Garlic

Coconutty Curried Lentils with geelrys (yellow rice)

| roeliaschoeman

Yes, if it is Thursday night it must be “Vegetarian” night!  Yay!

Needed to put a quick meal together – so this is where meal prepping and planning comes in!  I usually cook and portion food like brown rice and lentils in advance so that it is easy to throw a healthy and wholesome weekday meal together.

So here goes – Coconut Curried Lentils (with geelrys).  Geelrys is a traditional South African dish – directly translated it means ‘yellow rice’.  Rice is cooked with turmeric to give it a lovely, warm yellow colour and is usually served with raisins.  But I left the raisins out this time around – simply because I didn’t have any!  LOL!

First – the Yellow Rice:  I had some pre-cooked brown rice in the fridge, I usually freeze it in 140g portions – 2 CCs.  I popped the frozen rice in a pot, topped it with boiling water and 1/3 tsp turmeric.  Bring to a quick boil, don’t cook it for too long otherwise the rice will become mushy.  Drain and keep aside.

Curried Lentils

100g chopped Onions

5ml Olive Oil

1/2 tsp ginger and garlic paste

1 heaped tsp curry powder (your choice – mild, spicy, hot!  I decided to go with Woolies Cape Malay curry powder – a slightly sweet, mild curry powder)

1/4 tsp turmeric

200g cooked lentils (again, had it pre-cooked and frozen, just put the plastic bag I froze it in, in some hot water for a few minutes to thaw)

100ml chopped tinned tomatoes

80ml coconut milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Fresh coriander to serve

 

Fry onions and spices in olive oil until onions are soft – you can add a few drops of water if the mixture cooks dry.  Stir in rest of ingredients and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away.  Add yellow rice, stir through and simmer for a minute or two.  Serve with fresh coriander.

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Serves 1 (LARGE portion – you can divide it in two) 2 CC, 2 Prot, 2 Fat, 1 Veg

 

 

Greek Marinated Mushrooms Kebabs

| roeliaschoeman

Always looking for a yummy veggie side dish 🙂  This is super easy and quite tasty!

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250g button mushrooms (whole)

25oml plain fat free yogurt

50g  each chopped parsley and chopped coriander

1 heaped teaspoon chopped garlic (or a little less to taste)

Salt and Pepper to taste
Place mushrooms in a Ziplock bag or marinating bowl.  Add rest of ingredients, close bag and shake bag to mix – leave to marinate for about 4 hours.  Thread mushrooms on skewers and grill until soft.

 

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Pimento Peppers stuffed with Herby Brown Rice and Feta

| roeliaschoeman

As South Africans we ‘braai’ a lot!  So that often leads to eating way too much meat – especially red meat!  So, one Friday evening when Hubby had to satisfy his craving for lamb riblets, I decided to improvise a bit!  Didn’t feel like meat, so I tried this dish – it will make a great braai side dish as well!

2 Pimento Peppers (you can use bell peppers or paprika peppers as well)

 

Garlic and Herb Brown Rice

140g cooked brown rice

5ml Basil-infused olive oil

50g chopped onions

Garlic and Herb Seasoning to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

 

60g low fat feta, crumbed

 

Prepare Peppers by making a slit on top and removing the pips and core.  Roast/braai on grill until the peppers start to blister.

 

Fry onions in olive oil until soft.  Stir in cooked brown rice and add Garlic and Herb Seasoning.  Season with salt and pepper.

 

When ready to serve, stuff peppers with brown rice and top with feta.

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Serves 1 – 2 Veg, 2 CC, 2 Protein

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When serving it as a side dish at a braai, you can omit the feta and have the peppers with your favourite braaied meat 🙂

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Bean Soup (with Shortcut Croutons)

| roeliaschoeman

Adapted from Fresh Living Magazine July 2015

 

Serves 2

1 Serve = +/- 3 Veg, 1.5 protein, 1 fat, 1 CC

 

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500g tomatoes, quartered

3 peeled garlic cloves

2 rosemary sprigs (I used more!)

10 ml olive oil

1 tin 410g baked beans in tomato sauce

1.5 cup chicken stock (vegetarians can add veggie stock instead)

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Sprinkling Italian Herb seasoning

1 TBS Tomato Paste

3 slices Albany Ultima – toasted and cut into croutons, quick and easy shortcut!

Fresh parsley to serve

 

Combine tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and olive oil in a Ziplock/plastic bag and shake to coat. But on baking sheet (lined with tin foil and treated with non-stick cooking spray) at 200C for 45 min.

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Transfer to saucepan and add baked beans, chicken stock and seasoning. Simmer for about 15 minutes on medium heat.

Liquidize and serve with fresh parsley and croutons