Fav Healthy Meals?

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deelady

Executive Chef
Joined
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What are some of your favorite healthy meals when you are trying to lose a couple pounds....and I don't mean salads....

I'm trying to come up with different meal ideas that I don't have to feel guilty about later! Any favorites??:chef:
 
Depends on your taste, but, I have become fond of the Bocca vegan burgers. Each patty is only 70 cals and not much sodium at all. I eat them by themselves with a dip in mustard. You can put them on whole wheat buns, add some lettuce, tomato and mustard and there ya go. No cheese though, lol.

Grilled chicken is good, if you do it yourself and cut back on the sodium. I have a hard time myself finding things to eat. I need to lose weight, but, I have to really watch the sodium now and that leaves very little for the taste pallet. It will be interesting what you get on here.
 
Well the other day I made a wrap using leftover roasted chicken, roasted broccoli and a little brown rice put into a multi grain wheat tortilla then lightly grilled in a pan to crisp it up......it was sooo yummy and satisfying!!


I haven't had the bocca burgers in years...I think they were bocca, I know they were frozen veggie ones. But always after I got done with it, it never seemed as healthy anymore! lol cheese and ketchup!! They did taste good though!
 
One of my favorites from Cooking Light magazine is feta chicken. Its a boneless breast, pound it thin, add a little crumbed feta and a piece of fresh basil, roll it up and secure with tooth pick. Salt/pepper it and drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until done. Great with a salad or steamed veggies. Feta is one cheese that is lower in fat.


Another thing I like for a treat are the single serve Jello sugar free chocolate puddings with some lite cool whip on top, that is about 80 calories and makes me feel satisfied when I want something chocolatey.
 
Really? I never knew that about feta! It does sound yummy!

I've always wondered about those sugar free puddings! I have never been brave enough to buy them...do they taste similar to regular?
 
Toots said:
One of my favorites from Cooking Light magazine is feta chicken. Its a boneless breast, pound it thin, add a little crumbed feta and a piece of fresh basil, roll it up and secure with tooth pick. Salt/pepper it and drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until done. Great with a salad or steamed veggies. Feta is one cheese that is lower in fat.


Another thing I like for a treat are the single serve Jello sugar free chocolate puddings with some lite cool whip on top, that is about 80 calories and makes me feel satisfied when I want something chocolatey.
Click to expand...

Ohhhhhhh yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol, I love feta and that sounds good.
 
A great sandwich spread is Chickpea Salad

  • Roughly mash up a can of chickpeas.
  • Add half a minced pickle and, maybe a tbs of pickle juice.
  • Add some chopped shallot or onion and chopped celery.
  • Stir in a dolob mayo and a squirt of mustard
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Even better with Black Indian Salt if you have it)
  • Spread on bread and eat =p
 
This is so interesting. I haven't come up with any real meal plans, but rather try to sub out healthier ingredients so we can still enjoy our favorites. Butter, bread and potatoes seem to be my weakness. That and we all love baked goods.

Good ole tuna macaroni salad -- only I use Barilla Plus pasta, tuna packed in water, a reduced fat salad dressing, fresh onion, celery and parsley, LOTS of frozen peas and plenty of pepper. Sometimes I add some reduced fat cheese too. My daughter loves the Kraft 2% crumbles added. If you don't like tuna, use leftover chicken. I've even tried the canned chicken for some reason, but go with reduced sodium if you have a choice.

1% Cottage cheese -- very low fat and high in protein, so we have that instead of potatoes now and again. My husband and girls love to put my homemade (low sugar) jam in it.

Eggs. I love to poach an egg and have with one slice of whole grain bread. If I'm feeling indulgent I'll add a single slice of Canadian bacon. Omelettes with fresh vegies and reduced fat cheese. Breakfast for dinner is great for us on busy weeknights.

Baked Fresh Sweet Potato Fries are very healthy.

For some reason I find wraps kind of boring (probably because I adore bread). I've made LOTS of skillet pizzas with those whole grain Flat Out wraps as the crust and just build it with vegies. Pesto makes a great sauce (use sparingly)!

I also use just flavored vinegars and oils on my salads most of the time. Bottled dressings bother me (sodium), so I tend to play with different combinations and create my own. My favorite so far is the blood orange olive oil with an 18 year balsamic. So simple and doesn't hide the flavors of whatever else is on my plate.
 
Last edited:
AMSeccia said:
This is so interesting. I haven't come up with any real meal plans, but rather try to sub out healthier ingredients so we can still enjoy our favorites. Butter, bread and potatoes seem to be my weakness. That and we all love baked goods.

Good ole tuna macaroni salad -- only I use Barilla Plus pasta, tuna packed in water, a reduced fat salad dressing, fresh onion, celery and parsley, LOTS of frozen peas and plenty of pepper. Sometimes I add some reduced fat cheese too. My daughter loves the Kraft 2% crumbles added. If you don't like tuna, use leftover chicken. I've even tried the canned chicken for some reason, but go with reduced sodium if you have a choice.

1% Cottage cheese -- very low fat and high in protein, so we have that instead of potatoes now and again. My husband and girls love to put my homemade (low sugar) jam in it.

