My Foodie Call

Category: Meatless mealtime

• 

  Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls

  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall

  Jan 14th

  Try these healthy “meat”balls with a little surprise cheesy center.

  

  Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls.

  A closer look.

  

  Gather your goods. Do you have these items? If not, get shopping.

  

  And buy this too if you want the cheesy center.

  

  Spray your mini muffin tins….

  

  Scoop in your lentil mixture…

  

  Cheese cube for the center.

  

  Add more lentil mixture and bake it up….

  

  Add your spaghetti and done. Whole wheat spaghetti, of course.

   

  Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls

  Ingredients:

  • 1 17.6 oz package Pre-cooked lentils (Mine pictured here are from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1  chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 3 eggs beaten
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley
  • 1 block of cheese of choice

   

  Directions:

  1. Add all the ingredients into your food processor bowl, pulse a few times and then and process 20- 30 seconds.
  2. Scoop into pre-sprayed muffin tins, but only filling half way.
  3. Add a small rectangle cube of block cheese. Top with more lentil mixture.
  4. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
  5. Make spaghetti according the directions. Make sure it is 100% whole wheat, not multigrain…first ingredient should read WHOLE WHEAT. Add sauce.

  

  Devour.

   

   

  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged lentils, whole wheat pasta
• 

  Quinoa Veggie Burgers

  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall

  Jan 8th
  

  Homemade veggie burger, anyone?

  Part of the challenge of eating healthy is that you actually have to COOK. Yes, salads are great and all but in order to feel satiated, you need a real meal otherwise that salad is only going to sustain you for about 10 minutes and off to the cupboard you go. Eat real meals. Like this easy veggie burger.

  

  Okay, so I didn’t make the rolls. Making the veggie burger will have to suffice.

  Here’s how this recipe unfolds….

  

  I started with my cooked quinoa…

  

  Made up some breadcrumbs. You can buy yours if need be, but get whole wheat!

  

  I pulsed up my veggies, beans and spices in the food processor…

  

  Added my quinoa and bread crumbs….

  

  Transferred it all to a bowl and then to the fridge. It’s not pretty, I know, but stay with me here….

  

  After it’s “chill time” in the fridge, I formed up some patties.

  

  I baked the burgers, popped it on a whole wheat roll and dinner was done.

  

  Shall we dress this burger?

  

  Pickles make the meal, don’t they?

  

  Quinoa Veggie Burger for someone who can open their mouth extra wide.

  Quinoa Veggie Burgers

  Ingredients:

  • 3 cups cooked quinoa (follow your quinoa package instructions)
  • 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (make your own by leaving some bread out to stale, and pulse a few times in your food processor until crumbly)
  • 1-15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large sweet potato, cooked & removed from skin  (I did 400 degrees for about 50 minutes)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder

  Directions:

  • Combine black beans, sweet potato, onion, red pepper, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, and chili powder in a food processor. Pulse until vegetables are fine chopped and mixed.
  • Add bread crumbs and process until well mixed.
  • Add quinoa and pulse until well mixed.
  • Move mixture to a bowl and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set.
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Form the veggie burger mixture into patties and place on the prepped baking sheet.
  • Bake 13 minutes, till burgers are lightly browned on top.
  • Flip burgers and broil on Hi for 10 minutes.

  

  No meat? No problem.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged quinoa, sweet potato
• 

  Hearty Bean and Barley Soup in a Slow Cooker

  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall

  Dec 19th
  

  Beans and barley. Great combo.

  Got a slow cooker? Use it. Especially this time of year.

  

  3 kinds of beans, tomatoes, creamed corn, carrots, onion, celery, barley. A garden in a bowl.

  Hearty Bean and Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

  Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cups veggie broth
  • 1/4 cup celery, fine-chopped
  • 1/2 cup carrots, fine-chopped
  • 1-15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1-15 oz can organic kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1-15 oz can cream corn
  • 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 cup quick-cook barley

  Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients except for your quick cooking barley. Give it a big stir.
  2. Cook on low for one hour.
  3. Add your barley. Stir.
  4. Cook on low for one more hour. Stir.
  5. Remove bay leaf and enjoy!

  

  Hearty bean and barley soup.

  Posted in Meatless mealtime, Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged barley, beans, carrots, soup
• 

  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies

  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall

  Dec 11th

   

  

  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies

  Here is a recent family meal that was a hit. And trust me. Many are not.

  And boy do those kids let me know.

  I always hear, “Are you going to blog about this??”

  …followed by how either I should or shouldn’t.

  Thanks, guys.

  Example you ask? Well, I tried to make “Oatmeal hot chocolate pancakes” a few weeks ago.

  Epic fail.

  The pancakes tasted good, but the texture was just wrong and weird and just WRONG.

