Guest blogger, Joe Cicc0ne, is back on Live Lighter to share with us his yummy, healthy Stuffed Red Peppers – Italian-Style! 

Earlier this month I made a new version of stuffed peppers. Most recipes use chopped beef and white rice for the stuffing, this recipe is made with Turkey Italian Sausage, brown rice, seasoned bread crumbs and Perco-Romano grated cheese. Mmm…

Instead of turkey, you can substitute sausages made with chicken or as a special treat, Pork Italian Sausages. For vegetarians, omit the meat and use mushrooms instead. Although brown rice is used in our recipe, any type of rice or Ricearoni can be used. And while home-made tomato sauce is the healthiest, you can always use jarred or canned sauces in a pinch.

Joe’s Italian-Style Stuffed Red Peppers

Serves: 2 large portions or 3 to 4 people with sides of vegetables or a salad.

Ingredients

• 2 medium or large Red Peppers
• 1 lb Italian sausages
• 1 cup cooked Brown Rice
• 16 oz Seasoned Italian Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup diced fine onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
• 1/3 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
• 2 tablespoons perco Romano grated cheese
• olive oil as needed

Preparation

1. Cook rice and chop sweet onion, set both aside.
2. Remove sausage meat from casing, or just purchase ground sausage meat.
3. Use a few tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet on medium heat, add meat.
4. Mix meat to cook evenly (5-6 min) on lower heat and add rice, onions & about 8 oz of Tomato sauce, mix well.
5. Remove from heat and mix in Bread crumbs & grated cheese.
6. Pour remainder of tomato sauce in baking dish, add stuffed peppers, sprinkle some bread crumbs over each stuffed pepper.
7. Cover with foil, make several knife slits in foil.
8. Bake 325 degree oven for 1 hour…remove foil (carefully) bake for additional 20 min.

About the Author

Joe Ciccone is an active 70-year old who loves to cook healthy meals. He currently resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife of 32 years. He grew up in The Bronx and has been in the kitchen since he was 6 years old learning to cook from his father, a butcher, and his Italian and Polish grandparents. He’s worked in a NYC French restaurant and a 24-hour diner, and enjoyed cooking for parties and holidays in all 3 of his marriages.

This kind of recipe is just what we need to keep our healthy diets interesting! Do you have a favourite healthy version of stuffed red peppers to share with us? 

This week we’ve continued the discussion regarding the health benefits of increasing our fiber intake. Today’s guest blogger, Joe Ciccone (who recently contributed a recipe for Toasted Pumpkin Seeds), shares a recipe – a tasty addition to our fiber-rich diet!  

I guess you could call me a ‘fiber-nut’ as I’m always concerned about getting enough in each daily meal. I’m always reading labels before buying because there are lots of breads, English muffins and wraps that all look and taste alike, but have a wide range of fiber content.

Looking for an interesting, exotic and healthy meal to try? A very special Live Lighter reader, Heather, sent this recipe via email and gave me permission to share it with you. It sounds super healthy and delicious – check it out!

Here’s what Heather wrote:

I’m eating my healthy late lunch of goats milk yogurt, raw cacao nibs, raw cacao powder, maca powder, handful of raw almonds and frozen blueberries – yum! It takes getting used to the taste of raw cacao, maca and cacao nibs but now I totally look forward to it!

And the goat milk yogurt has a faintly different flavor but it’s also not too hard to get accustomed to. I have tried both vanilla and plain, and prefer the plain.

Stephanie, I have to warn you that the flavors are NOT sweet, at all, and it takes getting used to because of what the cacao is and looks like. I always feel like I’m cheating and having something “forbidden”, which is probably one of the reasons, aside from the healthy benefits, that I love it so much!

Heather’s comment about getting “accustomed to” these new tastes reflects my memories/feelings when I first started down my new health path over six years ago. Especially with my green detox recipes.

Our taste buds tend to prefer what we’ve been exposing them to for most of our lives. If you were fortunate to grow up in a family that valued healthy food, then you’ll probably have an easier time changing your diet back to one that’s healthy if you’ve fallen off the health wagon.

On the other hand, if you grew up on microwave dinners, McDonald’s, candy, chips and pop (like I did), your taste buds will NOT like the healthier fare. At first. In this case, the trick is to make healthier choices that are as tasty as possible for you at the moment, get your buds hooked on that and then step up your game by trying even healthier foods when you’re ready.

