Bison Bolognese

If using ground turkey or ground chicken is a bit of a stretch for you when replacing beef, you should definitely give ground bison a try. Not only does bison taste great, but it has less fat and more iron than beef.

This bolognese is super easy. I served it over spaghetti squash for a take on "Pasta Bolognese".

Bison Bolognese

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb lean bison meat
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and coat with cooking spray. Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the bison meat. Cook until no longer pink, stirring and crumbling occasionally.

3. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat. Simmer 30-40 minutes. Serve!

Healthy Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Went back to my Italian roots for my mom's birthday dinner. A healthy twist on the traditional, but she gave it a thumb's up and asked for the recipe - success!

A couple of the swaps: I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, low-fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta (cottage cheese has less fat and calories and more protein), and whole wheat lasagna instead of regular lasagna.

Healthy Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% for more flavor)
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 (10 oz) bags fresh spinach
1 egg white
1 container (4 cups) 2% cottage cheese
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 cooked lasagna noodles
oregano
fresh basil
salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat the oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the turkey and cook until browned. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, and salt. Simmer 20 minutes. Add fresh basil at the end.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the spinach (do not dry) and transfer to a large non-stick pan. Cover and steam until wilted (about 3-4 minutes).

4. Mix together the cottage cheese and egg white.

5. Once the sauce is done, spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a lasagna tray. Lay down 3 noodles. Add 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the cottage cheese, 1/3 of the spinach, and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Continue two more times, then top with the remaining lasagna noodles and 1/4 cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes.

Beefed-Up Veggie Lentil Stew

Perfect comfort food for the snow storm that's about to hit NYC (whomp, whomp). I used lean ground sirloin, lots of veggies, and fiber-packed lentils for hearty, filling, and nutritious stew.

Beefed-Up Veggie Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked lentils (1 cup dry)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 handfuls chopped kale
1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin (can use ground turkey too)
1 cup tomato sauce (I used Hunt's)
2 cups water
Dash of salt
Tumeric
Cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a large non-stick pot over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add ground sirloin to the pot. Cook until brown on all sides. Next, add lentils, tomato sauce, water, salt, tumeric, and cayenne (I didn't measure, just sprinkle a little and taste test to your liking). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add kale to the pot. Cover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat and serve!

Makes 6 cups (4-6 servings)

Nutrition Information (1 cup): 216 Calories, 4 grams Fat, 21 grams Carbohydrates, 7 grams Fiber, 24 grams Protein

"V" is for Vegetarian Italian Tofu Bake!

I've been SO busy and all I've wanted to do is cook and blog! Interning, working, and school are ruining my blog-life :( . I've made so many delicious meals this week and I want to share all of them. But FIRST I'm am SO excited to announce that I was one out of the four winners for the V: ABC #plantPOWER February challenge!! It was my very first entry- I had no idea if I entered correctly or what the rules were, so it was a complete shock when I saw my picture next to the other winners! Not only that, @heatherwaxman featured my picture on her amazing blog (check it out if you haven't already). So a HUGE thank you to @heatherwaxman and @proteincakes for making my day! Here's the dish:

This is actually a favorite of mine that I posted previously. Check out my tofu tutorial for information on preparing the tofu before baking (it is KEY to get the moisture out before cooking). You can basically use any veggies you have on hand- I used one large yellow summer squash and about 1 1/2 cups of white mushrooms. Preheat your oven to 400. Spray a large baking pan with non-stick spray. Place the tofu and the veggies on the pan and season with garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Cover with about 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used Hunt's organic). Bake for about 40 minutes stirring the veggies and flipping the tofu once in between. Feel free to add a little more sauce on top of the tofu after they are flipped. Toss in some fresh herbs at the end (I used basil and parsley) and serve!! I actually made this ahead of time and ate it cold the next day- SO delicious!! Feel free to sprinkle with some grated cheese :).

Speaking of #plantPOWER, I made an incredible roasted kale salad this week!! If you've never tried roasting kale before, you need to seriously considering making it- like NOW. I had leftover roasted brussel sprouts, roasted butternut squash, and roasted baby bell peppers. So after making my kale, I threw everything together and whipped up my favorite kale salad dressing: Susan's Lite Goddess Dressing. I don't follow it exactly, so I'll post my version here.

 Lite Goddess Dressing:

Roasted Kale Salad with Butternut Squash, Feta Cheese, and Lite Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

1 Bunch fresh kale
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted butternut squash (or sweet potato, pumpkin, etc.)
1 cup roasted veggies (I used brussel sprouts and bell peppers- use whatever you have!)
1/4 cup fat free feta cheese
1/3 avocado diced
1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds (use any nuts or seeds you have on hand)
2 tablespoons diced apple (use as much as you like or leave it out)
3 tablespoons Lite Goddess Dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425. Place a large baking pan in the oven for about 5 minutes.
2. Separate the leaves of the kale from the stem. Wash and dry thoroughly.
3. Spray kale leaves with olive oil mister (or just toss lightly with olive oil). Toss with the sliced garlic. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
4. Place the mixture on the warmed baking pan. Bake for about 7 minutes, stir, then bake about five more minutes until crisp and tender (don't go too long or you'll end up with kale chips!)
5. Toss with the remaining ingredients and enjoy!!

Lite Goddess Dressing
Inspired by fatfreevegan.com

Ingredients:

6 ounces Lite Silken Tofu
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tahini

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor (I used my Ninja and have also used The Magic Bullet for this) and process until smooth.

This dressing is creamy and delicious and only about 10 calories a tablespoon!

I enjoyed my SUPERFOOD salad with my cheesecake flavor tofu protein bar (I used sugar-free cheesecake pudding mix instead of the banana flavor in the original recipe)!! This was a great way for me to use up the rest of the silken tofu that I had left over from the dressing I made.

And what's a post without some pancakes?! I'm currently working on perfecting my Peanut Butter and Fluff Protein Pancakes:

Stay tuned . . .