Israeli Salad

One summer I had an Israeli camp counselor (hebrew=madricha) staying with us for a few days while she worked at our local Jewish Community Center camp.  She helped us make falafel for dinner (note: for fast falafel, she told me to use the Osem packaged mix...

which is a tasty one and I use this all the time) and showed me how to make an "Israeli salad" to go with it, which was very easy and good!  So, here you go (thank you, Lehi)...

Ingredients

Cucumber (regular or long, skinny English kind)

Tomato (I prefer Roma, but any will do)

Onion (Yellow or White probably best)

Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed best)

Salt (preferably Kosher)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
MMWM Note: The amounts above vary according to how much you want to make.  There are plenty of Israeli salad recipes online if you want to use an exact recipe.  Other recipes can include other ingredients such as parsley, pepper, etc.

Instructions

Dice cucumber into little square pieces.  If you are using a regular cucumber, make sure to get the seeds out first.  You can peel the cucumber before you chop if you'd like, or leave the peels on...whatever you prefer.  Dice tomatoes into little square pieces too...again, make sure you get any seeds out.  Dice onions into little square pieces (no seeds in onions so you're okay there).  Put all of these chopped pieces together into a bowl.  Add lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to the bowl...the amounts vary according to taste.

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_salad (also some good information about Israeli salad here).

Reduced-Fat Moussaka

From: Eat Well Live Well with High Cholesterol (Karen Kingham, 2009, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.), pg. 125

Spotted this recipe and knew I needed to try it because I love Greek food!  Gave it a whirl after my first shopping trip to Whole Foods where I spotted some ground lamb.  This recipe is yummy but, fair warning, it is time/effort intensive.

REDUCED-FAT MOUSSAKA

THIS REDUCED-FAT VERSION OF A GREEK FAVORITE MAKES A NOURISHING LOW-GI MEAL


2 to 3 eggplants
olive oil spray
2 onions, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
about 1 lb lean ground lamb
2 tbsp no-added-salt tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz canned reduced-salt tomatoes
3 tbsp chopped parsley
4 oz low-fat cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tbsp olive or canola oil margarine
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2/3 cup low-fat ricotta
pinch ground nutmeg
MMWM Note: Freshly ground pepper is mentioned in the recipe instructions below.

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 1 1/2 HOURS
SERVINGS: 6

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Spray the eggplant with the oil and grill or broil under a preheated grill or broiler for 4 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Heat a large, non-stick saucepan and lightly spray with oil.  Cook the onions 3-4 minutes, or until softened.  Add the garlic, allspice and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.  Add the lamb and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until cooked.  Add the tomato paste, wine and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Stir in the parsley and season with freshly ground black pepper.

To make the white sauce, grate the cheese.  Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk.  Return to the heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.  Stir through the ricotta and nutmeg until smooth and season with pepper.

Spoon half the meat sauce over the base of a 9 x 13 in ovenproof dish.  Cover with half of the eggplant.  Spoon over the remaining meat sauce and cover with the remaining eggplant.  Spread over the sauce and sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden.  Stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition per serving: Energy 347 Cal; Fat 12.2 g; Saturated fat 4.4 g; Protein 31.4 g; Carbohydrate 20.8 g; Fiber 7.1 g; Cholesterol 65 mg; Sodium 282 mg

MMWM Notes:
--When I made this for the first time, I did not make the white sauce (to keep it lactose and gluten free)--it was still delicious (and probably helped make it an even healthier meal).
--I was impressed to find gluten and lactose free cheddar cheese.  Because I did not make the white sauce, I simply grated the cheddar cheese and sprinkled it on top of the dish before cooking.
--Interestingly, the can of "no-added-salt" tomatoes I purchased did not have "no added salt" on the label, yet had the same sodium as the ones that did...hmmm.  Checking labels is a good thing.
--I don't use "freshly ground" black pepper...I use the stuff already ground.
--This recipe calls for 2 to 3 eggplants.  I started with two and it didn't seem like enough so I went to three...I had a few slices leftover at the end but three seemed better than two.  I guess it might depend on the size of your eggplants, but I would recommend three...especially if you like eggplant as much as I do.
--Personally, the taste of lamb wasn't all that pleasant for me personally...I wonder if the meat could be replaced with beef or turkey/chicken...?

Ceviche (Peru)

From: Family Circle (May 2013, pg. 146 familycircle.com)

Pulled this recipe out of a magazine--love salmon and avocado so couldn't go wrong with this one...pretty quick prep and yum!

Ceviche (Peru)

MAKES 4 servings
PREP 15 minutes REFRIGERATE 20 minutes

1 lb salmon, skin removed, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 avocado, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

*Combine salmon and lime juice in a bowl, making sure fish is submerged.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

*Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the lime juice.  Gently mix in avocado, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and salt.  Garnish with more cilantro, if desired.

Buy best-quality seafood when it's to be eaten raw or undercooked.

MMWM Notes:
1.  Our family does not like cilantro, so we eliminated this from the recipe.
2.  Not sure if the salmon in this recipe is supposed to be raw or cooked--?--but I went with cooked.  Instead of fresh salmon (which I probably ought to try some time), I found a box of grilled salmon (2 pieces per box--as healthy as I could find) and cooked it (via oven and/or microwave).
3.  I tend to make a larger portion of this by increasing the amount of salmon a bit and increasing the avocados to three (we are huge avocado fans).  If you do this, might want to use some more lime juice to keep it moist.

PER SERVING 276 CAL; 16 g FAT (2 g SAT); 27 g PRO; 7 g CARB; 4 g FIBER; 353 mg SODIUM, 72 mg CHOL

Crab and Corn Bisque

From: WebMD.COM, October 2013...picked this recipe up from reading a magazine at a doctor's office.  Pretty simple to make and delicious!

Bisque It
This hearty bisque is perfect with a salad and crusty whole wheat roll for dinner.  Or serve smaller portions as a first course.

Crab and Corn Bisque
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

Bisque
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium tomato juice
2 cups fat-free seafood, chicken, or vegetable stock
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 cups corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw first)
2 cups low-fat milk
1 lb lump crabmeat, drained, with shell pieces removed
dash of salt
pinch of red or black pepper

Garnish
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 medium tomato, seeded and finely diced
1 avocado, chopped
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt

Directions
1.  Heat a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium heat.  Add oil, onion, pepper, celery, and garlic, and cook 5-7 minutes until vegetables are soft and translucent.  Add flour and cook until blended with vegetables, 2-3 minutes.
2.  Add tomato juice, stock, lemon juice, and corn to the pot, stirring to combine.  Heat 10-15 minutes until corn is tender.
3.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add milk and crab, and stir carefully to combine.  Heat gently 4-5 minutes.  Season with salt and red or black pepper.
4.  In a small bowl, make the garnish: Combine basil, tomato, avocado, lime juice, olive oil, and salt.  Toss and set aside.
5.  Ladle the soup into bowls, top with tomato-avocado mixture, and serve.

MMWM Notes:
*  My family is not big corn eaters so I used only a cup of corn kernels and then added three cups of low-sodium white beans (like Great Northern or Cannellini beans), which was delicious and I think made the soup even heartier.
*  I ended up only having 1/2 of a red pepper (my husband, Mike, used half of it for a lunch salad...same salad he used my cucumber for which I needed for the Asian Cucumber Slaw recipe--ha ha) so I chopped up a few carrots and added that too...seemed to work just fine and added another vegetable into the mix.
*  I used imitation crab meat instead of real crab meat (crab meat seemed very expensive and I tend to like the imitation stuff anyway)...still came out very tasty.  The second time I made this, I used real crab meat and honestly, I think the imitation crab meat worked better.

Nutrition Per Serving
288 calories, 10g protein, 37 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 49 mg cholesterol, 6g fiber, 12 g sugar, 320 mg sodium.  Calories from fat: 27%.