How can i adapt this stuffed pepper recipe to make it more healthy?!
How can i adapt this stuffed pepper recipe to make it more healthy?
As the topic for my food technology project I have chosen to do healthy vegetarian savoury products. For one of my products I have chosen to make stuffed peppers and found a recipe which uses the following ingredients:
- 3 red peppers
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 courgette
- 1 red onion
- 75g bread crumbs (bread in the food processor)
- 2 tsb mixed herbs
- 125g mozzarella
- grated parmesan
- olive oil
To get the high marks I have to show that I have adapted the recipe to fit my criteria better, I haven't had a problem doing my other products but I can't think of a way to make this one healthier though, any suggestions? I was thinking one thing I could do is make the breadcrumbs from wholemeal bread instead of white...would this still taste/look ok? Additional Details
1 day ago
I am doing vegetarians, not vegans. So I can use dairy products like cheese & eggs. Just not any meat or fish products.
Answers: 1 day ago
I am doing vegetarians, not vegans. So I can use dairy products like cheese & eggs. Just not any meat or fish products. Other breadcrumb alternatives are couscous, barley, or beans. One problem with vegetarian diets is including enough protein. This does not have a lot of protein in the dish, so I would look for protein including alternatives such as the beans. Or you could use Grape Nuts or a similar type cereal which would give a good texture and make it more filling. The olive oil is good; you could use grapeseed or flax oil for helping to reduce cholesterol more.
You could use reduced fat cheese or another type - generally the hardness of the cheese is related to the fat content. You have not said which type of vegetarian diet you are targeting - different groups will not eat cheese or egg products.
Look at the vegetables and you will see they are similar in color - which often means similar nutrients. Try adding spinach, some portabello mushrooms, or other colors, to increase the variety of nutrients. yt forget the bread crumbs and only use 1/2 the cheese. and/or substitute brown rice or green lentils for the bread crumbs. use lowfat mozzarella and whole grain bread crumbs. About the only idea besides the whole-grain bread is making do with less mozzarella, parmesan, and olive oil. A certain amount is required for taste and texture, of course, so it would take some experimenting to determine how low you can go without it suffering too much.
You can also substitute part-skim mozzarella for regular, and fat-free parmesan. Take away oil, use no-stick spray (sparingly) instead to coat the pan. Bread crumbs are used to bind things together... I wonder if egg whites would do the trick instead. Or I agree with you; better bread crumbs. And yes, less cheese. Or no cheese, the recipe sounds really good as is. Low fat cheese. Whole wheat bread crumbs. Other than that it's pretty healthy, it doesn't have any meat in it so there is no animal fat involved. Replace bread crumbs w/ scrambled egg whites & sprinkle only a small amount of cheese on top. You could use a low carb Bread, then dehydrate that bread and turn it into bread crumbs. Also try using a reduced fat mozzarella. Again uses Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil. and Go reduced fat for the Parmesan cheese. Otherwise you are goo to go with your recipe. P.S. the best way to dehydrate bread is 10 sec in the microwave. Use cooked rice instead of the bread, skip the cheese and use sliced tomato as a cap, or a mushroom That's quite healthy already. Use whole wheat breadcrumbs. It will taste just as good, and have a much higher nutritional content. White bread converts only to sugar in the body. Avoid it whenever possible. Good luck. A good stuffed pepper recipe my sister got from Bulgaria is easy, and healthy!
4 bell peppers
-2 cans stewed tomatoes (can use with the ones with garlic and spices if you want)
-1 1/2 cups instant rice, uncooked (I use brown rice)
-Dice up really small or put in food processor carrots, celery, onions to make about 1 cup of vegetable pieces
1/2 tsp paprika to taste
1/2 tsp savory
Salt to taste
Mix all in a sauce pan until rice has absorbed alot of the fluid. Cut the tops off the peppers and clean them out. Fill the peppers with the rice mixture. Place them in a pot standing up with about 1/2 inch water in the bottom. Cook on medium with water boiling. Cover so it will steam. Cook about 1/2 hr. Yum!