Tag Archives: skinny taste

Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley

Black beans, sweet mango, and lots of colorful vegetables make a delicious zesty salad that has wonderful texture, color and flavor. Serve this as a side dish at a potluck or enjoy this as a meatless main course with some corn tortillas (perfect for Meatless Mondays!!) Leftovers are perfect for lunch on the go as the flavors only get better the next day.

Packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, folate, iron and lutein so it’s not just tasty, it’s good for you.

This recipe is from The Plant-Powered Diet by Sharon Palmer, RD. If you are interested in adding more vegetables and plant-based foods to your diet, this is the book for you.

Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 164 • Fat: 4 g • Protein: 6 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 7 g • Sugar: 11.6 g
Sodium: 93 mg

Ingredients:

15-ounce can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked quinoa (according to package directions)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh mango
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
juice from 1 medium lemon or lime
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Directions:

Mix together the beans, quinoa, corn, bell pepper, mango, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño in a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and turmeric in a small bowl.

Drizzle over the mixture and toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Strands of roasted spaghetti squash are layered with marinara sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, then baked in the oven until the cheese is melted and all the flavors bake together. Naturally gluten-free and vegetarian.

A wonderful way to prepare spaghetti squash, a winter squash that resembles strands of spaghetti when cooked. The flavor is nothing like pasta, but it has a mild taste that is wonderful with sauces you would normally eat over pasta. Technically this is not a lasagna since there is no pasta in this dish, but layered just as you would a lasagna in individual sized oven safe casseroles which are perfect for portion control. If you don’t have personal sized casseroles, you can make one larger one in an 8 x 8 baking dish.

This recipe calls for cooked spaghetti squash. I prefer to roast spaghetti squash, which is really simple to do, you can do this the day before and store the squash in the refrigerator or you can make it in the microwave if you need it quick. Once cooked, simply use a fork to separate the strands. I always have a jar of my quick marinara sauce on hand, which comes in handy to whip up quick weeknight meals.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 lasagna • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 291.0 • Fat: 13.7 g • Protein: 19.6 g • Carb: 21.0 g • Fiber: 2.7 g
Sodium: 358.3 mg

Ingredients:

2 cups marinara sauce
3 cups cooked roasted spaghetti squash
1 cup part skim ricotta
8 tsp parmesan cheese
6 oz part skim shredded mozzarella (I used Sargento)

Directions:

See instructions on how to roasted spaghetti squash here.

Preheat oven to 375°.

In four individual 5 x 7-inch oven safe baking dishes, ladle 1/4 cup quick marinara sauce on the bottom of each dish. Top each with 3/4 cup of cooked spaghetti squash and spread evenly. Top each with 1/4 cup ricotta.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of grated parmesan cheese and .75 oz mozzarella on each. Add the remaining sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges begin to bubble; uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes.