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This is a recipe of my husband's that was inspired by our favourite local Greek restaurant. The Greek name for it is Kalamaria Gemista. He paired it with a delicious salad of arugula, spinach, tomatoes and avocado. Calamari (squid) has a wonderful flavour when it is roasted. This recipe makes enough for 2 people but can easily be doubled or tripled.
Ingredients for stuffed calamari:
4 fresh calamari, cleaned and trimmed (we bought our calamari already trimmed, so one end is open for easy stuffing---it looks a bit like a blimp)
1 small onion, peeled and diced
4 small red, orange or yellow tomatoes, diced
4 heaping tbsps feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasted
1/2 a lemon, cut into wedges
Ingredients for salad:
4 cups baby spinach and arugula mix (washed and rinsed)
1 tomato, sliced into eighths
1 avocado, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions for calamari:
1. Toss onions, tomatoes, garlic, 1 tbsp oil, lemon juice, oregano, basil, salt & pepper in a bowl. Cover and marinade, in refrigerator, for 30 to 6o minutes. Remove from fridge and lightly toss in crumbled feta cheese
2. Rinse calamari inside and out under cold running water. Pat dry. Using a spoon, stuff the calamari with tomato/cheese mixture. Use a tooth pick to close the open end. You want them pretty full, but not full enough that anything is coming out the ends. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
3. Heat remaining tbsp full of olive oil in a large ridged skillet over high to medium high heat. Preheat oven to 400F. Brown the stuffed calamari in the hot oil for about 3-4 minutes, turning regularly.
4. Place the calamari in a very lightly oiled roasting pan with low sides. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges on the side.
Directions for salad:
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss lightly. Spoon onto plate with stuffed calamari. Enjoy!
This recipe is made with soy sauce, which is high in sodium. Even the reduced sodium soy sauce tends to have a lot of sodium, so please avoid this if you are on a sodium-reduced diet. When making this, do not add any salt. I served it with side salad of spinach and arugula with some cranberries and walnuts tossed in for good measure! It serves about four.
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, chopped into cubes and marinated for a couple of hours in two tbsps olive oil & two tbsps lime juice.
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsps olive oil
3 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsps reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsps maple syrup
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking brown rice
1 cup water
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers
1 tsp chipotle hot sauce
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Saute onion and garlice for about 3 minutes. Add chicken & discard marinade. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until chicken is browned.
2. Add mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, maple syrup and water. Stir to remove brown bits from bottom of pan and incorporate.
3. Add rice and stir, bringing liquid to a boil.
4. Add black pepper, chili pepper & hot sauce. Stir and cover, cooking on low for about 20 minutes.
5. Return heat to medium high and add peas. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Sweet potatoes are such a great comfort food. This recipe adds some exotic spices into the mix. This recipe serves about four.
Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped and sauted in 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers
chopped walnuts for garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. Place sweet potatoes in medium saucepan; cover with water and add pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered for about 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Add chicken stock, sesame oil, sea salt, nutmeg, cumin, garlic, sauted onion, ground black pepper & chili peppers to sweet potatoes.
3. Mash potatoes with a potato masher, then use electric hand mixer to blend until relatively smooth. Add more stock if potatoes are dry. Transfer to a small baking dish that has been lightly oiled with sesame oil. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven at 400F for about 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped walnuts if desired.
This is my husband's recipe. A wholesome, easy salad with protein from the chickpeas and a variety of vitamins and minerals from the vegetables. Very tasty!
Ingredients:
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup sliced green olives
3 tbsps olive oil
3 tbsps apple cider vinegar
1 tsp picante hot sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Combine chickpeas, tomatoes & olives in a medium sized bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow flavours to meld.
Oven roasting gives a very different flavour to brussels sprouts! Anyone who doesn't usually like these vegetables will gobble these ones down.
Ingredients:
1 lb brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
3 tbsps olive oil
1/3 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped into large chunks
2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (for garnish)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. After washing brussels sprouts, trim hard ends off bottoms and cut a small cross in the bottom of each sprout. Place in a large bowl.
3. Mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped onions and sliced portobello mushrooms. Drizzle mixture over the brussels sprouts and toss lightly to coat.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer ingredients to the baking sheet. Place in oven and bake until lightly browned for about 30 minutes. If they are browning too quickly, you can place another piece of parchment paper lightly over top during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
5. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
This is a variation of a recipe from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. Quinoa (pronounced "Keenwa") is an ancient Inca grain that is a complete protein. This recipe serves four but can easily be doubled. This is a vegan recipe.
Ingredients:
2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup red or white quinoa, well rinsed and drained (quinoa has a bitter coating that must be rinsed off before you cook it). It is best to rinse it in a strainer, then place it in a large bowl of hot water for 5 minutes. Then rinse it again in a strainer under cold water and drain well.
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 tbsps freshly grated lemon zest
2 cups mixed greens, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1/2 a lime
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onion, trimmed and chopped for garnish
Directions:
1. Place olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots and peppers. Cook until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring regularly.
2. Stir in rinsed and drained quinoa and cook for 5 minutes. The grains should become lightly browned. Add veggie broth, lemon zest & mixed greens. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook, covered for 20 minutes, until quinoa becomes translucent.
3. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss in the citrus juices. Season with salt & pepper. Serve immediately. Garnish with chopped green onion.
At this time of year a hot stew goes a long way! This one is full of great vegetables and tasty marinated chicken. Sop up the juices with some fresh whole grain bread. If you don't appreciate the strong taste of parsnip, substitute another vegetable of your choice, such as butternut squash.
Ingredients:
4 large chicken breasts, marinated for several hours or overnight in 2 tsps olive oil; 1/2 juice of one lemon; salt & pepper. Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes.
8 cups water
2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (large jar) strained tomatoes
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
small can of tomato paste (about 4 heaping tbsps)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large white potatoes, chopped (leave peel on but scrub well)
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
10 brussel sprouts, chopped
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2tsps dried basil
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in 2 tbsps olive oil until onion is soft. Add chopped chicken and saute until the chicken is lightly browned.
2. Stir in water, broth, tomatoes. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Lower heat to medium and stir in tomato paste until incorporated. Add remaining ingredients, except peas. Stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about one hour.
3. Add peas and basil; stir and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, covered. Ladle into large bowls and serve with whole grain bread.
This is a recipe of my husband's that was inspired by our favourite local Greek restaurant. The Greek name for it is Kalamaria Gemista. He paired it with a delicious salad of arugula, spinach, tomatoes and avocado. Calamari (squid) has a wonderful flavour when it is roasted. This recipe makes enough for 2 people but can easily be doubled or tripled.
