Veg Out

Having a 9-6ish job (not factoring in LA commute time) leaves me with little time for cooking extravagant dishes on the weekdays.  But I do believe in cooking healthy, eating seasonally and limiting the amount of processed food.  I don't think dishes need to be overly complicated to taste good.  All you really need are fresh ingredients, good olive oil, your favorite kosher/sea salt (I prefer Maldons) and cracked pepper. 

And there you have it, I just gave you the recipe for roasted brussel sprouts.  If you want to dress them up a bit more, I sometimes toss them in a little aged balsamic vinegar or a drizzle of maple syrup.  Roasted them on a lightly-sprayed sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Greens and Grains

For 2012, my boyfriend and I are planning to eat more more vegetables and try to substitute them for meat in many meals.  Here's a perfect side dish that I easily created from items in my fridge/pantry one night.  It pairs well with seared tofu, tempeh, chicken, pork, or really any kind of meat.  And it's just as good alone.  I sort of threw it together so the measurements aren't exact but it's hard to mess it up.  Totally healthy, totally delicious.

Brown rice with chick peas, spinach and pine nuts

• about 2-3 cups of cooked brown rice
• half a bag of spinach, washed
• 1 t. chopped garlic
• 1 t. extra virgin olive oil.
• 1 small can of chick peas
• handful of pine nuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook brown rice and set aside.  I like to use Trader's Joe's frozen bags of brown rice.  Each bag only takes 3 minutes to cook.  Sauté spinach and garlic with olive oil in pan.  Drain and rinse can of chick peas.  Once the spinach is wilted, mix everything together in a bowl and sprinkle in pine nuts.  Season with salt and pepper.  Enjoy.