Health AND Yummy!!!!!

[LittleDudesMom]

I've decided to unstick the welcome post and stick this one up for awhile.

Many of us have been making some healthier choices with our eating for about 3 and half months now. I've been trying lots of new recipes and am finding myself repeating my favs weekly.

I think it's time to share some new ones and shake up my meals a little.

If you have a healthy recipe for an entree, side, or dessert, post it here. Let's snazz up our kitchen tonight!!!!!

I'll start with a good one.

2 bags of frozen fruit
1 box dry cake miz
1 can diet soda

place FROZEN fruit at the bottom of a rectangular baking dish, sprinkle dry cake mix on top, add one can of diet soda over the top.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, take a spoon and kinda mush any dry cake miz into fuite, cover with foil and bake for an additional 40 minutes. Yum!!!

Here's the two versions I've tried.

2 bags of large pitted cherries, choc cake mix, diet cherry cola.
2 bags of peaches, white cake mix, diet 7UP.

Enjoy!

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

One of my favourites...

Low fat or fat free plain yogurt (or you can use vanilla)
Fresh or frozen berries (frozen work better, because of the syrup)

Stir the fruit into the yogurt. Voila!

I parcel these out into single serve plastic bins, and then grab one or two to take to work with me. When I'm in the mood for ice cream, this settles the craving.

 

[Star*]

I grabbed a handfull of diet M&M's
Mixed it with a blob of coolwhip
Sprinkled that with diabetic brownie bites
Poured some hot fudge sauce on top of it and

THEN I WOKE UP.....


I'm still doing WW and Yoplait thick and light for lunch - 12 weeks no cheating.....

I did buy an apple slicer - that makes having apples a bit easier and more fun to eat.

Then I dip the apples in carmel......NO NO NO~~~~~

 

[trinityroyal]

I made hamburger soup recently.

I had a bunch of grilled hamburgers left over (made with extra lean ground beef), and I didn't want them to spoil. So...

I chopped them into bite-sized pieces
Added 2 cans of condensed onion soup (44 calories per serving, and they make a low-sodium variety)
Added 2 litres of low sodium beef broth (they come in 1 litre packages. I think in the U.S. you could probably use a Quart-size package and it would be about the same)
Threw in a couple of chopped onions
A handful of chopped cabbage
Upended half a bag of frozen vegetables (I think this mix had broccoli, cauliflower and carrot slices in it)
Stuck the whole thing in the crock pot and let it cook overnight.

It was really good and fed me for a week (lunch AND dinner)

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Soup sounds good!!!

Ok Star - reality check time. Do you know what you have to do to work off one teeny little M&M? Run the length of a football field. How's that for a reality check?

Ok, here's a recipe I did the other night and it was delish if you like curry!


1 pound of chicken (B, SL) cut in chunks - place in crock pot
1 large bell pepper cut in chunks - put in crock on top of chick
1 large sweekt onion cut in chunks - put in crock on top of pepper
1 can of stewed tomatos (not diced) - put on top of onion

In a bowl, mix 1/4 c of water with 2 T of cornstarch. Add 1 1/2 t of curry powder (I will use at a T next time because it was not "curry" enough for me) and 3/4 c of mango chutney. Once mixed, pour on top of chick and veggies, cover and cook on low for four hours!! Delish. I served on whole wheat cous cous. Makes a lot of sauce. I also added some cayenne pepper to my dish because I like my curry spicy!

Enjoy.

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

Wow LDM, that sounds wonderful.

I have a similar recipe, except instead of the curry, I add spicy salsa. Very good served over rice, or even by itself.

 

[Marguerite]

I've described my diet as extreme - I'm not kidding. Cake mix strictly forbidden.

The diet I've worked out for myself (from past experience of what works, plus doctor's orders) is as low fat as possible; no sugar or anything sweet with calories (so artificial sweeteners are OK); limited carbs and all must be wholegrain; two serves of lean protein per day each the size of the palm of my hand; lots of water (or calorie-free drinks); plenty of vegetables with ONE fruit serve per day, max. Condiments allowed in moderation. Salt - go easy.

With those limitations, I've been getting pretty inventive.

Here's a family favourite that we had for dinner tonight -

Teriyaki Fish
On a sheet of aluminium foil, scatter some finely sliced onion and some slivers of fresh green ginger. Lay over this a fillet of fish then sprinkle over more onion, more ginger. Lift the sides of the foil a little so it forms a shallow dish. Pour over about a teaspoon of light soy sauce (the regular soy that is light in colour, not the dark syrupy stuff) and a teaspoon of green ginger wine or alternatively, mirin or sherry.

