The Wonder that is Vegetables!

So the past few weeks, regular, run of the mill salads have bored me almost to tears! (Literally, food is so important to me, that when there is nothing good to eat? Well let's just say I'm upset)

So, I have been thinking, what can I do with vegetables, rice, etc. but make it exciting and different than normal

So! A couple of nights ago, I decided to try a meal that is popular in my family, Stuffed Peppers. Now, this meal usually consists of a LOT

of oil, which I try to avoid since I value my arteries and heart, and a heavy Tomato sauce which I

would be allergic to. So if I wanted to create me own idea I had to start off by knowing that I didn't want tons of oil and NO tomatoes. Here we go!

It was sinfully easy and delicious, not to mention worthy of a magazine if I say so myself :)

Lee's (Healthier) Stuffed Yellow Bell Pepper:

1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper

Brown Rice - Cook per packa

ge instructions

1/2 Butternut Squash

4 Large Cloves of Garlic

1 Large Onion

Dried -Basil, Paprika(sweet)Chili Flakes, salt and pepper (or whatever spices you like)

Cook the rice according to package directions; in the meantime, stir-fry all the vegetables that are going to go into the rice.

Once the rice is cooked, add it to the pan with the cooked veggies

Place the yellow pepper on a oven pan, greased lightly with Olive Oil; you can choose to cut the top of the pepper and stuff it that way, but

I cut it length wise because I am using a tiny toaster oven and it wouldn't fit otherwise! :)

Fill the pepper with as much filling as possible, et Voila!

Put the pepper in the oven at about 150 degrees celsius until the pepper is soft and the contents is hot - the time it takes to cook the pepper can be to your taste also, depending on how soft you want your pepper!

It was so delicious, not saucy mind you - but that didn't bother me; and a comfort food that you can

Definitely feel good about eating.

Today, it's SO hot in Tel Aviv this week, like about 30 degrees everyday! Crazy, its only March! Oy. Anyhow, this weather makes me crave delicious salads that are fresh and refreshing. Due to my feelings of monotony in terms of the salads I've been making lately however, I decided to mix it up, and did I ever!!

Asparagus, Olive, Yellow Tomato Salad:

A Handful of Baby Asparagus Stalks

Handful of Yellow Cherry tomatoes - feel free to add red instead, if you prefer them or can't find the yellow ones, the yellow ones are the only tomatoes I'm not allergic too, strange I know

Half a small white Onion

Three Large Green olives

Three Large greek/kalamata Olives

Half a Pear

Fresh, torn Arugula leaves

Fresh, torn Basil leaves

Olive oil

Fresh Lemon Juice

S & P to taste

-I started by blanching (cooking very quickly in hot water) the Asparagus just to soften them up a bit, and brighten their Beauti

ful green colour

- I cut all the other ingredients up, added the warm asparagus

- I just squeezed the lemon right onto the salad and added the oil and salt and pepper directly on - if you are a Salad Dressing Buff, feel free to class up the dressing; the lemon juice really works to compliment the soft, sweetness of the asparagus and the tomatoes, I wouldn't use a heavy vinegar like Balsamic - an Apple cider vinegar might be nice! :)

- I placed the pear slices on top, and for some extra protein added two slices of smoked Salmon, Yum!!

And there we go! Two new ways of making veggies fun, healthy and GORGEOUS!

Oh and helpful hint? Don't throw away the water your cooked the Asparagus in! I know it looks kind of gross, and you might be inclined to, but something that I learned from my grandmother, is to save this water and use it as a base for a delicious, healthy asparagus soup later in the day!!

Enjoy!