Tag: Broccoli

Vegetable Whole-Wheat Noodle Bowl ~ For Two

Vegetable Whole-Wheat Noodle Bowl ~ For Two1

 

This peanut butter-flavored dish is a cinch to throw together. So convenient on a weeknight or when you’re just lazy. Just boil a pot of water, saute some vegetables and whisk together some sauces from your pantry. Dinner is served!

Vegetable Whole-wheat Noodle Bowl

Serves:2 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

For noodle bowl:

  • 2 nests of whole wheat noodles
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch thin strips
  • 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
  • Pinch of salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
  • 1 small bunch of scallions (spring onions), finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp lightly toasted white sesame seeds*, for topping

*You may use toasted peanuts too instead.

For sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • big pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp of hot water (or a little more to achieve a thin yogurt-like consistency of sauce)

Directions:

  1. Boil a medium sized pot of water. Add the whole wheat noodles and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add oil and sauté  garlic for about 30 seconds. Add red pepper and broccoli to the pan and sauté for another 5 minutes over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Whisk together all the ingredients for sauce, adding the hot water in increments at the end. You are going for a thin yogurt-like consistency.
  4. Once the noodles are cooked and drained, toss together the noodles, sautéd vegetables and scallions.
  5. Portion into small bowls and top with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Share this recipe:

L.O.V.E. Wraps

L.O.V.E. Wraps1

 

I know you think that my blog has sort of turned into a baking blog with a savory recipe seldom thrown here and there which again involves some sort of baking! (Humph.. Do I make sense?) So after throwing so many sugar-laden desserts week after week, I thought a savory recipe for brunch or breakfast (which does not involve baking) would be a great way to redeem my past actions. And when the recipe is so healthy, no-carb and wholesome, I’m sure many of you’ll be ecstatic.

With this recipe, turn your regular scrambled egg breakfast into a fancy brunch dish. With summer upon us, we require as many quick-fixes as possible. I mean, who wants to turn on the oven or spend time in the kitchen slogging over the heat! Low-fat and clean eating becomes a necessity when days are so hot and humid. This recipe absolutely fits the bill as an all-rounder meal suitable for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.

This dish is so colorful because of zucchini, carrots and broccoli. As for the recipe, these are the measurements I followed but this dish does not require following a recipe to the T so feel free to make any adjustments. Use whatever vegetables you have at hand. Go vegetable crazy! Bell peppers and beans would be quite awesome too.

So eat light & have a happy happy weekend!
xo

 

L.O.V.E. Wraps

 

L.O.V.E. Wraps

Serves: 2 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 small carrot, cut into julienne
  • 1 small zucchini, cut into julienne
  • 1/8 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (or any seasoning of your choice)
  • 1/2 Tbsp butter
  • 2-3 large eggs
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4-6 lettuce leaves, washed and dried (any lettuce of your choice is fine)

Directions:

  1. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion to the skillet and saute till golden brown for about 2-3 minutes.
    Add broccoli and carrots and saute for another minute.
    Add zucchini and cook until just warm. We want the vegetables to have crunch and not be mushy. Mix in red chili flakes, Italian seasoning (or seasoning of your choice) and season with salt and pepper. Place this mixture in a small bowl.
  2. Wipe the skillet (used to saute vegetables) with paper towel and heat 1 Tbsp butter in it over medium heat. In a mixing bowl, crack 2-3 eggs and whisk them together with milk until well-beaten. Add pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
    Tilt the skillet to ensure the entire pan is coated in the melted butter and pour in the eggs. Keep the heat on medium low. When the eggs just start to set, use a flat spatula to slowly scrape sections of eggs, creating folds. Scrape occasionally until the eggs form soft folds; turn off the heat just before they are fully hardened.
  3. To serve, place the scrambled eggs on a lettuce and top with onion and vegetable mixture.
Share this recipe:

Skinny Zesty Salad

Skinny Zesty Sala1

 

After hogging lots and lots of sweets and fried stuff during 5 days of festivities in the past week, believe it or not, but my digestive system needed a break. So I am doing a cleanse/detox for few days.

I made this skinny salad for lunch one day and have fallen in love with it since then. It is so versatile, protein-packed and healthy even for people with diet restrictions. Yes! It is suitable for all the vegetarians and vegans out there! A complete meal in itself.

Add any or all of the ingredients mentioned below or whatever you have in your refrigerator. Don’t like uncooked Paneer/tofu? Don’t worry! You can grill it with a bit of olive oil and some seasoning before adding it to your salad or skip it. I once made this with just apple, pear, pomegranate and it was still lip-smacking!

