VEGGIE MONTH WEEK 5 MEAL PLAN

Huevos Rancheros. Mmm.

January is almost over! For those who are still hanging in there, here is a very-short-week vegetarian meal plan for you.

I've had a lot of fun finding new recipes to try and creating these plans. I hope you've found something new for dinner at your house!

DOWNLOAD VEGGIE MONTH WEEK 5 MEAL PLAN

VEGGIE MONTH WEEK 4 MEAL PLAN

Monday night: Cornmeal crusted bean burger. Yum!

It’s week four! After this week, there are just two days left of vegetarian month, a fact for which my older son is very grateful.

He’s been a good sport, though. And while we’ve tried a couple dozen or more new recipes by now, only a few have been deemed worthy of adding to our regular dinner rotation.

So far, my family has loved: Spicy Peanut Noodles, Lentil Quiche, Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce, Spicy Szechuan Stir Fry, Rigatoni with Cauliflower, Mushroom Polenta Pie (well, to be honest, only I loved that), Crispy Black Bean Tostadas, White Bean & Toasted Cumin Chili, Pumpkin Corn Muffins, Pappardelle with Goat Cheese and Onions (again, only the grownups loved this one), and Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple. 

Others were good enough, or “oddly tasty,” like the Coconut Rice with Butternut and Edamame (week 1), Cajun Dirty Rice (week 3), Sweet Potato Burritos (week 2), or Pasta Della California (week 3). A couple recipes never got made, either because I ran out of time or used the ingredients for something else. There wasn’t one we just hated.

Which recipes did you try? Did you find any new family favorites? 

Happy cooking!

DOWNLOAD THE WEEK 4 PLAN

VEGGIE MONTH WEEK 3 MEAL PLAN

TGIF! This pasta will make everything all better.

It’s already week 3! I’m finding that this year’s vegetarian experiment is much easier and smoother than last year’s. My boys aren’t mutinying and Scott and Owen are even battling it out for who will win the vegetarian lunch challenge. Owen is currently winning; Scott slipped up by eating a Caesar salad with anchovies in the dressing, but Owen ate his peanut butter sandwich while all his friends had hamburgers at school. He reported it was “torture.” I’m pretty sure a school lunch hamburger is its own form of torture.

I also think it is easier because cooking methods and ingredients are more familiar, and since I had to cut most cheese and dairy after my heart attack, I’m finding it easier not to rely on cheese as the protein. This opens up new categories (beans, beans, and more beans!) and new recipe options.

Some new resources I have on hand have also helped make it easier, including my vegan cookbook “Veganomicon” and the “Moosewood Restaurants Low-Fat Cookbook.”  After some disappointments with low-fat cookbooks that merely try to substitute or fake dishes usually made with high fat ingredients, I realized that I should start with something that tastes good because it is a good vegetable– or lean protein-based recipe, not a modification. This has definitely improved my enjoyment of cooking and eating, and broadened the range of available meals.

I hope you enjoy this week’s menu!

DOWNLOAD THE MEAL PLAN

VEGGIE MONTH, WEEK 2 MEAL PLAN

Spicy Szechuan Tofu Stir Fry is set for Monday.

Hurray for learning new technology skills! I upgraded my desktop software so I could make a PDF of this week's vegetarian month meal plan, then learned how to add it to my blog so you can download it. I must really, really like sharing food ideas and recipes. Oh yeah, I do.

Last week's menu plan was done in a big hurry, so I think this week's is better. More varied (e.g. pasta only once), more use of beans and whole grains, more uniformly low-fat, and more clip art too. I love clip art.

If you try any of these, please come back and comment and share your review and your family's reaction. Or, you can share your favorite healthy vegetarian recipe. I would love to talk about food!

DOWNLOAD WEEK 2 MEAL PLAN

FABULOUS FUNGI

If you click the image you can see it larger. Thanks, Yale Heart Study.

I love this infographic shared by the Yale Heart Study this week. It makes parsing the heart-healthy diet rules much easier. Avoiding saturated fat is the easy part; remembering all the other rules is harder. (Though I'm pleased to report I'm doing very well in the red wine 1-2 glasses per day category.)

