Category Archives: Meatless Monday
Seasonal Snack Fun
Scary Halloween Sandwiches
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches get dressed up for spooky fun
Michelle Riley/The HSUS
Trick or treat, savory or sweet? It’s your choice, depending on the filling you pick for this sandwich in disguise. Packed in a school lunch box or brown-bagged for the office, this sandwich is sure to scare up a few smiles.
We chose the classic PB&J combo—in part, because the chow mein noodle “legs” stick to the peanut butter center like flies to a spider’s web. Other options you may wish to try: hummus; non-dairy cream cheese and olive spread; or even eggless egg salad.
Serves 1
2 slices pumpernickel bread
Chunky peanut butter and apricot jelly (or your choice of filling)
Chow mein noodles (or try pretzel sticks or carrot sticks)
One small carrot (for eyes)
2 chocolate chips (also for eyes)
Use cookie cutters or a small cake pan (the top layer of a tiered cake pan set works well) to stamp the monster’s “body” out of two slices of bread.
Tip: Let the bread sit for 10-15 minutes once the shape has been cut out—this makes it easier to spread the filling in the center as the bread will be slightly more firm.
Spread the filling on one slice and top with the remaining slice.
To make eyes: Cut two small carrot rounds. Press them into the top slice of sandwich bread. Top with a dab of peanut butter (or other sticky ingredient) and press the chocolate chips on top.
To make legs: Insert 8 pieces of chow mein noodle at even intervals around the body of the sandwich.
Pack carefully for transport, or assemble just before eating. Happy Halloween!
This recipe was inspired by the Scary Monster Treat in Jennifer McCann’s delightful Vegan
Celebrate the Best Seasonal Veggies
Summer is gradually turning into fall, and that means the summer produce season will soon turn into an autumn harvest! If you’re eager to do some cooking with fruits and vegetables that are at their peak right now, it helps to do a little research before hitting the farmer’s market. Make Meatless Monday your first stop! Here are the fruits and veggies that are in season right now:
Ginger-marinated Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Dietitian’s tip:
Because of their larger size and firmer texture, portobello mushrooms are good candidates for stuffing or grilling. They have a satisfying taste and texture with virtually no fat or sodium.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 large portobello mushrooms
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Directions
Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove their stems. Place in a glass dish, stemless (gill) side up.
To prepare the marinade, in a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, pineapple juice and ginger. Drizzle the marinade over the mushrooms. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, turning mushrooms once.
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler. Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.
Grill or broil the mushrooms on medium heat, turning often, until tender, about 5 minutes on each side. Baste with marinade to keep from drying out. Using tongs, transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter. Garnish with basil and serve immediately.
Nutritional analysis per serving
Serving size :1 mushroom
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Calories 65
- Sodium 15 mg
- Total fat Trace
- Total carbohydrate 13 g
- Saturated fat Trace
- Dietary fiber 2 g
- Trans fat 0 g
- Added sugars 0 g
- Monounsaturated fat Trace
- Protein 3 g
Eat more Veggies – Broccoli Bake
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Summer Succotash
Serves 6
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen beans (lima, edamame, fava, etc), cooked al dente
Kernels from 6 ears of corn (about 5 cups)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup basil, sliced in chiffonade
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the chopped onion and a small pinch of salt and cook, stirring, over medium heat until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat, add the beans and corn and stir over medium-low heat for about 1 minute, until tender but still crisp.
Transfer cooked ingredients to a large bowl and toss with the tomatoes and lemon juice. Serve immediately with the feta, basil and black pepper sprinkled on top, or let the mixture cool, then top with the feta, basil and black pepper.
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-succotash-salad-recipes-from-the-kitchn-192297
French Lentil Salad with Cherry Tomatoes
This simple salad, seasoned with a French vinaigrette, is a classic dish in France. It makes a wonderful, protein-rich highlight of any meal. Because the flavors continue to meld, it’s also great the next day. This recipe comes to us from Sharon Palmer, RDN.
Serves 6
- 1 pound (454 g) dried lentils (or 3 cups cooked; see Note)
- 4 cups (948 ml) water
- 2 teaspoons reduced sodium vegetable broth base
- 4 celery stalks, diced (160 g or about 11⁄2 cups)
- 11⁄2 cups (224 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 medium shallots, finely diced
- 1⁄4 cup (15 g) packed chopped fresh parsley
- 11⁄2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- Pinch of sea salt, optional
Place the lentils, water, and broth base in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender but firm.
Remove from the heat, drain any remaining liquid, and transfer the lentils to a large bowl. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Stir in the celery, tomatoes, shallots, and parsley.
In a small dish, make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, mustard, vinegar, herbes de Provence, black pepper, and garlic.
Add the dressing to the lentil mixture and toss. Taste and season with sea salt, if desired. Chill until serving time.
Note: If you’re in a rush, use precooked, refrigerated lentils, available at many stores. Although a classic French lentil salad uses lentils du puys (small, dark green lentils), try other varieties for a colorful twist, such as yellow, beluga (black), or multicolored lentils.
Variation: Substitute cooked beans, such as white, fava, or cranberry beans, for the lentils.
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/french-lentil-salad-cherry-tomatoes/
Grilled Vegetable Salad with Asian Dressing
American Institute for Cancer Research Award Winning Recipe
Ingredients for Dressing:
- 2 Tbsp grated ginger
- 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 6 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2½ tsp chili garlic paste (sambal oelek)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp sesame oil
- Wrap the grated ginger in 3 layers of cheesecloth and squeeze to extract juice. Reserve juice for dressing and discard pulp.
- In small bowl combine ginger juice, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic paste and soy sauce.
- Whisk in sesame oil until well blended.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Ingredients for Salad:
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into quarters
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into quarters
- 1 bunch asparagus, stem ends trimmed
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced inch 1/2 inch coins
- 2 medium Japanese eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch coins
- 1 small, purple cauliflower, slice into 1/2 inch steaks
- 1 medium mango, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch thick strips
- 2 medium plum, cut in half and seeds removed
- 1 bunch green onions, cleaned and trimmed
- 2 portabella mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
- 1 medium acorn or carnival squash, seeded and sliced into ½ inch thick rounds
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Place grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush vegetables with oil to coat lightly and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Working in batches, grill vegetables until tender and lightly charred all over, about 8-10 minutes for the sweet peppers and squash; 7 minutes for zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms; 4 minutes for the asparagus and green onions. To get attractive grill marks do not shift vegetables once they’ve been placed on the hot grill.
Arrange vegetables on serving platter. Serve vegetables with the dressing on the side.
For easier serving of large groups, vegetables can be divided among 3-4 smaller platters.
Makes 20 (1-cup) servings.
Per Serving: 132 calories, 6 g total fat (1 g saturated fat),
19 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 120 mg sodium.
