Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant with Rice, Tofu, Onion and Sprouted Adzuki Beans

On Thursdays in Downtown L.A., right in the plaza of my work place, they have an organic farmers market.  It's always great to see what's fresh, and I get to pick and choose a lot of great produce.  Today, I found these beautiful mini eggplants, about the size of a navel orange.  I bought three of them and spent my commute home thinking of ways to stuff them.  With what?

I had about 3 ounces of silken tofu in the fridge.  I've always got rice, onions, and the sprouts for the this week were some experimental adzuki beans that I started on Saturday.  So here's what I did:

Ingredients:
3 small (orange size) eggplants
2/3 cup basmati rice
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 oz silken tofu
1/2 cup sprouted adzuki beans (or any other type of bean sprout)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bottled reduced fat spaghetti sauce (or you can use tomato sauce)
salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Use small eggplant - the size of a navel orange. Wash and cut the top off and discard top. Using a spoon, hollow out the eggplant. Keep the insides and put in the bottom of a large pan. Once eggplants are hollowed, add a little salt on the inside and set aside and allow to weep. 
• 
  
• In a bowl, add 2/3 cup basmati rice (rinsed), 1/2 medium onion finely chopped, 3 oz silken tofu, 1/2 cup sprouted Adzuki beans (or other bean sprouts), minced garlic, and mix together. 
• 
  
• Rinse the salted eggplant and dry. Fill with the rice mixture. equally among the 3 eggplant. Stand the eggplant in the pan with the eggplant insides (the parts you removed) on the bottom. Spoon about a tbsp of the sauce on top of each eggplant, pour the rest of the sauce over the eggplant. Put an inverted plate over the eggplant to keep them from floating. 
• 
  
• Add water to the pan to about 1/2 way up the side of the eggplant. Cover the pan and cook on the stove under medium low flame for about 45 minutes. You can serve with plain yogurt on top (but count those points). 1 eggplant = 1 serving  About 8 weight watchers points plus per serving (without the yogurt)

Heart Healthy Garlic, Mushroom & Kale soup (with barley)

If you live on the West Coast like I do, it's hard to think of making soup in September, unless you happen to love soup like I do.  Soup is so soothing, and easy to make.  I had gone to Sprouts market and bought some mushrooms and kale last Saturday.  On the bus ride home, I was looking up recipes for kale on the Vegetarian Times website.  They had a recipe for garlic kale soup (different from this) but that's where I got the inspiration for this soup.  It came out great.  I ran the points on the WeightWatchers site and a good size portion, which is about 1.5 cups is only about 3 points...and very healthy for you. Mamajan (my mom) has been staying with us and is always surprised that she doesn't miss the meat, because the recipes are so flavorful.  This is a heart-healthy soup because so many of the ingredients are good for your heart:  kale, garlic, whole grains, mushies!!!  Enjoy! 8 cup(s) vegetable broth                                                                             3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used plain ol' mushrooms, but it would probably be great with a mixture of different types) 20 cloves large garlic cloves , peeled and sliced 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup rice vinegar 2 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes 1/4 cup pearl barley 1 bunch baby kale (regular is fine too) Salt and pepper to taste Cook barley in 8 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups water. (You can use vegetable concentrate broth or vegetable bouillon, or broth in a carton) Cooking the barley will take about 20-30 minutes til tender. Cover your pan while cooking and use low heat to avoid bubbling over.  In a nonstick pan, add oil and cook sliced mushrooms turning with a spatula. Cook about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are brown and glazey looking. Add sliced garlic and cook another 10 minutes. Your pan will have all this nice brown sauce stuck on it. Add 1/2 cup rice vinegar, and using a wooden spoon, loosen all that sauce, stirring, and then allow the vinegar to evaporate out.  Add the mushrooms/garlic mixture to the broth/barley mixture. Stir, cover and simmer for about 10-20 minutes allowing all the flavors to come together. Add the chopped kale and cook another 10 minutes until tender. (If you're using regular kale, cook a little longer).  Serve hot. with a little parmesan cheese grated on top.  Add more water if broth absorbs into the barley. Season with salt/pepper to taste. Good with a squeeze of lemon too. Makes 8 good-sized servings. 3 Weight Watchers points plus per serving

Checking in: Week 13: 15 pounds!

TA-DA!!!  I hit another Mini Goal today!
Another 5 pound marker and a total of
15.4 pounds lost!!

This will be short and sweet.  Today was weigh in....and I couldn't stay for the meeting but I did go check in.  And I lost 2.8 pounds this week hitting and surpassing 15 pounds!  I'm at 15.4 pounds gone! YAY!
Made some changes this week.  Tried to change things up a bit and it worked.  I did try to move whenever possible.  I even got off the bus when it broke down and walked home two miles.  I did bathroom counter pushups throughout the workday to combat my jiggly arms.  More big salads too.
So the moral of the story is (after last week's slight weight gain), don't lose heart on small set backs.  Be consistent and keep your focus!
Now for my next mini goal....another 4.6 pounds by Memorial weekend!!

