Cook's Corner: Nutritious, low calorie meals to try

This week, I’m sharing recipes that I’ve made recently that are full of nutritious ingredients, low in calories and delicious. I’m doing my best to keep processed foods out of my menus whenever possible and to cook at home so I know what’s going into what I’m eating. 

This first recipe is a great place to start when making homemade vegetable (or vegetable beef or bean) soup. You can play with it if you like, but I really like the way the broth and the overall flavor turn out.

Linda’s Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

  • 1 sirloin steak (or leftover roast, other beef)

  • Vegetable or beef broth

  • 1 small can of tomato paste (about 4 oz.)

  • 2 (15 oz.) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

  • 2 large onions, diced

  • 4 stalks celery diced

  • 4 carrots, diced

  • 2 squash, yellow or zucchini, diced

  • 3-4 red potatoes, diced

  • 3 ears corn, kernels cut off cob, or frozen corn

  • fresh parsley

  • 6-12 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

  • Anything else you want to add, such as green beans, cabbage, petite green peas, garbanzo beans, etc.

Cut steak (or leftover beef) into small bite-size pieces, dredge in flour with salt and pepper, and brown in a skillet in a little oil. (This last time I simmered the beef cubes in beef consommé or broth for about an hour to tenderize them before flouring and frying.) Remove steak to paper towels, add chopped onion to same pan with the drippings. Saute until onions are transparent. Transfer the contents of the skillet to a large Dutch oven and add the meat back in. Add about 6 cups of beef or vegetable broth. Mix in tomato paste and tomatoes with juice. Add all the vegetables. Chop a little parsley and add. Add garlic to taste.

Let soup simmer for about an hour or more and then taste for seasoning. You can also add a little rice, orzo or other noodles for texture, and sometimes I add a little marinara sauce for flavor if I have some on hand. 

This makes a lot, so enjoy and share on these cold evenings. Linda McCalla.

***

I love tuna and found this recipe in a cookbook recently that was gifted to me by Bill and Neta Stubblefield. It is full of protein, crunch, color and flavor, with no mayonnaise to weigh it down.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

  • 1 (5 oz.) can white tuna in water or olive oil, drained well and flaked

  • 1 celery rib, minced

  • 1/4 of a red bell pepper, minced

  • 1 T. fresh parsley, minced

  • 1 1/2 T. olive oil

  • 1 small shallot, minced

  • 2 t. lemon juice

  • 1 small garlic clove, minced

  • 1/4 t. Dijon mustard

  • 1/4 t. salt, or to taste

  • 1/8 t. black pepper or to taste

  • 1 T. Kalamata olives, minced

Whisk oil, shallot, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add tuna, celery, bell pepper, olives and parsley to dressing. Combine gently. Toss and serve on toast or by itself. Season to taste. Serves two.

***

For a long while, Brussels sprouts were all the rage, but I think the food industry is moving on to the next big thing. Still, they are so full of nutrition that I try to make them fairly regularly. This is a recipe my son, Thomas, came up with a while back that is easy and tasty. 

Thomas’ Brussels Sprouts

  • 1 bag Brussels sprouts

  • Olive oil

  • 1 T. sesame oil

  • 1 T. rice wine vinegar

  • 2 T. good soy sauce

  • 1 T. honey

  • 1 t. grated ginger

  • salt and pepper to taste

Cut off ends of sprouts and then cut in half lengthwise. In a large skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and place sprouts face down (cut side down) in a pan. Cook for about 5 minutes without moving them, letting them brown and caramelize on the bottom. Once they have good color, toss them around with a spoon in the pan and cook for another 8 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. (I usually cook them in boiling salted water for about a minute or two first to start the tenderizing process. Drain well and pat dry before putting in the skillet with oil.)

In a small bowl or jar, mix sesame oil and remaining ingredients. Whisk well or shake well and adjust seasonings to taste. Pour sauce into the skillet with the sprouts (after they’re all browned and cooked) and stir. (I let mine simmer for a few minutes to absorb flavors.) Serves about four. Thomas Locke.

***

Finally, here is a simple dip or spread that I made this week when I had some leftover baked salmon that I wanted to use in another way. I used about 8 oz. of baked salmon with bottom skin removed, and flaked it with two forks. Then I mixed in the other ingredients and really enjoyed having it on crackers for an appetizer. Go as easy on the mayonnaise as you like for fewer calories.

Salmon Spread

  • 1 cup (or less) mayonnaise

  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

  • 1 T. Dijon mustard

  • Dash olive oil

  • Dash Worcestershire sauce

  • Dash Tabasco sauce

  • 1 1/2 t. capers

  • 1 1/2 t. caper juice (from jar of capers)

  • 1/2 t. salt

  • 1/4 t. black pepper

  • 3 T. chives, minced

In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon, olive oil, Worcestershire, Tabasco, capers, caper juice, salt and pepper. Whisk in 2 T. chives and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Add flaked, cooked salmon and gently mix. Serve with crackers or crudités. Makes about one cup.

***

Stay as warm as you can this week, and enjoy just hibernating at home with some home cooking.

Cook’s Corner
Column