Dinner suggestions

airboy1952

Clare (kbchmacdonald) writes:

"I need suggestions: I do well with breakfast and lunch, but dinner generally devolves into cheese and crackers, or some variation of those. What do yous guys eat for dinner? If it involves elaborate preparation, fuggedaboudit, but simple cooking is fine. thanks!"

Clare, I really like the faux meat products from Morningstar (especially their Chik Patties) and the faux burgers from Boca (which taste much more like real hamburgers than do many of their competitors). Both require microwaving only.

One common dinner for me is 5 oz. of roast chicken, 1/2 cup of instant mashed potatoes, and 1/2 cup of corn. That meal has just 404 calories (34 g of carbs, 16 g of fat, and 32 g of protein) and is easily prepared!

Cheers,
Roger

kbchmacdonald

Excellent suggestions.
I had spaghetti squash with marinara sauce and a bit of turkey Italian sausage last night.. Quite satisfying.

I'll try the Morningstar products. And thanks for reminding me of Boca burgers--they're good.

palheather

Sharon from KB turned me on to the Gardein chickenless chicken products. I particularly love the Mandarin Orange Chicken (without the mandarin orange sauce). My go-to meal when I'm not in the mood to cook is oven baked sweet potato fries and some of the M.O.C. pieces. I like to peel & slice up a sweet potato, spray it with a little olive oil and coat it with spices before shoving it in the oven with the fake chicken bits. They all come out crispy. Add a little hot sauce for dippin' and we're in business!! Or if I am in the mood to be more carnivorous, I am a huge fan of Trader Joe's frozen turkey burgers. They're delicious (seasoned with a little rosemary) and are really fast to cook in a grill pan (6 minutes!). Chop one up and throw it on a salad with a little salsa for dressing - yum!

cheers,
Heather

kstar137

This is the person who got a C in cooking class talking...
I have 2 dinners that I can make:

1.
1. Quickly peel some carrots, cut up broccolli, cauliflower, tomatoes, green beans, whatever is a veggie in your kitchen and throw it in a pot with some water
2. Boil it until you remember about it (about 10 min)
3. Throw a can of soup in it (Amy's, Trader Joe's, whatever)
4. Sprinkle some sharp cheddar cheese gratings over it and serve. I sometimes put in cottage cheese too, in a lump in the middle. It's really good actually, provides a little cold mountain of secure retreat amid all the hot sophisticated flavors and textures.


2.
Enormously gi-normous salad of greens, then add:
Sprinkles of feta cheese, sunflower seeds, a half cup of low fat or non fat cottage cheese, & a little balsamic dressing. Maybe sprinkle yeast buds over them (get from health food store, not the same as brewers' yeast).

browninsb

Hi All,

One of my favorite meals is what I call "Hot Meat Salad." I throw in lots of green lettuce, spinach, green onions, tomato, carrots, cucumber,etc... Usually this salad is as big as my head! I then add 4oz of lean beef, turkey or chicken breast. I will sometimes use one of those Trader Joe's sausages that are about 4grams fat. Then I add between 1/2 - 1 cup Quinoa. Quinoa is a wonderful grain that is a protein because it is a seed. So yummy! I like to put some hummus, and yogurt chive dip from Trader Joes. I also will use some plain Greek yogurt.

I love spinach with lemon juice and garlic with onions sauteed in a pan. Throw some lean meat on this and go!

Oven roasted broccoli is a lovely thing to eat! A little olive oil, garlic salt and lemon pepper.

If you are interested I can share a couple of Forks over Knives recipes with couscous and barley. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send them to you.

Happy eating,
Mary Ellen

kbchmacdonald

This is great! I've printed out all your suggestions and will head to the store. I'm reluctant to eat the various faux meat products too frequently, as processed food is usually pretty high in sodium (blood pressure issue), so I'll check the labels and use accordingly. Having said this, I realize that they must be lower in sodium than my very favorite food, CHEEEEESE.

kstar137

Re: faux meat
I think since tempeh has been used for centuries, and is one of those "cultured" foods (like yogurt is), it's probably a lot healthier than fake meat products made with TVP and the 100 chemicals listed on the box. I wonder if you can get it low sodium...
I myself am way too addicted to Morningstar fake meat products, so have been trying to convert to more tempeh. Just to get away from the processed foods.

lindahirst1

I like to eat a big plateful of food but I take care to have very few "carbs" cos they use up too many calories. I don't eat potatoes generally (or just one) and only a 1/2 cup of rice per meal if you eat it. I am trying to never eat bread. I also avoid microwave prepared meals because they are way too small and you feel hungry afterwards. I try to eat just one of things that I would previously of eaten two of, like sausages or patties.

Some dinner suggestions that need no real prep:

A palm sized piece of meat (steak, chicken, pork..) with half a bag of prepared salad mix (I like the fresh express mixes) and a corn on the cob (or other veg). (about 500cal depending on the meat option)

One sausage (any kind) with peppers and onions pan fried in 1tbsp oil on top and a half pack of microwave steam veg mix (green giant has a good one with carrot peas and corn). (about 400cal) or with butter add 50cal.

Roast chopped eggplant, red peppers, onions and squash (big pieces) after drizzling in olive oil. Add a corn or half bag of salad and the palm sized piece of meat of your choice. (about 500cal).

2oz whole-wheat penne pasta. Pan fly one chicken thigh or meat substitute. Mix with marinara sauce then add a 1/4 cup of cheese on top. (about 550)

I really think you can eat a lot if you avoid breads and starchy sides with your meal. I am also a fan of soups for dinner, they really fill you up and you can eat a lot of soup for relatively few calories.

Linda

airboy1952

Thanks for the superb and detailed suggestions, Linda! I'm looking forward to trying these out...

Cheers,
Roger