Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

I grew up on stuffed peppers. It was one of my favorite things to eat as a kid in Hungary. Actually it STILL IS! Of course my version is much healthier. Just as delicious though if I do say so myself.

Filling.... (This is enough for two stuffed peppers)

• 2 servings of Morning Star Farms Grounds
• 1/2 cup Arborio Rice, cooked
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup black beans
• dash cayenne
• dash red pepper flakes
• dash cumin
• dash garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

You will also need a large can of Tomato sauce and 2 large bell peppers.

Cook all of the filling ingredients together in a small pan until the onions are nice and tender. You don't have to cook the mix for too long since it's made with grounds instead of real ground beef. Once you're satisfied with the mix, set it aside.

Next, core 2 peppers and place them into a pot with maybe a 1/2 inch of boiling water in the bottom. Cover and cook for just a few minutes until the peppers begin to soften, maybe 8-10 minutes. (***this saves you a TON of oven baking time).

When the peppers are nice and tender (make sure not to overcook them because they will fall apart when you stuff them) add them to a small baking/casserole dish and stuff each with the mixture.

Next, take a large can of tomato sauce and fill your baking dish with the entire can, making sure to dump some directly over both stuffed peppers.

Pop them into the oven, which should be preheated to 400 degrees, and cook them for 20 minutes or so.

Easy as pie right?

A great side to enjoy with this dish is mashed potatoes. I like to eat mine plain though. It's very filling!

Each stuffed pepper is 5 Weight Watchers Points. ENJOY! ;)

Stuffed Pepper Soup

This is SUPER EASY, one pot, healthy recipe. Here is what you will need for two servings. You can easily double the recipe if you're a fan of leftovers.

• 2 servings Morning Star Farms grounds (for vegan) OR
• 1/2 lb ground beef (for regular)
• 1/2 cup cooked Basmati rice
• 1 cup, fat free, low sodium chicken stock
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• dash cayenne
• dash smoked paprika
• dash garlic powder

First you cook up the Morning Star Farm grounds (or beef) together with a medium onion on medium-low heat with a splash of olive oil.


Once cooked, add the can of tomato sauce and one cup of chicken stock.


Next you add the green pepper.


Then you add ALL of the seasonings and the 1/2 cup of (cooked) Basmati rice.


Cover and simmer on LOW heat for 30 minutes or so. Just long enough for the flavors to nicely blend together and for the peppers to get nice and tender.

And there you have it. Rich, chunky, stuffed pepper soup. SO EASY and delicious!

If you're using Morning Star Farms instead of ground beef, this is a SUPER LOW calorie and filling soup. Each serving (this recipe is enough for 2 servings) is only 5 Weight Watchers points. I like eating mine with hearty bread, sprayed with a bit of spray butter.

I hope you like this rich and creamy soup! It's perfect for a cold night spent indoors!

;)

Vegetable Egg Rolls

This egg roll recipe is super EASY and healthy. Into a pretty large pot toss the following...

• 1 bag of tri-color coleslaw mix
• 1 cup white mushrooms, chopped fine
• 1 cup Morning Star Farms meal started grounds
• 2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbs teriyaki sauce
• 1 tbs Thai chili paste
• 1 tbs oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped fine

Let this cook for about 15 minutes until the veggies soften up and the flavors love on each other.

While the mixture is cooking beat one egg white and get your egg roll wrappers ready by brushing the edges with the egg white.

Fill each egg roll wrap with the veggie mixture. Add as much as you like but keep in mind that the more you add the harder they will be to roll.

Add the rolls into a frying pan with just a SMIDGEN of olive oil and cook on medium heat until all sides are nice and toasted. I don't deep fry mine for obvious reasons. I want to keep them as healthy as possible. I've actually baked them before as well and they turned out really good. Sometimes you just need a little olive oil in your life though. I can honestly say that I only cook with it on rare occasions. I'm a Pam or spray butter girl by heart. ;)

And there you have it. Tasty and healthy egg rolls.

I like to dip them in sweet and spicy chili sauce.

The weight watcher point value of two rolls with filling is 4-5 points depending on how much filling and dipping sauce you use.

I hope you love these as much as I do!! :)

Spicy Roasted Pork Loin

I love pork loin. They are juicy, delicious and most importantly, easy to make. Let's not forget that they are also SUPER lean and can be easily incorporated into a healthy diet. I've tried several different types of rubs and sauce combinations for loins in the past and the below is one of my favorites.

Spray a baking dish with Pam, place your pork loin in the pan and add all of the ingredients below as well.

• 2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbs Thai chili paste (for some HEAT)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (from jar)
• 2 tbs spicy brown mustard
• pinch sea salt
• pinch cayenne
• Black pepper to taste (how ever much you like, I LOVE lots of pepper)

Now get in there and get your hands dirty. Rub the loin in this mixture and massage it really well making sure to blend all of the flavors and ingredients together. Good cooks get dirty. Well I know I do. Each and every time. ;)

Once your massage session is done, cover the baking dish with foil, pierce a few holes in the foil and pop it in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

See how easy that was? When you take the loin out of the oven, let it sit for a few minutes before slicing to let the juices redistribute. I usually slice mine into 1/2 inch thick slices. Make sure to use the leftover sauce from the pan to dress the slices. It's delicious!

