Broccoli
I love broccoli. I eat broccoli in some form almost every day, even if it’s just raw with a nice sharp piece of cheese as a snack after work to hold me over until dinner. Lucky for me it’s one of the healthiest foods around: one stalk of broccoli gives you 220% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C; it is full of vitamins and minerals; it’s high in fiber, low in fat and calories; and high in calcium and potassium which help with cardiac and skeletal muscle function. AND, some researchers believe that a cup of broccoli a day is enough to help ward off certain breast tumors.

Sambal Oelek
Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian chili paste, very spicy and absolutely delicious (I wrote about it in more detail in my Pasta with Carrot Sauce post). If you don’t like hot food, certainly omit that from the recipe. If you want to try it and live in the Boston area, you can find it at Christina’s Spice Shop in Inman Square (1255 Cambridge Street, Cambridge).

You’ll need (for 1 person)
1 pita bread (any size you want)
Pasta or pizza sauce
Broccoli
Black pepper
Cheese (whichever kind you like, I use low fat cheddar)
Sambal Oelek (optional)
Non-stick aluminum foil for baking sheet

1. Start by cutting up broccoli in smaller pieces. The size is not very important; I like pretty big pieces, but you can just sprinkle on a little bit of the florets if you like.

2. Place your pita bread on a baking sheet lined with foil (I always use non-stick). Spread pasta or pizza sauce on the bread, as much or as little as you like. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Add the broccoli in an even layer and place the pizza in the toaster oven (middle rack). Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (times might vary slightly from oven to oven).

3. When the 10 minutes are up, take the baking sheet out of the oven, add the cheese (grated or sliced, as much or as little as you want) and put it back in the oven.

4. Broil until cheese is melted and is starting to change color.

5. Take it out, put on a plate and enjoy! I like to eat it with a tiny bit of Sambal Oelek with each bite, but if you don’t like your food hot, skip that.

Vegan version: Replace the cheese with vegan cheese.

Related posts:

1. Pasta With Carrot Sauce – An Inexpensive And Easy Recipe
2. Tortilla Rollups – The Perfect Weeknight Dinner

Beans provide low-fat protein, fiber, vitamin B, potassium, magnesium, folate, iron and phytonutrients. As I mentioned in my Carrot sauce recipe, we use canned beans from Eden Organics, because they claim that their cans do not contain BPA. It would probably be even healthier to cook dried beans, but we don’t.

The tomato (and salsa) bring lycopene (a powerful antioxidant), fiber, potassium, vitamin B and C, lutein, and other good stuff.

Avocados contain cholesterol-lowering oleic acid, vitamin B6, C and K, potassium, folate, and fiber.

As for the Tortillas, we love the Ezekiel 4:9 by Food for Life (we get ours at Whole Foods). They are flourless, organic, and contain only sprouted whole grains (and some water and sea salt) which create a complete protein (they also contain 18 amino acids). They are super delicious with a nutty flavor and when they crisp up, they’re even yummier.

You will need (for 2 people)
2 Tortillas
1 can of black beans (or any other bean you like)
1 tomato
Salsa (I like to use Amy’s Spicy Chipotle)
1-2 Avocados
½ Lime
Salt to taste
Cheese (any kind you want, we like Monterey Jack)

1. Rinse the beans and put them in a pot on low heat, just to warm them a little bit. Turn the heat off once they seems warm enough, if you leave them on for too long they’ll burn and get mushy.

2. Cut the tomato in smaller pieces and the avocado in slices. Squeeze a little bit of lime over the cut avocado and sprinkle with salt. Open the salsa and put all these ingredients in a little assembly line.

3. Heat a cast iron skillet until it’s scorching hot and place your first tortilla in it (we use them straight from the freezer, not thawed). Add the cheese immediately. Leave over high heat until cheese is starting to melt. You don’t want to leave it in for too long though, because the tortilla will get too crispy to fold.

4. Put the tortilla on a plate, add some warm beans and take it over to the assembly line where you put in whatever and as much as you want of the prepared ingredients. Roll up and enjoy.

This dish tends to be quite messy, and we usually put a piece of aluminum foil around the base of the folded tortilla to avoid the worst accidents.

Vegan version: Omit the cheese, or replace with a vegan kind.

Related posts:

1. Pasta With Carrot Sauce – An Inexpensive And Easy Recipe