Cilantro Inspired Dinner

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs to have on hand, however when I buy it at the store it is almost impossible to use it all before it goes bad. (I guess I need to start growing an herb garden.) I had a lot of cilantro left over from making pad thai, so yesterday I was determined to use it all up and I made a delicious and nutritious cilantro filled dinner.

Appetizer: Faux Guacamole

I read a recipe a while ago about making a hummus type dip but using edamame and tofu in place of the chickpeas. I thought that sounded really delicious and have thought about how you could do so many variations. I decided to make a faux guacamole type dip with this base recipe. I know avacados are good for you, however they are so high in fat. This faux guacamole is filled with soy(edamame and tofu), cilantro, and garlic and is so delicious you won't miss the real thing!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Shelled Edamame

1 Cup Silken Tofu

2-4 Garlic Cloves (roughly chopped)

5 Green Onions (roughly chopped)

1/2 Cup Cilantro

Juice from 1-2 Limes

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Chili Garlic Sauce

Prepare edamame according to package instructions (boil 5 min). Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Begin blending until the consistency of guacamole or hummus. Add a few tbsp of water if necessary to achieve the right consistency. Serve with veggies, or chips for dipping!

Makes 12 1/4 cup servings

Cal: 58; Fat: 3g; Carb: 3g; Fiber: 2g; Prot: 4g

Main Course: Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

4- 4oz Pieces of Chicken Breast

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Juice from 2 limes

Large handful of Cilantro

2 Cloves Garlic

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend well adding a few tbsp of water if needed. Pour mixture over chicken breast and marinade for 2 hrs. Grill chicken 3-4 min on each side.

(This marinade keeps the chicken juicy and infuses so much flavor!)

Side Dish: Tomato, Garlic and Onion Stuffed Peppers

I have no idea how this idea came to me, but I'm glad it did. These stuffed pepper sides are filled with flavor, and can be dressed like a baked potato without all of the carbs!

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers (any color)

1/2 Small Onion (any color)

3 Roma Tomatoes

2-3 Garlic Cloves (thinly sliced)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Reduced fat cheese

For Garnish: Light Sour cream, faux guacamole, cilantro, chives or green onion

Preheat oven to 375. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds, but keep the stem (because it looks pretty:)

Stuff each pepper with slices of onion, tomato, and garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the peppers and grind some black pepper over each.

Roast peppers for 30 minutes. Top each pepper with a little bit of reduced fat cheese and continue roasting until the cheese is melted. Garnish as desired with light sour cream, cilantro, green onion and faux guacamole.

These were literally melt in your mouth good!

*This entire dinner was around 350 calories, 8 fat grams, 20 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of fiber!