EVOO and added a couple of baby zucchinis (we're almost done with the batch). It was delicious and quick and really pretty healthy (considering). Here's dinner, on the stove and on my plate. :D

Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Black Sesame Seeds

I've never been much of a sweet potato fan. I know most people get into the whole marshamallow/brown sugar thing but I don't like stuff that sweet. (Plus marshmallows are made with gelatin, which is not vegetarian.) However, a couple of years ago I discovered baked sweet potato fries and loved them from the first bite. The recipe I was using was delicious but accompanied by a garlic mayonaise, which was delicious but not really in the healthy category I am now trying to reach. I know that sweet potatoes are wonderful food and that sesame seeds are nutrition powerhouses, and I wondered if there was a good way to combine them. I searched around online and found several recipes, but none that I really liked, so I made it my way and it was delicious! Even my little guy ate his serving. Here's my recipe:

Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Black Sesame Seeds
3 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into fries (about 28 ounces total weight)
2 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Combine the everything except the potatoes in a large mixing bowl and let it sit while you wash, dry, and cut the potatoes. Add potatoes to bowl and stir to completely cover the fries in the oil and spices. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread sweet potatoes out in single layer. Bake at 350 (I used a convection oven) for 35-40 minutes. This recipe serves 3 at 7 WW points plus per serving (these are big servings).

Also had standard stiry fry tofu...

...and a tomato and zucchini salad with capers, minced sun dried tomato and one teaspoon olive oil.

Here's my plate.

Tomatoes For Lunch and Dinner

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene in addition to being tasty! I recently snagged a bag of firm and delicious, red ripe tomatoes at a local grocery so today I had them for breakfast and dinner!

My breakfast was red-and white. I had an egg white omelet (3 egg whites and half an ounce of parmesan cheese, cooked with 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter) with a side of sliced tomatoes and sliced beets. I love my little cast iron omelet pan so much--perfect for cooking omelets with small amount of fat.

Here's my colorful dinner.

I was feeling lazy so I made a soup from the leftover Curried Cauliflower and Purple Potatoes, a serving of leftover Garlic Soup (which I made last night and did not post about since I cooked it too long and it broke: not photogenic), and about 2 cups of organic baby spinach. Just put all that in my trusty Vita-Mix and hey presto! Super green soup! I also made a tomato and baby zucchini salad and dressed it with lemon juice and a kiss of salt. Couldn't resist garnishing my soup with the salad. Once the soup was done I helped myself to more of that fresh, toothsome salad. Note the glass of red wine! A nice shiraz was a great complement to the sweet spinach garlic soup (and of course both garlic and red wine help blood pressure stay normal).

Purple Potatoes

At the grocery store on Thursday there were purple potatoes. Of course I had to buy them! I bought them last year and tried to make mashed potatoes from them but that did not turn out so well. This time I knew I had the perfect dish for them: Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes.

On the outside the potatoes are dark brownish with a hint beautiful purple iridescence. Once cut, you can really see the amazing color.

The contrast of deep purple potatoes and white cauliflower was gorgeous.

Of course, the baking and the turmeric and other spices muted contrast, and the color of the potatoes, but the dish was delicious. Here's my plate.

As was the meal. We also had baked tofu and a tomato and baby zucchini salad dressed with lemon juice and salt. The tofu was 5 WW points plus, the cauliflowers and potato dish was 8 WW points plus, and the salad was zero, for a total of 13 WW points plus for the while dinner.

Curried Bananas

About 11 or 12 years ago I bought a copy of The Unabridged Vegetable Cookbook by Nika Hazelton (I have the 1976 version) in a used bookstore (which has since closed) in Worcester, Massachusetts. I've used it like a reference book, looking for information on various vegetables, but until tonight I never tried any of the actual recipes. A few days ago I saw a recipe for a savory banana dish and just had to try it out. Of course, as with most recipes, I ended up modifying it by cutting at least half the fat called for out completely. I think next time I will try this recipe with olive oil instead of butter and I might add some cayenne!

Curried Bananas
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 large bananas, peeled and cut in half length wise
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup yogurt

Heat the butter in a 12" pan over medium heat. Stir in the turmeric and curry powder and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the bananas, lower the heat, and sprinkle on the salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until heated through. Shake the pan frequently to prevent sticking. Turn over once using two wooden spoons to prevent breakage. Spoon the yogurt onto the bananas. Continue to cook until the yogurt is heated, shaking frequently to prevent sticking. This recipe serves four at 5 WW points plus value per serving.

My meal encompassed the taste spectrum from sour to salty to sweet. I had Tofurky, steamed cauliflower, the curried bananas, and sliced cucumber topped with lemon juice and salt. Here's my plate.

So in addition to making a tasty sweet-savory dinner dish, banana is good for you! According to Organic Facts,  banana is rich in potassium. It also contains other minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus in large quantities. It is also rich in fiber.  

My husband grilled hamburgers for himself and our son tonight. They had the same meal as me except for the protein substitution.

Beet and Feta Salad for Lunch

As I covered yesterday, I love beets. :) Here's what I had for lunch (leftovers from dinner last night).

That's 1 or 1 and 1/2 cup of thinly cut organic beet greens, topped with a grated organic beet, 1.25 ounces of (vegetarian) feta (so fun to crumble it between your fingers!), a teaspoon of organic cold pressed olive oil, and several teaspoons of feta brine (I considered a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, but I opted for the extra feta flavor punch from the brine!). Mmmmmm feta.

This meal was 0 points plus for the beet and for the beet greens, 4 points plus for the feta and 1 point plus for the olive oil, for a total of 5 points plus. Delicious, full of nutrients and also beautiful. The contrast between the white feta and the dark green of the greens and the deep purple red of the beet--a feast for the eyes.

Beans and Beets

With the husband away on travel for work I always get a little experimental with dinner. I don't have to cater to his taste. I can meander down the path of whatever I am interested in eating. Sometimes I might just want to have beets, for instance...of course, these days I have to also make something that hte boy is interested in eating. Usually when his father is away he requests pasta but tonight he suggested burritos, so I cooked up some black beans, thinking he'd have beans, cheese, salsa, and sour cream in a tortilla. (He did, but only ate about half since he was stuffed full of ABC bread I gave him for an afternoon snack.) While poking around in the refrigerator, looking for the cilantro my son requested (there was none), I rediscovered those beautiful beets I bought last grocery day and suddenly my dinner was on a completely different track!

I love beets. I love beet greens. This past summer I discovered raw beet and raw carrot salad served on beet greens. I ate it and ate it and ate it (travels well, tastes good, looks good) until I got totally sick of the stuff...so I guess it has been long enough and my beet love is back. The beet greens were a little wilted and sad but sure enough a nice soak in a sink full of freezing cold water put them to rights. I washed them, soaked them, dried them off and cut them fine to eat raw.

The beets themselves I quickly scrubbed and put in a saucepan to be simmered till tender (about 15-20 minutes). This pic is before cooking.

Once tender they go into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and can then be peeled with your fingers beneath running water. I had a tortilla with cheese, beet greens, black beans, salsa, and hot sauce. Here's my plate.

I know, not a dish you'd cook for yourself. But I enjoyed it! :) I am looking forward to a beet and feta salad for lunch tomorrow.

Beets greens are a great source of vitamin A and iron, but also provide vitamin C, protein, calcium, and carbohydrates. Beets are a great source of folic acid, managanese, potassium, and fiber.