Clean Eating #103: Vegetarian Couscous w/Tofu & Zucchini Noodles

Vegetarian Couscous with Tofu & Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini, shredded lengthwise for the "noodles"

1 box of Whole Wheat Coucous

1 green or red bell pepper

1 12.3 oz package of tofu, drained.

10-12 grape tomatoes

1 medium onion

Seasonings to taste:

Chili Powder, Basil, Garlic Pepper & Sea Salt

Shred Zucchini Lengthwise

Sautee tofu, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, onions in coconut or olive oil until tender.  Add extra oil for the 'topping'

Cook Couscous according to directions.

Place the hot couscous in a bowl and top with sauteed veggies and zucchini noodles.  Serve hot.

VERDICT:  My son, Jaedin, who has been vegetarian for about two years ate this entire bowl without even sitting down.  He reminded me of his father.  I guess it was good:)  I got a bite or two before he came downstairs, and yep, it was pretty yummy.  I'll definitely experiment with some different seasonings.

Clean Eating #84: Vegetarian OR Tuna Pasta Casserole

Vegetarian OR Tuna Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 box Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti (13.25 oz box)
3 small red potatoes, cubed
1 bag of long green beans & yellow green beans (or you can just use green beans:)
1 large clove of garlic, diced
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 large tomato, cubed or 1 pkg of grape tomatoes
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Dried Parsley Flakes
2 cups prepared white beans (Or 2 pouches of albacore tuna in water)
4 oz. container of Feta Cheese
Parmesan for topping
Salt and Pepper to taste
*Kalamata Olives (I had some chopped up in a dish for the boys to add to theirs, since us girls don't care for them.  If you like olives, you will love the addition.  My boys kept commenting that was their favorite part!)

Directions:
Start a pot of water boiling, add the pasta
After about 3 minutes, add the diced potatoes & frozen green beans.
Boil for about 5 more minutes, set aside.
Add Feta to the hot pasta.

While that's boiling, finely dice your onion, garlic, olives and tomatoes
Sautee in a little bit of oil until tender, then add Olive Oil & Parsley
Simmer on Med-Low for about 5 minutes.
Add to Pasta and stir.

Add Tuna or Beans or other protein choice and Viola!  

A yummy, easy, pasta dish!!!

Vegetarian?  Or No?

This is an easy dish to make for vegetarian or no.  You prepare everything, then just add the tuna/beans in separate serving dishes or even in individual servings.  My son ate a bowl and said, "I love your blog.  We'd never have had any of this new stuff without it."  You could also use chopped tofu or Quinoa instead of beans/tuna for your protein if you wanted.

Clean Eating #69: Vegetarian (or not) Vegetable Lasagna

Vegetarian (or not) Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

(This makes 4 Large Pans, plus one 'casserole):

Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles

6 Zucchini, Shredded

6-8 Carrots, Shredded

1 Eggplant, diced

1 each, Red, Yellow & Orange Bell Peppers, Diced and Sauteed

8 Oz diced & Sauteed Mushrooms

1-2 large Onions

1-2 Heads of Roasted Garlic

8-10 Quarts of Marinara Sauce

32 oz bags of shredded Mozerella

2 - 32 Oz Tubs of Ricotta Cheese

3 -24 Oz Tubs of Low/Nonfate Cottage Cheese

1 Tbsp Parsley

1 Tsp Each:  Basil & Oregano

Optional Protein Choices:

TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)

Chopped Tempeh

Ground Lean Turkey

We made 5 Pans, 1 Tempeh, 1 TVP, 2 Lean Ground Turkey & 1 Vegetables only.
I always make half of the meat pans with extra mushrooms & green peppers and mark the side of the pan with a Sharpie.  I freeze all but two pans for later use when we're in a hurry and still want a hot homecooked meal.  Hopefully I can make these last and have one each week for the rest of the month.

My FAVORITE noodles:

Directions:
Boil water and start cooking lasagna noodles until fairly tender (but not finished).

While that's cooking...
Mix up your cottage & ricotta cheeses
Add Basil, Oregano & Parsley
Add Shredded Carrots, Zucchini & Eggplant
set aside for layering.

Start Layering...
Sauce first
Top with preferred Protein Source.
Then Layer with cooked pasta
Add layer of the Cheese & Veggie Mixture
Another layer of noodles
Another layer of Cheese mixture
More noodles
Top with the rest of the marinara sauce & more protein if you like...

Cover with Foil & Bake at 375 for 45 minutes

Uncover, top with Mozerella Cheese & bake uncovered for 15 more minutes.

What I did with the extras:

I ran out of noodles, but had a bit of the veggie/cheese mixture left, so I cooked up two boxes of Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta and tossed it together with the remainder of the sauce and cheeses.  I added some TVP for extra protein and Viola!  Lasagna Casserole:)

What I'd Do Differently Next Time:  I'd sautee the eggplant before putting it in the lasagna.  My husband loved it, but I didn't care for the texture of it.  Oh, and I'd bake more than one pan.  I baked one pan last night and there was one small serving this morning.  *sigh*

Clean Eating#47: Tuna Noodle Casserole

Clean Eating Tuna Noodle Casserole w/Crunchy Topping

A.K.A.

Tuna Noodle Cheese & Peas

Ingredients 

(makes a LOT!  There were leftovers with my big family)

1 bag of whole wheat noodles

1 bag of frozen peas

3 cans of tuna in water

1 cup shredded Mozerella cheese

Parmesan to taste

Sauce:  *Next time I'd make twice as much sauce!!

1 cup Yogurt Cheese

8 oz chopped portabello mushrooms

1/2 one large onion

1 tsp coconut oil

1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

Directions:

Cook noodles & peas to taste (I leave peas pretty 'crispy')

Sautee mushrooms and onions until tender.

Puree mushrooms, onions, broth and yogurt cheese together to make the sauce.

Pour sauce over noodles, tuna, peas and mozerella.
Mix well and add optional topping

Topping:

1/2 cup of almonds

1/2 cup of flaxseed

3/4 cup of shredded wheat cereal

Blend and pour over top before baking:

Bake at 305 for about 20 minutes until bubbling.
I prepared mine in the morning and kept it in the fridge until dinner time, so it needed to cook a little longer.

What I'd do differently next time;  Next time I'll definitely double the sauce!  It was good.  My kids had two or THREE servings and didn't notice any difference from the canned soup version I used to make.  It was awesome.  My husband really loved it as well.  No one noticed that there was yogurt in it, and I definitely liked the texture far better than the tofu I used in the beef stroganoff.  I will try yogurt in that next time too!