vegetable pie

This is one of my favorite dishes. It's rich and comforting, it's full of vegetables, and it's (relatively) good for you. My mom has made it for years, and I started making it shortly after I got married. It's a great vegetarian option and I swear you won't even miss the meat. Serve this up with a green salad and you'll have yourself a nice little meal.

½ medium eggplant, cubed
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½  teaspoon basil
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar 
1 cup shredded mozzarella 
double pie crust 


Toss eggplant, onion, green pepper, zucchini and garlic with olive oil, spices, salt and pepper in a roasting pan or large baking sheet.  Roast at 425 degrees until soft, stirring every 10 minutes for about 30 minutes. 


In the meantime, prepare your pie crust (I swear I don't work for Trader Joe's, but they make a really really good frozen crust).

Once your vegetable are done, layer half of vegetables, half of the cheese, and half the tomato. Repeat. Make a lattice top pie crust (or fake it like I do)  and bake for 25 min at 425 degrees. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
And enjoy! 

even your kids will like it

My husband loves coleslaw. LOVES it. I have never liked it. The only exception I make is when you can get it on your barbecue sandwich - a real southern treat. We don't live in the south, so this has happened once in my life. Anyway, I digress.

This salad is where we meet in the middle. It is kinda, sorta like coleslaw, but so much fresher, crunchier, and better for you. Not sure if you've noticed my love of carrots, but I try to put them in everything. My kid says he doesn't like them, but he is going on looks alone because I don't think he has ever knowingly put a carrot in his mouth.

This is a quick, simple side dish and goes especially well with barbecue - which is what we're having tonight. This Zesty Chicken is awesome and amazing - another thing worth trying. 

OHM's Carrot Salad

6 large carrots, peeled

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 apples (I prefer honeycrisp or pink lady), peeled and chopped

1/4 reduced fat mayo

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 tablespoon (or a little more) honey

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

salt to taste

Using your peeler, or a grater, shred carrots into a bowl. Add raisins and apples. In a separate container, whisk the remaining ingredients and combine with salad. You can eat this right away, or put it in the fridge for up to three days.  Mmmmm, good good good.

When I told the little dude what I was making, he informed me he would just like the apples and raisins, thankyouverymuch. But with a little coercion, even he had to admit it was pretty darn good.

simple summer vegetables

I love simplicity.  It usually provides the most pleasing results. Last night I was whipping up a pretty easy dinner - grilled chicken and flat bread, and decided I wanted vegetables instead of salad (we've been eating that a lot lately). This is a great recipe for you gardeners with an abundance of squash! Eat it as is, toss it with some pasta and parm, load up a baguette and broil it with some havarti or provolone - these roasted vegetables are so delicious and so easy, you're gonna love them as much as I do.  

All you need:

3 medium zucchini, thickly sliced

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together in a pie plate.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Toss gently, and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes.  

Make it even simpler and do it in your toaster oven, like me. 

**For older babies, you can just do zucchini, blend it in the food processor, and mix it up with avocado and even a little wheat germ for a super nutritious meal!

healthy hobbies

Spring is here. Finally. We have had consistent sunshine for three whole days here in the northwest - is that a record for April? And for those three days, I have been to the nursery, prepping my garden, and getting my containers ready.

I have never ever been into gardening. I definitely wouldn't say I have a green thumb. But last year I decided to try my hand at a few flowers, some herbs and a tomato plant. I was pretty successful.  I give some of the credit to a book I picked up, You Grow Girl, which is also an extensive gardening blog. Totally inspirational!

This year I am stepping it up a notch: strawberries, beets, zucchini and carrots. We'll see what happens!  I'll try to keep you updated - maybe I'll even incorporate some of my goods into some recipes.

Being healthy extends beyond diet and exercise. How do you unwind? Express creativity?Get involved in the world around you? Are you a knitter? A seamstress? A cook or a baker? Do you teach classes, volunteer, try to learn something new on a regular basis? I want to hear from you and what keeps you going.

And if you want a little more gardening inspiration, you can also check out the Pioneer Woman... she is good at giving you the lowdown on the basics. Growing stuff is easy - and it's so fun to watch it happen!

a meatloaf makeover

My newest obsession is library cookbooks.  I could spend hours looking through them for ideas.  I don't, because I have a two year old and my time of pouring over books leisurely is limited to nap time.  And because our trips to the library usually consist of me running after him as he explores the ins and outs of every row of books.  But I digress.

Awhile back I checked out a copy of one of the Cooking Light cookbooks and found a lot of recipes I wanted to try.  The only one I actually did was the Barbecue Meatloaf.  I have never been a huge fan of meatloaf (I mean, just the name is enough to scare you off...), but this was really good.

As usual, I changed it up, mostly by adding a few nutritious extras to make it even more worth eating.  This is a really good dish - my husband absolutely loves it (he asked me today if it was okay to eat for breakfast).  So here it is, folks.  Enjoy!

1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef (ground turkey is great, too)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I quickly put one large slice of multigrain bread in the food processor)

2 T wheat germ (optional)

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided (watch labels for high fructose corn syrup)

1 T prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 large egg white + 1 whole egg

cooking spray

Put onion, garlic and carrot in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Or mince by hand if you don't have one.

Combine meat, crumbs, wheat germ, onion mixture, mustard, salt, pepper, eggs and 2-3 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce.

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Shape mixture into a loaf.

Pour remaining sauce on top and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers at 160 degrees in the middle.

Let stand about 10-15 minutes.  Slice into 10-12 slices and serve!

