400-calorie dinners (ii)

Two more all-star recipes to add to the 400-calorie dinner collection this week:

Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant:

I bookmarked this recipe ages ago . . . what took me so long to try this?  Light yet filling, with a welcome burst of summery flavors to brighten up the bitterest of cold winter days.  (I can imagine how much tastier this would be when everything was actually in season!)  I did modify the recipe slightly, adding the eggplant pulp to the filling, instead of "reserving for another use."  (Huh?  What on earth would anyone do with just around a cup of eggplant goo?  Hm.)  352 calories, loaded with fiber, protein, A, C, calcium, and impressively high in iron.  John claimed he wasn't all that hungry prior to dinner this evening, but managed to gobble up his portion just fine.  Must have been good!

Sauerkraut & Sausage Casserole:

This dish is as warm and cozy as the previous was bright and summery.  (Hey . . . I crave variety!)  After making my own vegetarian kielbasa, this dish was a snap to prepare, and I love the combination of tangy, salty kraut, (homegrown, home-cultured, and home-canned at our house!), savory faux sausage, sweet onions and apples, and tender-crispy potatoes.  A bargain dinner at 297 calories, packed with protein and loaded with vitamin C, there's definitely room for a chunk of dark rye with butter alongside this entree, or alternately . . .

Dessert!

German Honey Cookies:

If you enjoy simple yet surprising sweets, this is a cookie you MUST try.  There is enough honey in the dough to be clearly present in the baked cookie, yet the copious amount of vanilla and ground ginger sneak in and hang out in the background.  The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, buttery without being overly rich, and friendly to the healthy eating plan at 97 calories each.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe, following a more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together by hand, then stirring in the honey, egg, and vanilla, before finally adding the dry ingredients, and I also subbed in half whole-wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose.  This is only the second time I've made these, but I much prefer this batch -- my first attempt (years ago) was soft, pillowy, and almost cake-like using the technique in the recipe; this batch is soft, toothsomely chewy, and dense -- a perfect cookie texture, in my opinion.  (P.S. watch 'em like hawks, and pull them out of the oven JUST as they begin to brown and are completely set -- over-baking these beauties turns them tooth-breakingly crispy in a heartbeat.  Or, if you like crispy cookies, by all means, over-bake away!  I bet they would make great dunkers, in that case.)  Someday, I'll try these with fresh ginger in lieu of the ground, and likely achieve cookie nirvana.  :)

Dragon Bowls!

As summer settles in with all of its heat and humidity, (I'm not a fan, can you tell?)  ;) I crave vegetables more than anything else -- I love how fresh, crisp, and hydrating a big bowl of veggies can be!

However, I don't find a big bowl of JUST veggies very filling . . . so I'm constantly searching for new and exciting ways to add veggie-heavy meals to my summer repertoire, without feeling constantly hungry.  Ali recently posted about one of her new-found favorite summer meals, the Dragon Bowl with Tahini Dressing, and I had to try it!

I cooked up a mix of red and white quinoa, (as John astutely pointed out, cheaper to buy some red and some white and mix them together at home, than pay the extra $$$ for the pre-mixed "rainbow quinoa" from the bulk bin!), topped it with some Sesame-Sauteed Kale, and then piled on the veggies -- avocado, cucumber, red bell pepper, mushrooms, purple cabbage, chickpeas, shredded carrot, and some sugar snap peas and cilantro from the garden.  After making Ali's recipe for tahini dressing, I just wasn't sure about it . . . I really don't much care for nutritional yeast, and the sauce was so strong and heavy tasting on its own . . . but when drizzled cautiously over my bowlful of veggies, magic happened, people.  :)  We had HUGE bowls of this stuff a couple times this weekend, and I'm certain this recipe will grace our dinner table again and again!

What are your favorite hot weather meals?  I need some more inspiration, as all of the Dragon Bowl leftovers are at John's house, and I'm looking at one empty fridge right now -- time to go shopping!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve last night! I had a pretty great day, actually -- we only had four kids at work during the day, our mini dinner party was a huge success, and Dan and I had a blast at the theatre production we went to see later on! (We saw the Christmas show at a local comedy and improv theatre.) Food from yesterday:

BREAKFAST:

Apple-cinnamon oatmeal, made with almond milk. Not pictured: black coffee, multivitamin.

LUNCH:
Sorry there's no photo, but I ordered Jimmy John's with a few of my coworkers. I had their veggie sub (provolone, avocado, light mayo, lettuce, sprouts, tomato, and cucumber) on wholegrain bread. I also snuck two chocolate-covered caramel leaves out of our "teacher treats" drawer. :)

SNACK:
Again, no photo. (Dinner will make up for it, I promise!) Another pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, and a Cara Cara orange. I shared a few slices with the kids -- they loved it! (And, bizzarely, the orange distracted them from the Oreo cookies being served for snack! Strange, but cool.)

DINNER:
I had a small platefull, and a few scoops of seconds, from the following dishes:

Salatat Taheena (Tahini Mix), Labana ma' Za'tar (Drained Yogurt with Za'tar,) and Bathinjan Makboos (Eggplant Pickles,)

Mutabbal Koosa (Garlic Zucchini Appetizer,)

Maazat Hummus wa Zaytoon (Chickpea and Olive Appetizer,) Zaytoon bi Za'tar (Olives with Za'tar,) and Maazat Khurshoof (Artichoke Hearts in Vinegar,)
AND,

Pita and Za'tar flatbread.

All of the vegetable/entree dishes are from this cookbook:

(This book is absolutely at the top of my "to buy" list now. Everything was FANTASTIC!!!!!!! A very fun, tasty, casual meal.)

The breads were both from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. (Buy this book, if you haven't already!)

We also had leftover Christmas cookies, (I had a few,) and herbal tea for dessert.

ANOTHER SNACK:
Dan and I split a medium popcorn at the theatre.

EXERCISE:
Nothing noteworthy yesterday, other than chasing after preschoolers for eight hours. I'll try and make up for that today!

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Off to the grocery store in a little bit -- even though there are a few leftovers from last night, my kitchen desperately needs a restock! Later, skaters.