Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Cooking healthy, meat free meals shouldn't be a hassle. Here is my curation of my favorite foods to prepare. Some are easier than others, but all my recipes are simple! I cook with what is available to me at my local grocery store, farmer's market or from my garden.

When growing herbs and vegetables in my garden, I prefer to go the organic route. This also applies to buying from the store or market. When possible, I buy organic options because I like the quality of the produce better. Sometimes if the organic option is quite expensive or unavailable, I'll default to the inorganic version. But I try to keep in mind the Dirty Dozen when shopping around. These are the items you should opt for organically first since you eat the skin and they typically contain the most harmful pesticides. 

12 Most Contaminated                                   12 Least Contaminated

Peaches                                                                                    Onions

Apples                                                                                       Avocado

Sweet Bell Peppers                                                              Sweet Corn (Frozen)

Celery                                                                                       Pineapples

Nectarines                                                                               Mango

Strawberries                                                                           Asparagus

Cherries                                                                                    Sweet Peas (Frozen)

Pears                                                                                         Kiwi Fruit

Grapes                                                                                      Bananas

Spinach                                                                                    Cabbage

Lettuce                                                                                     Broccoli

Potatoes                                                                                   Papaya

I don't always drink milk, but when I do, I buy organic.

Check out this link for a print out card to carry this list with you on the go!

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Also, simple ingredient items are best. Take peanut butter for example. A typical jar of Peter Pan is full up of mysterious artificial chemicals and preservatives. Opt for totally natural and sweeten with a touch of honey if needed.

GMO's, the verdict is still out on this one. It sure seems like an unfounded health scare since man has been genetically modifying crops since agriculture began, only now, people are doing so in the laboratory. Perhaps it is a danger. Who can say? To be safe, avoid where convenient, but I wouldn't go out of your way to avoid them just yet. Clementines and sweet corn are two things I can't say no to!

The idea here is to avoid consuming large amounts of pesticides, hormones and additives. If you don't consider these threats, you may be exposing yourself to a larger than healthy dose. If you can avoid where convenient, you can reduce an overexposure to these possible and likely dangers.

Veggie Stuffed Squash And Sweet Potatoes With Mozzarella

Try this cheesy, healthy dinner that tastes as good as it looks! Use any veggies on hand! Serve with salsa if you please!

• Ingredients

  
  • 2 Red Bell Peppers Diced small
  • 1/2c Matchstick Carrots
  • 3-4 Green Onions Sliced 1/2 Inch pieces
  • 2 Sweet Potatoes cut
  • 1 Tomato Diced
  • 1 Squash, Spaghetti, Acorn, or Butternut-Halved with seed/strings removed
  • 1 Jalapeno Diced very small
  • 1tbsp Minced Garlic (from jar)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt Pepper
  • Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning
  • Mrs. Dash
  • 1cup Mozzarella Cheese (or any type desired) shredded

• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Drizzle olive oil and dash Cajun seasoning and pepper on cut sides of squash and sweet potatoes. Place cut side down on cookie sheet and cook for 20 minutes or until squash becomes translucent and potato is easy to pierce with fork with little to no resistance.
  3. Dice up Tomato, Red Bell Peppers, Green Onion, and Jalapeno, set aside.
  4. Heat pan and add tbsp of olive oil. Add 1 tbsp minced garlic, spread around. Add 1/2c matchstick carrots, cook on high for 3 mins or so. Add Red Bell Peppers and Jalapeno and Green Onion. Cook on med high for 5 minutes or until carrots are soft enough to eat without crunching. Add Cajun seasoning, Mrs. Dash, and more olive oil to taste. Remove from heat.
  5. Remove sweet potatoes and squash from oven. Scoop out some of the potato being careful to leave a boat shape to put your filling back into. Add scooped out potato to veggie mix and stir. If you need more space in squash, do the same there. Mix in 1/4c cheese to veggie mix, 1/8c cheese on squash and potato boats, then fill boats with filling, evenly distributing mix between the 4. Cover with remaining cheese and bake for 5 more minutes to melt cheese and brown more.
  6. Serve once cooled a little bit.

• Use any veggies on their way to spoilsville! A budget friendly recipe!

• Serves - 4                  Cook Time- 25 minutes                Total Time- 30 minutes                Prep Time- 5 minutes