Monday, March 1, 2010

Make It Up As We Go

I wanted to cook something different for dinner last night that was healthy and allowed me to use up some of the stuff we had in the kitchen, so I put together a semi-random mix of veggies, legumes, and whole grain. Thankfully, it turned out really well! SUCCESS!

Here's the lowdown:
1 cup of organic brown rice (very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Good source of manganese, protein, and fiber).
1 can of black beans, rinsed (great source of protein and fiber)
Zucchini and summer squash (very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. A good source of vitamins and minerals including Vitamins B6, A, C, and K, Zinc, Folate and Potassium).
Carrots (full of vitamins including A, B6, C, E and K. Very low in calories)
Onion (A good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese. Also a great anti-inflammatory).

We also baked slices of a sweet potato (good source of fiber, Vitamin A, B6, and C, Potassium, and Manganese) with a tiny bit of olive oil and pepper. Well, I broiled it mostly since I had forgotten to start these ahead of the rest of the meal! Oops! Still, they turned out well.
So, this is how it turned out (I also added a pear, to round out the food groups!)

All in all it turned out really well and I think I'll make it again sometime. If you try this, definitely be sure to cook the veggies and add the beans in for a few minutes so it's all cooked and warm! Pepper is a great seasoning, but it doesn't need any salt. Very healthy and filling (meatless) meal!

This morning I headed to the farmers market and Trader Joe's after another great workout at the gym. The Folger's people were out in Union Square handing out instant coffee samples. I haven't tried the Starbucks version (not a Starbucks fan) but since I've heard these little packets are getting better, I figured I'd take one and try.

There were six packets - different flavors - so I decided to try the Hazelnut this morning, and to my surprise.....
the grinds disolved really quickly in the hot water and it tastes pretty good!
I'm not sure I'll use this too often, but I can definitely see the appeal of it. Not too bad.

Do you ever make meals up as you go along? Any great results?

Did you watch the Olympic Hockey game last night? Those guys played a good game and there's definitely no shame in a SILVER medal!! GO USA!

9 comments:

Katie @ Health for the Whole Self said...

Your meal looks fantastic! I just started cooking recently, so I'm still a little timid in the kitchen. At this point I almost always follow some kind of recipe, even if it's just loosely. But someday I hope to be better at just making it up as I go along!

NY Wolve said...

Sometimes I make it up. But given the hectic life with kids and all, the ingredients are not nearly as interesting and veer to ketchup, barbecue sauce, chicken breasts, green beans, etc. Rarely does it turn out well.

Robyn said...

I love making a random mixture of whatever veggies I have on hand and then putting it over cous cous or something.

RunToTheFinish said...

ohh i do this all the time!! it's fun..and um not always successful

Karen said...

That looks yummy! I love random combinations you toss together.

Julie said...

Lisa,
Dinner looked fabulous:) I will have to try that sometime!!

Anonymous said...

Dinner looks awesome!

I always make it up as I go - which doesn't make my wife too happy reagrdless of how good it is. Because she knows she'll never get it again.

Sherri said...

That looks great...thanks for sharing!

Molly said...

Yum, I would totally eat that. I'm a big meal planner, but I do like to tweak recipes to my liking, usually reducing the fat, adding more veg and spices.....are you a vegetarian?