quick and easy HEALTHY (lo-fat) recipes?

[simple girl]

Anyone want to share low-fat (<30%) recipes that are quick and easy?

I'll start:

PESTO SHRIMP WITH PASTA
1 tsp olive oil
nonstick cooking spray
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
pinch salt
pinch oregano
4 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp parmesan cheese (I use light cheese, and not quite this much)
1 tbsp slivered blanched almonds
2 oz angel hair pasta, cooked without salt or fat (I use whole wheat pasta)

In a skillet sprayed with nonstick vegetable cooking spray, over medium-high heat, add olive oil, minced garlic, and chopped onion. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add dried basil, salt, oregano, and shrimp. Stir and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked and turns pink. Toss shrimp mixture with hot cooked angel hair pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and slivered almonds. Makes 1 serving.

475 cal; 29% of cal from fat

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=748.0

Turkey meatloaf you'll actually enjoy eating.

And

http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=757.0

 

[kaudrey]

I make veggie soups - not broth with veggies, but split pea soup and black bean soup. They are low fat and very good.

Epicurious.com has good recipes for black bean soup, and split pea packages have easy recipes on the back.

It's great in winter because I can spend time making the soup one night, and have a week's worth of meals!

Karen

 

[Sarah in SC]

LG4N brought up a book in one of the other threads--Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook, that I pulled off the shelf since he mentioned it. It is dated (the subtitle, as LG4N said, is Living the High Carb Lifestyle). I thumbed through the veggie and fruit sections last night and am going to try a few of the recipes. You might get it from the library--it is a good inspiration for finding new low-fat, low-cal ways to prepare veggies and fruits. I'll post any good ones I try!

Quick Chicken Salad -2 servings

1 pouch Sweet Sue chicken (7oz)
1 tbsp fat free yogurt
1 tbsp lite mayo
1 small apple, diced
1 oz raisins
pepper to taste

This is a standby lunch for us on the low calorie diet at just 252 calories a serving.

Sarah

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

she also has an excellent black bean soup recipe in there. i sometimes add rice to make a complete protein. very healthy and no animal fat if you use vegie broth.

i do another really simple but good black bean dish, takes minutes and tastes great. beans, a bunch of scallion cut up to just smaller than bean size, diced white onion, 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves, cayanne pepper to desired heat, a pinch of salt.

you can add any vegie really, like red pepper for color. or when ready to serve drizzle some raspberry balsamic dressing (i use consorzio). and once i used the orange dressing i think it was. that was good. gonna have to get some.

i do a similar salad with whole granulation kasha (roasted buckwheat) no real recipe. i just throw in whatever vegies taste and look good. onion, red & green pepper, maybe some baby frozen peas, onion, garlic, etc. and then, while it might not be kosher on kasha, i also drizzle some consorzio over that. it gives it an unexpected but wonderful flavor.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Cooks illustrated made a nice looking black bean soup on one of their shows last year...cant access the recipe but the gist of their tweaks is in the description...

While testing showed that we would have to use dried beans--unlike canned beans, they release valuable flavor into the broth as they cook--we saved time when we discovered that neither soaking them overnight nor using the "quick soak method" was required to make them tender. We also found that we didn't need from-scratch beef stock but could maximize flavor by using a mixture of water and canned chicken broth doctored with ham and aggressive seasonings. A bit of baking soda solved the problem of washed-out color. Finally, we optimized the whole flavor package with colorful garnishes: sour cream, diced avocado, red onion, minced cilantro, and lime wedges.

 

[simple girl]

These are great, can't wait to try them! Keep'm coming!

McClesters - is that calorie count just for the chicken salad, or does it include the chicken salad on bread? Definitely gotta try that one.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Bread? Who gets bread on 1100 calories a day? I dream of bread!
Um, that would be just the chicken salad, no bread.
Sarah

 

[WM]

Here's a great low-fat (or no-fat) chili recipe that is also super easy:

3-bean Chili

2 T olive oil
1 c onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 c red wine (optional)
28-oz can diced tomatoes
15-oz can black beans
15-oz can kidney beans
15-oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 c frozen corn, preferably defrosted

4 t chili powder (or to taste)
1 t garlic powder
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 t basil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Saute the onion and pepper in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.

For a no-fat version, cook the onion and pepper in 1/2 c or so of water instead of the olive oil (I usually do this, and can't tell the difference in final taste).

This recipe has always been a winner for me, even among meat-eaters. Shredded cheese can always be passed separately for those who want it, or whatever other toppings are appealing!

Cookbooks I'd recommend:

Food for Life (book about why it's healthy to eat low-fat vegetarian, but just skip that if you want and go to the recipes at the end)
Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Mollie Katzen
The New Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen

 

[SolidA]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing the recipes and websites... when I get off this @#$%^& liquid diet on Friday, think I'll make up a big 'ol pot of black bean soup!!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Liquid diet? You go, girl! I can't even contemplate that, and I'm doing 1100 calories a day! Unless it was all beer! Black bean soup, mmmmmmmmm.

Sarah

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Here's a great low-fat (or no-fat) chili recipe that is also super easy:

3-bean Chili

1 c frozen corn, preferably defrosted

i love vegie chili. make it myself. love your idea of different types of beans. just one suggestion. though i haven't tried the frozen corn, there's a canned corn that's really good. it is by green giant and it's called "white shoepeg corn." stays nice and crunchy in the chili.

the shoepeg corn is also excellent added to black bean soup. for the soup i put the corn into a pan first and cook to carmelize.

 

[SolidA]

Well, my liquid diet is a three day cleansing diet - with a colon cleansing scheduled for tomorrow morning. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO EATING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!