Victoria Mazur - 500 Calorie Cooking: A Family Friendly Cookbook

500 Calorie Cooking A Family Friendly Cookbook By Victoria Mazur Copyright @ 2013 by Victoria Mazur All Rights Reserved This book is not intended to provide or replace the medical expertise of a trusted physician. DEDICATION To my mom who always let me play in the kitchen with her.
Introduction I have a husband who has food allergies. Since he is limited to what he can eat, dieting is never an issue for him. I can eat whatever I please, so watching my calorie and fat intake is required to maintain my optimal weight. I prefer to eat several meals throughout the day, so I have assembled some meal recipes that are less than 500 calories.

If I eat lower calorie meals, I can eat more of them. I am not only concerned with the calorie count; I also like to eat a low fat, low salt diet. The pictures in the book are all taken of the real serving size listed. The pictured meals are on standard size dinner plates (10 inch round plates) unless otherwise noted. I really like to eat, and I tried to create recipes that are filling and taste great. Im not a fan of substitutions for most things.

If I have to substitute a food that is just too high in fat to add to my diet, I try to add extra flavors to compensate. I have found that adding lemon or lime juice into recipes really reduces the need for salt. Sauting with only a very little oil is an easy way to cut useless fat out of your diet. Even good fat is still high in calories. My philosophy with food is basically everything in moderation. When I cook a dish that is slightly higher in cholesterol I will make sure that my other meals for the day do not have any cholesterol to ensure I remain within the daily recommended allowance.

If I splurge and eat a high sugar dessert, I make sure the next day I eat very healthy. I eat red meat (beef and pork) only once a week, and the rest of the time I eat chicken, fish or vegetarian. I have found that lowering the salt was harder for me than the fat content. It took me quite a while before I weaned myself off my need for salt. I still need to use some salt or I think the food is too bland. I have used the small amount of salt that I use in these recipes, however if you prefer no salt or more salt, please just adjust to your palette.

All the recipes in this book I cook gluten-free, however I have given alternatives for those of you who prefer to eat wheat. If you have multiple food allergies, please see my other cookbook. Allergy Free Cooking, listed on Amazon. Contents

Vegetable Broth

This is a very flavorful broth that I use in place of any chicken or beef stock. Making my own broth allows me to monitor the salt and fat content. The roasted vegetables really add to the flavor, but they will darken the broth.

Vegetable broth Serving: 1 cup Serving per recipe: Calories: Protein : 0g Carbohydrate : 0g Fat : 0.8g Cholesterol : 0mg Sodium : 197.2mg Fiber: 0 g 3 onions, quartered 6 celery stalks, halved 1 lb mushrooms 3 peppers, quartered 5 carrots, halved 2 t olive oil 1 gal water 2 bay leaves 1 t dried thyme 1 t salt t pepper Preheat the oven to 425. Divide the vegetables onto two cookie sheets. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to each cookie sheet and roast the vegetables in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring the vegetables every ten minutes until browned. Scrape the vegetables into a large stock pot and add the water, salt, pepper, bay leaves and thyme. Bring the water to a boil; cover and reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. Strain well.

Cool and store in the freezer.

L entil Vegetable Soup

Total c alories per serving: 275 This is a delicious vegetarian soup , and the lentils add protein and body to satisfy meat eaters. I like to spice up my soup with a little hot sauce right before serving. The soup is pic tured in a 4 cup capacity bowl. Lentil vegetable soup Serving per recipe: 8 Calories per serving: 275 Protein: 19.5 g Carbohydrate: 44.1 g Fat: 2.4 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 767 mg Fiber: 19.7 g 1 lb dry lentils 2 large onions, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 6 large carrots, peeled and sliced 4 celery stalks, sliced 6 c vegetable broth 2 c water 1 t olive oil 3 T tomato paste 1 bay leaf 1 t cumin t salt pepper In a stock pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, celery and onions and saut until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, bay leaf and cumin to the pot. Stir in the lentils, vegetable broth, tomato paste and water. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil; reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for 1 hour or until the lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Minestrone Soup

Total calories per serving: 411 This was my grandma's recipe. It is a very hardy soup that is satisfying for lunch or dinner.

If desired, this soup can be made early in the day and reheated before serving. Reserve the fresh basil and add just before reheating. I freeze any leftover soup and simply reheat when needed. The soup is pictured in a 4 cup capacity bowl. Minestrone soup Serving per recipe: 10 Calories per serving: 411 Protein: 28.3 g Carbohydrate: 72.2 g Fat: 2.8 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 920 mg Fiber: 27.3 g 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1 large onion, diced 2 celery stalks, diced 1 small head cabbage, coarsely shredded 6 oz spinach 8 oz kale, de-stemmed and chopped 1 ( 28-oz) can whole tomatoes with juice 8 oz frozen green beans 2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed (15-oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 medium zucchini, diced 1 t olive oil 8 c vegetable broth c fresh basil 1 t dried basil 1 t salt t pepper In large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and celery.

Cook for 4 minutes until they begin to soften and then add the cabbage, spinach and kale. When the greens begin to wilt (about 6 minutes), add the tomatoes. Using a spoon, slightly break up the tomatoes. Add the vegetable broth, salt, pepper and dried basil. Bring the broth to a boil; reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the green beans and potatoes and simmer an additional 20 minutes.

Add the cannellini beans and zucchini and simmer another 20 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil before serving.

Black Bean S oup

Total c alories per serving: 452 Black bean soup is a thick , rich soup that is packed with vegetables. The soup broth is a combination of tomato sauce and vegetable broth. It is seasoned with lime juice, cilantro, cumin, coriander and chili powder, which really provides a satisfying depth of flavor. I usually put the hot sauce on the table so everyone can add as much heat as they like.

In my opinion, this is a soup that can handle quite a bit. Black bean soup Serving per recipe: 8 Calories per serving: 452 Protein: 27.5 g Carbohydrate: 81.8 g Fat: 3.3 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 815 mg Fiber: 19.4 g (15-oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed 1 large onion, diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 c frozen corn 1 scallion, sliced 1 ( 28-oz) can tomato sauce 1 t olive oil 4 c vegetable broth 1 T lime juice 1 T fresh cilantro 2 t coriander 1 T chili powder T cumin 1 bay leaf t pepper Hot sauce to taste In a stock pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, red pepper, celery and onion and saut until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, and cumin and saut for 1 minute. Add the corn, tomato sauce, pepper, bay leaf, vegetable broth and chili powder to the pot. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork.