Friday Veg Mix

After a busy week at work and the nonstop snow fall, I was happy to get home on Friday and plant myself on the couch.  Cooking was not on the top of my things to do, but a girl got to eat.  I peeked in the fridge to see what can be put together.  I was slightly inspired by an item I had seen the night before on a menu.  It was called "carb free" fettucini.  A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of this awful craze making a come back.  Remember when everyone was skipping the bread but ordering extra bacon?  Ugh..those were some scary times. 

Anyway, it turns out the name was awful, but the concept was rather good.  Instead of pasta, they had zucchini "fettucini" strips and topped them with vegetables.  I passed on the dish (mainly because I was annoyed with the name!), but a friend went for it.  She enjoyed it but thought it was too oily.  So, not being in the mood to cook or for anything super heavy, I decided to try this item local style and not carb free.  I could not handle it being carb free, so I added black beans... 

Ingredients:

1/4 black beans (dry)

2 garlic cloves (chopped)

2-3 scallions (chopped)

sage (4-5 dried leaves or 1 tbsp)

1 med. zucchini (sliced length wise)

1 portobello mushroom (sliced length wise)

2 oz spinach 

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp low sodium vegetable broth

salt and pepper

Start by boiling the beans until tender.  Yes, you can use canned ones to avoid this part..but dried has far less sodium!

In a nonstick stir fry pan add a tbsp of the veg broth.  Add the chopped scallions and garlic and saute briefly.  Add the sage, mushroom and zucchini.  Cook until slightly tender (3-5 mins).  Add spinach and the 2 additional tbsps of broth.  Cook all together until the spinach is just wilted (2-3 mins).  Keep stirring the vegetables to prevent them from sticking to the pan.   Add the oil, salt and pepper.  Mix together to blend flavors and remove from heat. 

For an off the cuff recipe it was very tasty and satisfying!  It was very low in calories, but extremely nutrient dense.  This is very key in building a meal if you are trying to lose or maintain weight!

Stay happy and healthy!

~L