Meatless Monday

It's time for another Meatless Monday, so here are today's six vegetarian diabetic recipes to help start off your week, including Breakfast Stuffed Peppers and Spinach Pinwheels. Enjoy!

Note: I'm in the process of revamping this blog (as well as my other two food blogs, Confessions of a Foodie and Vegetarian Delights). More news on these updates in the next week or two...

BAKED ACORN SQUASH WITH APPLE STUFFING

Yield: 4 stuffed squash halves (4 servings)

Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/803.shtml

Ingredients

2 small acorn squash (1-1/2 pounds total), halved and seeded

1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, diced

2 tablespoons diced celery

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons margarine, melted

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a square baking pan with nonstick pan spray.

Place the squash cut side down in a baking pan. Bake 20 minutes.

While the squash is baking, combine the apples, celery, onion, margarine, and 2 tablespoons water in a medium bowl; mix well.

Turn the squash, cut sides up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide the apple mixture to fill the cavities of the squash. bake the stuffed squash halves, covered with foil, for 30 minutes more. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 87; Protein: 1 g; Fat: 2 g; Sodium: 63 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 5 g; Sugars: 10 g; Carbohydrates: 18 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch

BREAKFAST STUFFED PEPPERS

This recipe begins, “A healthy blend of meat, dairy, vegetables, and spices, this breakfast will help you feel alert and well.” Makes 3 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 small red, orange, and/or yellow peppers

3 oz. breakfast turkey sausage, crumbled and cooked

4 eggs

2 TBSP fat free milk

3 TBSP minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the tops off of the peppers, saving them. Remove the seeds from the peppers and set aside.

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until fragrant and tender.

Beat the eggs and milk together. Add the sausage, onion mixture, cheese, parsley and salt and pepper.

Divide evenly, filling up the peppers. Replace the pepper tops and place in a baking dish. Fill with 1 inch of water.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Nutritional Facts: Servings: 3; For 1 pepper: Calories 343; Total Fat 24g; Sodium 484mg; Carbohydrates 9g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Sugars 5g; Protein: 23g

SPINACH PINWHEELS

Servings: 24; 1 slice per serving

Source: The New American Heart Association Cookbook

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/71.shtml

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=71

Ingredients

1 teaspoon light margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

10-ounce package frozen no-salt-added chopped spinach, thawed

1/2 cup nonfat or part-skim ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of cayenne

10-ounce package of refrigerated pizza dough

Vegetable oil spray

White of 1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions

In a small nonstick skillet, heat margarine over medium-high heat. Swirl to cover bottom. Saute onion until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine onion, spinach, ricotta, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cayenne. Blend well.

Press dough into a 12x14-inch rectangle. Cut in half, forming two 7x12-inch rectangles.

With a rubber scraper, spread half the spinach mixture on each piece of dough. Roll up, starting from a 12-inch side. Pinch each end of rolled dough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.

With a sharp knife, cut each roll into 12 slices. Put pieces on baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 37; Protein: 2 g; Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Exchanges: 1/2 Starch/Bread

BELL PEPPER SALAD

Servings: 4

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/40.shtml

Source: The Diabetic Newsletter

Ingredients

1 medium-sized red bell pepper

1/2 cup creamy garlic dressing

1 medium-sized green bell pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 medium-sized yellow bell pepper

2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained

Directions

Preheat broiler.

Place bell peppers under broiler and lightly charred, turning to grill all sides.

Remove from broiler to a paper bag. Close bag and set aside.

When peppers cool, peel, core, seed and cut into strips.

Arrange peppers on a platter, alternating colors so that they form a petal, and spoon dressing over them.

Sprinkle with black pepper.

Garnish with capers and serve warm or chilled.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 30; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 67 mg; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Exchanges: Sodium: 67 mg

SIMPLE PINEAPPLE CARROTS (PAREVE)

Makes 4 Servings.

Source: Passover Lite Kosher Cookbook

Author: Gail Ashkanazi-Hankin

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/812.shtml

Ingredients

3 cups carrots, cut into match sticks

3/4 - 1 cup pineapple juice

1 tsp. potato starch

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits

Directions

In a saucepan, combine carrots and 1/2 cup of pineapple juice.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the potato starch, remaining pineapple juice, and ginger.

Stir into the carrot mixture along with the pineapple tidbits and heat through until the juices thicken.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 109; Sodium: 30 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Exchanges: 1-1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fruit

BROCCOLI WITH ASIAN TOFU

Optional: Delicious served on top of brown rice or Asian-style noodles (soba or udon).

Yield: 4 servings

Serving size: 2 slices tofu, with broccoli and marinade mixture

Source: Deliciously Healthy Dinners

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/995.shtml

Ingredients

1 pkg (16 oz) firm tofu, drained

2 Tbsp lite soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil (optional)

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp fresh ginger root, finely chopped or shredded (or 1 tsp ground ginger)

1 lb fresh broccoli, rinsed and cut into individual spears

1 Tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

4 Tbsp garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (about 8 cloves)

1 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

Cooking spray

Directions

Slice tofu into eight pieces. Place on a plate or flat surface covered with three paper towels. Top with four more paper towels. Top with another flat plate or cutting board. Press down evenly and gently to squeeze out moisture. Throw away paper towels. Replace with fresh paper towels and press again. (The more liquid you remove, the more sauce the tofu will absorb.)

Place tofu in a bowl just big enough to hold all eight pieces lying on their widest side without overlapping.

In a small bowl, stir to thoroughly combine soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and ginger into a marinade, and stir thoroughly. Pour over tofu. Carefully turn the tofu several times to coat well. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick saute pan coated with cooking spray. Add broccoli and saute for about 5 minutes, until it turns bright green and becomes tender and crispy. Remove broccoli from pan and set aside.

Heat a grill pan or flat saute pan over high heat. Drain tofu, reserving marinade. Place on grill pan to heat for about 3 minutes. Gently turn. Heat the second side for 3 minutes.

At the same time, in the saute pan over medium-low heat, warm the peanut oil, crushed red pepper, and garlic until the garlic softens and begins to turn brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add broccoli and reserved marinade, and gently mix until well-coated.

Place two slices of tofu on each plate with one-quarter of the broccoli and marinade mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 183; Protein: 14 g; Fat: 11 g; Sodium: 341 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 13 g