Now carefully enclose the fish into a parcel, by folding the foil in the middle and then folding in the ends to the top - this is so the parcel won't leak.

Now bake in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes. You can check to see if the fish is done by gently opening the parcel and testing with a fork to see if it flakes. The fish should look opaque, instead of raw-translucent.

Serve either in the parcel or lift the fish out carefully and put it on a plate. Scatter some slivered green onion slices over the top as a garnish. Can be served with a salad, or some steamed mixed vegetables. The liquid from the fish can also be poured over the salad or vegetables.

Fried Brown Rice
I've also been making fried rice, using about a quarter teaspoon sesame oil in a non-stick skillet, and using pre-steamed BROWN rice. I begin by 'frying' thin slices of one lap cheong, a small Chinese sausage (the fat comes out of the sausage and I can pour it off) then I throw in onion, red pepper, 3 or 4 thawed frozen raw prawns, a finely chopped garlic clove, green onion chopped into half inch lengths, then break in an egg or two and fry them up in the middle, breaking them up and mixing them round. Then I put in the cooked brown rice (about a cup, cooked) and stir-fry it, moving it around to mix it all evenly and warm it through. A shaker or two of salt and a splash of light soy, and it's done. You have to use soy AND salt; trying to use just soy will overdo the soy flavour, if you try to use only soy for the saltiness.

I generally have a lot of this left over and it can reheat in the microwave easily for lunch next day.

I keep cooked brown rice in the fridge, for when we're having a dish that calls for rice when everyone else gets white rice. I make the fried rice when my 'stash' of cooked brown rice is more than two or three days old and I want to use it all up fast.

And trinity, your use of salsa is a good one. have you ever tried it on mixed steamed vegetables which otherwise you're getting sick of? It really makes a huge difference.

Marg

 

[hiddenjewel81]

I'm just now getting to the age where I can't eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it...and it's been tough for me!!!! I'm 5'4, 120lbs....always been 110-115 until recently. Add to that that I quit smoking a month ago (and I thought I was bad at snacking before!!!!).... I'm not to the point of needing to diet, but am working on slowly changing my eating habits because I think it's time I realized I can't eat a bag of popcorn every night anymore! I decided to substitute.....sweets are not a problem for me. My weakness is popcorn, chips, crackers, cashews....hot pockets...ranch on everything!!!! So I bought baked chips, 100 cal snack size popcorn (kinda icky, but the kettle corn version is really good!), and I love love LOVE the 100 cal snack packs (ritz chips sour cream and onion are the best....it's all the real stuff, just pre-portioned which is a BIG help for me). Beef jerkey has really helped too as a not smoking snack....hand to mouth, gives me my salt fix, less than 100 cal and 97% fat free.

As for meals, I've been making a lot of my usual, only with different variations and substitutes.....Cambell's healthy request cream of mushroom soup instead of reg (actually doesn't taste bad!), extra lean ground beef (turkey is good too!), fresh or frozen veggies instead of canned, whole grain pastas..... My current favorite (perfect for mom's who don't always have time for homemade)...Progresso Tomatoe Basil soup....then take extra lean ground beef, italien seasoning, and a bit of parmasan chz (a little doesn't hurt...it's not always what, but how much that matters!!!!) and make homemade meatballs, stir into the soup, add a 100% whole wheat dinner roll (1/2 if you're big on carbs) and you have a complete meal. Yum! And for the record, I HATED tomatoe soup till I tried this!

That hamburger soup sounds pretty good!!!!!

 

[Nomad]

YUM!
Sharon, do you buy that Mango Chutney premade? If so, what brand? How many calories or ww points per serving?
Thanks.

 

[Hound dog]

I need healthy and yummy!

That cake mix one sounds yummy and easy. Just my style. As does the hamburger soup.

Okay I have one:

Blueberry Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons no-salt margerine melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup canned blueberries, rinsed or 1 cup frozen

Sift together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the remaining ingredients. Stir, starting at the enter and gradually mix in the dry ingredients tomake a smooth batter Begin cooking immediately.
Heat a heavy 12 inch skillet or griddle and grease it lightly. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, spoon out pancakes and cook until done, flipping pancake only once.

ONLY 223 calories ladies!

