Zippy Egg Tacos

By Jaclyn

As an ovo-lacto vegetarian, I eschew meat, but I do eat eggs and consume dairy. And I'll tell you what. I absolutely LOVE eggs.

Since I do a lot of weight training, I have to be sure to get adequate amounts of protein and beans and tofu are great, but nothing is easy, wholesome, or cheap as eggs. I love eggs because they're insanely versatile; you can just do so many different things with them--fry them, scramble them, boil them, bake them, poach them--really, the list could go on and on. I eat eggs several times a week and I try to switch it up, but this is my absolute favorite way to cook scrambled eggs; the cumin and red pepper give the eggs some real zip, the vegetables give a nice depth of flavor, and the corn tortillas make the dish extra-comforting and satisfying. Best of all, it's filling, nutritious, and delicious in your mouth.



Zippy Egg Tacos

Recipe serves 1

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 corn tortillas, fajita size, warmed (wrap in a paper towel and nuke for 15 seconds)
1/4 cup chopped zucchini and onions (sometimes I add red pepper or mushrooms too)
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 cup shredded jack cheese
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and saute chopped vegetables for 1-2 minutes until slightly soft and the cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add beaten eggs and move the eggs around with a spatula until curds start to form. Add cheese and continue moving eggs around. Once the eggs have set up, put half of the egg and vegetable mixture on each corn tortilla and salt and pepper to taste and eat it like a soft taco!

This can be served with spicy salsa and reduced fat sour cream for extra zip and it's awesome for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

A Big Ol' Pot of Vegetarian Chili

By Jaclyn

Something about the cooler weather makes me want to eat all of my food with a spoon. There are lots of delicious soups and bisques to warm your belly, but for me, the best cool weather dish is hot vegetarian chili.
My vegetarian chili is sweet, spicy, and really easy to make. Everything can be done in one big pot, which means no piles of dirty dishes!

Vegetarian Chili:
(Serves at least 8. I eat this for days.)

Ingredients:
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of diced tomato, drained (I get the kind with the Mexican spices)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 15 oz can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 package of frozen corn (or fresh corn if you have it. I usually use the Steamfresh super sweet corn)
1 package of Morningstar Farms veggie grounds, or other vegetarian ground hamburger substitute
1 medium to medium-large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp cumin (the spice of the gods)
1/2 tbsp dry ground mustard
1/2 tbsp table sugar
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
Olive oil
20 grinds of cracked black pepper
More salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put about a half a tablespoon of olive oil in the chili pot on medium heat and add the chopped onion and garlic. Let the aromatics get aromatic, then add the Morningstar veggie grounds. Stir the onions, garlic and grounds until the grounds are warm, then add the tomato products and the kidney beans. Add all of the spices, the corn, and the jalapeno. Stir until heated through and salt and pepper to taste. I usually let this simmer for a few hours, but you can really eat it just like that.

Depending on my mood, I might add a bit more chili powder and red pepper flake. If it gets too hot, I've been known to add a square of dark chocolate. You can pretty much add anything in here and it will be insanely flavorful and it will feed you for days.

I like to serve this with a dollop of low fat sour cream and some shredded cheddar and a warm multigrain baguettea or some corn tortillas.


The best part is that this is chock full of veggies and fiber. Mmm, delicious fiber.

Happy Fall!

No-Fry Spinach and Feta Fritters

I love cheese. I love most cheese. I'm particularly fond of feta cheese because of how much flavor a small amount can pack into a dish. I also love fritters. Fritters are delightful vegetable patties that are usually deep-fried. And then there's Greek food--obviously, I love that too. What's not to love?

When I came across a recipe for spinach and feta fritters on Closet Cooking (which is full of AWESOME vegetarian recipes, by the way) and I knew I had to make them. After all, I love Greek food, I love feta, and I love fritters so this one was sure to be a hit.



The original recipe requires frying the fritters in two tablespoons of oil on the stove top, which I did the first time I made the fritters, and they were seriously delicious, but then I got to thinking about how to make these fritters lower in fat so that I could enjoy them more frequently. On a whim, I tried cooking these on the stove top with Smart Balance cooking spray instead of the oil and lo and behold--delicious and nutritious low-fat fritters for my mouth!

The original recipe also calls for regular all-purpose flour, which I replaced with whole wheat flour, and I used reduced fat feta. I also mixed up a little creamy dipping sauce to go on the side. With my adjustments, these fritters are amazingly low in fat and full of nutrition.

