They say that “good things come in small packages” – and I think that they must have been referring to these filling, savory, meaty, cheesy stuffed peppers!!
Weighing in at only 211 calories, these stuffed peppers are so comforting, satisfying and delicious that you will feel as though you are indulging in something “naughty”. It’s hard to believe that something that tastes so decadent can actually be good for you!
Because these peppers have such a deep, rich, and intense flavor, I like to serve them with a simple tomato and onion salad, a light mixed green salad, a nice loaf of whole wheat bread, or a small side of pasta with just a touch of sauce. But, as always, feel free to experiment with this recipe and decide how you like them best.
1 pound lean ground beef or ground chicken
4 large green or red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained very well
2 medium zucchini, finely chopped (or even grated)
1 large red onion, minced
1/2 cup brown rice, quinoa, or bulgur
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper, to taste
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of low-sodium stewed tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, feta – whichever you prefer)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly mist a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine the ground meat, spinach, zucchini, onion, rice, egg, oregano, salt and pepper and mix until everything is well combined. Arrange the cut pepper halves in the dish and fill each pepper half with the filling mixture, then pour the tomatoes over the top and sprinkle with the cheese.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover the dish and bake until completely cooked (the peppers should be tender – this usually takes about 25 minutes longer once you uncover the dish.
Makes 4 Servings. Per serving (1 whole pepper): 211 calories, 4.5 g fat, less than 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 7 g fiber, 0 g added sugar, 22 g protein, 240 mg sodium, 14 mg cholesterol
2 responses so far ↓
1 Kristen // Aug 15, 2007 at 11:45 pm
This dish look so yummy…just one question. I have some trouble with milk cheeses so decided to see how much nutritional values would change with an alternative. But in doing this, I found that my calorie count was over 300 per serving! Quite a difference – how did you get 211 per serving?
2 Shannon // Aug 16, 2007 at 7:57 am
Kristen,
When I am figuring out the nutritional values for a meal, my kitchen scale is my best friend!! I weigh and measure each ingredient that goes into the recipe, then I add all of those numbers together and divide by the number of servings. For this stuffed pepper dish, I followed that same procedure:
my fresh ground chicken breast was 291 calories,
the 4 peppers equaled 68 calories, the 10 ounce package of spinach (once thawed and drained) was 66 calories, the 2 zucchini totaled 36 calories, the onion came to 39 calories, I used millet for my grain which for 1/2 cup was 101 calories, my eggs contain 69 calories each, the 2 cans of stewed tomatoes equaled 94 calories, and my 1/2 cup of fat free mozzarella was 81 calories.
SO:
291+68+66+36+39+101+69+94+81 =
845 calories. 845/4 = 211.25.
Now keep in mind that different brand names of certain items will vary in calories, as well as the weight/size of the produce used.
I hope that this answers your question. If I can be of any more help, just let me know.
-Shannon
http://cookingdonelight.com/blog/2007/07/20/crunching-the-numbers/
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