RECIPES

Some general thoughts on low-fat and vegetarian cooking:

As with any other sort of cuisine, it is possible to get very elaborate with cooking in this manner, and also possible to keep things very simple.  For a busy lifestyle or if you have limited energy for cooking, I recommend not making this more difficult than it has to be. 

     If you are not accustomed to eating a lot of legumes, start with small portions and use Bean-o if you find gas to be a problem. 

Better than Boullion soup starters makes for great broth – vegetarian or chicken

A big pot of soup made on a Sunday can be a lifesaver through the rest of the week, and is a great way to work in extra legumes and veggies.  If you heat the entire pot every 2^nd or 3^rd day (instead of just heating up the portion you are about to eat), it will last much longer without spoiling.

One of my personal favorites is a bowl of black beans, heated, with some salsa and “chips” made by toasting corn tortillas in the toaster.  To make beans in your slow-cooker:  Soak dry beans(black beans, red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans) overnight in water to cover by an inch or two, then in the morning either change the water or leave it and turn on the slow cooker at high.  Once the beans are boiling, skim off the foam that forms and then turn the cooker to low and leave it.  Check it in 3-4 hours if you can, and turn it off when the beans are tender.  (I leave mine all day while I am at work and am generally happy with the beans when I get home, but on the weekends I find they are done halfway through the day.  ). You can add onion, garlic, and cilantro if you desire during the cooking process.  If you do not have a slow cooker, you can do the same thing on the stovetop, but will generally find the beans to be cooked in 1 ½ – 2 hours of simmering, depending on the freshness of your dry beans and the amount of time soaking.

If you are making white beans, garbanzos, or navy beans, definitely discard the soaking water, which is often quite bitter.  Lentils and black-eyed peas do not require soaking, and generally cook in an hour. 

For steamed greens:

If you are not a fan of greens, try steaming mustard greens, chard or Red Russian kale until tender and then tossing with a sauce you like, such as:

Larrupin mustard sauce

Nona Lena’s Spicy Cilantro salad dressing (found in the refrigerated section at the back of the Co-op, by the cheeses)

Some soy sauce with garlic, or even a little sesame oil mixed in

Salsa

For Vegetable Sautés:

Any combination of vegetables can be used:  consider

1. Onions, often with garlic
2. Harder, longer-cooking types: carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, yam, celery, green beans
3. Softer, quick-cookers: zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, or snow peas. 

Plan about 2 ½ C raw vegetables per serving.  Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces, on the thin side, and group them as above (chop all veggies before you start cooking).

Heat a heavy skillet, using either a cooking spray with olive or canola oil or a small amount of vegetable or chicken broth for moisture.  Add onions and sauté until they are soft.  Then add group 2 and sauté until tender, then add group 3.  Keep heat at medium and stir as you sauté.  Serve immediately, when all vegetables are brightly-colored and tender.

 When sauces will be added, generally add them halfway through the cooking of group 2 veggies.

If you want to add bite-sized chunks of chicken, fish, or tofu, add those at the same time.

These dishes can be served over a grain (noodles, rice, quinoa, etc.) or over steamed greens like Red Russian kale, my personal favorite.

Sauce ideas:

Try Larrupin Mustard Sauce drizzled over the stir-fry at the last minute or even when it is already on your grains or greens.

For Thai flavor, add a generous amount of minced ginger when sautéing the onions, Then halfway through the hard vegetables add 1 can “lite” coconut milk and ½ – 1 ½ tsp of Thai curry paste (depending on your preferred hotness).  A lower-fat version of this is to use a can of diced tomatoes in their liquid instead of the coconut milk.

For Italian flavor, add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning blend and a bit of black pepper (or modest amounts of: rosemary, black pepper, thyme, basil and a hefty amount of oregano) at the end of sautéing the onions, then add a can of diced tomatoes (drained or in their liquid, depending on how “soupy” you want your finished veggies) as you add the group 2 veggies, and consider a few Tablespoons of white wine as well.

Tip:  when using dried herbs, rub them between your hands to crush them as you add them – this will increase the flavor.

Tamari-Ginger sauce (from Moosewood)

½ C Tamari

½ C water

1 T dry sherry or Chinese rice wine

1 T grated ginger

½ C minced scallions

1 small clove crushed garlic

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp dark vinegar

Whisk together all ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes. 