  However, this meal was not.

  What I personally liked the best about this dish was the toasted sesame seeds. LOVE THEM. Also having a nice tahini sauce for a change was good. I have done the peanut butter sauce/noodle thing several times and it’s good and all, but been there done that. Tahini for today.

   

  Do you have tahini? Or even know what it is? It’s just sesame seeds ground up into a paste. Give it a shot. Buy it. Try it.  Look for it near the peanut butter/almond butter section of the “healthy” section of your grocery store.

  As always, here is a closer look at how this meal goes down.

   When I am pressed for time, I use my “cheater bags”.

  

  Pre-cut bags. Yes, easy. Yes, lazy.

  

  Fine chop your broccoli either by hand or get even lazier and use the pulse button on your food processor.

  

  Add green onion…

  

  Cook your spaghetti, carrot…

  

  and broccoli concoction…

  

  Toast your sesame seeds…

  

  Mix your sauce, seeds, noodles and veggies. Done.

  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies

  Ingredients:

  The Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons tahini (You could use peanut butter here and I am sure it would still be good, but will not be the same. Try for the tahini!)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
  • 3 teaspoons honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  The Noodles

  • 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1- 12oz package broccoli florets, fine chopped
  • 1- 10 oz package shredded carrots
  • 3/4 cup green onion, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted at 350 degrees for 10 minutes total, (stirring after 5 minutes).
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

   

  Directions: 

  Sauce

  1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir well with a whisk. (Note: if your tahini is a tiny bit hard, heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to make it easier to whisk into the sauce.)

  Spaghetti and Veggie

  ***Spaghetti and veggies will all be cooked together, but vary on time.***

  1. To prepare spaghetti, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water for  8 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN.
  2. Add bag of carrots. Cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add fine-chopped broccoli. Cook for 1 minute.
  4. Drain pot of pasta and veggies. Place in a large bowl.
  5. Sprinkle with chopped green onion, sesame seeds and salt.
  6. Pour sauce evenly over the noodles and toss well.

  

  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles and Veggies.

   

  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged broccoli, tahini, whole wheat spaghetti
• 

  Healthy Stuffed Portobellos

  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall

  Dec 10th

  Mr. Foodie Call is away. What does this call for???

  

  A mushroom recipe.

  Mr. Foodie Call does not like mushrooms.

  This is a tough one for this house for a couple of reasons:

  1) I LOVE mushrooms (and so do two of my kids.)

  2) MANY vegan and  plant-based recipes use mushrooms. It is a lot easier when you can cook with mushrooms. Never mind the insane flavor that they add to foods, but the fancier fungi like shiitake and large portobellos can be cooked just right so that they take on a meat-like texture that people sometimes crave.

  So, Mr. Foodie Call is away? Let’s make mushrooms.

  

  Awesome texture and so super cute.

  Here is how the magic happens.

  

  Buy your mushrooms.

  

  Chop some onion and celery. Mince some garlic.

  

  Cook it.

  

  Add your bread crumbs.

  

  And the rest of your stuff….

  

  De-stem your mushrooms. Arrange them all flat and fantastic.

  

  Fill ’em up.

  

  Still folllowing me?

  

  Bake it and plate it. Easy.

  

  Stuffed Mini Portobello Mushrooms

  Modified from The China Study Cookbook

  Stuffed Mini Portobellos

  • 12 mini portobello mushrooms (I bought 2 packages of 6 at Trader Joe’s)
  • Vegetable broth
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 onion, fine-chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos (don’t freak. You can use soy sauce instead of liquid aminos.)
  • 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 cup whole grain bread crumbs (either store-bought if you are pressed for time or make your own by pulsing day-old bread in the food processor a few times)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable broth in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and celery and cook for 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft.
  3. Stir in 2 more tablespoons vegetable broth.
  4. Stir in remaining ingredients: thyme, aminos (or soy sauce), vinegar, honey, bread crumbs, and 2 more tablespoons vegetable broth.
  5. It should start to stick together at this point. If not, add more vegetable broth.
  6. Stuff each mini portobello and place on a prepared baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

  These could be placed on a bed of greens and served up as a meal or plated as an appetizer.

  Or eaten straight from the pan. 🙂

  Posted in Meatless mealtime, Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged mushrooms

• You missed a call?

  • Make friends with…Bean Pasta.
  • Whole Wheat Flax ‘N Apple Muffins
  • Small changes…Eat what’s in season.
  • Whole Wheat Broccoli Mac N Cheese
  • What I pack my kid.

• Categories

  • Breakfast
  • Desserts
  • Make friends with…
  • Meatless mealtime
  • Pancake Day
  • Random stuff
  • Salads, Soups, and Sides
  • Small changes
  • Snacks
  • What I pack my kid.

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