3 Tasty, Low Calorie Vegetarian Meals
Firstly you don’t have to be vegetarian to try these vegetarian meals. Most of us eat too much meat generally, so taking a day or two of a week and coking up vegetarain meals is going to be beneficial to your health. And don’t think you lose out on flavour either.
3 Vegetarian Meals;
1/ Chick Pea and Potato Curry
(310 calories per person)
400 grams (14 oz) chickpeas, drained
80 grams new potatoes, cut into chunks
400grams (14 oz) tinned tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, blitzed
2 chillies, blitzed
40 grams (2 oz) ginger, blitzed
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp tomato purée
600 ml (2 ½ cups) water
1/2 lime, juice only
Bunch of chopped coriander (cilantro), to serve
Directions:
1/ Blitz the garlic, chillies and ginger into a paste.
2/ Sauté the onions and cumin seed until brown. Stir in the garlic paste and cinnamon and fry for another minute.
3/ Add the tomato purée, tomatoes, turmeric, and cook for a few minutes until the sauce reduces a bit.
4/ Add the chickpeas, potatoes and water. Cover the dish and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
5/ Stir in the lime juice and serve.
2/ Stuffed Butternut Squash
(240 calories per person)
400grams butternut squash, halved and seeds removed
20grams dried porcini mushrooms
1 red onion, finely chopped
Clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, pounded
1 red chilli, chopped and seeds removed
Few sprigs of rosemary
3/4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
20 grams (3/4 oz) of pine nuts, lightly roasted
50 grams (2 oz) brown basmati rice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1/ Soak your porcini mushrooms for 5 minutes in boiling water.
2/ Scoop out some of the flesh from the squash.
3/ Finely chop this and add to a frying pan with the onion, garlic, coriander seeds, chilli, rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for around for 4 minutes.
4/ Add the mushrooms and 50 ml (1/4 cup) of the water you used to soak the mushrooms. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
5/ Add your rice and pine nuts, pack the mixture tightly into the 2 halves of the squash and then press them together.
6/ Wrap in tin-foil, and bake in the preheated oven (230C/450F/gas 8) for about 1¼ hours.
3/ Vegetarian Goulash
(230 calories per person)
300 grams quorn pieces
½ tbsp. olive oil
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 pepper, chopped
3 tsp paprika
400 grams (14 oz) tinned tomatoes
100 ml (1/4 cup) red wine
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1/ Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
2 Add pepper and quorn and cook for another 5 minutes.
3/ Add tomatoes and paprika.
4/ Add wine, tomato puree, and oregano and bring to boil
5/ Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Serve.
You won’t miss the meat from these vegetarian meals. Give them a try.