Non Starchy Vegetables – Low in Calories – The Answer to Losing Weight

A spring time commitment to losing some winter pounds can be done by limiting your starchy vegetables.   We have many carbohydrates which increase our blood sugar and some of these are potatoes, corn, peas.  Portion control is important when it comes to the starchy potatoes and corn which we all love. Limit to a 1/2 an ear of corn, 1/2 cup of potato  salad and eat non starchy vegetables as 1/2 plate serving.  There is a secret in the nutrition world- there are a lot of vegetables out there that are low in calorie and low in Glycemic Index. They are the greens, radishes, butternut squash, eggplant and zucchini to name a few.   High in Vitamin A and low in calories with less starch chain molecules! And yes mushrooms-

Here is a Portobello Mushroom stuffed with provolone cheese, basil, quinoa and a light bread crumb topping. Great for a side dish or appetizer.

• 2 Portobello mushrooms
• 2 slices of provolone cheese
• 3 leaves of basil torn
• 1/2 cup quinoa cooked according to directions
• 2 teaspoons of breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• chopped shallot
• salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and loosen the stem and remove. Chop the stem and sauté with a chopped shallot, mix with cooked quinoa,  julienned provolone cheese and torn basil and stuff the mushrooms. Cover with bread crumbs and lightly splash olive oil over the prepared mushrooms. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Supermarkets are catching up to the organic movement with great greens and vegetables.  Arugala  as featured, is a springtime green now found in Walmart  in the organic section.