Adapted from Closet Cooking:

Spinach and Feta Fritters

(makes 2 servings--about 4-5 fritters)

Ingredients:
10 ounces spinach (roughly chopped, cooked and squeezed to drain)
1 handful fresh herbs (I used a mixture of dill and mint)
2 green onions (sliced)
1/4 cup reduced fat feta (crumbled)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:
1. Mix the spinach, herbs, onions, feta, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Mix in the flour. (Note: You want to mix in enough flour that the mixture will hold its form when "fried.")
3. Liberally spray a pan with Smart Balance cooking spray.
4. Shape the spinach mixture into patties and cook in the pan until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
1/4 chopped cucumber
Dash of paprika

Enjoy these alongside a fresh summer tomato sprinkled with sea salt, a crisp salad, or do what I did with the leftovers the next day, and top two fritters with a medium-well done egg for an awesome and filling lunch!

Pizza For One, Pizza For All: Jaclyn's Flatbread Pizza and Other Weight-Friendly Pizza Options

Well, since Miranda wrote about IC friendly pizza and Irene wrote about gluten-free pizza, I decided I had to jump on the pizza bandwagon and write about weight-friendly vegetarian pizza. This was a good bandwagon to jump on.

Like everyone else in the world, I love a good pizza. Every once in awhile I'll indulge in real, delicious, perfect pizza, but obviously that's not an everyday kind of thing for me--but I want to eat pizza every day! It's a true conundrum. That being the case, I have to find ways to get my pizza fix without totally undoing my long spinning sessions at the gym.

(side story: there was a point in time when Miranda and I literally ate pizza every single day, before she was diagnosed with IC. This was years ago. It was perhaps not our proudest hour)

The easiest way for me to get pizza'd and keep it relatively healthy is to turn to good ol' Amy. Amy's Kitchen makes really tasty organic pizzas in single serving sizes that are great for me when I'm in a pizza pinch. I really like to have one alongside a simple green salad with olive oil and vinegar for dinner after a cardio gym session. They're satisfying and truly delicious; I've never had any other frozen pizza that actually tastes good. I do bake my Amy's pizzas in the oven, rather than heat them up in the microwave, because microwaving pizza is for suckers.

The pies are all under 500 calories, are totally organic, and while they're a little high in fat, it's nothing that makes me run for the hills. The few extra fat grams are totally worth smashing a pizza craving. The Margherita is my favorite.


When I'm not in the mood for frozen pizza and I have a lot of time on my hands, I love to make a honey whole wheat dough and pizza sauce from scratch. Guess how often I have that much time on my hands?

The thing about making dough from scratch is you have to let it rise and knead it out and yadda yadda yadda. Come on. I need pizza now!

The good news is, I came up with a fabulous quick and easy pizza recipe that I turn to when I'm not feeling the Amy's and don't have time for all the kneading and rising.

Check it out:
Flatbread pizza!

This recipe serves one and I enjoy this for under 400 calories! Actually, as long as I keep an eye on the cheese, I can usually make it for just under 300 calories. Unreal!

You'll need:
1 Flatout flatbread. I use the multigrain with flax kind.

1-2 tbsp pizza sauce. I usually have some homemade marinara on hand that I use, but I won't judge if you use jarred sauce. I do it in a pinch.

2 oz. freshly grated part skim mozzarella. I do insist on the freshly grated stuff. There's nothing like a soft mound of freshly grated mozzarella cheese. It totally beats the pre-shredded stuff in the bag that's coated in cornstarch. That stuff will ruin your life.

Garlic salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Your favorite pizza toppings. I used mushrooms, onions, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil!

Cooking spray

Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a little garlic salt on top. Place the Flatout flatbread on the cookie sheet and spread the olive oil around the edges of the flatbread. Spread the pizza sauce on the flatbread; be careful not to use too much. One tbsp should do it, but you can use a little more if you really like sauce, just remember that the flatbread is relatively thin. Spread the freshly shredded mozzarella on the pie and finish it off with your favorite toppings* and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, top with fresh parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, then cut into quarters and eat it up!

*If you're using fresh herbs like basil on your pizza, sprinkle them on top after the pizza is done. If you put them in the oven they'll burn up!

The whole process from beginning to finish (not including the eating) takes about 20 minutes. This is a great way to eat pizza and keep it healthy. The Flatout flatbreads are about 100-110 calories apiece. Add the sauce, the cheese, and some veggies on top and you have a complete meal!

Like Miranda and Irene, I also really enjoy eating at Mellow Mushroom and Pizza Fusion. Both restaurants have options for people who are looking to keep it healthy. Mellow Mushroom is great because they use part-skim mozzarella; my big thing there is that I have to keep my portions in check. I love their Magical Mystery Tour pizza, add onions, no jalapenos. It has a pesto crust and is loaded with mushrooms. When I go there I get a single serving pie, eat two slices, and save the other two for the next day. Leftover Mellow Mushroom is the best! The slices on the small pies are a good size. I'm still waiting for MM to come out with nutritional information, but several reputable calorie counter sites report that a slice of cheese pizza from MM is around 250 calories, which is pretty awesome. I tend to think they're probably closer to 300 calories apiece. Mellow Mushroom, please come out with nutritional info!

Pizza Fusion has lots of great vegetarian options and they have nutritional information posted on their website (go Pizza Fusion!) Their pies are thin, they offer multigrain crust, and they're mostly organic. It's a win-win-win. I love the Farmer's Market and the Bruschetta single serving pies the best; it's always hard to choose.

So there you have it. There are plenty of weight-friendly pizza options out there for you; after all, a life without pizza is not much of a life at all, is it?

Summer Lovin': Grilled Avocado

By Jaclyn

Avocados are one of those awesome-for-you foods that got a bad rap for awhile in the weight-loss/management community because they're high in fat. The thing is, they're high in good fats that your body needs in order to, y'know, function correctly. It's important to keep in mind that eating foods with healthy natural fats helps keep you sated for longer and helps healthy brain function. Aside from all that good fat, avocados contain 20 essential nutrients.

I'll tell you something else about avocados. They're freaking delicious.


This grilled avocado recipe was suggested to me by my professional chef/writer friend Holly, and it is simple, summery, and it makes a great light lunch alongside a bean salad.

Grilled Avocado:
Serves 2

1 California avocado, cut in half
1 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Lemon juice

For garnish:
Salsa
Reduced Fat Sour Cream

Brush olive oil and lemon juice on avocado halves and place halves facedown on a grill pan set to medium-high heat. You might want to use a bit of cooking spray on the pan to keep the avocado halves from sticking. Using a spatula, check the halves for grill marks after about two minutes and from there, cook to suit your grill mark preference. I like my marks to be on the darker side, so I kept my avocado half on there for close to five minutes.

Once the grill marks are to your liking, remove from heat and hit the halves with salt and pepper immediately. Garnish with a dollop of reduced fat sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and a dollop of fresh salsa.

I had one half of a grilled avocado with a side of red beans mixed with tomato, onion, pineapple, and reduced fat feta cheese.


All was well with the world.

Falafel Me Delicious

By Jaclyn

I first had falafel when I was 18 or so, in a tiny hole-in-the-wall Lebanese dive in Gainesville, Florida that served it up hot to order alongside the best french fries I've ever had. The combination of spicy hot falafel, creamy tahini dressing, and bright, crunchy veggies sang on my tongue. I was visiting the city in bad company, but the falafel--the falafel made it all worth it.

Of course, traditional deep-fried falafel doesn't meet my bottom line. It enlarges my bottom line. Or something.

Er, moving on.

This lower fat falafel recipe uses whole wheat flour instead of white to bind the dough and is browned quickly on the stovetop, then transferred to a hot oven to bake off, and is wrapped up in a whole wheat pita.


I made it with a throw-together Israeli salad and some tahini dressing. It would also be great with a tzatziki, which I would have made if I hadn't accidentally killed all the fresh dill in my garden.

Whoops.

I adapted this recipe from Eunice, who made it after I suggested, via Twitter, trying it out in her new food processor. Then I saw her pictures and decided that I needed to make my own. Go, social networking!

For the falafel, you'll need:
1 cup of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have this and neither did Publix. FML)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin (which makes life worth living)
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of canola oil
mini whole wheat pita bread


For the Israeli salad:
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste



For the tahini dressing:
1 tbsp tahini puree. It's expensive, but very worth it. I use it when I make homemade hummus all the time.
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt or reduced fat sour cream. I used sour cream because that's what I have.
1-2 tbsp warm water, depending on how thin you want your dressing
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place chickpeas and onions in food processor. Add parsley, cilantro, salt, crushed red pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. If you're like me, be lazy and use your mini prep processor instead of the big pain in the ass one, then give yourself more work to do because it won't all fit in the mini. Hate yourself.
  

• Sprinkle in the baking powder and flour and pulse. Place the mixture in a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours. Or, like, 45 minutes, if you're impatient and hungry. It'll be fine.

• Form the chickpea mixture into patties about 2-3″ in diameter. The thinner your patties, the more crunch you'll get. Trust me. Especially if you were impatient and didn't let your mixture chill for a long time.

• Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the falafel on both sides, then put them on a baking sheet and bake for about 15-18 minutes.

While all that is happening, toss the ingredients for the Israeli salad together in a bowl, and whisk the ingredients for the tahini dressing with a fork.

When your falafels are done, put 3-4 patties in a warm whole wheat pita, spoon some Israeli salad in the pita, and top the whole thing off with a drizzle of the tahini dressing.


Oh, did you happen to notice my little side of fries? Yes, those are baked too. I just sliced a very small Russet potato into wedges, tossed it in a bit of olive oil, with salt, pepper, and parsley, and baked them off while my falafel baked. I dipped them in the leftover tahini dressing.

This is a nutritious, filling lunch or dinner, reminiscent of the deep-fried stuff, but it's much lower in fat than your normal falafel and fries, and it really satisfies the craving. Eat it up!