Recipe for Roasted Vegetable and Cheese Omelet

I'm trying to expand my repertoire of veggie cooking methods beyond my go-to steam and season routine.  So, this past weekend when the TV was on and I was only half way paying attention to whatever was on, I pulled out a bunch of fresh veggies from my weekly Kula Fields delivery.  I chopped them up, seasoned them, tossed them around in a little oil and roasted them up in the oven.  We’ve enjoyed them for dinner twice (just reheated in a pan on the stove top the second time) and I’ve made a veggie omelet twice.  Don’t you love cooking once and eating twice (or more!)

Birthday Inspired Spicy Fish Curry

Last week for my birthday dinner, I had a most excellent Spicy Thai Fish Curry at Spago, Wailea.  For our fish dish this week, I was inspired to try to recreate Spago’s amazing fish curry.  I don’t think the Chefs at Spago have anything to worry about, but my version was pretty good for home cookin’!  Yummy, tender fish.  Lemony-lime, gingery-coconutty, licoricey curry sauce with a little heat.  Crunchy veggies.  All that goodness over white basmati rice.  Are you getting hungry yet?  You could probably wok cook this but I just used a regular pan.  Served without the rice, this would be a tasty phase 1 South Beach meal.

Easy Make Ahead Breakfast Quiche

A frequent complaint of phase l South Beachers is “I don’t have time to cook breakfast, so what can I have that is within guidelines that will get me out of the house on time?”  Usually, someone who has been following a South Beach based lifestyle for a while will offer some great breakfast ideas.  Crustless quiches are a favorite as they meet phase 1 guidelines and can be made ahead of time. 

Here is one of my favorite creations.  Makes 4 servings each with approximately ½ C veggie (measured after sautéing), 2 protein servings and some fat;  155 calories, 9 grams carbs, 7 grams fat, 14 grams protein (made with egg substitute)

Ingredients:

2 C chopped mushrooms

¾  C chopped roasted red peppers (from jar), squeezed of liquid

½  C chopped artichoke hearts (in water, not marinated), squeezed of liquid

½  C finely chopped green onions

TBSP EVOO

6 eggs (or egg substitute equivalents)

1 ½  oz goat cheese

½  oz grated parmesan

Liberal sprinkling of herbes de Provence

Cooking spray

Method:

Saute veggies in EVOO and herbes de Provence until softened and warmed through.  Place in a round cake pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Cover with eggs and add goat cheese in small drops.  Top with parmesan.

Cook in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until set.  Store in fridge.

Serve warmed or cold.  

It's delicious and the beauty of these quiches is that you can use whatever veggies you like or have on hand.  Give it a try, even if you aren’t a South Beacher I think you’ll enjoy the flavors and convenience.

Suggestions for easy, healthy breakfasts?

Printable Recipe

Microwave Popcorn

Do you know how easy it is to make popcorn in the microwave? I don’t mean the many varieties of prepackaged popcorn which can contain various oils and additives. I mean just plain ole’ corn popped in the microwave in a paper bag with just hot air. How easy is that?
I heard about this on the South Beach chat boards-gave it a try and now I’m hooked. I like that I can add just the right amount of salt and flavorings. And, it is very filling!

Company's Coming Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I recently purchased a slow cooker after seeing tons of healthy slow cooker meals that I knew we’d enjoy. Plus, I like cooking once and eating twice-leftovers!

When the slow cooker showed up, my hubby surprised me by asking if I could do pot roast in it. He lived in California for a long time, but I guess you can’t take the mid-west out of him completely. Pot roast is a meal I haven’t cooked in a long time!  Our good friends were coming over with the wife’s mom for dinner, and tri-tip roasts were on sale so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do pot roast and mashed potatoes.

Blueberry Almond Shake

Aloha!  A real challenge for me on the South Beach diet is to get in enough fruit and dairy servings.  To address this I've been whipping up some yummy shakes almost every day using various fruits and dairy products, a common tactic many South Beachers use.

My "go to" shake is with banana, almond butter, yogurt, and soy milk (and a squeeze of sugar-free chocolate syrup on occasion!).  Another favorite is strawberries, cinnamon, soy milk and ice.  A friend on the South Beach message boards uses frozen peaches in her shakes.

Today, I made a shake, chock full of antioxidant powerhouse blueberries,