Easy and Slimming Dinner Winners! Plant-Based Delights to Nourish Your Body and Shrink Your Waistline

Gone are the days of eating tiny portions of food and suffering through hunger pangs all day in order to lose weight. Now, experts are encouraging people to fill their plates with the foods that offer the most bang for their buck, or those that will satisfy you for minimal calories.

In other words, plants. “The foods that are lowest in calorie density are also the foods that are highest in nutrition, water, fiber and bulk, because they haven’t been dehydrated, combined with preservatives or processed,” explains Kiki Nelson, who lost 70 pounds on a plant-based diet. Her new cookbook, Plantifully Simple, delivers filling and delicious meals that are packed with those foods. Try one tonight!

Hawaiian Street Cart Tacos

(Serves 2)

8 oz. portobello mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
1⁄4 tsp. garlic salt
2 tbsp. sweet barbecue sauce
4 (6″) corn tortillas
1⁄2 cup diced canned or fresh pineapple
1⁄4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 scallion, sliced
Lime, for serving

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high. Add mushrooms and garlic salt; cook 7 min. In a bowl, toss with barbecue sauce.
2. Spray pan with cooking spray. Warm tortillas over medium 1 to 2 min. per side.
3. Divide mushroom filling among tortillas. Top with pineapple, bell pepper and scallion. Add a squeeze of lime, drizzle with Smokehouse Ranch* and serve.

*For ranch: In a blender, blend 1 cup almond milk, 3⁄4 cup raw cashews, 1 tbsp. white vinegar, 1 tbsp. ketchup, 1⁄2 tsp. smoked paprika, 1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder, 1⁄8 tsp. onion powder, 1⁄8 tsp. chipotle powder and 3 drops stevia. Fold in 1 tbsp. each dried chives and dried parsley.

PER SERVING: 327 cal, 19g protein, 52g carbs, 9g fiber, 17g sugar, 9g fat.

Apple Chickpea Salad Sandwich

(Serves 4)

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1⁄2 cup plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt
1⁄2 cup diced Fuji apple
1⁄3 cup finely diced celery
1⁄3 cup finely diced red onion
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1⁄2 tsp. garlic salt
3 drops of stevia or monk fruit sweetener
Pepper, to taste
8 slices sprouted whole-grain bread
8 romaine lettuce leaves
1 cup sprouts

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, use a fork or potato masher to mash the chickpeas. (They’ll be a little chunky, and that’s OK!) Add the yogurt, apple, celery, onion, lemon juice, garlic salt, stevia or monk fruit, and a few twists of black pepper. Mix well to combine.
2. Top 4 slices of the bread with about 1⁄2 cup of the chickpea filling each. Add 2 lettuce leaves to each sandwich, followed by about 1⁄4 cup of the sprouts. Top each sandwich with the second slice of bread and serve.

PER SERVING: 301 cal, 13g protein, 54g carbs, 10g fiber, 8g sugar, 4g fat.

Cilantro-Lime Stuffed Peppers

(Serves 3)

3 large bell peppers
1 cup cooked rice
1⁄4 cup black beans, drained
1⁄4 cup fresh or canned corn
3 tbsp. salsa
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. lime juice
Garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice off tops of bell peppers and discard ribs and seeds.
2. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Season with garlic salt. Divide filling among peppers; roast on baking sheet 25 min.
3. Top peppers with Poblano Cheese Sauce* and enjoy.

*For sauce: Roast 1 poblano pepper on a baking sheet at 425°F 20 min. Place in a zip-top bag 10 min., then cool and remove skin and seeds. In a pot, cover 1 1⁄2 cups peeled and diced russet potatoes with water; bring to a boil, then simmer 15 min. Reserve 1 cup water and drain. In a blender, blend pepper, potatoes, cooking water, 1⁄4 cup raw cashews, 1 tsp. each lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and 1⁄2 tsp. onion powder.

PER SERVING: 245 cal, 8g protein, 44g carbs, 6g fiber, 10g sugar, 6g fat.