97 Days of Clean Eating Day 61

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons natural nut butter, such as almond, cashew or peanut
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch of salt
• 1 whole-wheat bagel, split and toasted
• 1 small banana, sliced

Preparation

1. Stir together nut butter, honey and salt in a small bowl. Divide the mixture between bagel halves and top with banana slices.

Ingredients

• 3 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/16 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces bagged baby spinach (2 cups lightly packed)
• 1/3 cup basil leaves

  Preparation

  
  

  1. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium.

  2. Discard the outermost slices of zucchini; brush the rest with oil on both sides. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 4 minutes per side. You can prepare the zucchini a day ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

  3. In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, parsley, and lemon juice, mashing together with a fork.

  4. Put 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese mixture about 1/2 inch from the end of a zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves and a small (or half of a large) basil leaf. Roll up and place seam side down on a platter. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices. You can make these up to a day in advance; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients: 

4 oz. rigatoni

½ cup red quinoa

7 oz. low-sodium vegetable broth

1 ½ tsp. olive oil

¾ cup chopped onion

9 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 ½ cups cooked white beans, or 1 15-oz. can white beans, rinsed, drained, and thoroughly patted dry

½ cup steamed broccoli

¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. finely shredded green cabbage

3 Tbs. finely chopped red bell pepper

2 Tbs. Tomato Sauce

6 kalamata olives, sliced

2 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

2 Tbs. canola oil for oiling patties and grill topper

Instructions: 

1. Cook rigatoni in large pot of boiling salted water 19 minutes, or until very soft. Drain, measure out 1 1/2 cups very tightly packed rigatoni, and set aside.2. Bring quinoa and broth to a boil in saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 13 minutes, or until slightly undercooked; some of the white germ will have opened, but much of the quinoa will still have a slight bite. Drain, and set aside.3. Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 1 minute. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Set aside.4. Process rigatoni and white beans in food processor 1 minute, or until smooth and paste-like (it’s OK if there are a few small bits of pasta still intact). Transfer mixture to large bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, tomato sauce, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and onion-garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Mash to combine. Form 6 1/2-cup-sized patties. Brush tops of each patty with canola oil.5. Heat grill to high heat. Brush grill topper with canola oil. Place each patty oiled-side down on grill topper. Set grill topper on grill, close grill cover, and cook 6 to 7 minutes. Brush each patty again with oil, and carefully flip. Close grill, and grill 3 to 4 minutes more.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp 
+ ½ tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 1/3 cups 
peeled, seeded and finely chopped butternut squash (¼-inch pieces)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tbsp organic unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp white whole-wheat flour
• 1½ cups 
low-sodium chicken broth
• 6 
whole-grain 
lasagna noodles
• 5 cups 
chopped kale, thick stems removed (about ½ bunch)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup 
blanched unsalted almonds or walnuts
• 1/2 tsp ground black 
 pepper, divided
• 1/4 cup 
grated Parmesan 
cheese, divided
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mist a rimmed baking sheet and an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium and brush with ½ tsp oil. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, 2 minutes. Add squash, ¼ tsp salt and nutmeg and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add orange juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until squash is tender but still holds its shape, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan on medium, melt butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low until sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Using tongs, transfer noodles to prepared sheet, separating gently. Cut each noodle in half crosswise to yield 12 pieces. Set aside.
5. In same pot of boiling water, cook kale until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain. In a food processor, pulse garlic until finely chopped. Add almonds, pepper, kale and remaining 1 tbsp oil and ¼ tsp salt; process until a paste forms. Stir in 1 tbsp Parmesan. Set pesto aside.
6. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg and 2 tbsp Parmesan.
7. Spread 3 tbsp sauce on bottom of baking dish and cover bottom with 4 noodle pieces. Spread with half of ricotta, one-third of pesto then half of squash mixture. Top with 4 noodle pieces then with half of remaining sauce. Repeat with remaining half of ricotta, half of remaining pesto and 4 noodle pieces, and spread remaining sauce on top. Add remaining squash and dollop with remaining pesto. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake until cheese is melted and filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes.