Vegetarian Chilli

1 large onion, chopped
1 ts olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
1 cup of Morning Star breakfast starters or 1/2 package Gimme Lean (beef style)
2/3 large can whole cherry tomatoes (or stewed chopped fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 cloves of garlic, microplaned (grated)
2 tablespoons of chilli powder
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 ts smoked paprika
1 TB chilli flakes
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 cube of vegetarian stock cube (I prefer Rapunzel Vegetable Broth with Sea Salt), dissolved in 1 1/2 cps of hot water
1 ts sugar-free honey

Optional: add pink beans, garbanzo beans, and frozen corn.

Heat oil, and brown the onion. Add jalapeno pepper and veggie meat. Brown slightly. Add red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, veggie broth and stir the chilli. Add garlic and spices. Simmer for 20 min.

Serve with ff sour cream and ff cheddar cheese.

Makes 6 lunch portions (125 kcal w/o sour cream and ff cheese).

Pumpkin Pancake and Pumpkin Vanilla Pudding Triffle

A decadent complete breakfast!

• 1 NS pancake mix
  
• 1/2 TB of any whey
  
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TB brown Splenda
• 1/3 cp ff milk
  
• 1 ts cinnamon extract
• 1/4 ts pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 ts ground ginger

• 1 sf ff Jell-O vanilla pudding (in a cup or instant mix -- if mix, add 1/2 ff milk and whisk)
• 1 TB any whey
  
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 ts brown splenda

• 1 TB ff sour cream
• 1 TB ff redi whip
  
• 1 ts sugar-free honey

• Optional: 1/2 TB candied chopped pecans (dinner fat)
  

Mix the pancake ingredients, and bake in a small sprayed ramekin at 375F for 15-20 min in a toaster oven. For a much moister consistency of the cake layer, pour the dough into a small , microwave-safe silicon pan, and microwave for 2min. Remove from ramekin, and let cool. Cut pancake 'cake' into cubes.

In a small bowl whisk together the pudding mix, cold ff milk, any whey, pumpkin puree, splenda and spices. Whisk for 2 minutes until the pudding thickens, set aside.

In a small bowl combined sour cream, redi-whip and honey. Mix until well blended.

In a trifle dish, layer half of the pumpkin pancake cubes, then half of the pudding, then remaining pancake cubes and remaining pudding so that you have 2 layers of each. Top with a dollop of the sour cream mixture and sprinkle with candied pecans.

Complete breakfast with fruit and protein.

Note: for the NS purists, this is actually only a half fruit serving (1 cp pumpkin is a fruit), but since the pudding adds calories, and the ratio 1 serving vanilla pudding and 1/2 cp pumpkin tastes better, I count it as a complete breakfast, at least calorie-wise.

Semi-Homemade Swedish Rye Bread

I picked up a package of the swedish rye bread mix at IKEA. Wholegrain rye bread is one of my favorite breads, and here was a chance to make it at home. It's simple, just add warm water, shake vigorously, let rise and bake for 60 min. Instead of one big loaf, I made 3 small ones, which make perfect little slices. The taste is wonderful!



The rye bread mix can also be purchased online at Marina market (similar price to IKEA).

Moroccan Wholewheat Pasta with Fire-roasted Tomatoes

I felt like Moroccan flavors tonight, but the chicken was frozen and I was too hungry to thaw it. So, here is a wonderfully tasty vegetarian version.

1/4 TB olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, grated
1/8 cp white wine like chardonnay or pinot grigio
4 dried apricots, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1 cp chopped fire-roasted tomatoes
1 TB roasted red pepper spread (I used a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread from Trader Joes, but other avjars also work -- it adds great flavor and sweetness)
5 kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 ts chicken bouillon concentrate
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 cp chicken broth (I used sodium-reduced, fatfree swanson)
1 fresh bay leaf
1/2 ts splenda brown sugar
1 oz wholewheat spaghetti


Sautee onion and garlic in the olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Sautee until garlic is fragrant and onions are slightly browned. Add pepper, sautee for 2 more mins. Add white wine, bay leaf, apricots, and spices. Stir, then break up the spaghetti and add to the sauce. Sautee at low heat until spaghetti are soft and liquid is reduced.

Very flavorful, light and tasty!

This is a bit light on protein for dinner. You can add some cubed tofu to stay vegetarian, or add it as a side to a protein like grilled chicken.

Pumpkin Pie

It's dark and rainy outside, time for pumpkin pie.....

I wanted a pie with a crust, so I tried the crust that I use for cheese cake. I think a graham crust might also work well for the pumpkin pie purists, and there are cute little single serving pie crusts at Walmart that can just be filled with the filling.

Crust layer:
1/4 cup Krusteaz pancake mix
1/4 cp butter milk
1 Tbsp egg beaters
¼ ts vanilla
¼ ts baking soda

Pumpkin filling:
2/3 cup solid packed pumpkin
2 TB evaporated skim milk
2 TB eggbeaters
1 1/2 TB brown splenda
1/4 ts cinnamon extract (liquid!)
1/4 ts vanilla extract
1/8 ts ground ginger
1/8 ts pumpkin pie spice
1 TB Krusteaz mix

Heat oven to 400F degrees. Lightly grease or spray single-serve spring form.

Make the crust batter and the filling in separate bowls. Mix batter ingredients, and fill batter in a small, sprayed spring form, and bake at 400F for 5 min.

For the pumpkin filling, mix (potentially in food processor) pumpkin and other ingredients until it is a really smooth, creamy texture. Fill on top of pre-baked cake layer. Bake for another 20 at 400F, and another 25 min at 350F. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

1 breakfast entree + 1 fruit (240 kcal)

Butternut Squash Soup

1/2 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 large carrot, peeled, and cubed
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cps of low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) stock
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 ts orange peel (dried)
1 ts curry powder
1/2 ts olive oil

Sautee onion in olive oil. Add butternut squash, carrot, and chicken stock. Bring to boil, and then simmer at very low for 20 min or until tender. Take off stove, and blend the soup in either a blender (caution! Place towel on top and leave knob out) or mush up otherwise. Add salt, pepper, orange peel and curry powder. Stir, and serve with sour cream or a ts of goat cheese. Enjoy!

Makes 2 portions a 140 kcal; one is 1 lunch entree.