Meal 3 Tomato and Fetta Tart (with Brown Rice Crust)- Vegetarian

This is a great, tasty tart made with brown rice for the crust instead of high fat (nutitionally void) regular pastry. This recipe was adapted from a recipe from "The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook" but I have changed the ingredients to make it much lower in fat for those of us looking to loose a few pounds

Brown Rice and tomato tart. Seves 6

Ingredients

Base

1 cup brown rice

1 egg

½ cup low fat tasty cheese

Filling

Olive Oil spray

4 ripe tomatos cut into wedges

4 garlic cloves

3 eggs

50g low fat Fetta Cheese (from the deli at the supermarket) cut into cubes

½ cup low fat milk

Pinch vegie salt (and pepper if desired)

Bunch of your favourite herbs- I like Thyme lemon, Thyme, or oregano for this recipe

½ cup low fat tasty cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 200C

Bring a saucepan of water (or you can use vegetable stock for more flavour) to the boil- add brown rice and cook for 30min until tender. Drain and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, mix rice, 1 egg and low fat cheese. Spread on base of Quiche/ flan baking dish which has been sprayed with olive oil- press down and up the sides of the flan dish.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes- remove.

Reduce oven to 180C

Filling- Cut tomatos into wedges and place cut side up with garlic cloves on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Sprinkle with vegie salt (and pepper if desired) spray lightly with olive oil and roast in oven for 3o minutes until tender.

After roasting, allow to cool slightly- squeeze the garlic onto the rice and smooth over to cover. Arrange roast tomatos and fetta  evenly on rice base.

In a mixing bowl, mix remaining eggs, milk, chopped herbs and a pinch of vegie salt.

Pour over filling and return to oven

Cook for 50-60min or until set.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with ½ cup low fat cheese, you can also arrange herb sprigs on top of the flan if you like for presentation. Cool for another 10 min or until cheese has melted and is golden.

Serve cut into wedges with a garden salad or lightly steamed vegies (I used green beans, baby aparagus and sugar snap peas)

Warm and Yummy- straight from the oven! :-)

Meal 2 Vegetable, Quinoa and Rosemary Soup (Vegan)

A yummy soup, full of lovely vegetables and lots of flavour :-)

Vegetable and Quinoa Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 red onion

2 Carrots

Butternut Pumpkin

½ cup frozen corn kenels

1 cup frozen peas

1 red capsicum

½ greep capsicum

Sweet potato

Potato (with skin left on)

300g Green beans

Handful sugar snap peas

4TB Organic Quinoa

1Tbs dried rosemary (or to taste)

4 cups of water

3 Vegetable stock cubes or equivalent powder.

Method

Dice red onion and fry in bottom of a large saucepan (you can fry it in a little olive oil- or just water or stock if you prefer)

Add water, stock cubes and rosemary and start to bring to the boil.

Cut up vegetables into cubes- apart from pumpkin- slice pumpkin thinly into small pieces as we want this to dissolve into the soup to add colour, flavour and body to the liquid.

Add all the vegetables (except beans and snap peas) and the quinoa to the pot and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Cook for about 20-30 minutes until just tender.

Add beans and snap peas and cook a further 5-10 minutes until cooked to your liking.

Serve with crusty bread- or I like to serve with a toasted rye, low fat cheese sandwich

Meal 1 - Cheesy Roast Vegetable (vegetarian)

This is a great dish for cold night when you want some real comfort food, easy to make and tasty! Serve with lightly steamed vegies on the side

Cheesy Roast Vegetables! (Serves 2)

Ingredients

Suggested vegetables for roasting include

Cauliflower

Carrots

Red Onion

Sweet Potato

Potato (with skin)

Butternut Pumpkin

(also you could use capsicums or fresh beetroots)

Extra virgin Olive Oil Spray

1-2tsp Crushed garlic (depending on taste)

2tsp Pepitas (Sunflower seeds)

2tsp Pine Nuts

50g Low fat tasty cheese

Splash of liquid vegetable stock.

Pinch of Vegie salt (from supermarket- regular salt mixed with vegetable seasonings)

Steamed vegetables to serve (I used broccoli and peas)

Preperation

Prepare your baking dish with a light spray of extra virgin olive oil spray. I use a square baking dish about 23x23cm. Cut up a selection of roasting vegetables  and place in dish. Sprinkle with vegie salt, garlic and seed and mix well. Add a splash of vegetable stock

Place alumininium foil over and cook in a oven at 180C for approximately 1 hour or until soft. Take out of oven, take off foil and sprinkle over low fat cheese and return to the oven for 10 minutes until cheese has melted. Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables.

Also good reheated the next day for a tasty lunch J

A new Blog how exciting!

Im very excited to have started my very first blog!
This blog is going to be a place to find lots of tasty recipes and interesting vegetarian and vegan food ideas, and also to be a record of my journey from a unwell, tired, overweight meat eater (with a very poor diet), to a healthy happy person with a great diet and plenty of energy to spend on my art, my family and my new life.
I started eating only vegetarian meals a couple of months ago now as I was always tired, lethargic and getting sick all the time.
In only a couple of months, I have lost 13 Kilos (28.6 pounds), am feeling brighter, more energetic and excited about what life will bring.
I hope you enjoy reading and looking through my recipes and I hope it inspires you to try some new recipes and incorporate some more vegetarian and vegan recipes into your diet :-)
xoxox
Amy