Anti-Deprivation Goulash

If you're like me, you started the new year with the promise that you'd ditch some unwanted weight. If you're like me, even thinking about dieting makes you hungry. One of my goals while counting calories has been to feel as satisfied as possible because otherwise I'll get cranky and/or obsess too much about food and/or eat way too much. I'm not the kind of person who can forget to eat or who can eat a cup of lettuce and a teaspoon of dressing and feel sated; I need good quantities of nutritious food. Here's a recipe that produces a hefty serving size and quells that ravenous feeling.

Ingredients:

1 TBS olive oil
2 bell peppers, diced (whatever colors you like)
1 large onion, diced
1.5 cups of Boca crumbles (or another beef substitute)
2 TBS red wine
2 14.5 ounce cans of fire roasted, diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp paprika (I used 1 tsp of sweet, 1/2 tsp of smoked, and 1/2 tsp of hot, but you can use whatever)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 bouillon cube (I used mushroom, but you could use unbeef. Vegetable could work okay too)
1/2 cup water
4 servings of elbow pasta, cooked and set aside.

Instructions:

Heat up the olive oil in a large pot/pan and add the onion and peppers. Cook until softened and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add in the crumbles and the red wine and cook until the crumbles are broken up and are starting to warm up, about 5 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, spices, bouillon, and water (everything except the noodles). Cook for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to come together nicely. If you have longer, take longer! Add in the noodles and heat until warmed through and add salt and pepper to taste.

This makes 4 big servings: 2.25 cups each!

Nutrition per 1/4 of recipe (about 2.25 cups)

Calories: 367
Fat: 4.6 g (11%)
Carbs: 62 (30%)
Protein: 17.6 (42%)
Fiber 7.5 (30%)
Vitamin A: 19%
Vitamin C: 154%
Calcium: 6%
Iron: 16%