Brown Rice and Crunchy Vegetable Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup short-grain brown rice
1 medium zucchini
2 stalks celery
1 carrot
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 bunch arugula
4 scallions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions
1. Fill a 2-quart saucepan with 6 cups of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 25 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain rice well.2. While the rice is cooking, cut the zucchini, celery, carrot and bell pepper into 1/4″ dice. Remove the tough stems from the arugula and chop the leaves. Chop the scallions.

3. Prepare an ice bath and bring another pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the zucchini, celery, carrot and bell pepper for 1 minute. Drain in a colander and plunge into the ice bath. Drain the vegetables well.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, stock, mustard, oil, salt and pepper. Add the rice, blanched vegetables, arugula and scallions and toss well to combine. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste and serve at room temperature.

Serving Size: about 1 cup of salad

Nutritional Information
Number of Servings: 4

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
1 egg white
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/4 cups grated zucchini, tightly packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup drained, canned, crushed pineapple

Cooking Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Spray a 9″ loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Sift the flour,sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt together. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, egg white, oil, zucchini, vanilla and pineapple and mix well.

5. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir gently just until combined. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the bread is golden brown and set in the center, about 50 to 60 minutes.

Serving Size: 1/12 of loaf
Nutritional Information

Number of Servings: 12

4 6-ounce red snapper fillets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Season the snapper fillets with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil.

2. Place a sauté pan large enough to accommodate all the fillets over medium-high heat. Add the snapper and lower the heat to medium. Cook until well-browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn the fillets over and cook 1 more minute.

Serving Size: 1 6-ounce fillet

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe Summary
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 15 mins

Yield: 4 servings

Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti with Tomato-Garlic Sauce
This recipe serves:

Ingredients

For the meatballs:
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 large yellow onion, finely diced
2/3 red pepper, finely diced
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 pound ground lean beef sirloin
1/3 pound ground lean turkey
1 small egg
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 pinch ground nutmeg

For the sauce and spaghetti:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
2/3 pound spaghetti
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top

Cooking Instructions
For the meatballs:

1. In a small bowl, mix the milk and bread crumbs together with a fork. When the bread has softened, squeeze out most of the milk with your hands. Discard the milk.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and season with a light pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 or 6 minutes, and set aside to cool.

3. Combine the beef, turkey, bread crumbs, onion-pepper mixture, egg, 2 tablespoons parsley, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium-size bowl . Work the mixture with your hands unil it has an even consistency. With wet hands, shape the mixture into 12 meatballs. (This can be done 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator in one layer, tightly wrapped, until you are ready to cook them. The meatballs can be cooked in the time it takes to boil the spaghetti.)

For the sauce and spaghetti:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook. When the onion begins to sizzle, add the meatballs, shaking the pan to keep them from sticking. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, gently turn and toss the onions and meatballs so they brown lightly.

2. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the oregano and tomato sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring the meatballs to coat them with sauce. Cook until the meatballs are cooked through. Keep warm.

3. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti and place it in a warmed pasta bowl. Pour the meatballs and sauce over the pasta. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Serving Size: 1 bowl of spaghetti with 2 meatballs
Nutritional Information
Number of Servings: 4
Per Serving
Calories 590 Carbohydrate 69 g
Fat 18 g Fiber 4 g
Protein 36 g Saturated Fat 5 g
Sodium 436 mg

This recipe serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 14-ounce can of hearts of palm
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 medium red onion
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1 head butter lettuce
1 bottle vinaigrette

Cooking Instructions
1. Drain the hearts of palm and cut crosswise into 1″ pieces.
2. Clean the lettuce, tear the leaves into large pieces and arrange them on four chilled plates.
3. Top the lettuce with the hearts of palm, tomatoes, onion slices and olives.
4. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 salad with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette
Calories 124
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Protein 4 g
Total Carbohydrate 13 g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Sodium 756 mg
Percent Calories from Fat 48%
Percent Calories from Protein 13%
Percent Calories from Carbohydrate 39%