whats your go to recipe?

beautifulreason

What recipe do you go to,when friends come over for dinner or your spouse wants to eat the same meal as you?

My fiance and I would eat high calorie meals throughout the day but since my lifestyle change I've been on a strict 1200 calorie diet...and its causing us to prepare two different meals.
Next weekend is date night and I would like to prepare only one meal...but still consider my calories. And please his stomach as well

econut2000

How about just preparing a stir fry? It's cheap and easy and would certainly fit into both your diet and please his tummy :-)

SaraTN

I always go for a hearty but healthy taco salad with grilled chicken, black beans, corn, feta, salsa and some lime. He can add some extra calories with avacado, sour cream etc. I also try to have a broth based soup.

Another option is a simple lean protein (chicken, pork, turkey, seafood) and veggies -- just add a startch for him (potato, cous cous, etc.)

Audddua

Turkey or chicken sausage will make him happy (works on my bf) and won't kill your diet either. My new favorite meal (that my bf enjoys) is spaghetti squash with spicy Italian turkey sausage, peppers & onions with a bottled red sauce (read the labels some are a lot healthier than others!! I like archer farms grilled vegetable pasta sauce).

Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil & top with garlic salt & pepper. Roast for 45ish minutes at 350*. Scrape out of the skin with fork for spaghetti like substance that men will eat. I did hide it from him until he ate it and liked it because I didn't want to freak him out. Don't mix in the sauce in the pan - it gets watery and weird (still tastes great). Plate the squash (hit it with a paper towel if it's really moist) and then top with sauce + toppings. I just brown up the sausage with mixed bell peppers and onions and throw it on top. For extra points put a generous amount of Parmesan on top of his plate. You can put some on yours too - the strong flavor means you can use a tiny bit and still taste it.

If the spaghetti squash is too outlandish for him (or you) just make enough pasta for him and skip it on your plate. The Barilla whole wheat pasta is pretty good and I've fed it to my boyfriend 3x now and he hasn't noticed. Happy cooking!

jr1985

at 381 calories for the whole recipe... this is my go to recipe I love Pasta! I think I'll make it tonight!

Cheesy Cajun Shrimp Piccata

Ingredients:

2 oz. dried whole Wheat pasta, I prefer linguinie, but whatever you like is fine
3 oz uncooked medium shrimp
1 tbs smart balance light butter
2 wedges laughing cow swiss cheese
1/2 TBS Creole Seasoning
1/2 TBS Capers
a squeeze of lemon juice
Mrs Dash to taste,
a little water to thin in out
2 tbs of reduced fat parmesian cheese

Directions:

Boil noodles and shrimp in different pots until both cooked... I like my pasta a little over done so cook it a little longer. Drain both, In the pot with the shrimp, melt in your butter and laughing cow cheese, add about 1/4 cup of water to thin it out, add your creol seasoning, Lemon Juice, mrs. Dash and Capers, pour over your pasta and top with Parmesan Cheese!

jr1985

If you are looking for some cheaper options though... especially if you are going to be cooking a lot for company... Homemade soups are also my go to... Especially since it is cold outside! I make a lot of things that I can put in the crock pot, like chili or chicken and rice soup... chicken noodle you could put in but would just have to put the noodles in at the end.