You can top with light syrup or sugar free syrup.

And it's yummy!!

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Lisa, thanks for the recipe. I bet if you used egg whites or egg substitute instead of whole eggs you could cut down on the fat. Sub the sugar with splenda for a healthier alternative too! I love blueberries so I will try this one.

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

Oh...I just remembered another one.

Angel cake. Low fat and lower in calories than most other kinds of cake because of all the light ingredients. (Don't have a recipe off-hand. I used to just buy the little pre-fab mini cakes at the supermarket in packages of 6)

I would take one mini cake, and cover it with extra-fruit-half-sugar jam (whatever flavour you like), and a dollop of reduced fat whipped cream.

It tasted SOOOO decadent, yet it was lighter and lower in calories and fat than most other sweet treats.

Haven't done this in a while, because we've cut out buying snack foods. When I have time I will dig up my cookbook and find an Angel Cake recipe.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Trinity,

I love Angel Food Cake. I guess that is what you are referring to. I love fresh Strawberries on top! Duncan Hines has a decent box one.

Sharon

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Hey Ladies, try this one....

Dice some yellow or orange pepper
Dice some sweet onion
Saute with a little olive oil then add some fresh, uncooked shrimp, chunk pineapple, raisins, and a little of the pineapple juice from the can.

Serve over whole wheat cous cous. I add a little crushed red pepper to my serving.

Yummmyyyy!!

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

Trinity,

I love Angel Food Cake. I guess that is what you are referring to. I love fresh Strawberries on top! Duncan Hines has a decent box one.

Sharon

Yes. I think Angel Cake and Angel Food Cake are the same thing.

The pure white, very fluffy and sweet cake, often baked in a Bundt-style pan?
Yup. That's the stuff.

 

[trinityroyal]

My latest snack food is Edamame (the little soy bean pods that are served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer)

Costco sells them frozen, by the case, 14? bowls per case.

To prepare, you poke a little hole in the plastic cover on the bowl to let out the steam, and then zap them in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Gently peel back the lid, sprinkle a little sea salt over the top, and then they are ready to eat. You just squeeze the pods and the soy beans pop out.

This is my potato-chip-replacement snack. Salty and a bit crunchy, VERY low cal and low in fat, and full of protein and other goodness.

One of the local supermarkets sells them frozen in large bags, kind of like Green Giant vegetables. If you buy them this way, you can microwave them, or cook them in boiling water for 4 minutes.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

I have been wanting to try edamame. I've been seeing it more and more lately and the benefits of soy on the "aging woman" are said to be helpful. I may just have to buy a bag at the grocers. If I like them, I'll go the Costco route!

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

My latest healthy and yummy recipe

Shrimp, marinated in Buffalo Wing Sauce (You know, the stuff they use to coat buffalo-style chicken wings) and then grilled on the barbecue.

I take the shells off the shrimp, marinate them in the sauce. Length of time depends on how spicy you like your shrimp. And then just toss them on the barbecue. About 5 minutes per side, until the shrimp feel firm.

The buffalo wing sauce has no fat, no carbs and is listed as zero calories on the nutrition label.

I have also tried this recipe with boneless-skinless chicken, cut into strips. It's not quite as nice as the shrimp, but it works. With the chicken, I like to add a little bit of Green Sauce to the marinade to give it a bit of texture.

For those of you who are wondering, Green Sauce is a Trinidadian marinade. It has the texture of chutney or salsa, smells a bit like jerk chicken spice. I have no idea what's in it or how to make it. My Grannie used to use it, and they sell it in jars in the local supermarket. It also has 0 fat, 0 carbs and practically no calories.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

To quote Rachel Ray, "YUMMO!" I love spicey food and I am going to try this. My cousin and I grill out together once a week. I already have tomorrow night's dinner planned - center cut port tenderloin rubbed with deli style grain mustard, seared on the grill, then left to cook slowly. Along with that I will have a a skrewer of pot, yellow peps and onions and a skrewer of macintosh apple.

But next week, that Buffalo sauce on chicken or shrimp is mine! I think it might be too spicy for easy child. Thanks Trinity!

Sharon

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Hey ladies, here's a yummy thing to try. I cooked pork on the grill this weekend and I took a couple MacIntosh apples, cubed them (on the big side), make Kabobs, then sprayed them with butter-flavored Pam and sprinkled them with cinnamon. Then I grilled them. Delish!!!!!

Sharon