(makes great leftover sandwiches... or breakfast)

Enjoy!

a really satisfying sandwich

This delicious baguette was inspired by one of the many consumed on our trip to Paris.  Today is Ash Wednesday, which for us is a day of partial fasting and abstaining from meat (apart from the spiritual significance, of course).  This sandwich was the perfect end to my day - so simple, and so delicious.   You don't want to miss out on this one.

Here's what you need.

1 fresh baguette

3 hard boiled eggs

1 medium tomato

12-15 thin slices of cucumber

3 green leaf lettuce leaves

3 oz sliced provolone

3 tablespoons hummus 

salt and pepper to taste

Slice the baguette lengthwise.  You can hollow it out a bit to make room for the fillings, if you want.

Spread both sides with hummus (you can also use mayo - that's what we had in France. Hummus gave it great flavor, though - and it is much better for you).

Layer cheese, cucumber, and tomato.

Thinly slice eggs with a sharp knife.  Layer on top of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the other half of your baguette.

Slice into quarters and enjoy!

Mmmmm.  

as promised

I totally had fun with the pizza challenge.  I am cooking up some more fun recipes (delicious and sneakily filled with vegetables).  But for now, let's get down to it.

Greek-Inspired Pizza, a.k.a Flavor Explosion

the dough:  I used this recipe.  I substituted two of the cups of flour with whole wheat flour, increased the water to 1 1/4 cups, used olive oil and used honey instead of sugar.  You can let it rise for 30 minutes - I didn't.  I just rolled it out really thin and pre-baked for about 5 minutes.  You can also buy ready made dough at Trader Joe's and that makes everything a little quicker.

1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella 

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped 

6 artichoke hearts  (frozen or jarred), quartered

20 cherry tomatoes, quartered

10 calamata olives, pitted and diced

1/3 cup lowfat or fat free feta, crumbled

Layer everything atop your pizza dough in the order listed.  Bake for 8-10 minutes (if pre-baked) at 375, or until the crust is slightly golden.  

Slice and eat up!  This TASTY pizza is one you can feel good about - iron, protein, calcium, fiber,  antioxidants galore, plus loads of vitamins.  

If you've got picky eaters, you can do what I did:  halve the recipe (I even slice the dough in half before topping it), and slather one side with this sauce (super easy and even more antioxidants and nutrients! And you can freeze what you don't use) and top with 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan.  Now everyone is happy! 

**correction:  I totally left out the olive oil!  Oopsie.  Just drizzle the dough with a little less than a tablespoon of olive oil before topping it.  

roasted cauliflower

Mmmmmmm.... This is one of the simplest, best tasting side dishes I have eaten in recent history. I have never been a huge fan of cauliflower - not that I had a distaste for it, but it just seemed so boring.

Until I tried it like this.  I wanted to eat the entire pan (I practically did).   It is so delicious and so easy and, of course, SO good for you.  One serving supplies almost all the vitamin C you need for the day, plus a bunch of other good stuff (vitamin K, folate, fiber, etc.) and it has cancer-fighting properties.  So go grab some and let's get started!

I had a 12 oz bag of fresh cauliflower, already washed and chopped from TJ's.  If you are buying it whole, just aim for about 1 pound of it.

Wash it and cut it into bite size pieces.  Blot dry and throw it on a cookie sheet.  

Drizzle it with about a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.  

Toss to coat and spread evenly on the pan.

Roast for 15-20 minutes at 425, until golden and tender.

Try not to eat it all straight from the pan.  Try to share it.

And enjoy!

power salad

© One Healthy Mama 2008

This salad is packed with nutrients and major flavor.  Talk about starting the year off right! One serving of this delivers a healthy dose of iron, protein, fiber, calcium, vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K, plus potassium, maganese, folate and tons of antioxidants.  Plus, it can lower cholesterol.  

Oh yeah, and it is deeeeeelicious.   It's based on yet another recipe discovered on allrecipes.com, with some additions and subtractions, and my own dressing, of course. 

Here's whatchya need:

2 cups shelled edamame (soybeans)

1 cup shredded carrots

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 10oz bag frozen sweet corn

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cumin

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Combine edamame, carrots, tomatoes, corn, beans and onions.

Whisk lime juice, oil, honey and cumin.  Toss with salad.

Sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for about an hour to let flavors meld.  

Eat up!

You could fill up on this as is, throw it in a tortilla, or serve it with grilled chicken or shrimp for dinner.  It is filling and fresh, and you really ought to try it.

Happy new year!

a new take on chicken noodle soup

It is cooooold outside.  The ground is covered in beautiful, sparkly snow and I am house bound while my husband is off rescuing people who couldn't drive in the snow. He is such a good man.

I thought I'd whip up some soup while he is away so that he has something warm and hearty to come home to.  I found a recipe on my favorite recipe site and changed it up a bit, using what I have on hand and making it a bit healthier.  I think you're gonna like it.  And if you don't, don't tell me.

© One Healthy Mama 2008

Chicken Vegetable Ravioli Soup

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded carrot

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth (I used 2 cups of my chicken stock + 2 cups water)

1 cup dried cheese ravioli

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

2 med. zucchini, chopped

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2-2 cup cooked chicken breast, shredded

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in oil 'til just tender.

Add carrot and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. 

Add ravioli and reduce heat.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, zucchini and basil.  Simmer until vegetables and ravioli are tender.

Add chicken and parsley 5 minutes before serving (this way it doesn't dry out, as can happen with chicken breast in soup).

If you want, sprinkle with a little parmesan and serve.  Healthy, hearty - and it'll warm you right up!