Black Eyed Peas Salad

I first saw this recipe in Vegetarian Times Magazine.  I changed it up a bit, buy using dry beans instead of canned and changing up the seasonings/dressing.  I was really happy with the look of it (it's colorful!) and it tastes great!  Only 3 Points Plus for a full 1 cup serving.

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup dry black eyed peas
3 large carrots, chopped
4 medium green onion, sliced
8 ribs celery - use inner stalks and leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped bell pepper (red or green)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped) (optional)
15 oz can stewed tomatoes (moderately drained) and chopped  coarsely
1 tbsp Tapatio hot sauce.

Use 1 cup dry black eyed peas. Put in a heavy pot, add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Cover and let stand for one hour. Drain and rinse. In a large bowl combine peas, carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion and green onion together. Add drained (oka if they are still saucey) stewed/chopped tomatoes. Add olive oil, hot sauce, and stir, mixing it all up. Refrigerate for an hour, stir. Adjust seasoning and hot sauce to taste. Serving size - 1 cup
1 cup = 3 points plus
Make 8 one cup servings

Checking In: Weeks 11 & 12

Wow...I don't know if I should post a "ta-da" picture or a "womp womp" picture.  First of all, I totally missed last week's check in here on Pudgy Pomegranate.  Life has been busy....so last week, I walked, tracked, and did great with my plan, but hopping on the scale at last week's weigh in I was disappointed - but okay with it - with the .2 pound loss.  Yep, only .2 pounds.  My justification was that the week prior, I had lost 3 big ol' pounds...and hey, the scale moved downward so who was I to complain, right?  

So I vowed that I would, in week 12, go for a loss to hit my 15 pound mark.  So I did great this week.  I walked (even on Saturday!) I earned 16 activity points for the week (that's really good!), I tracked, I kept within my points.  But I managed to get sick with a cold. And I don't know if it's the cold, the meds, or what, but today I went to weigh in and for the first time in 12 weeks, the scale was UP!!!!  WHAT????  Yep, it was up.  .6  And the thing is, I seriously don't know why.  I can own up to it if I had screwed up, not exercised, not drank water...etc.  but I did all those things.  So why the gain?  So today, I am feeling like I get the big "womp womp".  

Ta-Da!! It's week 12 and I've made
positive life changes even though
the scale didn't show me the love
this week.

But it's just a number, right?  And I'm so much more than just a number.  I have lost 12.6 pounds in 12 weeks.  That's still a pound a week (YAY).  My clothes are fitting better and my energy level is okay (if I didn't have this cold!)  

So the goal for this week is to try to change things up a bit.  Maybe have more points for breakfast and lunch and less for dinner - I usually save more for dinner since that's when I'm with my family.  So we'll see how it goes.

So for now, I'm giving myself the "ta-da" because in the long run, I'm doing well, enjoying life, eating a healthy variety, and making positive changes!

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Quinoa and Feta

This was my first attempt at stuffed portabellas and they came out great.  Even my non-veggie husband liked them - a lot!  They're good as a main course served with a tossed green salad. 4  portabella mushroom(s), washed and stems removed    1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 Tbsp lemon zest 1 small zucchini, chopped 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 Tbsp garlic paste (or minced garlic) 1/2 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned Heat oven to 350 degrees. I use my pizza stone, but you can use a cookie tray. Spray washed and stemmed portabellas with cooking spray,  and add salt pepper and garlic powder to the gill side. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until you prepare the filling. In a non-stick wok or pan with a lid,  add the oil, garlic and onion, chopped zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes and carrots and stir fry until veggies are tender. Add 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover with a lid and simmer. If you need more water, add a bit. til quinoa is tender about 30 minutes.   Remove portabellas from oven and cool on counter while quinoa cools a bit. Stir feta cheese into the quinoa mixture, add salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon zest. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop filling and mound on portabellas equally between the four mushrooms. Pop back in the oven and heat until hot about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 5 Weight Watchers points plus each ****************************************************** I'm throwing this pizza stone on here for your consideration.  I love mine and use it for way more than pizza, including cookies, boregs, portabella mushrooms, baked kale.  You can see mine in the photo of the portabellas.  It gets a nice dark patina to it as it gets used (mine is unglazed) and I've had it for a few years now.  Things done stick to it, and it's easy to clean.  Do you have a pizza stone?