For use in a stir-fry, put 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk in a little of the sauce to make a smooth paste, then add this back to the sauce and whisk well.  Add this to the vegetables halfway through the cooking of the hard vegetables.

Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeno

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño chile with seeds, divided
2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Optional toppings: Chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in cumin and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer 3 cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon jalapeño, if desired.

Brazilian Black Bean Soup, modified, from Moosewood Cookbook

Soak beans at least 4 hours before assembling

2C dry black beans

3 ½ C water or stock

2 tsp salt

A

1 C chopped onion

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 large chopped carrot

1 stalk chopped celery

1 tsp ground coriander

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

scant oil

B

2 oranges, peeled, sectioned, seeded

½ C orange juice

1 T dry sherry

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp red pepper

½ tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Rinse beans, cover with water and soak.  Pour off excess water.  Place in saucepan or slow cooker.  Place in saucepan with 3 ½ C water or stock and salt.  Bring to a boil, cover, simmer 1/12 hours low heat.
2. Saute group A, beginning with onions and garlic (I recommend using a cooking spray with canola or olive oil on a cast iron skillet or even sautéing in water or broth in a nonstick pan – see Ornish for tips on doing this).  Add a little water to the vegetables to steam them along.  When this seems complete, add the sauté to the beans, allow all to continue to simmer over lowest possible heat.
3. Add group B to the soup.  Give it a stir, cover, and sit down for 10 minutes.  Now return and look at the soup – add water if too thick, or puree in the blender if you want it thicker and heartier.  Add red pepper if you want it spicier.

Can be served topped with yogurt.

Lentil Soup modified, from Moosewood Cookbook

4-6 servings

Begin this soup in the morning – it should simmer all day.  Connie makes this one in a crock pot.

A

3 C raw lentils (rinsed)

7 C water or stock

optional 2 tsp salt (I do not use this and do not miss it).

B

2 tsp minced garlic

1 C chopped onion

1 C minced celery

1 C chopped carrots

C

Lots of black pepper

1 ½ C chopped tomatoes

2 T dry red wine

2 T lemon juice

1 ½ T molasses or brown sugar

1 T wine vinegar

optional:  herbs such as thyme, oregano, basil

Simmer group A for 3-4 hours.  Then steam or sauté group B in canola or olive oil.  Add these to the lentils anc continue to simmer on very low heat.

About 30 minutes before serving, add group C.

Genevieve’s Carrot Soup

In a crock pot or covered pot

5 C water

2 tsp powdered veggie broth

2 T dehydrated veggies (bulk bins at the Co-op)

3 finely chopped garlic cloves

1 onion diced small

2 stalks celery (with leafy growth for flavor)

12 big fat carrots

1 C corn niblets

Cook on medium heat until the carrots are soft

Scoop them out and add some of the liquid to blend them to puree in the blender.  Add it back to the pot and cook another hour.  Add corn and cook for another 30 minutes.

Lynn’s 16-Bean Soup  from High Fit-Low Fat Vegetarian cookbook

11 servings

2 C mixed beans

2 quarts veggie stock

2 (14 ½ ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, no added salt

1 T tomato paste

1 large onion, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

juice of 1 lemon, or to taste

½ tsp salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.  Sort and rinse beans, soak in double their volume of water for 4 hours or overnight.

1. Drain soaked beans, rinse and mix with vegetable stock, bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cook partially covered for 2 ½ – 3 hours, until all beans are tender.  (If using a vegetable concentrate rather than stock, start with cold water and when the beans are tender, dissolve the concentrate in a small amount of the hot water from the beans, then stir back into the beans, cook for an additional 30 minutes)
2. Add tomatoes and tomato paste.
3. In a separate pan, sauté onions and garlic in a small amount of the broth until softened, then add to the beans.
4. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Nutrients per 1 C serving:

166 Calories

Total fat 0.5 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Carbohydrate 33 g

Dietary fiber 10.9 g

Protein 9 g

Sodium 123 mg

Connie’s Easy Chili

1 can kidney beans

1 can corn (or equivalent amount frozen)

1 C cooked rice

1 can tomato sauce

liberal chili powder – about ¾ tsp to start and increase as needed

cumin – about half as much as the chili powder

black pepper – about ½ tsp

one chopped onion

some minced garlic (about 1 tsp) 

Sauté onion and garlic in water in a nonstick skillet or in a cast iron skillet with scant olive oil or canola spray, then add this to all other ingredients in a saucepan or slow cooker and simmer on low heat for as long as you can, adding water (especially water from the beans) as needed to prevent it from drying out.

