A light and healthy menu!

In an effort to make a light and healthy meal, I attempted a menu with minimal butter, oil, sugar and salt. Here's what I came up with:

Appetizer

Black pepper cracker twists
Marinated olives

Main

Lemon mustard broiled flounder
Quinoa with toasted almonds and orange
Braised cauliflower with capers

Dessert

Dark chocolate soufflé

I ended up using a LITTLE butter for the flounder topping, but the recipe did not require much. Adding some garlic to the topping, along with the mustard, parsley and lemon zest more than made up for any lack of fats (probably I could have left out the butter entirely!)

Quinoa has grown on me in a surprising kind of way. Boiling the grain for 15 minutes followed by a 10-15 minute steam, creates a nice, fluffy product that goes well with toasted almonds and orange zest.

The miracle that is the soufflé tastes remarkably rich and flavorful considering it consists mainly of beaten egg whites and dark chocolate. Whoever first invented this fine dish (probably some French guy?) deserves some serious accolades.

Enjoy!

~flutterbyblue