The whole section devoted to "cooked Asian mushrooms" was a new one for me, so I did some research. I always thought mushrooms were a tasty but nutritionally benign food; I didn't know they had health benefits like broccoli, kale, almonds, and salmon. What a fortuitous discovery for my heart-friendly cooking adventure!

WHAT TO HAVE FOR DINNER, VOL. 2

It's been awhile since I've shared some recipes. And though it is the busy holiday season and other projects seem to take precedence, dinner still needs to appear (as if by magic) every night. So here are some fast, tasty, and healthy dinner ideas to keep you fueled for shopping, wrapping, baking, and partying. I hope you enjoy them!

COMFORT FOOD: NORTH AFRICAN MEATBALLS WITH COUSCOUS AND CARROTS

This is as comforting as your favorite meatloaf, but interesting and a little different too. I found this recipe through watching Food Network while at Exercare; the chef for this show cooks French food so it is usually an exercise in irony watching her while on the elliptical. But this recipe is full of healthy fats and plenty of spices, and though the recipe calls for ground beef, I substituted ground turkey and it was completely delicious.  

Fat Free Foodie Note: Ground turkey works almost interchangeably with ground beef, with one caveat: Do not buy ground turkey breast. You need something labeled "ground turkey" so there's some dark meat in it, or it will be just too dry for use in ground beef recipes. Ground turkey is about 94% fat free, while ground turkey breast is 99% fat free. While the breast seems like the more virtuous choice, that 5% of flavor is really needed to keep you on the heart-healthy eating path. Trust me on this one.

THERAPY ON A PLATE: PAPPARDELLE WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ONIONS

The first time I made this it was a near-religious experience. Featuring feta cheese, one of the better cheese options, and onions, garlic, olive oil and your dark leafy green of choice, it is creamy, toothsome, and completely satisfying. And even better, it's super fast and easy. Make this when you get home late on a cold, snowy night and serve with a nice light red, like Chianti or Pinot Noir. Everything will be all better.

(If you haven't started trying Real Simple's recipes, I recommend it. I've found many of my favorites there, and they always include nutritional info.)
 
WORTH IT: CRISPY ASIAN CHICKEN WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS

This recipe, also found in Real Simple, is simple but time-consuming. It took much longer than I thought (about 45 minutes), but it was worth the wait. Chicken is dredged in corn starch and pan-fried in canola oil (see, crispy but still allowed!), then stir-fried with sliced brussels sprouts.

It was a huge hit with Owen, who loves all flavors Asian.

YOU HAD ME AT POLENTA: PARMESAN POLENTA WITH SPICY SAUSAGE SAUCE

I get a little emotional when I get to eat something that replicates the smooth creaminess normally provided by fat, cream, and cheese. This one does that for me. Fast, easy, spicy, creamy, tangy, and hearty. Yum.

This is a Cooking Light recipe, torn from a waiting room copy. Yes, I'm that person.



FRIDAY NIGHT AT HOME: PUMPKIN FONDUE

Scott and I have a new Friday night tradition: feed the boys pancakes or eggs early, put them to bed, then eat grown-up food with a glass of wine and some peace at 8:30.A couple weeks ago we had pumpkin fondue with bread, apples, pears, and Pinot Noir. Perfect, but you know how I feel about pumpkin.

I found this recipe on Eating Rules, a great recipe blog. Try it - it's boozy (hello, entire bottle of hard cider), spicy, creamy, and cheesy. And only 64 calories for 1/4 cup.

RECIPE: PARMESAN POLENTA AND SPICY SAUSAGE

Cooking Light photo. See original recipe here.

This makes huge portions for very low fat and calories. And it is on the table in no time at all.

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 ounces (2 links) your favorite flavor chicken sausage, sliced

1 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

3/4 cup quick-cooking polenta

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add sausage; sauté for 3 minutes or until browned. Add onion; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add oregano, pepper, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup basil to pan; cook 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Combine broth and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add polenta; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently with a whisk. Stir in half of cheese. Place 2/3 cup polenta in each of 4 bowls; top with about 3/4 cup sauce. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon basil and 1 tablespoon cheese.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 311, Fat: 10.0g, Saturated fat: 3.2g, Monounsaturated fat: 4.8g, Polyunsaturated fat: 1.5g, Protein: 16.4g, Carbohydrate: 31.5g, Fiber: 5.3g, Cholesterol: 41.3mg, Iron: 1.8mg, Sodium: 644mg, Calcium: 170mg

STRESS RELIEF

I got the results of my first post-heart attack stress test today, and the news is good. Very good.

