Fun meals for the weekend?

violetta88

Hi all,

My best friend in the world is coming to stay with me this weekend, which is awesome. However, whenever I have a friend stay over our food intake usually reads something like this:

Breakfast - Pastries from the bakery down the road + sugary flavoured lattes
Mid-morning Starbucks
Lunch at diner-style restaurant
Mid-afternoon Starbucks
Dinner out or takeaway pizza
Variety of snacks for evening gossip/movie watching

... You get the idea.

Anyone got any ideas for healthy recipes I could cook for her at home, but ones that don't make it seem like I'm depriving her? I don't want her to get all the way here and feel like I'm making her stick to salad all the time!

(Oh, and for the sake of my kitchen please make them as simple as possible - I am literally the world's worst cook!)

STACYINOC

Do you have a Trader Joe's? They have the best whole wheat pizza dough in their refrigerated aisle. You just set it out for 20 minutes, stretch it on a pizza tray and add all your healthy toppings such as veggies, low fat cheese, low sugar sauce, etc.

Everyone loves pizza, right??? And this way you both could do that together in the kitchen and maybe throw together a salad to go with it?

Have fun

Elizaj85

How about flavoured cous cous (my fav is thai the Ainsley Harriet range but I live in England) with steamed/baked fish like tuna/salmon steak or maybe even a oily fish like mackerel and green veggies like asparagus and broccoli it looks really pleasing and tastes amazing! An its minimal oven/hob space :-)

crobl

Do you have a Trader Joe's? They have the best whole wheat pizza dough in their refrigerated aisle. You just set it out for 20 minutes, stretch it on a pizza tray and add all your healthy toppings such as veggies, low fat cheese, low sugar sauce, etc.

Everyone loves pizza, right??? And this way you both could do that together in the kitchen and maybe throw together a salad to go with it?

Have fun

I love that stuff! I use a pizza baking stone and it's like a professional made it

aquapup

Here are my suggestions:

Breakfast - If you do pancakes from a box mix you can probably replace the pastries for a lot fewer calories. I like to made Bisquick pancakes, the supreme version on the box instructions (just watch it with the syrup, that stuff is high density calories). A round of hot chocolate made at home would probably beat the sugary drinks out too.

Lunch out - do some research before she arrives so you can get a low cal option and she can get what she wants (or he)

Dinner - tacos. I like El Paso 8" burrito shells, they are only 120 cal a piece. Brown up some chicken or ground turkey and spice it how you want. Then you can throw together a can of tomatoes (I like Red Gold with added chilis), black or red beans, onion, garlic, mango, avacodo (pretty much whatever veggies and fruits you feel like might go on a taco) OR - just get a can of salsa and dump that on the meat. be sparing with your cheese

Snacks - I pop a cup of popcorn on the stove with a 1/2 tBs of oil then salt (more oil = salt sticks to popcorn better, but also more calories), also blueberries, strawberries, provolone cheese and wheat crackers are good low cal snacks. Have crystal lite or diet rasberry tea or something to drink.

good luck and have fun!

elliott82

You can find things at Starbucks that won't blow your calories. Look up the calorie content on them and stick to a smaller size drink if you have to splurge. (I've read they have some smaller than "tall", you just have to ask for it.) I like coffee so I'll do a drip coffee or an iced cafe americano. Both are low in calories because they are pretty much just coffee. I put in a little skim milk and an equal and I'm good. You could always get a sugar free syrup in there if they have them. The Starbucks website also has a menu of drinks under 200 calories you might look at. They have some "light" drinks that sound tasty. And if you want a sweet treat, stick with the petite snacks.

As for snacks, I love Kettle Corn. You can get the low fat microwave bags that don't have a ton of calories, but have a great sweet flavor that needs no topping on it.

amanda3588

Breakfast - make omelettes at home with chicken, ham, (some) cheese and a whole mess of veggies. Tastes delicous, is high in protein and low calorie

Snacks - try fat-free sugar-free vanilla lattes if you must go to starbucks. They're about 110ish calories and taste delicious. Another option is black coffee or hot tea.

Lunch - pick a restaurant that has healthy options. You may choose what you'd like, and she may get what she'd like.

Dinner - Make turkey burgers, grilled veggies, kebabs with chicken/pineapple (I have a fantastic marinade if you're interested), lasagna rollups (check out greenlitebites.com) or search around skinnytaste.com for low calorie dinners that are tasty and filling.

As for your movie snack - when in doubt, pop popcorn.

citygirl4ever

Not sure where you live but instead of ordering coffee drinks at Starbuck order tea (unsweeten) and if you something sweet order the vanilla scones (mini) ones. I think they are only 140 calories. You can also order the mini fudge donuts or birthday cake donut, which are only 130 cal each. You also pick up the fruit cup.

As for breakfast you can make an egg omelet with veggies. I also like the idea of pancakes with light syrup. I like Maple Grove Farms sugar free syrup.

There is not reason why you cannot go out for lunch and dinner just make sure you plan ahead. Check the restuarant's menu before hand and figure out what you are to eat before you get to restaurant. Don't eat bread from the bread basket. Make sure you stick food that are grilled or broiled. And don't be afraid to ask the wait staff how the food is cooked.

If you are looking for recipes, go to cooking light, food network(healthy cooking tab), or the cooking channel websites to find low cal foods.

Have fun with your friend.

gwenmf

Wow so many great ideas here -- I'm swiping~!!! and heading to Trader Joe's this weekend too!! lol

Thanks for letting me crash your thread and swipe!

coliema

You could make Stir Fry for dinner, it's pretty healthy and low calorie. You can use chicken or beef with it as well, whatever your preferance is.

kittybitz79

Lots of great ideas on here... here are some of mine sticking with the pattern you have

Breakfast - Try to find a french crueller... it is a light flakey doughnut... only 169 calories
Mid- as someone said earlier tee is great
Lunch - Try to get an item on there lighter menu ... also salads are good. Just watch the dressing choice
Mid-afternoon- again see above
Dinner - If you go out ... ask for a bag and take half home or ask if you can split . If you eat pizza ... try to find lower calorie option
Variety of snacks for evening gossip/movie watching - Fresh fruit, popcorn, crackers... the biggest thing here is portion control

violetta88

Thanks so much everyone, amazing ideas here!!! I might just show her this page and get her to pick what she likes most!

But will definitely stock up on fruit to snack on, and check out the calorie content at Starbucks - they actually print it on the board now so I have no excuse!!

auntiebabs

I had friends in last weekend... last minute.

I made fish in parchment... my guest were impressed and it was VERY easy.
(you can use foil if you don't have parchment in the house.)

I used White Roughy (Trader Joe's frozen section)
sprinkled with salt, pepper, paprika and a little shredded fresh ginger.
I placed a layer of very thinly sliced zuchinni on top of it and tossed in a couple of grape tomatoes then packaged up each fillet.

I also made Cheesy potatoes and spinach...
--I defrosted Trader Joe's Frozen mashed potatoes in casserole melted in a slice of American cheese and probably about 1/2 of a cup of parmesan.
--Mixed it all together and pressed it into a ring around the outside of the casserole.
--In the center I put some spinach sauted in Olive oil and garlic.
--Threw some more parmesan on the top of the whole thing and baked it in the oven until the top was brown. (about a 1/2 hour)

Put the fish packets in for the last 10 minutes.