Bed Rest Approved Dinners

I'm kind of limited in what I can do lately. I'm on bed rest and my range of activity is somewhat slim. I can do endless DIY activities as long as they are not stressful and I take breaks to relax... and they need to be done inside my house. I can also cook and I can go to the grocery store. That's about it. Going to IKEA would probably make me a monster and would raise my blood pressure. So, I'm stuck entertaining myself.

What have I done so far?

• Made pillow covers using safety pins and a button
• DIY Micro-Dermabrasion using baking soda and orange juice
• Made low-cal/low-fat dinners

Not bad for someone who is on bed rest, right? Well, this was all just this week's activities so far. I still have the rest of today and tomorrow to get through.


I wanted to share two really yummy dinner recipes that I made that are both low in fat and really easy to make. I made creamy roasted veggie gnocchi for dinner last night and I also made pan-seared potato kreplach (think tortellini) with a lemon butter sauce for dinner a few nights ago. Ready for the recipes?


Creamy Roasted Veggie Gnocchi
First of all, I hated gnocchi growing up - just ask my step-dad. I wouldn't touch it when he made it. I will only eat this stuff if it's in a creamy sauce. So, here's what you need:
1 package of Gnocchi
1 cube of veggie bullion
1 cup of frozen cauliflower
1 cup of frozen broccoli
1 cup of sliced zucchini
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 cup of low fat milk
1/8 cup of low fat Parmesean
Salt and Pepper to taste


Here's what you do:
Take a large pot, fill it with water, put it on the stove and add your veggie bullion. Let the water boil.


As the water boils, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take a large mixing bowl and dump in your veggies. Add your olive oil to the mix, lightly sprinkle the mixture with salt and mix well. Take a baking pan covered in tin-foil and sprayed lightly with PAM - now pour the veggies on to the pan and place the pan in the oven.


Once your water is boiling, add your gnocchi. When all of the gnocchi are at the surface, they're ready to be drained! Once they're drained, set them aside.


Return the pot to the stove and make sure your setting is on medium-low. Add your butter and minced garlic to the pot, stirring quickly. Then add your milk - make sure the milk doesn't burn! Once your milk starts to bubble, add your cheese and stir the mixture until everything is melted. Turn your stove off and add the gnocchi to the mixture. If your veggies are nicely browned, add them as well.


Serve hot!


To make this dish slightly lower in fat, substitute the butter for olive oil. 

Pan-Seared Potato Kreplach in a Lemon-Butter Sauce
For most of my life, kreplach was something you ate in chicken soup and it always came with meat inside. It wasn't until I moved to Israel that I realized there's a wide variety of kreplach on the market. I'm pretty sure if my grandmother knew what I did to kreplach, she'd scold me. This form of kreplach is like tortellini so you can always substitute one pasta for another. Here's what you need: 
One package of frozen kreplach or any kind of tortellini
2 tsp. butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1/8 cup of lemon juice
1/8 cup of flour
Salt and Pepper to taste

Here's what you do:
Take a large pot, fill it with water, put it on the stove and let the water boil. Once it boils, add half of the package of kreplach - then place the rest in the freezer. When all of the kreplach are at the surface, they're ready for draining! Drain them and put them aside for now.

Grab a large and deep pan or skillet. On a medium setting, melt the butter and garlic together - mixing vigorously. Add your lemon juice and mix well. To thicken the mixture, add the flour slowly, making sure you mix as you go. You may not need the full 1/8 cup. Once the mixture looks less buttery, add your kreplach to the mixture. Let the kreplach sit for a few minutes and stir it. You want the pasta to sear, not burn, so keep a watchful eye. Once your mixture has browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and eat it!

Serve hot!!

To make this dish slightly lower in fat, skip the butter and use olive oil instead. If you use olive oil, do not use flour. 

Both of these dishes are very low impact - meaning they won't take you long (both dishes took me less than 20 minutes from start to finish). You can add veggies to each dish or substitute the veggies I used. We try to buy seasonal veggies because they're cheaper but the frozen ones are just as good.

Eat in good health!