A BIG shout-out to Heather for sharing her recipe with us. I’ve unfortunately haven’t yet had to opportunity to try it myself (the ingredients are a bit hard to source in my part of the world), so when YOU get the chance, I’d love it if you came back and left your opinion in the comment section below!

Do you have an unusual, healthy recipe for us to try?

Bindu Grandhi is back for another guest post and thank goodness because it’s time to barbecue! Keep reading if you’re ready to get your grill on with some healthy options and a recipe for Spicy Seared Chilean Sea Bass.

Barbecue season is here. If you’re like me and my family, we just love to grill outdoors while sipping cold lemonade and lazing in our patio. We grill up vegetables, lean meats, fish and poultry, and create our own spice rubs to cut down the fat, sodium and sugars. The other ways we like to kick up flavor without adding a lot of calories are using marinades and dipping sauces.

If you’re looking for a tasty change from the traditional barbecue sauce, try these 3 easy grilling ideas:

Dry Rub

Dry Rub is a mixture of herbs and spices used to coat meat, chicken or fish prior to cooking. I think dry rubs are great because they lend a crusty crunch and nonfat flavors. Just rub a teaspoon (or to taste) onto each side of the meat, fish or chicken to cover completely, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours until ready to cook.

Try my Spicy Seared Chilean Sea Bass recipe below – I just love the mild flavor and firm texture of this fish. The combination of spices and the sweet, nutty flavor of almonds provide a flavorful coating.

Dipping Sauce

Dipping Sauce is a sauce that you dip plain grilled meat into, and can be served on the side. Sauces add flavor without a lot of calories as long as you watch your portion. You can place the sauce in individual bowls or spoon on the side. Try using salsa, or mixing yogurt seasoned with diced cucumber; or chopped onion and herbs; salt to taste.

Marinade

Marinade is typically a blend of equal parts of oil, vinegar, lemon juice and flavorings such as ginger, garlic and herbs. Marinating times can range from 30 minutes to overnight. Tougher meats should be marinated overnight in a citrus juice, vinegar or wine. Fish and vegetables need an hour or two.

Place meat and marinade in a noncorrosive glass or stainless-steel container and make sure the mixture coats the food. Shake off excess prior to grilling. Try a Mediterranean marinade combo – olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and thyme or basil. If you’re in the mood for Indian – try yogurt, garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric.

I bet you have a lot of the seasonings and ingredients mentioned above so I encourage you to try these ideas. Or better yet, be adventurous and create your own rub, sauce or marinade. Happy Barbecuing!

Spicy Seared Chilean Sea Bass

This sweet, nutty and spicy seafood dish cooks up in a flash.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Marinating Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Spice Rub:

2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. red chili powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. salt

• 5 almonds, blended finely in a coffee grinder or spice grinder
• 4 Chilean sea bass fillets*, 1 inch thick, skinned and deboned
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Combine all the ingredients for the spice rub in a shallow bowl.
2. Rub fillets with lemon juice; then rub filets with the spice rub and refrigerate for 3 hours.
3. Prepare the grill (rub a little oil over the grate before firing up to prevent fillets from sticking). Remove filets from the refrigerator and place on the grill. Grill at low or medium heat to prevent the coating from burning. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until fish is cooked through.
4. Serve with your favorite chutney.

Note: You can also try cod, halibut, or your preferred filet.

About the Author

Author of Spice Up Your Life, Bindu Grandhi is passionate about healthy and flavourful cooking, especially when it’s flexitarian. She shares her health knowledge with the world by providing practical, healthy and tasty recipes as The Flex Cook.

Mmm… thank you, Bindu! I can’t wait to try out these different grilling options and I love Chilean Sea Bass! Have you, dear Readers, have a grilling recipe to share?

Easter is almost here and although it’s been snowing here in Toronto, BBQ season IS coming. I promise. Let’s prepare for it with a guest post from Bindu Grandhi as we celebrate the evolution of veggie burgers (plus a recipe for a Portobello Burger with Curry Dip)!

Can you imagine a veggie burger being mistaken for meat?

Well, Chef Brian Stefano at the Hillstone Branch restaurant on Park Avenue, New York City fooled vegetarian patrons into thinking his griddled, crispy-exterior veggie burger was meat!¹ He attributes his successful burger to a combination of beans, rice and beets mixed with prunes.