My total cholesterol went from 230 to . . . (drumroll) . . . 106!
My LDL (bad) cholesterol went from 180 to . . . 58!!
My HDL (good) cholesterol also dropped a little, from 39 to 35, which is not the greatest news but expected, since my overall number is so low.

And even better news than that, my heart itself is in great shape. It has enough blood flow at rest and at peak exercise. It is not damaged or compromised from my heart attack. I wish you could have heard the nurse's voice on the phone when she said "and there's not even a scar!" with that little lilt of incredulity, like she didn't really believe what she was seeing.

I didn't expect this much progress either. True, I've been eating like a model heart patient, exercising 4-5 times a week, learning all I can, and taking all my bitter pills, with or without a spoonful of sugar. And though I expected some results (dammit), I didn't think it would be this dramatic. I really thought my DNA would have been more determinate.

So when you see articles and TV talk shows and PSAs where the doctors say "heart disease is largely preventable," that's really true. While I will always have it, if you know your numbers and commit to the necessary changes, you won't. Because all this stuff -- diet, exercise, and medication and focus and sacrifice and love and prayer -- actually works.

START TODAY

Did you know today is National Start Eating Healthy Day? I didn't either, but thankfully not too much of the day has passed and I didn't eat unhealthy yet. Phew.

But seriously, in honor of today - a campaign of the American Heart Association - here are some eating healthy resources I like.

• "25 Ridiculously Healthy Foods" - featuring lots of my favorites and some I've never had before, like guava. Was sad not to see pumpkin on this list, but maybe it's time for a new obsession.
•  "Superfoods Everyone Needs" - from another favorite site, WebMD. (WebMD has also helped me when I freak out about drug interactions and the dozen pills I take a day.)
• Allrecipes.com - this is not a diet/health focused site, but it is my go-to site when I have an ingredient I know I should use, like kale, tofu, or salmon, and I'm looking for inspiration. Read the reviews for modification suggestions and then use the recipe as a guide. I've found many favorites, new and old, here.
• "The World's Healthiest Foods" - a website with exhaustive information about the nutritional benefits of foods, down to the most obscure micronutrient you've never heard of. Just search "Nutritional benefits of . . . "

I hope you are inspired to start eat healthy today and keep it that way. Eating right is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease, and take it from me, you really do want to prevent it. Once you have it, you always will.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN

My boys' masterpieces, ready for Halloween!

In honor of Halloween, I present what may become a multi-volume series about how much I love pumpkin. I've been cooking with it all month - first buying one can of pumpkin, then two at a time, then four. Then one pumpkin at the farmer's market, then three at a time . . . I'm pretty much obsessed.

I've tried recipes for pumpkin bread, pumpkin hummus, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin-chili vichysoisse, pumpkin corn bread, pumpkin-feta risotto, cinnamon-pumpkin pull-aparts, and pumpkin scones. I have a couple more to try: pumpkin fondue (yes please!) and pumpkin curry soup, but I thought I'd better get this post done by Halloween or I've sort of missed the point.

Pumpkins are easy to use (see below) and ridiculously good for you. Super low in calories (good) with virtually no fat (even better!), they pack a huge vitamin A and C, E punch, as well as fiber, iron, magnesium, and potassium. They are good for your eyes and ward off cancer and yes, even heart disease. They can substitute for fat in baking, be sweetened and traditionally spiced, or used in savory or spicy dishes. Pumpkin is so mild and smooth it can adapt to many dishes or even disappear. I was trying to explain this to Scott, and I was reduced to just saying "pumpkin is kind of, well, magic." Charlie Brown was right.

