Olea Nutrition

Simple. Nutritious. Delicious. Easy

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Zucchini asparagus dill and feta quiche 

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What do you make when you have one little zucchini, a couple stalks of asparagus and a few sprigs of dill? Well, not much at first. But with a few eggs, a splash of milk and a bit of cheese you have the makings of a great looking quiche!

Olea Nutrition | zucchini dill asparagus quiche  

I happened to have a frozen pie crust in my freezer or else this would have turned into a frittata. Yes, a frittata is literally a quiche with no crust, so if you’re looking for a low carb version of this (although I don’t know why you would), just omit the crust and you have a tasty frittata!

Now, quiche is one of those dishes that I feel most people think that it is a dish reserved for tiny cute French bistros but it is so easy! Providing you use my pie crust cheat of course.

Onwards!

Olea Nutrition | zucchini dill asparagus quiche
So I needed to use up a couple leftover veggies before they headed to the compost so seeing as though quiche/frittata is one of the best “pantry” dishes, where you can literally throw whatever your crisper contains and it will be amazing, I thought, yes, quiche! With a little dill, a little feta (always makes it betta 🤣), should be a solid dish!

First, chop up your veg and sauté to take the rawness out and set aside.

Olea Nutrition | zucchini dill asparagus quiche
In a separate bowl, whisk up 3 eggs and 1 cup milk. Shred 1 cup of cheddar cheese (I also added 1/4 cup feta on top). Take out your pie crust from the freezer to thaw a touch. Sprinkle half your cheese in the bottom of pie crust and add cooked veggies on top of cheese.

Olea Nutrition | zucchini dill asparagus quiche
Sprinkle the rest of your cheese on top and pour egg/milk mixture into pie crust.

Olea Nutrition | zucchini dill asparagus quiche
Place quiche on a baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 425F for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350F and cook for another 30-35 minutes until egg mixture is set. You can test doneness by poking a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean it’s all done!


The beauty of this recipe is that you can keep the egg/milk/cheese mixture the same and change up the veggies for anything! I’ve done wild mushroom, turkey bacon and Swiss; for a Mediterranean flava, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives and feta or this beauty with zucchini and asparagus. Experiment with whatever you have!

ENJOY!

Greek bulgur stuffed vegetables. Delicious and easy!

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Greek bulgur stuffed vegetables.

Greek bulgur stuffed vegetables | Olea Nutrition
It’s something I crave every summer when the temperature is hot, the sun is out late into the evening and the vegetables are plentiful. Plus it takes me back to Greece. It’s definitely a nostalgic dish for me.

My little guy loves it because it is filled with his favourite; tomatoes and rice, but when you add in bulgur or quinoa or other whole grains, they get added nutrition but with a familiar food. Moms are experts at hiding nutrition in foods aren’t we!?

This dish is great because it’s super satisfying, nutrient dense of course and looks like a fancy dish but it really is easier than it looks!

My Theia Kiki taught me some tricks to bring the flavours of the vegetables out even more, specifically the tomatoes and peppers…sprinkle a dash of sugar in the hollow tomato and a dash of salt in the peppers. Whether it does enhance them or not is up to you but all I know is “don’t mess with the original recipe!”. ☺️

Now, this recipe is intended to be modifiable, meaning, the veggies can be whatever you have or whatever looks good at the market; tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, but it has to be something that can be hollowed out and stuffed. Also, the grain can be what you have on hand also; rice, quinoa, bulgur, lentils, basmati rice, brown rice, freekeh, wheat berries, etc, etc.  This is where I DO mess with the recipe! The idea is to make it and make it often but to change it up so to keep it interesting!

I serve my stuffed veggies with a side salad and feta because yes, I eat feta with everything. Tzatziki on the side is also delish!

Greek bulgur stuffed vegetables | Olea Nutrition

 

Greek bulgur stuffed vegetables
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • ½ lb, ground beef (sub out beef for 1 cup chickpeas or 1 cup cooked lentils for veg option)
  • ½ cup bulgur wheat, coarse
  • ½ cup brown rice
  • 2 cup water
  • 2 cup tomato puree
  • 3 lbs assorted vegetables,tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini or peppers
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in dutch oven or large saute pan.
  2. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until translucent and fragrant.
  3. Add ground beef and cook until brown. *skip for veg option
  4. Rinse bulgur and rice until cold water until water runs clear, drain.
  5. Add bulgur and rice to pan and add 1 cup water and 1 cup tomato puree to pan and stir.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Simmer until rice is cooked through.
  8. *Add in cooked chickpeas or lentils for veg option
  9. Hollow out vegetables with a tablespoon.
  10. Fill veggies with rice and beef mixture and top with their own lid (see picture).
  11. Place stuffed vegetables in a shallow casserole dish and fill bottom of dish halfway with remaining water and tomato sauce (helps cook the veggies quicker).
  12. Cover and bake in a oven preheated to 350F for 30-45 min.
  13. Test doneness of veggies by pricking with a knife.
  14. ENJOY
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Nutrition: Meat option

Nutrition: Vegetarian option

10 minute spicy eggplant and cremini mushroom pasta

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Pastas are by far one of my family’s favorite dinners and if you want to guarantee that your kids eat their entire plate, this quick, easy and super tasty 10 minute spaghetti dish is one for the books!

Olea Nutrition | 10 minute spicy eggplant penne
One Saturday afternoon where I felt I had nothing fresh to cook, desperately needed to get groceries, had no time to shop and just really wanted to get a filling, nutritious meal on the table quick, this recipe was created. All I had was a bag of mushrooms and half a bag of spinach to whip something good up or it was going to boring sandwiches.

But a pasta dish that I love from our local Italian speciality store popped in my head; a delicious, spicy, light pasta tossed with sautéed mushrooms, roasted peppers and a bit of chili and olive oil.  Using this dish as inspiration and quickly checking that I had the few pantry items to finish it off, we created a tasty, satisfying, super quick and easy spaghetti that my toddler gobbled up and I couldn’t wait to finish his leftovers. Did I mention it was vegetarian too?

Spinach and mushrooms add a great earthiness to the dish while providing key vitamins such as vitamin C, folate and iron from the spinach while the mushrooms provide a good source of  protein.  This pasta is so satisfying because of how nutrient dense it can be by swapping out your plain white pasta for a whole wheat pasta and by adding in a variety of colorful vegetables like peppers and eggplant. Just the colors alone make it appetizing, feel free to throw in whatever you have on hand!

What is really great about this dish is how versatile it can be, it can be your go to pantry pasta, where you throw in whatever you have on hand that day.  For me it was spinach, mushrooms and a couple preserved items but you can add in chicken or shrimp too!

 

10 minute spicy eggplant and cremini mushroom spaghetti
 
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10 minute spicy eggplant and cremini mushroom spaghetti
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 box spaghetti or other pasta
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ tsp chili flakes
  • 2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
  • ½ cup chopped roasted red peppers
  • ½ cup chopped spicy pickled eggplant
  • Salt
  • ¼ cup Parmigiano cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  2. Add a few tbsp salt to boiling water and add spaghetti to pot.
  3. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil in sauté pan and add garlic and chili and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add peppers and eggplant and cook for another few minutes. Test doneness of pasta, should be cooked al dente, cooked thoroughly but still have a bit of chew. Add cooked spaghetti to sauté pan and combine pasta with vegetables. Add spinach and Parmesan cheese. Add ⅓ cup of reserved starchy pasta water to sauté pan and stir until spinach is wilted and a nice sauce has been formed. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 of 4 Calories: 554 Fat: 21.3 Saturated fat: 6.1 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 68.1 Sugar: 1.7 Sodium: 472 Fiber: 1.5 Protein: 24.1 Cholesterol: 103
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