mmmMon...Thursday

Our computer is back in business, so here is the recipe for baked falafel that I wanted to share with you on Monday. Have you ever had falafel? I hadn't tried it until recently, and now I'm obsessed.

I'm back on my diet so good ol' fried falafel is out of the question. Luckily I found this super easy recipe on design conundrum that I decided I needed to try. I'm glad I did, because I especially love how these came out crisp and brown from the oven. You definitely don't miss out on any of that crispy falafel goodness by not frying these. 

I had pretty much none of the ingredients to make her lemon tahini garlic dressing, but I'm sure it's amaze. I just threw mine on eensy Trader Joes pitas (full disclosure: I bought these only because they were cute, they aren't that great!), added a little hummus and diced tomato, and had a simple, filling dinner. My only suggestion is to be pretty liberal with the salt and pepper. I wasn't and they definitely needed more. The recipe makes quite a few of these little nuggets, so I've been snacking on the leftovers by dipping them in hummus... so good! 

Do you have a recipe for falafel that you love? If so, please share :)

skinny vegetable enchilada bake

This weekend I had a serious craving for cheesy enchiladas, but I didn't want to ruin the progress I've made this week (6 pounds!! what, what!). I also had a huge amount of spinach I needed to use, so I took matters into my own hands and created my own, healthier version. I was stuffed after two of these and they come in at less than 300 calories!

Skinny Vegetable Enchilada Bake

Ingrediants:
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 zucchini squash, chopped
3 cups fresh baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 corn tortillas
8 oz enchilada sauce (I used Frontera Red Chili Sauce because I'm lazy and I like that it has no gluten or preservatives!)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large saute pan, add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and saute chopped red bell pepper and yellow onions over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes until tender. Add minced garlic and spinach and continue sauteeing until spinach begins to wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste (I omitted salt because I am trying to eliminate as much sodium as possible from my diet, but you may find that you need it).

Add a small amount (approx. 1/4 cup) of veggies to a corn tortilla. Roll and place in a small to medium sized baking dish. Continue this with the additional corn tortillas. Top the enchiladas with any remaining vegetable mixture and cover with 1 cup of enchilada sauce. Top with 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves: 4

Nutrition (per serving):

Calories: 284 calories

Fat: 9.5 g

Sodium: 369.8 mg

spinach and hummus melts

Yesterday I forgot to share my favorite recipes from last week, so today will do. I only have one to share because I wasn't very good at cooking or taking pictures, but it is a good one because it took less than 10 minutes to put together and it was very tasty.

Spinach Hummus Melts

recipe adapted from: {never} homemaker

Ingredients:

2 T hummus (Fountain of Health traditional is my favorite)

2 low calorie english muffins (I used Thomas 100 Calorie)

3-4 large handfuls organic spinach

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 slice of low calorie mozzarella cheese, torn into small pieces (I used Sargento thin slice)

Directions:

Turn on toaster oven broiler. Spread 1T of hummus on every 2 slices of english muffin (2T total on 4 slices). Saute (without oil) spinach and garlic. Add pepper to taste. Place sauteed spinach on top of each english muffin. Top with a small amount of mozzarella cheese. I tore one 40 calorie slice of mozzeralla and spread it out between the four muffins to save some calories. Broil for a few minutes, or until cheese starts to brown.

Serving size: 4 slices

Nutrition 

Calories:  310

Fat: 7 g

Sodium: 375 mg

Next time I would toast my muffins before broiling because they turned out a little soft. I'd also add even more spinach. It cooks down so much this was just enough to barely cover all four slices. Also, if you're not omitting things for a special diet you can add a little olive oil and salt to taste. I omitted both, but didn't miss them a bit!