Connie’s Low-Fat Chicken Soup – 8-10 servings

 Simmer 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in about 3 quarts of water for about an hour, or until falling apart.  Tease apart with a fork into bite-sized chunks of meat.

Saute in some of this cooking liquid:

1 chopped onion

8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled but not crushed

when softened and a little browned, add approx 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend

and a healthy amount of black pepper

Add

2 or more chopped carrots

3 stalks  chopped celery

2 red potatoes, cut into at least 8 pieces each

A good handful or two of green beans, chopped in 1-inch segments

to the skillet, stir, and put a lid on and continue to heat gently/on low heat until the vegetables are softened, then add to the chicken and chicken cooking water, along with 2 tablespoons of Better than Boullion chicken broth concentrate

Simmer for another 30 minutes.  Add 2 chopped zucchinis and another cup or two of water if it has cooked down and cook for 30 minutes more, then serve.  Cooked noodles or cooked rice may be added just before serving.

Connie’s High-Collagen Chicken Soup – 8-10 servings

 kin a chicken and simmer it in about 3 quarts of water for most of a day.  Pour this into another pot through a colander, so the broth is separated from the bones/meat.  Tease apart with a fork into bite-sized chunks of meat and add to soup.  (You can refrigerate at this point overnight and in the morning skim off the fat).

Remainder same as chicken soup recipe above.

Black Bean Confetti Salad

Makes 8 – 1/2 c. servings

2- 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed & drained

10 oz. frozen corn, thawed

1 small red pepper, chopped

¼ c. fresh Italian parsley, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons Tamari or Soy Sauce

2 Teaspoons olive oil

1. In large bowl, mix together the beans, corn, red pepper, parsley & onion.
2. In small bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar and soy sauce.  Mix together.  Gradually whisk in oil.
3. Add the dressing ingredients to the bean mixture, tossing gently.  Chill until ready to serve. 

Multi-bean Salad  modified, from Moosewood – make a day ahead of time

Use about 5 cups of cooked beans, ideally some steamed green beans and a couple other types, such as kidney and garbanzo.  If you are cooking dry beans, cook them separately, since cooking times vary, and try to cook just until tender but not mushy.  You can marinate hot beans and cool them, then chill them in marinade, and they really absorb the flavors that way.

Marinade: Combine

½ C wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ tsp salt (or less)

lots of black pepper

a few pinches of marjoram or oregano

½ tsp basil

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 T dry red wine

juice from ½ a large lemon.

Pour marinade over beans and onions below and gently mix, then chill:

5 C cooked beans

½ C chopped scallions

½ C finely-minced red onion

freshly-chopped parsley

Green salads:

Use prewashed salad mixes if the work involved in preparing salad is an obstacle in the way of you eating salad.  Keep them tasty and colorful by experimenting with adding: red cabbage, radishes, red peppers, carrots, celery, bean sprouts (lentils make great sprouts, relatively quickly), leftover steamed veggies from dinner the night before.

For low-fat salad dressing:

Many of the bottled varieties have MSG and other bizarre or worrisome ingredients added for flavor.  I recommend buying a standard salad dressing and diluting with vinegar, for instance taking Annie’s Naturals Tuscany Italian and mixing one part of that with about 4 parts balsamic vinegar, etc.  You can start this gradually, just as you would gradually mix decaf with your regular coffee to wean off caffeine, until your taste changes, at which point you will prefer the lower-fat version.

My own favorite vinaigrette is:

Fill my blender with about 2 inches wine vinegar, about ½ inch lemon juice, a few big spoonfuls of grey poupon or similar mustard, a few cloves of minced or crushed garlic, a thin layer of olive oil (1/4 inch or less) and a bunch of chopped parsley, along with some oregano, tarragon and black pepper.