Through exhaustive kitchen and family-testing, I've narrowed down the collection to six tasty, easy, and healthy recipes. (Owen has also learned to like pumpkin in the process. Noah, not so much.) I still have one pumpkin left to roast, so I might have a few more recipes for you before Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

RECIPE: PUMPKIN FETA RISOTTO
RECIPE: CINNAMON PUMPKIN BREAD WITH RUM GLAZE
RECIPE: PUMPKIN PANCAKES
RECIPE: PUMPKIN BREAD
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHILE VICHYSSOISE
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CORN BREAD

MAKING PUMPKINS EASY

After roasting

If you are new to pumpkin, here's how to make it easy. Just roast the whole thing first, let it cool enough to handle, and remove the skin, seeds, and pulp with any blunt instrument (it will just fall off!). Put all the pieces in your processor and voila, pumpkin puree.

Here's how to roast it: Poke a few vents into the pumpkin with a sharp knife (so it doesn't explode in your oven), put it in a shallow baking dish or pan, and cover the stem with tin foil (so it doesn't burn and stink up your kitchen). Roast at 400 degrees for about an hour for a small pumpkin, longer for larger pumpkins. Check for doneness by sticking a knife or fork into it - it should go right through with no resistance.

Puree being strained. This was a small
pumpkin, and yielded about 2 1/2 cups.

After you've peeled and de-pulped your pumpkin, whirl it in your food processor until it has reached your desired consistency. Drain in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter for about 30 minutes. (Pumpkins are mostly water, and you want to remove that extra moisture.) All done and ready to cook!

RECIPE: PUMPKIN FETA RISOTTO

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic

1 onion, diced

1 cup pumpkin puree

3 cups baby spinach leaves

3.5 ounce package crumbled feta cheese (I used – gasp – reduced fat!)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups Arborio rice

The risotto is mild and creamy, so I served with shrimp
sauteed with olive oil and lots of garlic and cayenne.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in rice, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing all the liquid to be absorbed before adding more broth. Continue cooking until the rice is tender to the tooth, and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the pumpkin and spinach into the risotto until spinach is wilted. Add feta and stir to just combine.

If using low-fat feta, this is just 3 grams of fat per serving, 2 saturated.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN CORN BREAD

I really love cornbread so these were a must-try. We all liked them, even Scott, who doesn't like corn bread. They were good with "butter" (aka Smart Balance), but just as good plain too. I served them with the Pumpkin Chile Vichysoisse.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Makes 12 muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, well beaten (or 1/2 cup Egg Beaters)

1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil (next time I make these, I'm going to try applesauce instead)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and make a well in the center. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir just until blended; do not over mix. Divide batter among prepared muffin tin cups.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

One muffin has 119 calories, 4.7 grams of fat (only 0.3 of that saturated) and provides 2 grams of protein, 21% of your daily vitamin A, and 3.6% of your daily iron.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHILE VICHYSSOISE

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Serves 6

1 medium pumpkin – roasted and pureed

6 dried red chile peppers - washed, with stems and seeds removed

5 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon butter or margarine (guess what I used?)

1 large onion, chopped

2 pounds leeks, chopped

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Combine the peppers and 2 cups of the chicken broth in a saucepan over medium-low heat; simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook the onions in the butter until they caramelize, about 45 minutes. Remove caramelized onions and cook the leeks in the pot for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the broth and pepper mixture, caramelized onions, 3 more cups chicken broth, bay leaf, and cumin to the leeks. Season with salt and pepper and simmer 10-20 minutes, or until the leeks are very soft. Remove the bay leaf.

Remove from heat, add the pumpkin and puree the soup until very smooth. Let cool slightly then add the buttermilk. Heat through and serve. May be served either hot or chilled.

One serving is just 66 calories! 1.7 grams total fat, only 0.5 of that saturated. It provides 3 grams of protein, 17% of your Vitamin A, 10% of your vitamin C, and 5% of iron.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN PANCAKES

I first had these at a girls weekend of high school friends several years ago. I started making them for winter breakfasts at holidays and my kids and nieces and nephews all love them. I discovered this time around that they taste just as good with Egg Beaters and whole wheat flour.

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg beaters)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour - I used King Arthur's)

3 tablespoons brown sugar        

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat an electric griddle to 350. Pour onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. 

I serve these with real maple syrup and chopped pecans. Butter is good too, if you can have it, but it isn't necessary. The pumpkin makes the pancake itself so creamy.