Pasta with Sprouted Lentils, Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (moist pack, not in oil)
2 cups sprouted lentils
4 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
Salt & Pepper
8 oz. pasta
1  1/2  Tbsp olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)

This recipe just "happened" because it's what I happened to have in the fridge at the time.  The result was very yummy and light, and a great way to use your sprouted lentils.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add a tsp of salt.  Add the pasta, and cook until tender.  Drain.

Add the spinach and lentils last to keep
lentils crunchy.

Heat your wok.  Add olive oil til heated, then add onion and garlic.  Cook til fragrant.  Add mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.  Stir cooking until soft.  Add spinach leaves next and stir til wilted.  Lastly, add your sprouted lentils.  You don't want to cook them too long because they have a nice crispy crunch that you'd like to keep.  Stir, turn off heat.

Add the drained pasta to the vegetable mixture.  Stir together.  Serve in bowls with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired.  Makes 4 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each)

It's best to get everything prepped ahead of time.

I use my walk for all kinds of cooking.  It's my favorite pan in the kitchen.  Here are a couple nonstick woks in case you're looking.

  

Checking In: Week 9: I Did It!!

I did it!  I met my first mini goal!  10 pounds lost!!

Well, it finally happened!  You know how it is when you get up first thing in the morning, go about doing your morning "stuff" and right before you get dressed for work, you hop on the scale for your weigh in.  Well, for the past week, I have more than hit my 10 pound mark, but weigh in is not until 12:30 p.m.  And in that time between 5:30 in the morning and 12:30, there a lot of life that goes on:  There's the morning coffee, a little something for breakfast...some water...you get the idea.

So if you read my post last week, I had 1.4 pounds to lose to make it to my 10 pound mini-goal.  And come Wednesday morning, I didn't think it was going to happen because my home scale had not moved significantly enough from the week prior.  So it was totally unexpected when I went to my meeting and the leader said, 'Oh, good, you lost again...."  The loss was EXACTLY 1.4 pounds making my grand total loss in 9 weeks to be 10 pounds!  Woot!!

So what did I do differently this week than last?  Want to know?  The answer is NOTHING.  I did nothing different.  I stayed consistent.  I tracked, I stayed within my points and I walked (and walked and walked...and still did my bathroom counter pushups).  (I'm averaging about 70 pushups a day now!!)

My friend Karen and I (the one that's lost 18 pounds in 9 weeks, thank you) have been doing what I call the "Green Light Walk" on our lunch break.  We walk until we hit a red light.  And so we have to turn and follow where the green light takes us. Anytime you stop at a red, you must change direction and go to the green.  I work at 7th and Fig.  This week we ended up taking Hope all the way down to Pico, and then walking all the way around the Convention Center and back to work.  It was a 3.6 mile walk. 

So I'm happy. One mini goal down, and the next mini goal is set.  Losing another 10 is already under way! 

What's working for you?  Let me know how you're doing.  I'd love to hear from you.

********************************
Do you use a pedometer? It's fun to see how far you're going.  Pedometers have come a long way and you don't need anything fancy.  Here's a basic one from Timex, but nowadays, if you carry your phone with you, there are pedometer apps that keep track of your miles and calories burned.  Still, if you don't want to carry your phone with you, the classic pedometer will clip onto your waistband.     

Week 8: Impatience!

YAY???  Another .6 down.  :::grumble:::
8.6 down in 8 weeks.  Did I mention
being patient is not my best virtue?

Yesterday was my WW meeting and weigh in.  I worked hard all week.  I made sure I reached my 100% activity goal every day sometimes surpassing it up to 125%.  I earned 17 activity points for the week (2 a day was the target).  I tracked, a drank.  In the morning, when I woke up, I did my usual hop on the scale.  I read it, rubbed my eyes and read it again.  I actually hit my 10 pound mark and surpassed it by .2 of a pound.  YAY.  But my excitement was shortlived.

On came the clothes for work.  And remember, weigh in is not til lunchtime...and before then there's the morning coffee...and a little bit of breakfast (I get up at 5:00 a.m. so not eating til 12:15 can be done, but not a good idea).  Okay....so, weigh in time comes, I get on the scale.  "Oh good you lost again.  .6"  Yep..."point six".  :::sigh:::  

Okay, that makes the total in 8 weeks, 8.6 pounds. Which is good...but it's not commensurate with the amount of work that I feel like I'm plugging in, y'know?  And okay, I know I wrote a thing about not comparing and such, but REALLY???  I won't go there.

So anyways, I'm reveling in the fact that I DID see the number on my scale yesterday morning.  And I'm willing it to hit it by next week!!  

Goals for the week:  Drink, drink, drink more water.  Use my 5 pound weights at least 3 X this week to work on my arms.

How is your week going?  I hope you are having a good one.  Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Easter!!

  

How to Sprout Legumes (and Make Your Own Sprouting Device)

If you know me, you know that I have really gotten into sprouting lately.  I have ready sprouts in my fridge, I just finished the lentil sprouts that have been sprouting 3 days, and I have mung beans and seeds in the works right now.

