Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ten Things for Tuesday - Simple Meals I Enjoy

Quickly now, for I'm a day late! Ten Simple Meals I Enjoy:

1. A whole wheat wrap spread with 1-oz. goat cheese and a bed of spinach, topped with a cooked egg, rolled.

2. Baked spaghetti squash, topped with no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce and fresh Parmesan &/or Romano cheese. Even better if you saute' fresh zucchini in olive oil and add that to it!

3. Equal portions of romaine lettuce and fresh spinach (I usually go with 2+ cups of each) topped with a Macintosh apple, diced. Add one tablespoon of Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing and mix thoroughly.

4. Slice any mixture of fresh veggies until you have 6-8 cups; I commonly mix sweet potatoes, yellow or sweet onions, zucchini, yellow squash, baby carrots and/or halved Roma (plum) tomatoes. Over the veggies, press as many cloves of garlic as your heart desires. Drizzle with with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and mix thoroughly. Spread on a baking stone or sheet, and sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper. Roast for 25-35 minutes in a 400* oven. (Might be 450*; I always have to check my notes, which are not accessible now.)

5. A can of Progresso Light Southwestern-Style Veggie Soup!

6. Stir-fry veggies (fresh or frozen) and light firm tofu, cooked. Add low-sodium tamari sauce and place over cooked brown rice. Yum!

7. I'll sometimes grab a seasoned steak from the store and cook it and sliced zucchini in my grill pan topped with my grill press, turning each once while cooking. Top the zucchini with a touch of salt or seasoning and you're done!

8. Take fresh salmon and drizzle a few drops of olive oil over it, spreading the oil around with a spatula. Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice over it then press some fresh garlic over it. Top with Herbamare (a low-sodium seasoning mix I found at the health food store). Bake at 450* for 16-22 minutes, until opaque throughout. Steam some fresh broccoli and enjoy your feast!

9. Dice (into large chunks) a pound or two of fresh tomatoes (I use Roma) and drop them into a deep skillet containing 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Top with seasonings of your choice; I use Italian seasoning, salt, and fresh pepper. Let this simmer while you cook some ditalini (a small pasta that looks like macaroni cut in thirds). When cooked, stir the ditalini into the tomatoes, and add 4-8 oz. diced fresh mozzarella cheese. Add chiffonaded fresh basil (or dried basil, in a pinch). Let it all simmer for a minute or two more until the cheese is melted, then serve with a fresh salad &/or steamed green beans. I promise you'll love this! (Not too light a dish, though.)

10. A bowl of cereal! (I learned this one in college, only then it was Lucky Charms!) I often eat Kashi or FiberOne cereals, with ground flax seed on top. I use light soy milk.

I am not a health-nut by any stretch of the imagination, though terms like soy, tamari, and flax seed may lead you to believe otherwise. I just have found a few things along the way that my body likes or are good for my health and have added them into my diet. Hope you enjoy...and feel free to share your ideas! I love new food ideas!

Blessings,
-J

P.S. I noticed ten favorite ingredients, too: olive oil, zucchini, fresh spinach, Roma tomatoes, soy products (tofu, soy milk, tamari), grains (brown rice, whole wheat wrap, flax seed), seasonings, salt, fresh pepper, cheese (Parmesan, Romano, mozzarella)!

(c) 2008

8 comments:

Sarah@Life in the Parsonage said...

We should never eat together...unless it is steak or cereal :) HA! You have my utmost respect for eating so healthy...no amount of running I do can make up for the junk I eat :)

Anonymous said...

You forgot my marinated steak's :). Small oversight, I figure :) . But you did get the salmon stuff on there (the herbamare was a good addition by you.)

For all you out there near a store that will do it - my new favorite thing is having the store steam the salmon for you while you shop. Have them use some lemon pepper seasoning and mmmmmm.

In the meantime... pass the ribs!

Anonymous said...

Now that I'm thinking about it - I suppose you are talking about simple meals you actually make regularly. I don't buy meat that often, much less steaks (though I still think my marinate should make the list :) ).

OK - so now I'll change all that to my smoothie's (that no one but me - and my gracious mother - likes :) !! Good stuff.

Beth@playinwiththepaulsens! said...

I want T to make me steak!!!!!

ShalomSeeker said...

Sarah: So what would you make/enjoy for dinner?

T: I LOVE your steaks, but I don't make them. And yes, you did add the salmon to my repetoire--Thanks!

Beth: Yes you DO want T to make you steak. I have NEVER left leftovers on that, no matter how large the piece. Once I was so hungry for it that I didn't even use silverware!!! Mmmmmm....T--when are you making steak again??? LOL!

Sarah@Life in the Parsonage said...

what WOULD i make? :) Frozen pizza...cheesy potatos...take out :) Although, tonight I did kabobs...more on that in a post :)

joyce said...

Post blueberry cereal for me. Yum.

Anonymous said...

Oooh -for Sarah - Totino's - really crispy. I like canadian bacon but can't find that here any more. (When do you think it'll be politically incorrect to call it CANADIAN bacon?)

LOL - I forgot about the no silverware night. If I recall, I was right there with you. It was so barbarian and we really did look pathetic. It's not as if we never ate. Good memory though :)