Healthy Eating

If you've been reading my blog all month, you'll notice that the recipes have been a little healthier lately.  With the exception of last week's teenager-produced chocolate cake (and how could I not have written about that?), this month's output has consisted of three soups and a vegetarian pot pie. And today I'll be rounding off January with roasted vegetables served on barley.

I hope that January kicks off a year of healthy eating in the Pollock house.  Although we do try to eat well, you wouldn't know it from the cornucopia of dessert recipes I post.  And my promise for 2012 is this: at least as many non-dessert recipes as sweets.

Let me leave you with this delicious and healthy recipe for Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Barley.  This has everything that a healthy recipe should, including the most important thing: great flavour.  If you eat this, you won't feel like you're giving anything up.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Barley

(adapted from Brick Kitchen)

For the roasted vegetables:

2 – 3  medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons

1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

1 large red pepper, chopped

8 ounces button mushrooms, halved

For the dressing:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

For serving:

1 cup pearl barley

3 cups vegetable broth or water

handful of basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine broth and barley in a medium saucepan.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain any excess liquid, if necessary.

Meanwhile, whisk together dressing ingredients in a large bowl.  Add vegetables to bowl and toss to coat.  Using a large slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a baking sheet, reserving remaining dressing.  Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

Arrange vegetables and barley on plates and sprinkle with basil.  Serve with remaining dressing and feta.

Healthy eating

What you hear right now is the collective sound of my readers’ jaws hitting the floor.

Today’s recipe is not a dessert.

I’ve given you no reason to believe this, but I do eat healthy food.  Dessert is only one part of the food I enjoy. My perfect meal would be a simple, healthy entrée that lets me enjoy a dessert without guilt.

This is such an entrée.  Perfect for this time of year, it bursts with all kinds of fresh produce.  With the yellow of the corn and the red and green of the peppers, it’s radiant with the colours of summer.  Going forward, I hope to post the occasional quick and easy main course recipe, although I promise there will still be lots of baking.

The recipe was originally from Canadian Living magazine, and I’ve adapted it slightly to compensate for the person in our house who can’t eat raw tomatoes.  (Uh, that would be me.)  Feel free to use a chopped tomato instead of the red pepper.  But I think the recipe is pretty great exactly the way I made it.

Black Bean and Smoked Cheese Quesadillas

(adapted from Canadian Living magazine)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well

1/3 cup corn kernels, boiled 1 – 2 minutes

1 red pepper, diced

1/3 cup diced sweet green pepper

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar cheese

4 large flour tortillas

2 tsp olive oil

½ cup salsa

In large bowl, combine beans, corn, red pepper, green pepper and green onions.  Divide among halves of each tortilla, sprinkling with cheese, and fold uncovered half over filling.

Brush large skillet with half of the oil and heat over medium heat.  Cook 2 quesadillas, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.  Serve with salsa.