Favorite Healthy Foods

schnicklefritz1

I am hoping it is okay that I started a new topic.... If it is not proper...please let me know.

I am wondering if any of you eat spaghetti squash... if so, do you have some ideas to share?

I baked one on Sunday and portioned it up for easy logging. I am currently just putting some marinara sauce on it, a bit of parm and then throwing some sort of protein in with it. I have uses shrimp (low cal) and center cut pork chop (higher cal) so far. I was really hungry at lunch today, so I mixed two of those single serve green giant cauliflowers with cheese in to it along with the pork....came out to about 500 calories for lunch...but lots of veggies and proteins.

Anyway...I would love to hear some other ideas for spagetti squash.....or other yumalicious quick foods for lunches. I don't mind doing the "do ahead" thing...I just need my lunches to be filling and yummy!!!!

lemurcat12

Good topic!

For some reason I haven't yet tried spaghetti squash, although I'd like to. What I've been doing instead is just baking butternut or acorn squash (usually in advance) and then using those as a vehicle for some of my pasta sauces. For example, I make a meat sauce with lean ground beef, tomatoes, onion, garlic (of course), and lots of vegetables, depending on what I have around--usually zucchini, finely chopped carrots or peppers, and some kind of green, plus sometimes cauliflower or really just whatever. It ends up being about half vegetable half meat. I used to always put this on gnocchi (and I still might!) but it's really good on winter squash, and I assume the same would be true for spaghetti squash. (I'd add a little cheese too, probably.)

An old standby quick dinner and reasonably low cal/healthy meal is sautéing in enough olive oil whatever vegetables are around with smoked salmon/shrimp or any other meat would work, really, plus mushrooms or olives, maybe pine nuts (but be careful about amounts of course) and then mixing in pasta. If not pasta (although I think watching proportions are what matters there), I bet something like that would be fine on squash or rice/quinoa or just alone. (One of my lunch places is called Protein Bar and one of their things is quinoa bowls, so I might copy one of those too.)

My favorite super-fast quick and healthy meal (any time of day) is just an omelet or frittata. I put lots of vegetables in the omelet and sometimes some feta, and sometimes include meat, sometimes eat it with meat leftover from dinner on the side. Good with a simple side salad or some fruit.

I eat leftovers for lunch A LOT, however. Lately I've been buying lunch too much, but when I get organized again I'll go back to leftovers. I just mix them up by changing the meat and vegetable pairing and having yogurt instead of a starch side or the like.

suejoker

When I've had spaghetti squash, I've done the same thing--added marinara sauce & protein & parmesan. It's delicious! My usual lunch is a salad. I think it's the easiest lunch to make to go, especially if you prep & portion all your veggies and proteins, after grocery shopping. Buy a big Tupperware container, if you don't have one, then put your dressing on the bottom, add 2 cups of leafy greens, 1 cup of sulfur rich veggies (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, leeks, chives, turnips, collards, kale, mushrooms, asparagus) and/or 1 cup of colorful veggies (beets, carrots, berries, peaches, oranges, peppers, red cabbage), & 1 serving of protein (crumbled cheeses, nuts, seeds, chicken, or smoked oysters are my favorites). At lunch time, just shake up the Tupperware and you'll have a perfectly, highly nutritious, dressed salad.

Oh, by the way, feel free to start new topics anytime you want:)

schnicklefritz1

I like so, I have been too lazy to shop and chop and portion. LOL HOWEVER, I am trying to save calories by not using dressing and using salsa instead. If you like a little zip to your salad....and since I am a lover of ranch dressing...I can save well over 100 calories per meal by changing that one little thing. Then I can add olives or some other higher calorie yummy treat to my salad.

Great ideas ladies....Steph...try the Spaghetti squash...I like it better than most other squashes now actually...except the yummy sweetness of an acorn squash....LOL

schnicklefritz1

Okay, so this is a least favorite. I have been seeing other people post about brussel sprouts, so I bought some green giant brussel spouts, and while I ate them..... :sick: I did not like them. I ate them for dinner last night and lunch today (hate to waste money) I really though I used to like them, perhaps I need a new recipe....Anyone?

belle_reve9

Jodi..You ned to try my brussels sprouts recipe!!

lemurcat12

Oooh, I always like new Brussels sprouts recipes!

Jodi, how'd you cook them? I like them tossed with some olive oil, add some salt and pepper and maybe some garlic, and then roasted at 425 (or whatever temperature is convenient) for about 10 mins -- I just watch them until they are done.

I used to sauté them with bacon and onions, which is how I converted lots of people when serving them at Thanksgiving (except my mother, who still hates them), but roasting is easier and I like them just as well.

Of course, a not especially diet-friendly trick (which I still use) is to roast some sort of meat (chicken is always good, as long as it has skin), and at the end add the Brussels to the same pan.

schnicklefritz1

yum...I will try the olive oil and season method. This time it was just a Green Giant out of the freezer thing. It was quick and a better option than some of the stuff I was looking at. LOL Thanks Steph

dianastepheny

I like green beans with tomato sauce and some "sprinkle cheese" (as my kids call grated cheese). Toss in some pieces of chicken (cut small or even shredded) and it's my idea of Chicken Cacciatore without the pasta.

schnicklefritz1

I like green beans with tomato sauce and some "sprinkle cheese" (as my kids call grated cheese). Toss in some pieces of chicken (cut small or even shredded) and it's my idea of Chicken Cacciatore without the pasta.

Oh my gosh....I am not sure why I never thought of green beans...that sounds wonderful!!! Thanks for the great idea!!!