Vitamin, I "C" You!

Hello! Long time, no type. My first semester of summer classes in nutrition are complete and I have learned a lot! Fall semester has already started, but with the Democratic National Convention in town, I have had a bit of a breather. And therefore, time to blog again! Yay! I have some great recipes to share.

First of which is this recipe for Greek Stuffed Peppers out my favorite cookbook. Such a wonderful meal-in-one that you can add to a delicious side of fruit salad or a glass of wine. Plus, I like to use ground buffalo to up the flavor and reduce the fat.

So what is so great about this recipe? The Vitamin C! Red peppers are chock full of the immune boosting vitamin. One red pepper gives you 100% of your daily value. It is also an anti-oxidant, improves iron absorption, and lowers your cancer risk. There is no reason not to snap one of these beautiful orbs into your mouth. Skip the orange juice when you are skip - grab a red bell pepper!




Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers
(adapted from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave")
1 pound lean ground beef (I use ground buffalo)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup bulghur
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cores and ribs removed (Ellie's recipe only calls for 3, but I find that 4 works better)
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium stewed tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulghur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9 by 13-inch and a square baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.

Yield
8 Servings (1 pepper)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 210
FAT 6g (Sat. 2.5g)
SODIUM 400 mg
CARBOHYDRATES 19g
FIBER 6g
PROTEIN 21g