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Sort of eggplant Parmesan with zoodles. 6/18/22
I made up this dish while making it. I knew I did not want breaded and fried eggplant and remembered how much we had enjoyed the eggplant cubes that I roasted in the oven for our farro bowls. I decided to roast the cubes and then when they were done I would melt some cheese over the top in the microwave followed by some reheated spaghetti sauce that I had made previously
Since I am currently not eating pasta, I decided to have zoodles (zucchini that has been spiralized.) Previously I had expensively bought the noodles already made from the produce department in the grocery store. But would it be cost effective to buy a spiralizer? Our daughter found a hand held one for sale at Grocery Outlet and since it was only $9 I decided to give it try. As you can see our zoodles came out just like thick spaghetti. I zoodled 2 zucchini which was plenty for the three of us. And it was fun.
So what did I think of our dinner hack? The sort of eggplant Parmesan tasted very like the real deal. And I can see using the Vegetti (the brand of spiralizer) to make a spaghetti substitute which I can sauce in many ways. Win-win!
Posted in American, Italian, Low carb meals, Methods, Sheet pan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged Eggplant, zoodles, zucchini
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Scallops with roasted broccolini and asparagus. 6/17/22
Originally I had planned on making asparagus and a salad. When I went to the grocery store they had a pack of asparagus and broccolini together for $5. I shifted gears and decided that asparagus and broccolini totally went together and all I needed to do was find a way to cook them without dirtying two large skillets. Aha! I’ll roast them in the oven on a sheet pan!
First I pre-heated my oven to 425F. (Luckily it was unseasonably cool today.) Then I put first the broccolini and then the asparagus in a plastic bag along with some olive oil and salt and shook the bag to get everything coated. I put all the vegetables on a foil lined sheet pan and they cooked in 15 minutes.
In the meantime John cooked the scallops in our cast iron frying pan for a few minutes on the first side to give the scallops a nice brown crust and then flipping them over for an additional minute on the other side. Don’t overcook them!
The vegetables and the scallops were delicious! We opened one of our good chardonnays and turned our dinner into a special no-occasion occasion 😊.
Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Low carb meals, Methods, pescatarian, Sheet pan, Shellfish, Special occasion, Vegetables
Tagged scallops
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Red lentils with chicken, kale, and cauliflower rice. 6/16/22
First let me note that John ate this dish vegan by simply removing the chicken. Since I am eating lower carbs I needed to replace some of the lentils with more protein. I have rotisserie chicken in the fridge so chicken was my additional protein.
After sautéing cumin seed, onions, garlic, spices, and ginger in a little oil add the lentils plus some water or stock and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Use rice or cauliflower rice as a base, cover the rice with raw kale, and then ladle on the red lentils. For some extra zing, I garnished with sriracha.
Posted in Afghan, Easy, Indian, Legumes, Low carb meals, Methods, Poultry, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged chicken, lentils
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Pan-roasted salmon, broccoli, salad. 6/15/22
My new lower carb way of eating is going quite successfully and I am not feeling deprived hardly at all. Being able to use olive oil more freely has made cooking easier and the results tastier.
John cooked the salmon after a 20 minute brine in a pan over very low heat. He cooked it for 20 minutes on one side and then flipped it over for an additional 2 minutes. The salmon came out perfectly.
I made a mustard sauce to go with the salmon. It consisted of a tablespoon each of Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, mayonnaise and some water to thin it out to sauce consistency. I also put together a tossed salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar and steamed some broccoli.
Our tasty and satisfying dinner combined good-for-us vegetables, oil, and nutritious salmon. I will be featuring more meals like this in the weeks to come.
Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Low carb meals, Methods, pescatarian, Salad, Vegetables
Tagged salmon
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Hamburger with grilled cauliflower and coleslaw. 6/14/22
A hot day calls for cooking outside. While I made a cool cole slaw indoors, John cooked the burgers and cauliflower on the grill. While John and our daughter had burgers on sesame buns, I had mine without the extra carbs. I loved the grilled cauliflower and the cole slaw worked out well too. I am thinking of more grilled vegetables this summer!
Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Hot weather meals, Low carb meals, Vegetables
Tagged ground beef
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Chilean sea bass with salad and zucchini 6/13/22
Today I started my low carb living with a delicious piece of Chilean sea bass with an accompanying salad and sautéed zucchini. We ate the salad as a first course dressed simply with olive oil and red wine vinegar.
It seems strange to be sprinkling some cheese on when I basically have not eaten cheese for 2 1/2 years. Cheese has next to no carbs but not so the tomato. It is like an upside-down world!
Whole Foods had a sale this week on Chilean sea bass so we got a couple of nice pieces for John and me. As usual he cooked the fish to perfection in a 400F oven for 16 minutes. I sautéed the zucchini and onions in a little olive oil. Both the vegetables, and especially the onion, have carbs but the oil does not. I will need to watch my portion sizes after being on a diet that let you eat vegetables unlimited.
Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Low carb meals, Methods, pescatarian, Salad, Vegetables
Tagged Chilean ean sea bass
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Weekly Menu. June 13 – 19, 2022
After following the WW food plan for 2 1/2 years, I am going to try something new. I have decided to experiment with low carb and see if I can get myself re-enthused by doing something new. I am also feeling that lowering my carbs will be beneficial to my health and easier to maintain when we go on our road trip in July. I am not going to try an extremely low amount of carbs. My plan is to keep them under 50 grams a day. This should allow me to eat all animal proteins, non-starchy vegetables, some fruits, legumes, and healthy fats.
My weekly menu planner has some options since John is not fully following this.
Posted in Weekly menu
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Sushi. 6/11/22
Since it has been so hot here we decided to pitch our previous plan of salmon with roasted cauliflower and keep the kitchen cool by buying take-out sushi. We get sushi from one of our local grocery stores and it is pretty good. I thought about making a salad to go with it but laziness overtook me and the sushi seemed filling enough.
Next week I am going to experiment with a low carb diet. I need a different way to achieve my goals and I have been reading a lot online recently that low carb is the way to go for lasting weight loss. I am not going to an extreme like doing keto but I am planning on keeping my carbs under 50 grams. I will be interested to see whether this kickstarts my desultory weight-loss attempts. I have already been doing low carb at breakfast and lunch so I am curious to see if I can manage it at dinner.
Posted in Easy, Fish, Hot weather meals, Japanese, pescatarian, rice, take-out
Tagged Sushi
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Southwest salad. 6/10/22
It was really hot here yesterday, in the upper 90s. So we scuttled our cooking plans and made a southwest salad. John and I used to buy this salad pre-made from Costco but, as it happens with many things we like, it was discontinued. Luckily I had most of the ingredients on hand so it was just a matter of cutting stuff up, jazzing up some bottled salad dressing, and making a buffet of ingredients.
I must have been pretty excited to eat my salad since I forgot to take a picture. This picture which I found on the website, Kim’s Cravings, is a pretty good representation of the salads we constructed. I did not use the pictured jicama since I think jicama is a crunchy no taste vegetable. Plus we had green onions instead of the red ones pictured and weirdly they were the consensus star of the salad.
It is going to be hot on Saturday as well. John has suggested take-out sushi. I am all in favor of his idea. A night off for the cooks!
Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Legumes, Poultry, Salad, Southwest U.S., Vegetables
Tagged chicken
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Omnivore 