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Vegetarian Easy & Yummy Oh My!


Last night after getting in late from the gym-again, I had one of my favorite and famous Avocado Sandwiches.


Famous you ask? Yeah, yeah, we’re all legends in our own minds. But seriously, it is a favorite at our house. I’ve learned there are a couple of drawbacks to being a decent cook: 1) You don’t get as many breaks from the duty of cooking if yours is actually better than the other fine folks that share your abode and 2) A lot of the things I cook are so much healthier for us, because I cut way back on the salt and the fat so we eat at home more often than we used to.

Where was I? Oh yes - Dinner. Along with the sandwich I made an Edamame Salad, both healthy and yummy. I got this recipe from the the Yeggie Yogi and tweaked it a bit, as it had a little too much oil and even though it is Grape Seed oil which is one of the healthier oil choices, it’s still fat and had the highest individual amount of calories of all the ingredients in the salad. Another bonus of this salad is that is it absolutely Gorgeous!  This salad could also be served as an entrée. Make sure and look at the calorie count below, you won’t believe that something this pretty could be so good for you too. One more thing, the sandwich and salad are easy to make, super easy and fast!

Avocado Sandwich
What you need:
 2 slices of bread, toasted (I only used white bread because I didn't want the big slices of whole grain bread)
1 T Neufchatel cream cheese (1/2 less fat)
½ c radish sprouts
½ avocado

What you do:
Toast the bread. This is so it doesn’t fall apart with the heavy ingredients. Spread the cream cheese on one slice.


Top with sprouts. 


Thinly slice ½ avocado on the other slice of toast.


Slightly mash the avocado so it doesn’t slide off the bread.


Slap your bread together and cut in half.


Edamame Salad 
What you need:

1 C edamame beans
1 C corn
1 C cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
1 C black beans
1/4 C red onion
Handful of cilantro, finely chopped

What you do:
Combine the ingredients in a bowl.


Helpful hints:

• I used frozen edamame. I soaked the beans in a bowl of water and by the time the rest of the ingredients and dressing were assembled, they were thawed but cool and perfect for the salad. If you are using frozen black beans and corn, you can soak all at the same time. Just be sure and rinse after the soak!

• Canned beans and corn may also be used, but rinse through a colander. This does 2 things: removes extra sodium and keeps the mix clean (and pretty!)

Dressing
What you need:

1/8 C red wine vinegar 0 c
1/8 C lime juice 0 c
1/4 C grapeseed oil 245 c
1 T honey 64 c
Cayenne or cracked pepper to taste

What you do:

Whisk thoroughly.


Pour over, mix into salad and serve.



Helpful Hints:
• The honey is the heaviest liquid and will sink to the bottom. Make sure your bowl or container is deep enough to capture it during the whisking.



• As I mentioned earlier, I cut back on the oil used in the original recipe and based on what settled at the bottom of the mixing bowl, you could probably cut the amount of oil in half again if you really need to cut calories. Another option and one that will not alter the taste is to use a slotted spoon to serve with, making sure to let the excess dressing stay in the serving bowl versus your plate.

• The pepper is optional. I have been trying to incorporate cayenne more into my diet as it is a natural aid for weight loss and a metabolism booster and has many other beneficial properties, so I use it whenever I can.


Calorie count:
Salad (with dressing)
½ C serving (as a side) = 113 calories
1 C serving (as an entrée) = 226 calories

Sandwich = 320 calories

Meal total only 433 Calories! Yummy, pretty and good for you! Oh My!

So, what do you think? Maybe something Vegetarian on your menu this weekend?

Not intended to be a single guide for nutrition, but if you would like further information on some of the ingredients used, you may want to check here:
Cayene
Grape Seed Oil
Avocados
The Veggie Yogi can be found here.

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