WHAT TO MAKE FOR DINNER, VOL. 1

I haven't been posting much lately because I've been too busy cooking. I'm working my way through a stack of pumpkin recipes (inspired by the insanely good and still-on-top pumpkin bread) for a recipe collection to share, but meanwhile I've been making dinner for my family every night too.

Happy kids = happy dinner = happy mom.

What to make for dinner is the perennial question for any family, and most often for the mom. (Though my husband did cook for two years when he was a stay-at-home dad, and if there's anything a working mom needs in her life, it's a househusband. That was the bomb. But I digress.)

What to make for dinner gets a little more challenging when special diets are involved. Allergies, diabetes, epilepsy, celiac, and others become not only life-altering but dinner-conundrum-causing diseases. As if dinnertime wasn't complicated enough.

(Digression alert: I was a working mom for 10 years, I've been home with my kids for one. The witching hour, roughly 4:30 and 6 p.m., is same crazy-train it always was. I really thought that would improve, but at least I no longer have guilt.)

A few weeks ago, my sister suggested I write about how I've incorporated my new diet into my family's, and I've thought a lot about that. I've come up with some solutions for us, but mostly I just make what I make and expect them to at least try it -- and that hasn't changed from my pre-heart attack days. Nevertheless, here are a few of my strategies:

Make dinners that are interactive or require final assembly by the individual. Tacos are a great example. I make beef or turkey taco meat for Scott and the kids, black beans and Mexican rice on the side, and then put out the lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, peppers, cilantro, corn, and so on. My tacos are black beans on corn tortillas; the boys have meat, cheese, and lettuce on flour, and Scott piles his so high with everything he'd need a degree from Chipotle to wrap it up. This way I've made one dinner that creates three happy boys, and I can control what I'm eating too. Other similar meals are kebabs on the grill or make-your-own pizzas (I like veggie-olive oil pizza better anyway).

Spicy Szechuan stir-fry.

Make recipes that have multiple ingredients prepared in stages and mixed together at the end. Think stir-fry. Kids usually like carrots, broccoli, chicken, beef, and maybe even shrimp too, but might balk if they are all mixed together with a sauce. Stir-fries often call for cooking the protein, removing it, adding new oil, cooking the vegetables, then returning protein to pan, adding the sauce, and heating through. Just set some protein and veggies aside at each stage, then proceed with the recipe for the adults or adventurous kid eaters. This works great for us: Owen will eat it as prepared, I pull out the components for Noah, and since I've made the stir-fry sauce, I've controlled the fat and sodium, and I take mostly vegetables and just a tiny bit of protein (leaving the lion's share for Scott). Again, only one dinner made, many problems solved.

(Another digression alert: I know you are supposed to teach your kids how to eat by just putting whatever you've made in front of them and letting time and their hunger do the trick. All I can say is that doesn't work for me. Noah simply will not eat anything at all, and the witching hour extends to bedtime and then he wakes up at 2 a.m. And it's not like I'm making him mac and cheese while we eat tofu stir fry, and since this is the method I used with Owen and now he eats pretty much everything, I'm gonna go with what works.)

Farmer's Market haul. Eggplant went in the
sauce. Don't tell them (until they are done!).

Swap out the protein. If it is summer and you love to grill, prep chicken or steak for your family and a portobello mushroom for you. Or, turkey burgers for them and veggie burger for you. Or shrimp or salmon for everyone. Make a salad or veggie sides, and roasted potatoes or whole-grain pilaf to go with it and everyone's happy and healthy.

Make pasta. Always a family pleaser and easy to make heart-healthy if you just forget that cream and cheese sauces ever existed. I use Barilla Pasta Plus because it has added protein and flax and I love the flavor and texture. This way, if all my boys eat are noodles and raw carrots, they are getting some nutrition.

Make soup. I love soup and it is easy to make tasty and heart-healthy. I have a huge bowl and a gigantic salad. The boys have a smaller salad and grilled cheese or just plain cold deli sliced turkey (they like it) with their "tasting portion" of whatever vegetable-based concoction I've made.

