Tasty Meal Monday

Today I have some very fun and healthy meals to share with you. I found some of these on my quest through a recipe site. This first meal is an entire meal that can be prepared in less than an hour. Another big bonus is that the meal is completely vegetarian! No animals harmed. I love vegetarian food, because personally I just do not love the taste of meat. It has just never been my thing. Sparing animals any harm has always been a big bonus for me as well.

California Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Typical prep time is 30 minutes. Cook time around 20 minutes. Then everything is ready in 50 minutes. It also serves about 4 people.

Yummy Ingredients.

¼ Cup of Mayo

3 Minced Garlic Cloves

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

1/8 Cup of Olive Oil

1 Cup Sliced Red Bell Peppers

1 Small Zucchini, Sliced

1 Red Onion, Sliced

1 Small Yellow Squash, Sliced

Two 4 by 6 inch Focaccia Bread Pieces, Split Horizontally

½ Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

How to:

1. In a bowl, mix the mayo, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for now.
2. Preheat your grill on high heat.
3. Brush your veggies with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Be sure to put your bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and then set your onion and squash pieces around them. Cook these for about 3 minutes, then turn them, and cook for 3 more minutes. Expect the peppers to take longer. Remove from your grill, and set aside.
4. Now you need to spread some of the mayo mix that’s in the fridge on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with your feta cheese. Place these on the grill with the cheese side up to avoid sticking. Leave these covered with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this is to warm the bread and melt your cheese. You need to keep a watchful eye on these so the bottoms don't burn. Remove from grill, and layer with your veggies. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches or you could toast more bread if you wish to make it a closed sandwich.

This meal is a pretty healthy meal coming in at 393 Calories, total 23.8 g of fat, and 22 mg of cholesterol. Personally this meal fits in with my fitness plan which says for my three meals a day I need to consume 300-390 calories per meal. I think this would make a great dinner or even lunch with a group of friends. For meat lovers out there don’t worry you won’t even miss the meat in this sandwich. It tastes that good. You will love this awesome sandwich.

Fresh Asparagus Soup

This next meal is a very healthy low carb meal for those trying to lose weight after the New Year. My big problem is carbs so I this soup is perfect. While this soup may sound a little strange, I promise it is good. I love trying different foods to avoid the repetitious weekly meals. Now this recipe does have some non vegan ingredients in it, but they can easily be substituted. The meal takes about 10 minutes to prep, 20 minutes to cook, and is ready in 30 minutes. This recipe serves four people.

Delectable Ingredients:

1 lb Fresh Asparagus

¾ Cup of Onion, Chopped

½ Cup of Vegetable Broth (If you want to make it even healthier go for a low sodium broth)

1 Tablespoon of Butter

2 Tablespoons of All-Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Pinch of Black Pepper

1 ¼ Cup of Vegetable Broth

1 Cup of Soy Milk (Or regular milk your choice)

½ Cup of Yogurt

1 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice

¼ Cup of Parmesan Cheese, Grated

How to:

1. You want to place your asparagus and onion in a saucepan with the 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Bring your broth to a boil, and then you need to dial back the heat and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender.
2. Save a few of your asparagus tips to decorate/garnish. This will make you feel like a priced chef. Place your remaining vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth.
3. Melt your butter in the pan previously used for simmering your asparagus and onions. You need to stir it while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. BEWARE: DO NOT let your flour brown. Allow the mix to cook for 2 minutes TOPS. Stir in your 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat a little. Continue stirring until the mix boils.
4. Now you need to stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Take the yogurt and grab a whisk to whisk it into the mixture. Follow this with adding the lemon juice. Make sure you stir until it is heated all the way through.
5. Now pour into your bowls. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips. Then I would sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

There you have it! This meal is very healthy at only 167 Calories, 6.7 grams of fat, and 15 mg of Cholesterol. This is a different and creative meal. Enjoy!

For the final recipe of Tasty Mondays I will share a recipe for a field salad that I came across. This is a fun and fresh salad option that is different from the average Cesar salad. This salad only takes 10 minutes to prep and is also ready in that 10 minutes since there's no cooking. This salad serves four people.

Fresh Ingredients:

8 Ounces of Your Favorite Mixed Salad Greens

3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts

8 Ounces Gorgonzola Cheese, it needs to be crumbled

2 Tart Green Apples, you will need to remove the core and dice them.

1/2 (8 ounce) bottle raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing or you can choose another (Your Choice)

How to:

1. Grab a large bowl and mix together your salad greens, apples, walnuts, and cheese.
2. Now you can add the vinaigrette and mix it in your salad, can drizzle it over, or you can put in a small dish for dipping. Totally up to you. I am more of a dipper. Ha!

Then it is ready for serving! I hope you enjoyed Tasty Meal Mondays!