(The beans and rice give the patty the right consistency and texture, while the beets impart a color reminiscent of rare steak and the prunes give it a touch of sweetness and stickiness.)

I do believe veggie burgers have come a long way. Gone are the days of bland, freeze-dried nutrient discs that were either tough as hockey pucks when bitten into or collapsing when held. What’s driving this veggie burger movement?

Across the country, chefs, restaurateurs and food companies recognize the growing passion for plant-based diets. There was a 26% increase in menu items labeled vegetarian or vegan between the last quarter of 2008 and the same quarter in 2010 according to Mintel, a market research firm.²  Not to mention our affinity for a really satisfying hand-held food, what’s better than a burger in a bun!

The real challenge was getting a veggie burger to taste, look and feel right while admitting that it will never taste like a traditional beef burger. Food connoisseurs have taken on that challenge experimenting with all kinds of ingredients such as chick peas, soy bacon, quinoa, carrots and Portobello caps to name a few.

Flavor is key so condiments are important – a spicy tartar sauce in lieu of ketchup for instance. In terms of consistency, you don’t want to bite down on something mushy, that’s why most veggie burger mixes are sealed with eggs and bread crumbs or panko crumbs.

“A good burger has a little crunch, a little snap,” says David Burke, chef behind New York restaurants like Fishtail and David Burke Kitchen. He’s right about that!

I’m just relieved that I’ve got more options at burger joints and barbecues, that’s something to cheer about. By the way, I’m still not crazy about the veggie burger brands in the grocery stores largely because I prefer freshly made burgers to pre-packaged, processed patties.

So in the spirit of yummy veggie burgers check out my recipes for a flavorful Portobello burger with a curry dip condiment. Enjoy!

¹“Meatless Burgers Master the Disguise,” New York Times Dining Section, Wednesday, March 23, 2011, pages D1 & D5
²Ibid D5

Portobello Burger with Curry Dip

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 (2 burgers per person)

Curry Dip

Mix ingredients in a medium bowl: ½ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup ketchup 1/8 tsp curry powder 1/8 tsp red chili powder

Ingredients

8 hamburger rolls

• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small tomato, sliced in quarters, seeds and pulp removed
• 10 oz. baby Portobello mushrooms, cleaned
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. powdered, unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. red chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 egg white
• 1½ cups panko bread crumbs
• 4 tbsp. extra light olive oil

Topping: slices of raw onion and tomato

Preparation

1. In a food processor, pulse the onions and garlic three times. Add tomatoes and mushrooms and pulse until mushrooms are chopped. Transfer the contents to a mixing bowl.
2. Add coriander, coconut, cumin, salt, red chili, ginger and mix.
3. Add egg white and panko bread crumbs, and mix. Using your hands, form mixture into 8 patties, ¼ inch thick.
4. In a non-stick grill pan or skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil. Place 4 patties into the skillet, and cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes each side. Remove from grill pan and transfer to serving plate. Repeat process with the remaining patties.
5. On a serving plate, place each Portobello burger on a bun and spoon curry dip over the burger. Top with a slice of sweet onion and tomato and serve.

Note: With barbecue season coming soon, prepare these burgers on the grill for a vegetarian option.

About the Author

Author of Spice Up Your Life, Bindu Grandhi is passionate about healthy and flavourful cooking, especially when it’s flexitarian. She shares her health knowledge with the world by providing practical, healthy and tasty recipes as The Flex Cook.

Editor’s Note: Our special “love” day is coming up – what do you have planned? If you want to stick to your resolutions/health plan, consider cooking a healthy meal at home to celebrate. Today Bindu Grandhi shares a poem and 3 of her flexitarian recipes with us!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you’re spending it with your sweetheart, dear friends or family, resolve to eat a home-cooked meal with your loved ones. If it’s a romantic dinner for two, spend time preparing it together or if you’re hanging with friends and family make the meal pot-luck style.

The key is to choose a simple menu: an easy salad, a one-pan dish to be made the day of the dinner and a scrumptious dessert to be made the day before. And be sure to have a bottle of champagne chilling or select your preferred red or white wine beforehand.

I’m a huge proponent of home-cooked meals because they’re prepared by the people you know best. Even New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman agrees with this sentiment. Keep in mind that home-cooked foods contain, on average, 31.5% of calories from fat compared to an average of 37.6% of calories for restaurant foods.

That’s because you control the ingredients and the cooking process. Select locally sourced meats and seafood, locally grown produce and try locally produced wine and beer – the quality is comparable to well-known national brands.

So stay in, whip up a great meal and enjoy the company – Happy Valentine’s day!

Healthy Valentine’s Day Poem

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue,
Here’s a Valentine’s Day
Dinner menu for you.
It’s sure to be seductive
And stress-free.
There’s colorful beets and basmati rice,
Accompanied by a snappy salad and
Strawberry Ice cream delight.

Cheers!

Chickpea, Cucumber, and Bell Pepper Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas
• 3 kirby cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thick
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing:

• ½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
• ½ cup cottage cheese
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. white pepper

In a sieve, drain the chickpeas; rinse under cold water and drain again. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumbers, bell peppers, scallions, and cilantro. Chill.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, cottage cheese, salt and white pepper. Just before serving, drizzle the dressing on the salad and toss.

Spicy Beets and Rice

Go to www.flexcook.com for recipe and demo.

Strawberry Kulfi

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: Overnight
Serves: 12

• 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 12 oz. evaporated milk
• 12 medium strawberries, stems removed
• 1/8 cup sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
• 8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Garnish: fresh sliced strawberries and fresh mint sprigs

Add all ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste for sugar. Depending on the taste of the strawberries, you may need to adjust the amount of sugar. Transfer into a large freezer-proof serving dish, and level with the back of a spoon. Cover and freeze overnight. Garnish with fresh sliced strawberries and mint sprigs. Serve in bowls or ice cream cones.

About the Author

Author of Spice Up Your Life, Bindu Grandhi is passionate about healthy and flavourful cooking, especially when it’s flexitarian. She shares her health knowledge with the world by providing practical, healthy and tasty recipes as The Flex Cook.

Yum! Thanks, Bindu! Do you have any recipes that would go perfectly with a Valentine’s Day dinner?

Are you looking for a warm, tasty, protein-packed, healthy (and vegetarian) meal to warm you during these chilly January days? Well, you’re in luck because today I’m sharing with you one of my favourite winter recipes!

Seven years ago I came across this African Chicken Stew recipe made with peanut butter. Although I had tried chicken peanut satay before, it struck me as an unusual mixture of flavours to include in a stew. I’m so happy I overcame my original resistance because it’s become a typical winter dish at my house!

For the carnivores reading this, please click on the link above and try it yourself. Steph’s Time-Saving Tip: purchase a small, roasted BBQ chicken from your grocer’s deli section. When you get home, strip the meat from the bones (you don’t need the fatty skin, either) and treat it like the `browned chicken’ in the recipe.

For all you vegetarians out there (or carnivores who want to save money and the environment), try this adapted vegetarian recipe:

African Veggie Chickpea Stew

Makes: approx. 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 2 med potatoes, chunked
• 2 large carrots, chunked
• 1 small cubanelle pepper, chopped
• 3/4 cup unsalted, natural-style peanut butter
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation

1. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, cubanelle pepper and potatoes to the pan; saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with spices. Do not let garlic brown.
2. Mix in water. Place lid on skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove lid, and stir in the peanut butter and chickpeas. Make sure the peanut butter is blended in. Replace lid and simmer for 10 more minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
4. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning, and serve.

Have you tried this type of African stew before? What did you think of it?

It’s certainly getting colder up here in Canada and though I sometimes complain, tonight’s dinner reminded me that winter has its perks. I love to warm my bones from a wintery chill with some delicious homemade soup. Especially when we’re talking about root vegetables!

Super nutritious but even tastier, this sweet and slightly spicy sweet potato soup is brimming with nutrients. Actually, sweet potatoes have been ranked the most nutrient dense vegetable given its dietary fiber, complex carb and protein content, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. And that’s just one ingredient!

For a hearty soup, it’s deceptively light – a cup of this magical concoction makes a great side dish for many lunch and dinner items. And it freezes well! So get yer saucepan, pot and blender out and start whipping up a potion to cure winter’s whipping winds.

