New Years Resolution Bento
Sorry for the lack of posts, the holiday season and some other issues cropped up. In fact this week's bento was suppose to be for last week. (the theme made a little more sense since everyone was just returning to work) I figured everyone probably made the same new years resolution of eating healthier and losing a bit of weight, so I decided to help everyone off to a good start with New Years Resolution Bento. I was inspired by a slew of nice and healthy recipes a little bit of tinkering and I came up with this menu.
First up, a DIY Chicken Pita sandwich with Salsa Verde. I saw a neat recipe for grilled chicken breast and another for a pita sandwich. I liked the idea of fusing the two together as the flavor for the salsa sounded like a nice burst of flavor. I sous vide'ed the chicken breast for maximum moisture and finished them on an indoor grill to get a bit of char. Eating lean doesn't mean losing a great tasting meal, the trick is to substitute fat for flavor. Yeah it's not the same, but a tangy sauce over chicken breast does a lot more for staying with your resolution. I treated the chicken with just a bit of salt and pepper and opted for a spring greens mix to get some of the vegetables into the diet. 
Creamy vegetable pasta. This was a really interesting dish, the recipe uses yogurt to fake a cream sauce. Although I was not completely fooled it was an interesting substitution that saved a ton of calories. Mashed garlic with salt turned the yogurt into a very savory sauce. The dish normally calls for shrimp, but since I relegated it to a side dish, I added more bell peppers (for color) and even more asparagus and peas (because you can't have enough veggies). This turned out to be a very tasty dish. A gentle re-heat and you'd swear it was a cream based pasta. Wheat pasta was called for to lower the GI count, I didn't realize how far 12 ounces would go (was cooking for nine today). I've certainly learned a new trick in my keep healthy arsenal.Recipe Requested see it here.
Ok yes, I cheated, I slotted in a dip and used the last slot for carrots to dip with. The last dish is a Ginger Edamame dip, it's prepared like a hummus (the only common item is the Tahini and garlic). I used a bit of Sriracha to spice things up. The ginger lent a very tasty accent. I packed baby carrots to dip with and a few rice crackers (trying to save on the carbs). Very simple dish to get people to eat veggies and even more veggies. It definitely had a less rich and heavy feel to it than hummus, hopefully it proves filling.I'm very glad to be back! There's a food blogger event happening Monday so I'll have a post up on that as well.
Box Contents:
- Build your own pita, chicken breast with salsa verde
- Creamy vegetarian pasta
- Ginger Edamame Dip
Comments
Lisa
Creamy Vegetable Pasta adapted from Eating Well
Ingredients
6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper sliced thin
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cups nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (see Tip; optional)
Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than package directions. Add shrimp, asparagus, bell pepper and peas and cook until the pasta is tender and the shrimp are cooked, 2 to 4 minutes more. Drain well.
2. Mash garlic and salt in a large bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil and pepper. Add the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts (if using).