Last Friday, my daughter came to pick me up from work.  I asked her to make a quick stop at OSH so we could figure out how to make our own sprouting jar.  We walked out with some mason jars and some plastic screening.  A simple contraption that works great.

Here's all you need for legume sprouting (you will need a much smaller mesh for tiny seed sprouting).
1 mason jar (1 quart size) with ring top
1 piece of plastic mesh screen.
Cut the screen to go over the mouth of the jar and get held down by the rim.
Here's what it looks like:        

Grab a bag of lentils from the market.  Any ol' lentils will do (dry).  Put about a 1/2 cup of dry lentils into the jar.  Fill with water, and allow to stand for 12 hours.  The next morning, when you wake up, drain the water through the screen, add clean water.  Agitate lentils a little, drain, add some fresh water and drain again.
Once you've got all the excess water out, tip your jar into a bowl to keep it draining...and throw a dishtowel on it to make the lentils dark.

In 8-12 hours, repeat the rinse and drain process.  After the first
day you'll notice sprouts.  After that it seems like they really take off.  You'll want to harvest your sprouts in about 3 days when the roots are about 1/2 " long.

When they're the desired length open your jar and dump the lentils into a bowl. Fill with water and allow the hulls to come to the top.  Remove the hulls, drain, and now you're ready to eat them raw (very nutritious and high in protein) or use them in your favorite recipes.  Let me know if I wasn't clear or if you have any questions.  Happy Sprouting!
         

Vegan Mini Kufte Ball Soup

Last week Ani came over for an impromptu visit since Eric was working late.  We were thinking of going out to dinner, but decided to cook together instead.  This is a fun soup to together. The broth has a nice tomatoey, lemony, minty base. It's pretty simple.

Kufta Balls:

1 cup of Cream of Wheat

1 cup of fine bulghur

1 Tbsp mint finely rubbed between your palms (I like it minty, but you can use more or less depending on your own preference )

2 heaping Tbsp of tomato paste

1 cup of water

1-2 tbsp of roasted red pepper appetizer…I used it cuz I had it in the fridge.  You can use Ajvar, or red pepper paste..or more tomato sauce. 

Add salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and let it stand a few minutes and then knead it into a dough.  Roll it into small balls, like marbles (maybe a little larger) I counted that it made 108 balls.  Wet your hands if the dough starts sticking to them.

Put these balls in a pot of boiling water and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove after 15 minutes and transfer into the broth.

The Broth:

You’ll need another can of tomato paste

A can of garbanzo beans – OR – about a cup of small pasta

Garlic

Dried mint

1-2 lemons

One big onion and some olive oil

Brown one large onion in some olive oil.  Add enough water to make broth for the family ( I did about 8-9 cups for our batch).  Add a can of tomato paste plus whatever tomato paste you have left over from the kufte balls.  If you have red pepper paste add some of that and a couple tablespoons of mint powder.  Simmer about 10 minutes this and adjust the seasonings.  Add about 3 big cloves of mashed garlic, one can of garbanzo beans (or you can sub out for some small type of macaroni).  Add the cooked kufte balls, and the juice of one or two lemons and boil for another 5 or 10 minutes.

Anush's Bulghur Veggie Salad

This recipe started out as an attempt to make "Eech", a favorite Armenian lenten dish.  So I got the bulghur out, poured the water in, and then realized I didn't have 1/2 the ingredients I thought I did (tomato paste, green pepper, parsley...none of them).  So I thought about what I liked about eech.  I love the sauced taste of the bulghur and the crunch of the pepper...so I used what I had ...added cucumber instead.  The end result was very delicious.  This packs really well for take along lunches.

2 cups fine Bulghur

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 bunch green onions, cleaned and finely sliced

1 Tbsp. Aleppo pepper

1 Tbsp. Sumac

5 Persian cucumbers

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 c. boiling water

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp Olive oil

First off, boil your water.  In a large bowl, measure out 2 cups of fine bulghur.  Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water on top of bulghur.  Add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, sugar, Aleppo pepper (sweet roasted pepper flakes), Sumac and set aside.

Saute onion in a large pan with olive oil until the onion is soft and translucent.  Stir often so as not to brown.  Add onion to the cooled bulghur mixture.  Now add the chopped cucumber, tomato and green onion.  This would also be great with chopped bell pepper and parsley added at this point.  I just didn't have any to add. Next time.  This salad is great to a bed of mixed greens.  

This recipe makes 9 cups of salad.  If you're following Weight Watchers, the points values are as follows:

1 cup serving:  5 points      1/2 cup serving:  3 points

I pack my lunch every day and I love having the right containers to take it in...here are some I found that are cool: