Vegetables

Cucumber Salad From member Makeover Specialist

2 tbsp white vinegar
1 pkt sweetener (equal to 2 tsp sugar)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cucumbers, sliced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 med red onion, sliced thin
Mix and let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Spaghetti Squash
Note: Since this has no real taste, it is great used in place of spaghetti or if you cannot get the rice variety of spaghetti.

Wash spaghetti squash and dry with paper towels. Pierce with sharp knife about 10 times all over. Place on a foil-covered baking sheet in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. Bake for 45-60 minutes. After 45 minutes check for doneness by covering squash with a hot pad. If done, the spaghetti should be slightly soft and give under pressure when you press it lightly. Allow to cool 15-20 minutes, before cutting in half length-wise. Very carefully remove seeds from both sides, trying to disturb as few of the strands as possible. After you have seeded the squash, use a fork, pulling the strands away from the sides in a raking motion. As they come loose, place in a container. Cool and then place lid on container. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container. ½ cup = 1 serving

Note from Liz: After I wrote these directions, one of the BMOS told us that we do not have to count spaghetti squash as a carb. It is probably the ONLY one of the winter squashes that can be counted as a veggie, so you can have a cup of it instead of the ½ cup I had originally stated.

Lebanese Zucchini and Tomatoes (brown bear)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. zucchini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 can NSA diced tomatoes, drained or use fresh tomatoes (1 cup)
Black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Wash and dry the zucchini. Slice zucchini into moderately thick rounds. Sauté garlic and coriander. Add zucchini slices. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes, pepper, and parsley. Simmer until cooked about 20 minutes. Serve hot. 5 servings.

Italian Style Green Beans From member COL1977.

fresh cut 1" or no-salt-added canned green beans
no-salt-added canned diced tomatoes, to taste
fresh garlic cloves, pressed & to taste
onion, cut in quarters, sliced and to taste
Mrs. Dash Italian Seasonings, to taste
dried oregano, to taste
dried basil, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
some chicken broth for sauteing
splash of wine, your choice and to taste

Blanch fresh green bean in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add to ice cold water, (can be made a day ahead) to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. If using canned green beans, skip this step. Saute onion with chicken broth and a splash of wine, in a large, hot non-stick skillet or wok pan until onion is soft and translucent. Add in garlic to taste and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes with juice, green beans, and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for about 5 more minutes. Serve.

Marinated Vegetable Salad
From member pandoRRa: This is my staple vegetable for meals other than dinner. It keeps very well, and I usually keep a container of this in the fridge (without the capers) at all times.

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
2 med carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick strips
1 stalk celery, cut into matchstick strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into matchstick strips
1 med zucchini, cut into matchstick strips
In medium bowl, mix first five ingredients until blended. Add the vegetables and capers and toss well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Sweet Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Dressing Originally from Kraft Kitchens, revised by emaxson for SWBM

4 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette (see below)
1/3 cup Splenda
½ tsp. maple flavoring
Grated peel of 1 orange or 1 tsp. dried orange peel

Cook Brussels sprouts in a large pot of boiling water 6 min. or until tender (or steam for 12 min.). Drain well. Mix dressing, Splenda, and flavoring in a large skillet; cook on medium heat until heated through. Add Brussels sprouts; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add orange peel; mix lightly.

Balsamic Vinaigrette (emaxson)

12 oz. balsamic vinegar (can substitute raspberry vinegar)
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 Tbsp. Splenda
1 tsp. Grey Poupon Brown Country Mustard*
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and store in fridge. This is a freebie.
*This is not really on program, but I have used it from the beginning. My original recipe called for 1 Tbsp. so I cut it back to 1 tsp. Also, this may be made with a really good raspberry vinegar. I find that the inexpensive ones are really too biting, but a good one will make a nice change for you. Be careful. Some vinegars, especially the gourmet ones, have sugar in them. This is also good on your chicken, baked potatoes, etc

Herbed Cabbage (emaxson)

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage, sliced in ½ slices
½ tsp. Greek Oregano
½ tsp. Summer Savory
½ tsp. Basil
½ tsp. Thyme
1 can NSA lowfat Chicken broth or vegetable broth*

Directions:
Bring the broth and herbs to a boil in a large lidded skillet. Toss in the cabbage slices. Cover and cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to mix the herbs throughout the cabbage pieces.

*Place lowfat NSA broth in the refrigerator as soon as you bring it home from the grocery store. Then, when you are ready to use it, you can skim off the fat for a fat-free, no-salt-added broth!

Catalina Glazed Carrots

8 medium carrots, peeled, diagonally sliced
½ cup Catalina Dressing (see recipe below)
Equiv. of 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (use Sugar Twin or Sweet ‘n’ Low Brown sugar)
2 Tbsp. mock Worcestershire sauce (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Cook carrots in boiling water in large saucepan 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Return to pan. Add dressing, brown sugar substitute and mock Worcestershire sauce; mix lightly. Cook on low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently until carrots are evenly galzed. Stir in parsley

Catalina Salad Dressing

1 cup Splenda
dash paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 small onion, grated
1/2 cup vinegar
2/3 cup ketchup (see below – choose one)

Place all ingredients into blender and mix. Store in jar in refrigerator.
Note: This is a remake of a Catalina dressing recipe, omitting the salt and oil. It won’t have quite the same flavor, but will be close.

Carrot Salad (Coastal Living Magazine, Sept. 2004 issue)

1 lb. carrots peeled, and sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 Tbsp. Splenda (the original called for honey)
1 lemon, juiced
Zest from one lemon

That's it. Just mix together and chill. They said it was a staple in Italian restaurants (in the old country, of course).

Fantastic Marinated Vegetables From member flower girl

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp Wright’s Hickory Seasoning (where liquid smoke is)
zucchini, cut in chunks
whole mushrooms
1 small vidalia onion, cut in chunks
Put all ingredients in a large ziploc bag. Marinate at least one hour, flipping bag over every 15 minutes. Grill or saute vegetables and serve.


Sweet Italian Tomato Salad
(Modified for SWBM by emaxson)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup white wine or cider vinegar
1/3 cup Splenda Granular
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (OMIT on SWBM)
2 teaspoons fresh minced basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried
½teaspoon minced fresh garlic
¼teaspoon salt, or to taste (OMIT on SWBM)
8 medium tomatoes (about 21/2 pounds), quartered and seeded

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except tomatoes. When thoroughly mixed, gently stir in tomatoes. Will keep for several days in the refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.
SOURCE: Fantastic Food With Splenda

Green Bean Salad (emaxson)

Ingredients:

2 cans no-salt-added French style green beans
2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 sm. Jar pimiento, if desired
¼ cup Splenda
1-2 cups of white vinegar, enough to cover the veggies
Italian herbs (optional)

Directions:

Drain the green beans and add the chopped celery, onion, garlic and pimiento. Toss with the Splenda and the vinegar. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. This is better as it has a chance to set the flavors. It will keep about 2 weeks, if it lasts that long. This is a freebie veggie that may be added to any of the meals/snacks.

Garlic Spinach (makes one 1-cup serving)- (emaxson)
Ingredients:

1 LARGE (enough to fill a large colander) bunch of spinach, washed thoroughly*
A small amount of chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet Herb-Ox Very Low Sodium Bouillon
1/4 c. water
Nutmeg

Directions:

*Wash the spinach in a large flat pan of water about 3 times, pouring out the water and rinsing the pan in-between washings. Because it grows in sand, it is usually very gritty otherwise!! Chop off root ends.

In large saucepan or skillet, bring the other ingredients to a boil and then simmer until onion is cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Toss in spinach and turn to coat with broth and other ingredients. Cover and allow to cook about 5 min., stirring occasionally. Add a little freshly grated nutmeg, just before draining and serving.

Sweet and Sour Zucchini (MzCeCe)

Ingredients:

2-zucchini, sliced thin
1- whole onion, sliced
1/2 lemon
Splenda
2-cloves of garlic, minced
Water

Directions:
Sauté onions in water until transparent and caramelized, about 5-10 min. Now add zucchini and garlic. Cook and stir; add 1/2 cup water and simmer on low (make sure you stir), after it becomes soft, about 10 more minutes; then add the juice of half of the lemon; add a few tablespoons of Splenda and stir (maybe 2-3 depending on how you like it). Add additional water just make sure that the water isn't gone and serve.