Use your food processor, blender, or immersion blender and lie to your kids about what's in the food you're serving. I've done this more than once. Eggplant marinara looks just like marinara. Kale and spinach pesto looks just like the basil version. Again, I know the whole hide-veggies-vs.-teach-kids-to-love-bok-choy debate, but when this works in my favor, I use it. Also, Noah loves to help me use these kitchen tools and if he's helped me make it, he usually will eat it. We made saag paneer yesterday and he licked his fingers and proclaimed "Mmm!" Who is that kid?

Once he figured out Huevos
Rancheros are basically nachos
with eggs, Owen was all in.

Make breakfast for dinner. Everyone loves this and pancakes or waffles are just as good when made with whole wheat flour, Egg Beaters, and margarine and they'll never know. Make them real scrambled eggs and make yours with whites. Make Huevos Rancheros and skip the chips and cheese and have eggs on beans with warm, spicy sauce. Cut up some apples and call it good. Easy peasy dinner pleasy. 

Just make what you are making and if they've tried it without (too much) complaint, and really don't like it or it is too spicy, let them eat peanut butter or cereal and enjoy your tasty meal in peace while congratulating yourself for taking care of your family and your heart. Remember, avoiding stress is heart-healthy too.

And last, make sure you have leftovers, for your lunch or for those nights when it is just too busy to cook and your family is having frozen pizza and you shouldn't. Freeze your leftovers in single-serve portions just for you and don't share; they will run out faster than you think. If it is stir-fry or pasta sauce, leave the rice and pasta out and make that fresh when you reheat the sauce.

If you've read my (unsolicited) advice this far, here's your reward: A few good recipes to answer the question "What to Make for Dinner" Volume 1.

• THE ASSEMBLY: TACO NIGHT
• COMPONENT PREPARATION: SZECHUAN STIR-FRY
• PASTA PLEASE: RIGATONI WITH CAULIFLOWER AND SPINACH (and don't even start with any you-don't-like-cauliflower objections) 
• BREAKFAST FOR DINNER: HUEVOS RANCHEROS
• LIE ABOUT: EGGPLANT MARINARA
• I MADE IT, YOU'LL EAT IT: SMOTHERED SALMON (have I mentioned I hate salmon?)

And after you've enjoyed a happy, healthy family meal, make your kids do the dishes!

RECIPE: SZECHUAN STIR FRY

I've made this several times, varying the protein and veggies based on my mood or what we had around. Most recently I made it with tofu, which Scott tolerates and Owen actually likes. But it would be just as good with cooked chicken or shrimp. This is adapted from the Joy of Cooking.

Serves 4

1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger (or in a jar, which is what I use)
1 tsp minced garlic (again, a jar!)
1 cup firm veggie of your choice (cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn)
4 cups sliced cabbage or greens of your choice (bok choy, red cabbage, even kale)
1/2 small onion, sliced into half moons
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp black bean sauce or black bean paste
1 tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp chili-garlic paste (adjust heat for your family's taste here!)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 1/2 oz package firm tofu, pressed and cubed
1/4 cup shredded peeled carrots
2 tbsp sliced green onions
Chinese egg noodles or rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the vegetables and onion and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, until whatever leaves you are using are wilted. Combine the sauce ingredients (from stock to pepper, above) in a large glass measuring cup or small bowl and whisk. Add to the pan and boil, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Add the tofu and heat through, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve over noodles or rice and top with shredded carrots and scallions.

RECIPE: RIGATONI WITH CAULIFLOWER AND SPINACH

This is adapted from a recipe I saw made on Guy Fieri's show on Food Network. Every time I go to Exercare (for phase III of cardiac rehab), Food Network is playing on the TVs. This is amusing to me, as I've watched demonstrations of gruyere-bacon-potato tortes, ground pork lau lau, and all manner of desserts, sauces, and roasts that I can't eat. But this one looked like it was healthy and tasty, and it was. Thanks Guy.

Serves 8

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets*

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon sliced garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 bunch fresh spinach (about 3 cups)

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (best quality)

3 tablespoons capers, with 1 tablespoon juice

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 pound rigatoni

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil over medium heat, then add the cauliflower. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan, and saute the garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minute. Remove the cauliflower from water with a large strainer and add it to the pan with the garlic-red pepper mixture. Saute until starting to brown (it took mine about 10 minutes). Deglaze the pan with the stock, add in the spinach, cover and let wilt for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and capers with juice and reduce the heat. Remove the cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Return the cauliflower water to boil, adding more water, if necessary, to cook the pasta. Add the pasta add cook to al dente. Remove the pasta from the water and add it to the pan with the sauce, adding a little pasta water, if needed.** Serve immediately with a little parmesan cheese, if desired.

