Vegetarian slow cooker ratatouille

Get this recipe courtesy of Grace Derocha from BCBSM. It is a heart healthy, reduced sodium, slow cooker ratatouille. It is easy to make and a perfect vegetarian dish for the whole family.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups cubed, peeled (if desired) eggplant
½ cup coarsely chopped yellow summer squash or zucchini
1/2 cup coarsely chopped tomato
½ of an 8 ounce can of no-salt-added tomato sauce
1/3 cup coarsely chopped red or green sweet pepper
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
In a smaller slow cooker, combine eggplant, squash, chopped tomato, tomato sauce, sweet pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4-1/2 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. If no heat setting is available, cook for 4 to 4-1/2 hours.

Makes 2 servings - each serving is about 1.5 cups. Nutrition facts, per serving: 63.9 calories, 0.4 grams total fat, 0 cholesterol, 314 mg of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 4.3 grams of fiber, 2.8 grams of protein.

Fluffy quinoa

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1.5  cups water

First, rinse and drain the quinoa 1-3 times, until the rinsing water is no longer murky. Then, bring your water to a boil. The ratio of quinoa to water should be 1 to 1.5 to give you properly cooked quinoa. The 1 cup of quinoa will expand to make about 2 cups. Once the water is boiling, put in your quinoa. Bring water and quinoa to a boil, then put a lid on the pot and decrease heat to a simmer. Let it simmer (without taking off the lid) for about 12-15 minutes. After that time frame, turn off the heat, keep the lid on and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then take off the lid, which will release a lot of steam, so be careful. Voila! Delicious and fluffy quinoa to serve with your ratatouille.

Makes about 4 servings - 1 serving = 1/2 cup cooked quinoa. Nutrition facts per serving: 111 calories, 1.8 grams of total fat, 0 cholesterol, 6 mg of sodium, 19.7 grams of total carbohydrates, 2.6 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of protein.