Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Help?

Alright - I'm looking for some great ideas for beans, rice, and lentils...BB and I are trying to broaden our horizons and palettes and want some non-animal protein recipes that are tasty and easy, as well as somewhat inexpensive, but really, how many ways can you make soup with veggies, rice, and lentils or beans?

I want some casseroles, some variations of stir-fry...whatever you've got, send it my way!!!!!

Oh, and also - if you bake with sugar alternatives like brown rice syrup, agave nectar, and/or honey, can you help me out there too? I'm trying to get out of things like white and brown sugar and don't want to use artificial sweeteners that are "formulated to match sugar"...

Help please!!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Fast, Fresh & Healthy Fish Tacos

I just made these tonight, and they were a hit. If you are looking for something really healthy and low-cal, this is it! If you are looking for something full of taste and protein, this is it! Give it a try. Here's to the first recipe of 2010.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Fresh (or frozen, thawed) cod fillets, small bones removed
1 T. Lime Juice
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
8 Hard Taco Shells
1 c. Frozen Peaches & Cream Corn, thawed in warm water and drained
scant 1 cup Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. Salsa (we used hot and chunky)
1/4 c. Red Pepper, chopped
1/4 c. Cilantro, chopped
1 c. Lettuce, shredded (we used Romaine)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat broiler. Arrange fillets in single layer on a foil topped baking sheet. Be sure to grease or spray the foil. Drizzle with lime juice. Sprinkle with cumin. Broil on center rack in oven for 8-10 minutes until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Break into small chunks and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, toss the corn, beans, salsa, red pepper, and cilantro together and set aside in a small serving bowl ready for the table. Put the lettuce in a separate little serving bowl.

3. Arrange taco shells on a baking sheet and heat for one minute in hot oven.

4. Serve and eat! (We served this with fresh fruit and carrots.)

*I don't know the added caloric content from the beans and peppers, but do know that the other ingredients give you about 134 calories per taco with only 3.5 g of fat. Each taco is slightly more than 12-14 grams of protein.

***I should note that this recipe was inspired by a Canadian cook who puts out numerous cookbooks called Company's Coming. Her name is Jean Pare, and her recipe was the basis for this post. I added the peppers and black beans, and got a little heavy handed with the lime juice and cumin. You can thank my husband for the Mother's Day gift of a couple new cookbooks that motivated me to try fish tacos for the first time.