ENJOY!

For those of you counting Weight Watchers points, 2 oz of pork = 3 points.

Loaded Jasmine Rice

This is a supper low calorie, healthy, fiber packed concoction I came up with that tastes delicious. Enjoy. :)

This is enough for two LARGE portions.

• 1 cup brown jasmine rice
• 2 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup lima beans
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups portabellos, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 bag tri-colored coleslaw mix
• 2 tbs Teriyaki sauce
• 1 tbs Soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire
• salt & pepper to taste

In a medium size saucepan bring the water to a boil, add the jasmine rice, season with salt, cover and cook on low heat for 30-35 minutes till done.

While the rice is cooking grab a deep frying pan or a Wok. Spray it with Pam and add the bag of slaw mix, green onions, black beans, lima beans, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salt & pepper. Cook on low heat until the slaw becomes nice and tender. It should only take about 10-15 minutes.


In a separate pan sprayed with Pam, add the portabellos and cook them on medium heat for a few minutes until done. When done season them lightly with salt & pepper and worcestershire sauce.

Toss the mushrooms into the slaw mix, then toss the slaw mushroom mix with the rice. Done and delicious.


For those of you on Weight watchers, if you split this gigantic dish into 2 (which is a LOT) it's about 9 points. 6 for the rice, 1 for the veggies and sauces and 2 for the beans.

ENJOY!

Healthy Vegetarian Taco Salad

My healthy taco "non meat" mix...

• 2 servings of Morning Star Farms Grounds
• 1/2 cup of black beans
• 2 tbs corn
• 1/4 packet of hot taco seasoning
• dash cayenne (I LIKE ALL THINGS SPICY!)
• dash black pepper
• 1 green onion, chopped
• a splash of water to keep it all moist

I cook all this up in a medium sized sauce pan for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Let all the flavors blend and love on each other for a while.

While that is cooking I grab my trusty cutting board and knife and start chopping away at the following.

• Romaine lettuce
• 1 tomato
• Ripe avocado
• 1 small white onion

I grab one of my bigger bowls (because I am a sloppy eater, HA) and layer the following.

1. Romaine
2. Cooked "meat" and bean mixture
3. tomato
4. 1/2 the avocado (about 2oz)
5. a little of the white onion

Then I top it all with the following

• red pepper flakes
• fat free american shredded cheese (28 grams)
• 1 tbs fat free sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)
• And taco sauce or salsa if you like

Voila! Guilt FREE meat FREE taco salad.


For those of you on Weight Watchers this is roughly in the range of 9 -10 points. It depends on how much taco sauce or salsa you use and cheese and avocado etc... Somewhat high BUT it is all healthy veggies in a massive bowl the size of your head that oddly enough tastes quite delicious! :)

Who needs chips right?

Healthy Pancakes

I discovered this delectable little treat about six months ago and have been feasting on it WITHOUT guilt ever since. Ladies, pancakes do not have to be high calorie or bad for you! I promise.

This recipe is enough for one lovely portion...

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk (I use low calorie vanilla Almond Breeze)
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 packet splenda (not needed, I like all things sweet)
• 1 banana, sliced

Add all of these ingredients into a blender and mix till smooth. The batter will be quite runny. Out of this I can make roughly 5 mini cakes or 3 pretty decent cakes. I just heat my largest pan up on medium heat. Once it's nice and hot I spray it with Pam and pour the batter on. They only take a few minutes on each side. Then I top them with low calorie, low sugar syrup. YUMMY!

For those of you on Weight Watchers, the basic pancake recipe above is 5 points with 1 serving of the low calorie syrup. This excludes any fresh fruit topping or any of my other suggestions below.

Now for the FUN part. VARIATIONS! You can also spice up the recipe by adding any one of the following either into the blender or stirred in at the end before you pour the mix into the pan. OR a lovely topping.

• 1/4 cottage fat free cheese (into the blender)
• Berries (Either into the blender or mixed in last, or both)
• Frozen fruit cooked in OJ and splenda (for a nice topping)
• Fresh apples or pears cooked with splenda & cinnamon (for a nice topping)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (Into the blender, this makes it super moist!)
• Cocoa powder (into the blender for a chocolaty treat)
• Chocolate chips (mixed in last)
• Any sort of nuts (mixed in last)
• Coconut flakes (mixed in last, one of my favorites)
• Protein Powder (into the blender for a little protein KICK)

The list could go on and on. Basically toss in what ever you like and experiment. The combination of possibilities are endless. :)

Original Recipe...

With sauteed fruit...

With Pumpkin Puree....

With Blueberries...