Wellness Wednesday with Sheri: Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

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Clik here to view.There are so many turkey recipes out there, this week I thought I’d post some meatless munchies for your Thanksgiving menu. These are both low-fat, low-calorie and FULL of flavor and color – perfect antidotes to the typical heavy, Thanksgiving meal.

Happy Cooking!

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers (Serves 4)

4 large yellow or red bell peppers
3/4 cup pomegranate juice
3/4 cup dried figs, stemmed and chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup diced yellow squash
1/2 cup non-fat feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut tops off peppers to use as lids. Scrape out seeds and ribs with knife. Combine pomegranate juice and figs in large saucepan, and cook over medium heat 7 -10 minutes, or until figs soften and juice reduces and becomes syrupy. Remove from heat, and stir in rice, squash, feta cheese and walnuts. Fill peppers with mixture, and set in 9×13-inch baking pan. Place tops on peppers. Add 1/2 inch water to pan, and cover with foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes.

Butternut Squash Salad (Serves 6)

1 butternut squash
1 head of kale
1 pomegranate
1 cup walnuts
olive oil (or olive oil spray)
salt & pepper
honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut ends off of butternut squash and peel. Cut the squash in half, and remove the innards with a spoon. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with olive oil spray. Place the squash on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Top with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss. Roast for 25 minutes.

Toast walnuts. Strip the leaves off of the kale stems and tear into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle some sea salt on the kale and – with your hands – knead the kale as you would bread. It should turn from greenish-white to bright green. Fill a big bowl half way with water. With a knife, slice down the center of the pomegranate half-way, and then hold over the water in the bowl and rip apart. The bright seeds will starts to fall in the water and sink to the bottom. Continue tearing the pomegranate and gently rubbing out the seeds until they all fall out. Drain the water and take out any of the non-seed pieces that may be left.

Put the kale in a big bowl. Top with pomegranate seeds, toasted walnuts (chopped if you’d like), and pieces of roasted butternut squash.

Want more great recipes? Check these out:

Fusilli Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Zucchini

Black Bean Hummus

Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Clik here to view.Sheri Oppenheimer is a health coach at Sweetgrass Spa in Little 5 Points and the Founder of The 100 Women Project, a healthy social network created by women, for women. To schedule a FREE health makeover session with her ($125 value), call (404) 939-2299 or email Sheri at sheri@100womenproject.com.