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Posts Tagged ‘easy recipes’

Healthy Yogi Chips from Wai Lana Yoga

Do you struggle deciding what is for dinner? Every night is the same. You get off from a long tiring day of work and arrive at home only to encounter another challenge. What will you eat? There aren’t enough leftovers in the refrigerator to feed everyone. It seems like you just had everything you can think of. To make things even more difficult you can’t seem to make the ingredients to make a complete dinner. It seems that all you have are odds and ends. Preparing vegetarian snacks can seem to be difficult to make because there is no meat main dish to start with. If you are not a vegetarian and you have chicken in the fridge, then you can start thinking of chicken main dishes. Vegetarian staples are much more versatile than meats, so what you have does not necessarily narrow your choices any. The good news is that when you are out of ideas and out of inspiration, pizzas will come to your rescue.  Still need ideas? Here is a big list of tasty vegetarian recipes from Wailana.

Pizza is one of the easiest vegetarian foods to make because it lends itself to so many kinds while still including all of the necessary nutrition for a balanced, nutritious diet. Any ingredients you happen to have will work to make a delicious pizza. You will surely discover some new types of pizza by using leftovers on your next dinner pizza. It truly does not matter what you have to make your vegetarian pizza, as long as you can include items to fit into the following categories.

Crust
You can make your own pizza crust. All it takes is some flour, salt, oil, and leavening. When time is short, improvise. Pre-made pizza crusts or slices of bread will do the trick. Wai Lana Yoga has a nice onion-herb bread recipe that is delicious as a pizza crust.

Seasoning Your Pizza
There are so many pizza sauce variations. While tomato based sauces are very popular and very easy make, they are not your only choice. If you do make a tomato based sauce, you will probably add a little bit of sugar, some vinegar and some of your favorite Italian seasonings to a can of tomato sauce. But even without tomato sauce, you can still make a pizza. White sauces are also very compatible with pizza. Use a traditional white sauce recipe that includes flour, fat and some yogurt for a low fat choice. Then, season your sauce however you prefer to do so. Use spices or add some vegetables or cheese right to the sauce. If a sauce is not going to work for you, you don’t need one. A third option is to brush your crust with olive oil. Season it with fresh garlic or any dried spices you have on hand.

Toppings
One thing most people put on pizza is cheese. It doesn’t matter what kind you have though. Mozzarella and cheddar are equally pleasing on a pizza. For something different, try feta. If you do not have cheese, that’s ok. The important thing is to include something with some fat and something with some protein. Olives, nuts, refried beans and tofu are all appropriate pizza toppings. In addition to your main topping, add plenty of fruits or vegetables. Peppers, pineapple, tomatoes and even broccoli can work with other pizza ingredients for a tasty variation. Be as creative as you want to be. Here are some other ideas and information on vegetarianism from Wai Lana.

By using your leftovers as pizza toppings, it will also be much easier on your budget. Be as versatile as you want . There’s no need to worry about what to prepare for dinner.

Video about Swiss Cuisine

Everyone assumes that European cooking is heavy and unhealthy. Especially when it comes to Swiss cooking and Swiss recipes, everyone thinks, cheese, chocolate, potatoes, meat, etc. but that’s just nonsense.  Cooking light recipes is what the Swiss are great at. Their lunches and dinners tend to be much smaller in proportion, and not as filling as American dishes. Often times, European dishes are thought of as heavy, greasy and overwhelming, but in reality, when you visit Europe, the meals tend to be light and perfect proportioned.

I personally remember when I traveled across Europe. Often I was still feeling hungry after I ate. Typically a breakfast will be small, either oatmeal with fruit, maybe some bread and cheese, or even just a soft boiled egg and some yogurt. The typical meal is just enough to keep you feeling less hungry, but not overstuffed.

Here in the United States, too many restaurants believe in overstuffing their customers. Unlike many European restaurants, we Americans are allowed to take things home in a “doggie bag” or “to go” container. In many European restaurants, if you don’t finish your food, well, too bad, it will be thrown out. Generally they do not give you “to go” containers. You may even take the chances of insulting the Chef if you don’t finish your food. They might think you did not like your meal, or something else was not to like. It’s better just to come hungry and eat all that you can.

The Swiss are great at cooking light recipes. Bircher Muesli, is the perfect example of a tasty, light recipe. It is basically chilled oatmeal with fresh fruit slices of oranges, apples and even raisins. Not only does it taste great, but it’s a healthy way to start the day. It will give you tons of energy and is very low in calories. For lunch, you could try a Sausage salad, otherwise known as Wurstsalat. It may sound like a heavy meal, but it is actually quite light. You can always use thinner slices of sausage, if you don't feel that hungry. Just like any salad, you can use as much or as little sausage as you would like. I generally cut enough just to cover the top of the salad and leave the rest for onion slices, pickles, lettuce and other ingredients.

Staying healthy does not mean you have to throw out flavor. There are several recipes that are low fat and tasty. If you are into cooking light recipes, and want to try something new, you may consider Swiss Recipes. There are dozens of great Swiss Cooking websites and recipes to be found online. Here are a few:

• http://swisscookbook.com
• http://www.about.ch/culture/food/wurstsalat.html
• http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=15,187
• http://homecooking.about.com/b/2009/07/07/swiss-cheese-recipes-hole-y-delicious.htm

When it comes to making your own food, you can choose to cook light and cook healthy. Choose your ingredients correctly and you will always have delicious, healthy meals that you will love.