Saturday, April 7, 2012

Chinese Brussels Sprouts

Last night I tried a new recipe from the book I bought a few weeks back (Best-Ever Vegetarian – The Definitive Cook’s Collection). Unfortunately I didn’t look at the book closely enough – many of the recipes call for cheese, white pasta and other foods that we are avoiding. However there are a few recipes that have caught my eye, including this one. It was an excellent change in flavours and will be going on the menu plan rotation for sure. I served it with Brown Rice & Lentils for more fibre and protein. I calculated that the whole meal was 262 calories. And with some oranges for dessert we were satisfied Smile

star3Chinese Brussels Sprouts

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish
Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 Spring onions sliced
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon Light soy sauce

Instructions
1. Trim the brussels sprouts, then shred them finely using a large sharp knife or a food processor.
2. Heat the oil and add the sprouts and spring onions. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, without allowing the mixture to brown.
3. Stir in the five-spice powder and soy sauce, then cook, stirring, for a further 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender. Serve hot with other Chinese dishes.

I served this with a mixture of brown rice & lentils. It went perfectly. Next time I’ll try a tad less 5-spice powder as I found it a bit strong, although Carm liked the flavour (he gave it a 4 star rating).


Today I signed up for an account at http://caloriecount.about.com. It lets me create meals, add recipe ingredients, and then use these to create a daily food log. I’m going to try it for a while and see if it helps me to stick to my plan. Unfortunately its focus is on calories, but I figure that it wouldn’t hurt to see how many calories things have, at least for a little while. I think it also tracks weight watchers points, but I’m not positive. There is also a page to enter your activity which it then tracks against your daily food log for the entire picture. Wish me luck!

1 comment:

Merikay said...

I think I'll have to try this one after our current stock of fresh veggies is used up. I have always liked B-sprouts and five spices. It would be interesting to combine them.

I try to track calories , fibrer, and carbs. I have been staying under 1500 cal. a day and trying to get at least 30 grams of fiber. If I do that the carbs take care of themselves.

I also am avoiding white flour, dairy, and red meat. But I do like a little high flavor cheese from time to time. Gorgonzola, Romano, and Feta fall into this catagory. But I limit them to only an ounce or two.


So many good foods ... So few meals!