Healthy Recipes
At the Vein Institute of NJ at The Cardiovascular Care Group, we not only talk about your vascular health, we eat about it, too!
And to encourage more healthy eating, we started a Healthy Recipes Contest where our staff submit their favorite healthy recipes that they want to share with you and their fellow co-workers.
Below are our collection of award-winning healthy recipes for you to enjoy. Bon Appetit!
Turkey Taquitos
See Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- 99% fat free Turkey meat
- ½ Red bell pepper
- 2 sticks of scallion
- 2-4 garlic cloves
- 2 ½ teaspoons Low sodium Old Del Paso Taco seasoning
- Mission Zero Net carb tortillas
- Mexican blend shredded cheese (low fat cheese if optional)
- 2-4 teaspoon mild chunky salsa
- Cholula hot sauce (optional)
Directions:
- Finely chop scallions and red bell pepper. Mince garlic cloves. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in medium skillet. Break up and cook turkey meat until meat is white. Add 2 ½ TSP of taco seasoning, scallions, red bell pepper and garlic. Mix well. Cover skillet and lower heat. Note* You can add salt to turkey meat but carefully! Since taco seasoning has added salt and lots of flavor.
- Place tortillas in separate skillet to heat up/toast them. Do not over-heat them since they become hard to bend and will break. Flip tortillas and add a pinch of Mexican blend cheese.; allow to melt. Note* While heating up tortillas, keep an eye on turkey meat. Mix every 5 minutes and cover again. Do this for about 15 minutes then remove from heat.
- Remove tortillas from skillet and bend them in “taco form” Note* You can put the tortillas in a small bowl side to side to keep them in place and in form.
- Add turkey meat to tortilla. Add 1 TSP of mild chunky salsa (or spicy)
** Add Cholula hot sauce if you like spicy tacos!
Summer Greek Orzo Salad
See Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8 ounce orzo pasta (1 1/4 cup dry)
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 lemon, juice and zest (about 2 tablespoon juice)
- 1/4 cup minced shallot or red onion
- 1/2 English cucumber (2 cup diced, or substitute a peeled standard cucumber)
- 2 roasted red peppers from a jar or 1/2 fresh red bell pepper ( 1/2 cup diced)
- 1/3 cup chopped dill, plus more for garnish
- 1/3 cup chopped mint
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, halved
- Black pepper
Directions:
- Place the chickpeas in a bowl with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Mince the red onion, then place it in a bowl with water (this helps to remove the sharp onion taste). Dice the cucumber. Dice the roasted red pepper. Chop the herbs.
- Stir together the orzo, chickpeas and bowl of lemon juice, red onion, cucumber, red pepper, dill, mint, white wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, oregano, feta crumbles, black olives, and several grinds of black pepper. Taste and if necessary, season with more kosher salt.
- Add your favorite grilled chicken or grilled shrimp recipe if you like.
Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
See Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 lb. (16-24) shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- ¼ cup white wine or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)
- 3 medium zucchini, cut into noodles
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
Directions:
- Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat until frothing, add the shrimp, cook for 2 minutes, flip, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute before setting the shrimp aside.
- Add the white wine and lemon juice to the pan, deglaze it, simmer for 2 minutes, add the zucchini noodles and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes, before seasoning with salt and pepper, adding the shrimp, lemon zest and parsley, tossing everything and removing from the heat.
- Enjoy immediately!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
See Recipe
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Total Time: 11 minutes
Yield: 11 - 14 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white, oat, or spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sugar, unrefined if desired
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp milk of choice, plus more if needed
- 2 tbsp oil or melted vegan butter
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, then stir in wet to form a dough – it will be dry at first, so keep stirring until a cookie-dough texture is achieved. If needed, add 1-2 tbsp extra milk of choice.
- Form into one big ball, then either refrigerate at least 2 hours or freeze until the dough is cold.
- Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 325 F.
- Form dough balls, and place on a greased baking tray, leaving enough room between cookies for them to spread.
- Bake 11 minutes on the center rack. They’ll look underdone when you take them out. Let them cool on the baking tray 10 minutes before touching, during which time they will firm up. If for whatever reason the cookies don't spread enough (climate can play a huge role), just press down with a spoon after baking.
- You can also choose to make extra cookie dough balls and freeze them to bake at a later date. I can only vouch for the flours listed, but feel free to experiment!
Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad with Peaches
See Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1lb Skirt Steak, fat trimmed
- 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
- 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground black Pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of one large lemon
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 2 ripe peaches thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese
Directions:
- In a large resealable plastic bag or baking dish, combine steak, vinegar, garlic and brown sugar. Marinate 20min at room temperature
- Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Remove steak from marinade, coat with vegetable oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Grill until desired doneness, 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 5-10 min then slice against the grain.
- Make dressing. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper
- Arrange salad to your liking. In a large serving bowl, add arugula, peaches, blue cheese or feta, and steak. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss.
Aunt Kitty’s Cottage Cheese Pancakes
See Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Cottage Cheese
- 4 Eggs
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Flour
* Can substitute another flour such as coconut flour or almond flour
Additional Add-ons:
- Apples
- Berries
- Cinnamon
- Chia seeds
- Nuts (walnuts, pecans)
- Flax seeds
Directions:
- Mix cottage cheese, eggs, salt, and flour together in a small bowl. Let mixture "rest" in the refrigerator for 1 hour (overnight is fine, too)
- Heat a non-stick griddle to 350 degrees or use a frying pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking oil. Note, the frying pan will be ready when a drop of water sizzles and "dances" across the surface
- Spoon pancake batter in a pan or on a griddle and fry until the bubbles on the surface of the pancake remain open. (You can check to see if the bottom of side is done by lifting the edge with a spatula.)
- When the bottom side is a nice golden color, flip the pancake over and cook until the bottom color matches the top
- Place the finished pancakes on a plate, sprinkle with sweetener over the tops, and add fruit or other healthy toppings of your choice
