The Everyday DASH Diet Cookbook (25 page)

To prepare the tuna: Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels. Spray the skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Season the tuna with the pepper. Place the tuna steaks in the skillet and cook until the undersides are seared, about 2 minutes. Flip the tuna and cook until the other sides are seared, about 2 minutes more for rare tuna.

Divide the vegetables equally among four dinner plates, and top each with a tuna steak. Sprinkle with the reserved chopped fronds. Serve hot, with the lemon wedges.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

(1 serving) 335 calories, 40 g protein, 29 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 7 g fiber, 75 mg cholesterol, 372 mg sodium, 960 mg potassium. Food groups: 5 ounces meat, 1 starchy vegetable, 1 vegetable.

(1 serving [4 ounces tuna], for a smaller appetite): 223 calories, 27 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 5 g fiber, 50 mg cholesterol, 248 mg sodium, 640 mg potassium. Food groups: 3½ ounces meat, ½ starchy vegetable, 1 vegetable.

Vegetarian Main Courses

Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Bell Peppers with Rice and Vegetable Stuffing

Vegetable and Bulgur Chili

Moroccan Vegetables on Garbanzo Couscous

Curried Vegetables and Garbanzo Beans

Summer Vegetable Risotto

Asparagus and Ricotta Polenta Pizza

I’ve had many vegetarian students and a good number of clients who don’t eat meat. Although I am a card-carrying omnivore, I often cook meatless meals that were developed with my students, to add variety to my own menus. If you cook for vegetable haters, one way to get them to eat their veggies is to add them to popular dishes like chili and macaroni and cheese. Try my recipes for these two comfort food stalwarts, and I will be very surprised if you hear complaints from the meat lovers—and the same goes for the other dishes in this chapter.

Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

This is the quintessential family-friendly DASH meal. Instead of macaroni alone, add lots of cauliflower, a “supervegetable” of the Brassicaceae family that is loaded with phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. Another trick here is to combine Cheddar cheese with naturally low-sodium Swiss cheese, which pumps up the flavor and reduces the sodium. Want to further boost the DASH factor with extra veggies? Layer sliced tomatoes on the cauliflower mixture, then sprinkle the panko on top.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

1 head cauliflower, trimmed and broken into bite-sized florets

1¼ cups elbow macaroni

Canola oil in a pump sprayer

2 cups low-fat (1%) milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

4 ounces (1 cup) shredded reduced-sodium mild Cheddar cheese

4 ounces (1 cup) shredded Swiss cheese

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs), preferably whole-wheat panko (see
here
)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower and cook just until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using a wire sieve or a skimmer, transfer the cauliflower to a colander; leave the water boiling. Drain well. Pat the cauliflower dry with paper towels.

Add the macaroni to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions until it is almost tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with oil.

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan. Sprinkle in the cornstarch and mustard and whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often to avoid scorching; the sauce will thicken when it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the cheeses and pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add the cauliflower and macaroni and mix well. Spread in the baking dish and sprinkle with the panko.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, then serve hot.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

(1 serving) 234 calories, 13 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat, 2 g fiber, 30 mg cholesterol, 88 mg sodium, 405 mg potassium. Food groups: 1 grain, 1 dairy, 1 vegetable.

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Traditional eggplant Parmesan is made with fried eggplant and loads of cheese, both of which can pile up the calories. Some cooks salt eggplant to draw out bitter juices, but this is unnecessary with modern varieties. This lightened-up recipe—high in fiber, rich in potassium—roasts the eggplant, uses just enough reduced-sodium mozzarella, and gets a blast of flavor from fresh basil. You can use store-bought low-sodium marinara sauce instead of the homemade, but the sodium numbers will go up.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Olive oil in a pump sprayer

2 (1¾-pound) eggplants, trimmed and cut crosswise into 24 (½-inch-thick) rounds

3 cups Marinara Sauce (see
here
)

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded low-sodium mozzarella

¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup packed chopped fresh basil, for serving

Position racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray the paper with oil.

Arrange the eggplant slices on the baking sheets (they can be crowded). Spray the tops of the slices with the oil. Roast until the eggplant is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Flip the slices over and cook until the eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more. Let cool until easy to handle.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with oil. Spread about ½ cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the eggplant slices (they can be crowded) and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Top with the remaining eggplant. Spread the remaining sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the Parmesan is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve the eggplant, topping each serving with a generous sprinkle of basil.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

(1 serving) 144 calories, 9 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 10 g fiber, 10 mg cholesterol, 165 mg sodium, 637 mg potassium. Food groups: 2 vegetables, 1 dairy.

Marinara Sauce

Pasta sauce is another item you can get in a low-sodium form, but homemade is so much tastier and is made without added chemicals. Although you won’t find carrots and celery in every marinara sauce recipe, I add them to mine to increase the vegetables and sweeten the sauce naturally. This is a great recipe to freeze in 2-cup containers and use as needed. If you wish, substitute dry vermouth for the balsamic vinegar.

MAKES 1 QUART

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2 medium celery ribs, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

¾ cup water

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning (
here
)

1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, water, vinegar, Italian Seasoning, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, uncover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lightly thickened, about 1 hour. Remove the bay leaf. (The sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

(1 serving: ½ cup) 59 calories, 1 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, 3 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 61 mg sodium, 125 mg potassium. Food groups: 2 vegetables.

Bell Peppers with Rice and Vegetable Stuffing

Here is a wonderful vegetarian version of one of the all-time great comfort foods, stuffed peppers. Be sure to allow a head start to simmer the brown rice. This is the vegetarian version, and I also provide a beef variation.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

⅓
cup brown rice

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more in a pump sprayer