Dr. Miggy's Healthy Blog for Busy Folks on Tight Budgets » lentils

Quick and Cheap Dinner: Balsamic Lentil Stew

drmiggy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:30:39 +0000

The temperature has dipped below 85 degrees, and that can only mean one thing in Houston: Fall has arrived. I know what you northerners are thinking, and you are probably right. Sixty-five degrees is hardly bundle-up weather, but in Houston it can still elicit the desire for wool socks and bowls of thick and steaming autumn stews.

Stew can be quick if you use the right ingredients. This recipe from New Vegetarian Cuisine is a perfect example. The trick is to use red lentils if you can find them, which are actually yellow lentils with the outer husk removed. Whole Foods has them in the bulk section, but you may also be able to find them at larger grocery stores amongst the dried beans. They are a bright orange color and turn yellow once they are cooked. Bonus points: Lentils have plenty of iron, protein and fiber. If you can’t find red lentils you can substitute green or brown, but the cooking time will need to be extended by 10-15 minutes.

I modified the recipe in New Vegetarian Cuisine by using yellow potatoes, which hold up better to cooking than regular baking potatoes. If, like me, you like chunks of potato in your stew try using Yukon Golds. I also switched out the tarragon for basil because I had some left over from the Mediterranean Olive Bread I made, and it’s easier to find in most grocery stores. If you use a food processor to shred the veggies, this dish comes together in minutes. Did I mention how much I love my new food processor? I don’t even mind that I have to wash it by hand (since I don’t have a dish washer).

Balsamic Lentil Stew

Lentil Stew Action Shot!

Makes 4 heaping servings
Total time 25 minutes
Cost for the whole pot ~$7-8

4 cups water
1 1/4 cups red lentils
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
ground black pepper
5-6 green onions
2 carrots
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Cut the potatoes into cubes. In a large pot, combine the water, lentils, potatoes and pepper (to your liking) and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, chop the green onions and grate the carrots, zucchini and squash. You can also use the grater on a food processor for the veggies. Finely chop the garlic.
In a large no-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, veggies and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Once the carrots are softened, add the veggie mixture to the lentils. Mix in the basil and vinegar and heat through another 2-3 minutes. Serve in big bowls. You won’t need another meal for about 8 hours.

The Anatomy of a Half-Assed Healthy Meal

drmiggy — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:58:24 +0000

As you can probably see by the frequency of my posts, I’ve been quite busy the past two weeks. In between all of the extra hours at work and travel I have had little time to grocery shop, nevermind cooking. I give you exhibit A:

Surprise! I cook in a closet with a dorm 'fridge.

That is a SAD picture. Just look at my empty little ‘fridge! There’s no way I could create a meal with those offerings, right? Not really. When I find the ‘fridge empty I can always head to the cupboard, which I know will be stocked. That’s the key to cooking on the fly: a well stocked pantry. I won’t claim that what emerges from the pot is the most gourmet of meals, but sometimes I just need a quick healthy meal that doesn’t require a trip to the store.

Here’s how it usually plays out:

The Base: A pasta or grain of some sort. Pastas, rices, and grains can keep for several months in a cool dry place. I always have several options on hand. Tonight, I’m going for the whole wheat rotini pasta. Once it was cooked and drained I added…

The Veg: Here’s where canned soups and veggies are a busy gal’s best friend. Stick to low sodium soups and you can get quite a bit of nutrition for very little work. My other staple is a couple kinds of frozen veggies. I usually have spinach, broccoli and peas in the freezer at all times. I can grab a cup or so and add to a one-pot meal for a quick vitamin dose. For this concoction I reached for the spinach and some canned tomato soup.

Half-assed meal, half-assed photography

The Protein: No meat here, just dried or canned beans or lentils. When I’m traveling a lot I don’t keep meat around, so for these quickie meals I turn to legumes for the protein. Lentils go well with the flavors I picked out, so I cooked up a half cup and added them to the cooked pasta and veggies.

Tha Flavah: Cured olives, parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, pressed garlic, canned broths and spices can liven up what appears to be a rather dull meal. I had some parmesan in the back of the fridge, so I topped the pasta with a little and sprinkled on some Italian seasoning.

Those olive chips are TAY-STEE

Et Voila! Dinner from nothing. I say from nothing, but actually it takes a little planning in advance for these situations. I keep an eye on my stocks of the staples I mentioned above, and when they get low I pick them up from the store during my usual grocery run.

These half-assed meals are typically one-pot, which makes preparing and cleaning up much easier. This particular meal took me about 25 minutes to prepare. Much of the time was hands off, giving me a chance to do other chores like laundry. Multitasking FTW!

Quick and Cheap Dinner: Double Boil Pasta Madness

drmiggy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:51:41 +0000

That title is for MagsMac, since she likes it when I get silly with the recipe names.

This is a weekend meal for me, mostly because it takes about 30 minutes to prepare. The salmon burgers a little on the expensive side, but they are one of my favorite convenience foods at Whole Foods. Plus, salmon is just so darn good for you. I realized when planning for this dinner that I was gonna dirty up quite a few pots, so I made one pot do double boil duty. Check out the deets below.

Double Boil Pasta Madness!!

Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: about $8 (those salmon burgers aren’t cheap, but they are delicious!)

1/2 cup green lentils
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium sized white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I like to mix shapes like shells and rotini, but if you want to be all boring then just go for one type)
cooking spray
4 salmon burgers from Whole Foods, any flavor
a few handfuls of fresh spinach
a few spoonfuls of pico de gallo
salad dressing of choice

Fill a large pot with waaaaaay more water than you think you need to boil the lentils. Put the lentils in the pot and bring to a righteous boil. Low the heat and let the pot simmer. Now pay attention here, we’re gonna do some math, HOORAY! Lentils need about 25 minutes to get cooked through. Some people like ‘em way mushier, but I prefer then to hold their shape so 25 minutes is max for me. Look at the pasta package and see how long it will take to cook it al dente. Subtract that from 25 and that is how long you will let the lentils boil before you add the pasta. Por ejemplo:
25 minutes for lentils – 13 minutes for pasta = 12 minutes the lentils boil before you add the pasta to the water

Make sense? This way you only use one pot for both.
While the lentils are boil pre-pasta, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized SAUCE PAN. Not a skillet or a fry pan, but a sauce pan that can hold a few cups of liquid. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add it to the oil. Stir for a few minutes until the onion gets a little translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Dump the entire contents of the canned tomatoes into the pot. Don’t drain them, you want the juice. Let that heat to a simmer, then add the frozen spinach and stir until the spinach is, uh, not frozen. Set the sauce on low heat on the back burner and cover.
By now you can probably dump the pasta into the simmering lentils and crank up the heat again just until it boils, then lower back to a simmer. Keep an eye on the time, because there is no sin less forgivable than overcooked pasta.
While the pasta cooks, heat a pan over medium heat and spray the pan with cooking spray. Add the salmon burgers to the skillet and cook about 6-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, make the spinach salad by tossing the spinach, pico de gallo and dressing in a bowl. This is DOUBLE SPINACH MADNESS, too!
When the pasta is done cooking drain the entire pot in a strainer and return the pasta/lentils to the big pot. Add the sauce to the pasta/lentils and stir to combine. Serve along side the salmon burgers and the salad.

When I make something a little more complicated like this, I try to think ahead to how I can reuse pots and pans, like for the pasta and lentils and then again for the sauce. I don’t have a dishwasher so this saves me time when I clean up, too.

Quick and Cheap Dinner: Oh Crap, I Forgot the Veggies

drmiggy — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:54:37 +0000

Life happens, even to the most prepared. Tonight I got home ready to make a meal I’d been thinking about all day, when I realized that I left the veggies at work.

Aside: Do you think it’s weird that I schlepp veggies to and from work?

OK, not a major catastrophe, but certainly it cramped my style in the kitchen. I thought about what I could throw together that incorporates the two things I wanted to get out of dinner, namely vitamins and fiber. Legumes to the rescue! Luckily I had the foresight to cook up a pot of black beans last night while I was puttering around. If you don’t have fresh black beans then canned ones will work perfectly. Lentils are one of my favorite quick fixes for many things, including salads and canned soups. They give dishes more “heft”, and are full of vitamins.

Not a Freakin’ Veggie Around

Total time: 30 minutes
Total cost per serving: approximately $6 each for two servings

1 cup dried lentils
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tortillas (corn, wheat…whatever your fancy. There’s so much fiber in this meal from the beans and lentils that it’s OK to go for taste)
1/2 cup black beans (canned non-fat refried black beans or mashed up fresh black beans will work)
1/4 to 1/3 cup grated cheese (for my soul)
pico de gallo
1/2 cup chopped celery (I cheated and bought the pre-chopped stuff from the store, and it’s still only ~$1.30)
1/4 cup chopped RED onion (ditto with the pre-chopped onion. I use red onion here because I’ll be eating it raw and red onions are milder)
1 lemon
dried thyme
(all measurements are approximate, go with what tastes good to you)

Put the lentils in a pot and cover 1-2 inches with water. Bring to a righteous boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. I like my lentils firm, but some folks like ‘em so mushy you can’t tell that they were ever solid. If you fall into the latter category then simmer them for up to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the chicken in a pan over med-hi heat about 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. You want to make sure it’s cooked all the way through, so check it by cutting if you’re unsure. While the chicken cooks spread the black beans on the tortillas. If you aren’t using pre-chopped onions and celery then now would be the time to chop.
Once the chicken is done let it cool down until you can handle it, then cut it into chunks, smaller than bite size. Sprinkle the chicken on each tortilla, then the cheese. You might not use all the chicken, but that’s OK. Just save it for another meal.
Put the tortillas in a toaster oven or a real oven and heat until the cheese melts. Top the tortillas with pico de gallo.
Once the lentils are cooked strain out the water and let them cool a minute or two. Put the celery and onion in a bowl. Grate the lemon zest off the lemon, careful not to get the bitter white part, just the zest. Add that to the bowl. Cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Dump the lentils in with dried thyme to taste, and mix thoroughly. Serve with grapes, which are pretty much nature’s candy right now.

To be fair, some might consider celery, onions and tomatoes veggies, but I don’t. Tomatoes are technically a fruit, there’s so little onion in this dish that it accounts for minimal nutritional value, and celery I just arbitrarily don’t consider a veggie, for no good reason. Don’t you love how I force things to fit into my description?

I want to give one more shout out to black beans and lentils. Check out the links to see how badass these are nutrition-wise. Should you be concerned about the unpleasant after-effects of eating legumes, I have one word for you: Beano. That stuff is miraculous.