So do your body a favor, give yourself a break from cooking and make this hearty salad! 🙂

Skinny Zesty Sala2

Skinny Zesty Salad

Serves: 2 as a side and 1 as a main-course

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 200 gm Paneer/extra-firm tofu, cut into 2 inch-long thin strips
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped into thin strips
  • 1 small yellow zucchini, cut into semicircles
  • 1 small apple, thin slices
  • 4 Tbsp black olives
  • Bunch of lettuce
  • few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

For dressing:

  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Juice from 1 lemon, or more to taste
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat a small pan on stove and add 1/2 Tbsp oil to it. Add garlic and broccoli florets. Stir fry till cooked, approximately for 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for dressing.
  3. In a medium bowl, add stir-fried garlic and broccoli florets. To this, add prepared paneer/tofu, bell pepper, zucchini, apple and black olives. Pour dressing over it and toss nicely.
  4. In a salad serving bowl, arrange lettuce at the bottom. Add salad on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately*.

*If serving later, refrigerate the salad and add apple just before serving.

Share this recipe:

Skinny Mac’n’Cheese

Skinny Mac'n'Cheese2

Oh I love me some mac’n’cheese! It is my no.1 comfort food… I love it on a rainy day, on a bad day, when I’m sad, when I’m happy! I crave for it. I resist few times and sometimes just cave in!

To be honest, I can’t allow myself good-old-over-the-top-cheesy mac’n’cheese everytime I want one! So I gave it a skinny make-over! Of course they are not totally guilt-free but everything in moderation doesn’t hurt right?!

Skinny Mac'n'Cheese1

 

If you are anything like me then you are going to love my version of mac’n’cheese. It has goodness of vegetables too. Yup, I have added some veggie tid-bits to make it little bit nutritious and kid-friendly. Best for those picky-eaters! You can sneak in any vegetable you want.

So wait no more & make it tonight!

Skinny Mac'n'Cheese3

Skinny Mac’n’Cheese

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup broccoli, cut into florets
  • 2 cups macaroni pasta
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
  • 4-5 button mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup skim milk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable stock/pasta water
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water as per the package instructions for al dante (or slightly under-cook for 2 minutes). Keep 1 cup of pasta water aside if you do not have vegetable stock. Drain cooked macaroni-broccoli in a colander. Grease a baking dish with oil and preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.
  2. In a large pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add onion and saute it for about 2 minutes. Then add and saute mushrooms, chili flakes for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add flour and saute for another minute till flour is golden and well-combined. Add milk and vegetable stock/pasta water and whisk raising heat to medium-high. Let it boil for about 3-4 minutes or till the sauce becomes smooth and thick.
  4. Once the sauce is thick, remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add grated Cheddar and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust seasoning. Add macaroni and broccoli and mix well.
  5. In a prepared baking dish, pour the mix. Top with grated cheese. Combine breadcrumbs, garlic powder, pepper together and sprinkle over the cheese layer. Spray a little more cooking oil on top. Bake for 15 minutes and broil for 1-2 minutes for golden breadcrumbs.

Dig in!!

Share this recipe:

Cheesy Broccoli Bites

Broccoli Bites3

 

Hello beautiful people,

I hope you all had an awesome weekend. I personally had a very enjoyable Sunday (I have a working Saturday 🙁 ). But on Sunday, my hubby’s few friends and us got together for a brunch and played Pool, Dumb Charades etc. and it was whole lotta fun!!! And then my Monday Blues started (can u blame a girl???).

So coming to last weekend, I was too tired after work on Saturday to cook anything elaborate for dinner and too finicky to eat out or order in! Plus there was a broccoli head staring at me in fridge from last week and I hate wasting/throwing any form of food. Hence I thought of making this eezee-peezee appetizer and decided to serve it over Tomato & Red Pepper Soup.

It turned out to be an amazing combo!

Posting my recipe for Tomato & Red Pepper Soup is a tale for another time (I know you can’t wait but plzz wait!!!). So here comes the recipe of yummilicious Cheesy Broccoli Bites!

Ingredients:

  • 250 gms fresh broccoli head, cut into florets and steamed
  • 100 gms grated white cheddar cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Cut broccoli into big florets. Let it steam for 2 minutes and then chop it finely.

Broccoli Bites1
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

 

broccoli Bites
Form small patties with your hands and lay on a greased parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 375F/190C for 30 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

Broccoli Bites2
Serve it hot with accompaniment of your choice. They taste great with soup, salad or as is with tomato ketchup! 😉

P.S. You can also serve these with the homemade low-fat Ranch dressing from this recipe: http://cookbybook.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/veggie-shooters/

Share this recipe: