Before Dinner

Collard greens have taken over our garden in weed-like fashion. They’ve been roasted, stir-fried, smoothied, and even pancaked, and they’re still exploding from the ground. So I consulted @floridagirlinDC and her foodie blog for suggestions on other ways to ride this calcium-crazed green. She suggested the Food Network’s Fried Collard Green WonTons.  While they sound absolutely delish, I knew by putting them through the Bitchin’ Dietitian health machine, I could come up with an equally scrumptious but slightly better-on-the-buttocks version. Here’s what we had for dinner:

Collard Green WonTons
Makes 16 WonTons

1 large bunch collards, stemmed, rolled, and sliced into strips
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 package (12.3 oz) silken firm tofu
1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained & rinsed
4 ounces cream cheese (Tofutti or other)
16 WonTon wrappers (eggless recipe here)
Olive oil for frying

Boil the collards with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and rice vinegar until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the liquid.

Blend tofu, beans, cream cheese, and another dash of salt until smooth. Mix in with the collards.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan, using low heat. Place 2 tablespoons of creamy collard mixture in each WonTon wrapper, fold ‘er up comme ca, and fry on each side for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Nutrition Info per WonTon: 212 calories, 5.7 grams fat, 32.4 g carbohydrate, 4.7 g fiber, 9.9 g protein.