Eggs. I love to poach an egg and have with one slice of whole grain bread. If I'm feeling indulgent I'll add a single slice of Canadian bacon. Omelettes with fresh vegies and reduced fat cheese. Breakfast for dinner is great for us on busy weeknights.

Baked Fresh Sweet Potato Fries are very healthy.

For some reason I find wraps kind of boring (probably because I adore bread). I've made LOTS of skillet pizzas with those whole grain Flat Out wraps as the crust and just build it with vegies. Pesto makes a great sauce (use sparingly)!

I also use just flavored vinegars and oils on my salads most of the time. Bottled dressings bother me (sodium), so I tend to play with different combinations and create my own. My favorite so far is the blood orange olive oil with an 18 year balsamic. So simple and doesn't hide the flavors of whatever else is on my plate.
Click to expand...


Some great tips there! Thank you AM :) I love cottage cheese but for some reason I never think to buy it!!
It sounds like you have all the same weaknesses that I do! ;)
 
You can make an "Egg McMuffin" that's under 250 calories, whole wheat english muffin, fried egg, non fat cheese, and Canadian bacon. Believe it or not, the egg has the most fat, and that's because of the yolk. Most Canadian bacon is very low fat, one slice is less than 3/4 of a gram and if you dry fry the egg your total fat is just above 10 grams and 6 is saturated, not bad for a meal on a bun. If you use "Eggbeaters" you lose a couple of grams of saturated fat.

Feta is low fat and I love it, but part skim Mozzarella has a little less fat, so if you like pizza you have options. I make personal size pizza using a low-fat, low-sodium homemade sauce on a whole wheat tortilla with Canadian bacon, and a few veggies like onions, roma tomato slices, really just about anything. Quick and easy and pretty healthy.

I'll second the Jello Sugar Free Pudding Snacks, some of them are down right decadent. The Dolce Le Leche is so good it should be sinful, the fudge banana is pretty good, and the rice pudding is excellent.
 
deelady said:
What are some of your favorite healthy meals when you are trying to lose a couple pounds....and I don't mean salads....

I'm trying to come up with different meal ideas that I don't have to feel guilty about later! Any favorites??:chef:
Click to expand...

Try this, is so easy, cheap & healthy, you don't even need meat with it.
But cold chicken goes well.


Roasted Vegetables

Serves 2
Prep Time 10 mins
Cooking Time 1 Hour
roast-veg-1.jpg

Ingredients

  • 2 Parsnips, washed and dried
  • 2 Carrots, washed and dried
  • 1 Sweet potato, peeled
  • 1 Red onion, peeled
  • 2 or 3 Medium potatoes, washed and dried
  • 1 Red Pepper, stalk taken out and deseeded
  • 2-3 Cloves of garlic, leave whole with skin on
  • 4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Method

  • Top and tail the carrots and parsnips, chop into thick chunks, about 1”/25cm thick
  • Chop the sweet potato into same size chunks as carrots and parsnips
  • Cut the onion into 4 quarters
  • Cut the potatoes into 4 quarters
  • Cut the pepper into 4 quarters
  • Put all the vegetables into a large roasting tin, try not to overlap them
  • Add the olive oil and pepper
  • Use your hands to mix all the ingredients, making sure you cover the vegetables thoroughly with the olive oil
  • Bake in a preheated oven 425°F/220°C/Gas mark 7 on the middle shelf for about 1 hour
  • Turn vegetables every 15-20 minutes to make sure they remain coated in the oil
roast-veg.jpg
 
Cooking Light has great Pasta Primavera and Fettucini Alfredo recipes....
They have pretty great everything! Never been disappointed.
(Except when I eat 2 servings and cancel out anything healthy I did by making the lighter meal.....)
:)
 
les said:
Try this, is so easy, cheap & healthy, you don't even need meat with it.
But cold chicken goes well.


Roasted Vegetables

Serves 2
Prep Time 10 mins
Cooking Time 1 Hour
roast-veg-1.jpg

Ingredients

  • 2 Parsnips, washed and dried
  • 2 Carrots, washed and dried
  • 1 Sweet potato, peeled
  • 1 Red onion, peeled
  • 2 or 3 Medium potatoes, washed and dried
  • 1 Red Pepper, stalk taken out and deseeded
  • 2-3 Cloves of garlic, leave whole with skin on
  • 4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Method

  • Top and tail the carrots and parsnips, chop into thick chunks, about 1”/25cm thick
  • Chop the sweet potato into same size chunks as carrots and parsnips
  • Cut the onion into 4 quarters
  • Cut the potatoes into 4 quarters
  • Cut the pepper into 4 quarters
  • Put all the vegetables into a large roasting tin, try not to overlap them
  • Add the olive oil and pepper
  • Use your hands to mix all the ingredients, making sure you cover the vegetables thoroughly with the olive oil
  • Bake in a preheated oven 425°F/220°C/Gas mark 7 on the middle shelf for about 1 hour
  • Turn vegetables every 15-20 minutes to make sure they remain coated in the oil
roast-veg.jpg
Click to expand...



I love roasted veggies! But I would def need chicken to go with them! :)


I'll have to check out those pudding snacks:-p You guys have convinced me!


Suzi is that a websight? It sounds familiar....thanks:)
 
ooooh thats why it sounded familiar...I have a couple of old issues from them. Thank you for the link, I'll check out what they have!:chef:
 
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