Mediterranean Stir Fry

Today I couldn’t get inspired to make something new or different so I cooked from what I had on hand. This Mediterranean inspired stir-fry was what came out of my head tonight.

The dish started with smoked paprika because it is one of my favorites. I will use smoked paprika in almost everything (my husband can attest to this). Since smoked paprika is Spanish I decided to stay with a Mediterranean theme. Chickpeas and the seitan sausage were added for protein. The vegetables (eggplant, tomatoes, and onion) were used because they were here. I included the rosemary and parsley for their cancer fighting properties. Rosemary’s woody fragrance comes from the fatty acids of terpene in the plant, which encourages the cancer cells in tumors to stop reproducing. Parsley contains apigenine, a natural oil that has been shown to prevent angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels to the tumor). The apigenine from parsley acts similarly to the prescription drugs Avastin and Sutent.

This dinner is quick and tasty, my favorite type of dinner to make.

Mediterranean Stir Fry
Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of canola oil
1 red onion, minced
1 globe eggplant, cut into bite size pieces
1 large red tomato, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large green tomato, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Mexican spiced seitan sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
½ cup of chickpeas, cooked
1 cup of short grain brown rice, cooked (I used yellow rice)
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, chopped
¼ cup of fresh parsley, chopped
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a large skillet with the canola oil and add the onion, eggplant, tomatoes, and sausage and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the parsley and cook until everything is heated through (about 5 minutes on low heat). If the pan gets dry add a little water or dry white wine.

When you are ready to serve add the fresh parsley and stir to evenly distribute throughout the pan. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust before serving. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 475.64
Calories From Fat (13%) - 63.66

Total Fat - 7.41g
Saturated Fat - 0.62g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 331.61mg
Potassium - 1108.16mg
Total Carbohydrates - 85.89g
Fiber - 17.78g
Sugar - 11.25g
Protein - 26.05g

Comments:

This was a nice quick dinner. I had it on the table 15 or 20 minutes after I started and that included time to chop the vegetables. This meal was very filling probably due to the fiber and protein. Even though this wasn't a "planned meal" I was quite happy with how it turned out.