Sweet Pots & Ginger Soup Recipe

Makes: approx. 20 cups

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 3 large carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1.5 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced
• 2 apples, cored, peeled & sliced
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 5-6 cups of water, less for thicker soup
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• S&P, to taste

Preparation

1. Place the sweet potato, squash, carrots, ginger and cumin in a large saucepan. Add the vegetable stock. Cover, bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until all veggies are soft.
2. Place the apples, onions, olive oil, vinegar and maple syrup in a separate saucepan and cook until soft over medium heat (5-10 minutes).
3. Add the cooked apple mixture, salt and pepper to the saucepan with the veggies and mix well. Once all the ingredients are thoroughly cooked, puree in a blender.

Editor’s Note: Yes, we all have umami – it was news to me, too! Our regular guest blogger & flexitarian cook, Bindu Grandhi, tells us what it is and shares a delicious tomato and carrot appetizer recipe from her cookbook.

Most of us learned in school that our sense of taste is based on four primary tastes: sweet, sour, salt and bitter. Those taste receptors are located in different areas: sweet flavors on the tip of the tongue, bitter in the back and sour on the sides.

Well it turns out there is a fifth taste and that ‘tongue map’ we were taught is totally wrong. Japanese scientists recently identified umami, that pleasant savory flavor of soy sauce, tomatoes and other foods high in glutamate.

Glutamate (a type of amino acid) and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. Umami is subtle and blends well with other flavors so we don’t even recognize its presence in food, but it plays an important role in making food tasty.

Any area of the tongue can pick up any taste, although sensitivity does vary across the tongue. Umami receptors are not only located on the tongue but also throughout the digestive tract, but their role in digestion and nutrition is still a mystery.

By the way, those bumps on your tongue aren’t taste buds but ‘fungiform papillae’ which house 50-100 buds. Scientists believe there are only a few receptor types each for sweet, sour, salty, and umami, but there are a lot more for bitter.

So I hope you’ve learned a little something about taste. After all, it’s one of the key senses that influence how delicious a dish tastes.

Experience the taste of umami in tomatoes and carrots with this umami rich recipe: Tomato Slices Topped with Sweet Onion and Carrot. Cheers!

About the Author

Author of Spice Up Your Life, Bindu Grandhi is passionate about healthy and flavourful cooking, especially when it’s flexitarian. She shares her health knowledge with the world by providing practical, healthy and tasty recipes as The Flex Cook.

Isn’t that nuts? A taste receptor we didn’t even know we had. Just goes to show that the world is so large and humans are so complex that new discoveries are just waiting for us! Did you know about umami?

Ok, you got me, there are no such things as green eggs. But this frittata recipe is so loaded with spinach and broccoli that the eggs appear green! If you’re ready for a little Dr. Seuss fun with your food, check out today’s healthy recipe.

As we’ve discussed before on Live Lighter, cholesterol is necessary for life. Many health pros agree it’s the type of fat (saturated and trans) that determines levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol in the body, not so much dietary cholesterol found in food. (Check out in the Calgary Herald’s article, “Unscrambling the myths of eggs and cholesterol.”)

Eggs typically have 5 grams of fat, most of which is unsaturated or “healthy” fats except for about 1.5 grams. Eaten in moderation by those who have healthy cholesterol levels, the muscle-enhancing protein and high nutrition content of eggs make it an excellent inclusion to a well-rounded diet (especially for vegetarians).

Frittatas are baked egg dishes, basically a crustless quiche of sorts. Although many frittatas begin on the stove, we’re baking ours completely in the oven today. It takes a bit longer but the health benefits are worth it.

Green Eggs & Feta Frittata

Makes: approximately 2-4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 large free-run eggs
• 1/4 cup plain almond milk
• 1.5 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1 cup broccoli florets, bite-sized
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 100 grams feta cheese
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp butter
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Beat eggs and milk in a medium bowl with a fork or whisk until light and airy (it’ll be light in colour, too).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl except for the butter and blend until the veggies are well-coated with the egg mixture.
3. Put butter in the bottom of a oven-safe 10 inch skillet. Pour frittata mixture over the butter and place skillet in the oven.
4. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Finish it off by turning on the broiler to brown the top.
5. Let cool (15 minutes), cut into 4 slices (like a pizza) and serve hot.

Tips:

1. Keep a tea towel or oven mitt on the handle of the skillet while it’s cooling so you don’t forget that it’s scalding hot when you go to serve it. I learned the hard way.
2. You can also serve frittata cold – just like pizza!
3. Frittata also freezes well so don’t be afraid to cook extra for quick, healthy meals.