By now I think we are all partied out, well fed and should be trying to go on with our regular lives. The holidays are over. Some may even have made new year's resolutions, mainly about eating better and having a healthier lifestyle. Good for you. How is that going until now? Are you sticking to your diet? To tell you the truth, I've been through all kind of diets. They work. But you have to be on a diet all your life if you want them to keep working for you. My final decision? I changed my whole way of eating and my general approach to food. This worked. I never feel I am on a diet or that I am depriving myself of something. You may have noticed that from my way of cooking: I tweak recipes, simplify them and rarely use "diet" ingredients. I prefer the original ingredients, and if they have too much fat for example, I use them in moderation and find something else to add to the dish so that we don't miss on anything. I see a lot of cooks trying to give us "healthier" recipes by substituting light cheese to the regular one called for in the recipe. It doesn't work. If I am committing the crime, it should be the perfect crime, maybe with just some attenuating circumstances, hence the tweaking. I've looked into the diet or reduced fat cheeses. They are almost all plastic. There is no other way to describe them. Only the mini Baby Bell (the small red balls) and the Laughing Cow (the triangles of soft cheese) passed the test. So if your are trying to make healthier choices in your diet, go for the real thing, in moderation, and don't skimp on the veggies.
When I thought of a simple menu for this period where we are all "turkeyed" out, I thought of vegetables and eggs.
VEGETABLE SOUP
I rarely have soup outside. I am never sure how it is made, and it is usually loaded with fat. Sometimes at work we find soup in the cafeteria, I never come near it. In this particular case I am afraid of what's in it. Soup in a big kitchen can be made of all the leftovers. In a small one too. But in my kitchen I know what's in my soup. I make my own stock, have my own way of making the soup creamy without adding fat, and I add a lot of vegetables, healthy grains and layers of flavor. Even if it has some leftovers in it, my soup will be definitely made from the best ingredients. Today I am making a very simple vegetable soup. It doesn't need a recipe. Remember the turkey bolognese sauce we made the other day? I used some of it to top a pasta dish and still have some left. This will be the base of the soup. You just have to peel and chop about 4 medium potatoes, 2 handfuls of baby carrots and 4 stalks of celery. Cook them in 2 or 3 cups of broth or even water then add the sauce and stir. Add a can of chick peas and some small pasta that you have cooked separately. I like to be in control of the liquids. When you cook the pasta in a separate pot you are not obliged to keep all the starchy water in your soup. I served it with a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley and dill that I had from the frittata I made the same day. You can also add a sprinkle of grated cheese.
VEGETABLE FRITTATA
Call it frittata or omelet, it's the same for me. This is my basic recipe for the frittata. It's my go to dish when we are in a rut, and don't want to eat anything. But we have to eat, so it's frittata for dinner. In this recipe I use one egg substitute container plus real eggs, one per person. This way, you'll have a bigger frittata with less eggs. You'll never notice the difference. Beat the eggs and add some salt and pepper. Finely chop 1/2 small onion, 1 tomato and about 2 tbsp each: parsley and dill. In a large non stick skillet, cook the onion in 1 tbsp oil until tender, then add the tomato and herbs. Cook until the tomato is wilted. Add the eggs and with the spatula keep bringing the edges of the frittata to the center of the skillet. Lower the heat. With the spatula cut the frittata in 4 wedges so it will be easier for you to flip each one separately to the other side. Cook until it's not running anymore and it's golden brown.
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