* Before you dismiss this recipe because you don't like cauliflower, know that pan-roasted cauliflower like this is nutty, sweet, and perfectly tender-crunchy. Absolutely delicious. Trust me on this one.

** To facilitate freezing the leftover sauce separately, just add a little more stock to your sauce to make it saucier, and then sauce each plate of pasta individually instead of tossing all together. One serving of sauce has just 83 calories, 3.5 grams of total fat, and 0.5 saturated.

RECIPE: EGGPLANT MARINARA

There's a lot awesome about this recipe, including that its made in your slow cooker, features more shopping than chopping, and has literally no fat (unless you garnish with the optional olives and cheese). It also tastes really light and fresh and yummy.

Serves 6-8

1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch dice

1 medium onion, chopped

28 oz. can diced Italian-style tomatoes (with juice)

6 oz. can tomato paste

4 oz. can sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

a few grinds of black pepper

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

sliced black olives and parmesan cheese, for garnish if desired

Put everything except the parsley, olives, and cheese in the slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for about 4 hours. Blend to desired consistency with immersion blender (or remove to a blender, but let it cool a bit first), or leave chunky if you like your sauce that way. I blended to avoid questions about what was in it! Add parsley and taste to correct seasonings. Serve over pasta with black olives and cheese on top.

RECIPE: SMOTHERED SALMON

I hate salmon. I know I'm supposed to like it, I know it is good for me, and I know that if it is fresh and prepared well it tastes good. But I still hate it.

So, I went looking for a salmon recipe that I could literally smother with other flavors so I could choke it down and get my omega-3s. I found one that I actually liked and Scott and Owen did too. (My picky Noah, not so much, but he's not really my arbiter of what makes a good recipe.) If you put a spice paste and Dijon and caramelized onions on anything, I'll probably like it.

I adapted this from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. Serves 2 (but it was enough for 3 of us).

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

1 white onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400. Combine the black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Spread the paste all over the salmon fillets and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake until cooked through, between 10-20 minutes. (Note that your onions, below, may not be done that quickly, so you might want to wait until the onions are a quarter or halfway done to put the salmon in the oven).

Heat the olive oil over low heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until caramelized (very tender and dark brown). This can take up to 20 minutes. Add some water, apple cider, or stock if the pan is drying out and to speed the process a bit.

Serve caramelized onions over the baked salmon. I would serve this with brown rice, a whole grain-based pilaf, or quinoa, and steamed broccoli.

RECIPE: TACO NIGHT

Everyone knows how to make tacos and likes them their way, but I just wanted to share a couple yummy recipes to accompany and garnish your tacos.

I make my taco meat using the Joy of Cooking recipe, or, if I don't have time, Frontera Grill Taco Sauce (you can find it near the other sauce packets). It is really tasty and if you read the ingredients, it passes the "whole foods" test - it has less than five ingredients you can pronounce. You can't really say that about the powdered packets.

We like Organic Valley's reduced fat Monterey Jack (an exception to my "no substitutions" stance regarding cheese), shredded romaine lettuce, avocado, red onion, pickled jalepenos, heated-up frozen corn kernels, cilantro, and Salsa Lisa (hot) on our tacos, as well as this yummy spicy cream sauce.

Chipotle Cream

1 tablespoon (or more or less depending on your heat preference) of finely minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
About 1/3 to 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon low-fat or regular mayonnaise

Jen's Easy Black Beans

These are the beans I serve on the side on taco night, but that sub for the taco meat on mine.

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lime juice

Mix it up and warm up in the microwave. That's it!

* If you open a can of chipotles for this you will use less than a quarter of the can each time. So pack the remainder up in a small container and freeze them. Next time you want make this sauce (also great for fish tacos and squash quesadillas), just scoop out one or two peppers with a fork and mince them while still frozen. Once mixed with the yogurt and mayo they'll thaw in time for dinner.