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.

Easy Vegetarian Recipe for One: Sweet Potato Noodles and Feta Bake

Sweet Potato Noodles and Feta Bake

This is a tasty vegetarian recipe for one that is ideal for using with an intermittent fasting diet - the 5:1 diet. It is only 216 calories and cost under £1 to make. Win Win.

I recently heard about using vegetables as noodles as a healthier alternative to pasta and, confess, I am hooked. Vegetable noodles are delicious raw or cooked and this recipe uses sweet potato which is probably my favourite.

The sweet potato contrasts nicely with the tang of the feta. Because the feta is salty I haven't added any more in the cooking and it was fine. Ideal for anyone trying to cut down on their salt count. The mix of the vegetable stock and feta gives this dish a delightful milky gravy.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Spiced Buns - Low Fat - Low Sugar Recipe

How to make spiced buns 

Spiced buns

that are low in fat, low in sugar, low in calories, high in taste!

Sometimes you just want something sweet. These tasty spiced buns that look after your waistline! Many of us need to watch our weight but it is easy to adapt well-loved recipes to create lower fat, lower sugar editions so you can still enjoy a treat. These spiced buns makes that even easier. Replacing some of the normal sugar amounts with dried fruit and shifting to a reduced-fat butter greatly reduces the calorie values without compromising taste.

This is also a time when most of us are watching the pennies and baking at home is becoming more popular again. You can create many buns, cakes and cookies from scratch for a fraction of the cost of shop-made produces. In addition, you also know exactly what goes into it and that puts you in control not the food manufacturers.

These spiced buns take only a few minutes to prepare then bake and can be served straight from the oven. Ideal for afternoon tea!

This recipe is based on UK ingredients - for example self-raising flour available here is flour that contains a raising agent so doesn't need baking powder - for US and Canada add the relevant amount of baking powder to the flour.

Cheap and Healthy Veggie Recipe: Vegetarian Egg Fried Rice

My Cheap and Easy Egg Fried Rice 

I'm not a fabulous cook, in fact I like to make things as easy as possible and this vegetarian egg fried rice couldn't be easier. This is an excellent way to use up left-over vegetables although using fresh vegetables gives them an extra bite that you might prefer.

For a REALLY easy option, when you are cooking a meal with rice put in some extra and cook some extra vegetables and you have a cheap and easy, nutritious lunch or supper for the next day.

I have the added benefit of using my own home-grown courgettes in this dish - there is nothing nicer than using food you have grown yourself.

I've based the timing on using left-over rice, cooking it first you will need another 12 minutes. Just make sure it is dry after cooking otherwise it will 'spit' in the wok.

If you don't have a wok, use a large frying pan.

I tend to use the cherry tomatoes as garnish rather than cooked in with the rice though they do cook well if you like them that way.

Serve with a green salad and you have a healthy meal for one.

Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Recipes: Cooking with Lentils

Vegetarian recipes: Cooking with lentils

red lentils photo by annmackiemiller

Lentils are a tasty healthy addition to any diet. Red lentils in particular are easy to use since they don't even have to be soaked beforehand. Included here is my favourite lentil soup recipe and a recipe for curried lentil stew. I like to make my soups and stews the night before I am going to eat them to allow all the flavours to mature.

Lentils are high in protein and low in fat. Protein is used to build and keep every cell in the body healthy and essential for vegetarians to add to their diet. Lentils also contain folate, magnesium, essential amino acids, iron and vitamins B, A and C. These are one of the super foods, a great source of anti-oxidants that fight against cancers, heart disease and strokes. The high fiber content helps keep a healthy bowel and reduces the risk of diseases of the alimentary tract. Lentils are a slow release food to they are ideal for maintaining a level blood sugar level, essential in preventing food cravings when you are on a weight loss diet. This is also great for diabetics or people like myself who have impaired glucose tolerance.

Images: Red Lentils by annmackiemiller - copyright 2014

Eggplant or Aubergine Slow Bake Vegetarian Recipe

Vegetarian dinner recipe: Slow Bake Aubergines

Aubergine or Eggplant from Pixabay

This is a tasty aubergine recipe that vegetarians and non-vegetarians will love. A one-dish casserole dish, it is cooked very slowly over several hours to allow all the flavours to blend. Aubergines are also known as eggplants and are often not cooked properly which puts people off. However, you simply cannot go wrong with this dish and it also freezes very well. When you are cooking for one, cook the whole thing then freeze in meal-sized portions for a quick ready meal that you know is completely healthy. An added bonus! This is very low in fat. 

Images: Aubergine Slow Bake by AnnMackieMiller

Bangers and Mash Vegetarian Style: Vegetarian Sausages with Potatoes and Onion Gravy

Vegetarian Cheap and Easy Recipe: Sausage and Mashed Potatoes 

Don't miss out on Bangers and Mash just 'cos you're a veggie!

Vegetarian Bangers and Mash
Sausages and mash potatoes

If I was to admit to missing one thing over the last 30 years of my vegetarian life, it would be sausages - called 'bangers' here in the UK. Since they are not exactly gourmet food, that isn't a great admission. However, fellow veggies, do not despair, there are a host of very good vegetarian options.

I'm sure this vegetarian version will provoke a few witty comments. On this very cold, very wet and windy day, it was also an ideal dish to make for supper, comfort food at its best. - and it is cheap and easy! Perfectly good excuses to make a vegetarian version of an old family favourite.

All the images used here are by me - please don't copy or reproduce them - but do feel free to try the recipe! :)