Easy Vegetarian Recipe: Mini Sweet Pepper Boats

Mini Sweet Pepper Boats

The vegetarian on the 5:2 diet

recipe card mini pepper boats

I hope you enjoy my easy vegetarian recipe for mine sweet pepper boats with feta cheese. 

The one thing I have found difficult as a vegetarian is finding suitable recipes for my intermittent fasting days.

I am having great success with the 5:2 diet, I have already dropped 3 dress sizes in 3 months and feel much better for it. I've talked about it before but in case you don't know -  you eat a normal healthy diet 5 days every week and on 2 non-consecutive days eat 500 calories or less. This is definitely the best way to use your body metabolism to aid in weight management. 

This is one of the recipes I have developed for my 'fasting days'. It is only 150 calories and cost me only 97p.  I initially picked them out at the supermarket because they were so cute! Lucky for me they turn out to be as tasty as they look.

Mini Sweet Peppers Boats

mini sweet peppers

Mini Sweet Pepper Boats

These gorgeous little mini sweet peppers filled with feta cheese make a wonderful and nutritious lunch or to serve as a side dish or snack at a party. They are, as you would expect, sweeter than their grown-up sisters and the feta gives them a lovely creamy texture. I use breadcrumbs on the top to give it a little crunch.

What you need:

mini sweet peppers and feta cheese

cook time

Preparation and Cooking Time

• Prep time: 5 min
• Cook time: 20 min
• Ready in: 25 min
• Yields: Serves 1

ingredients

Ingredients for Mini Sweet Pepper Boats

• 6 mini sweet peppers
• 38 g feta cheese
• breadcrumbs

Griddle Mini Sweep Peppers

How to make Sweet Pepper Boats

1. Cut the mini peppers in half and remove all the seeds and the hard ribs.
2. Heat a griddle pan and spray with 1-cal olive or vegetable oil.
3. Griddle both sides of the peppers for two or three minutes each side just to give them a charred taste.
4. Place inner side up on a baking sheet or in an oven-proof dish.
5. Fill each half with crumbled feta cheese and top with a few breadcrumbs.
6. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes.

mini sweep pepper boats

Nutritional Information and Cost

Ingredient	calories	fat	protein	Vits etc	Cost
Mini sweet pepper	50	0	1g	Vit A, Vit C, Iron, see list below	79p
38 gr feta cheese	100	8g	5.4g	Vit A, Vit C, Calcium, Vit D	18p
	150	8g	6.4g		97p

For average daily requirements for optimum health see the GDA's  - on average women need 45 g protein and 70 g fat so you can see you have plenty of leeway here. Remember these are only guides not targets.

Health Benefits of Sweet Peppers 

Don't underestimate the nutritional contribution of these little vegetables. It's a bit like eating a rainbow too which has to be good. 

10 Vitamins and Minerals in Sweet Peppers	Reported Health Benefits
Vit C	Anit-inflammatory, boost immune systems, thought to help against ageing and some cancers
Vit A	Anti-oxidant, boost immune system, helps vision
Vit B6, B3 and B1	Anti-oxidants helping to fight cancers, reduces risk of heart disease, helps fight symptoms of stress
Folate  (also B9)	Cell repair and renewal, vital for foetal growth, encourages normal cholesterol
Vit E	Boost immune system, promotes healthy skin and eyes
Potassium	Helps maintain fluid balance, aids the heart, brain and muscles
Vit K	Best known for healthy blood clotting, also essential for strong bones and maintaining health in heart and cells
Manganese	Helps maintain steady blood sugar levels, aids healthy skin, an uptake of calcium for bone strength.
Phosphorus	Healthy bones, improves digestion, aids cell renewal
Magnesium	Helps release energy, aids absorption of calcium for strong bones and teeth, aid in detox

Health Benefits of Feta Cheese

I can see die-hards throwing their hands in horror - cheese on a diet? For me nothing is banned in this type of eating plan, I hesitate to call it a diet - it is more of a change of lifestyle. And the truth is that we do need some fat in our diet. OK so I have cut down on my cheese intake but then I was a bit of an addict and I have changed to cheeses with less fat content. 

Feta Cheese - is made from sheep and goat cheese. It can be high in fat and salt but if you are sensible about how much you use that is not a problem. You can also find lighter versions.

On the health side remember Feta is high in calcium, essential for women over 40 to help maintain healthy bones. It also has Vit B12 for healthy red blood cells, some iron, folate and Vit D. 

Enjoy you low calorie, cheap meal - and come back for more ideas.