meals under 400 cal.

bump! need that mango chicken recipe!

i am like you and not a fab cook, and very impatient. i find the easiest way for me to cook and stay in my diet is to do chicken marinades! i let them sit in my fridge either in the morning or over night if i get them defrosted in time. then bake them in time for dinner! the hardest part is figuring out which marinade to use. i love baking chicken breasts, because i can just throw them in a glass baking dish with aluminum foil, and it makes cleaning up so easy (which i also hate!).

if you google chicken marinades you can find or mix up anything! it's so easy. even when i am running low of stuff in my pantry, i can usually figure out something to use that will work for dinner.

one of my go to's is (3/4 c) balsamic vinegar & (1/2 c) water with lots of herbs (parsley, oregano) paprika, chili powder, garlic, onion flakes. and bake in the oven at 400 for about 35 minutes.

another great one is a dijon mustard + honey marinade (here is the link: http://rachelschultz.com/2012/07/11/worlds-best-chicken/ - i swapped the maple syrup for honey and sherry wine for red wine vinegar and parsley for rosemary ). sooo yummy!! and again you just bake at 400 35 minutes. then when i have about 15 minutes left i start to prep whatever veggies i want and usually steam them if i have fresh veggies, or will stovetop cook them if i have frozen veggies.

today i used a prepackaged marinade sauce and everything came out to 384 calories for dinner and i was stuffed!! had some strawberries for dessert and called it a day
hope that helps! i know how tedious cooking can be!

Is there some way to make my Recipe Box viewable to others? I have about 40 recipes that I've created in there that are 400 calories or less per serving.

Spinach artichoke dip pasta – serves 6
3 cups rotini pasta, cooked and drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup milk – almond, coconut, regular etc
1 tbsp flour
3 oz cream cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (can use the kind from the canister)
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbsp mayo or 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

Cook pasta according to package and drain. While pasta is cooking, in a large pan melt butter and stir in flour until it becomes lumpy. In the same pan stir in milk, continue to stir 4-5 mins or until it becomes thicker. Add in cream cheese, grated parmesan cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts and garlic, toss in pasta until coated. Transfer into a baking pan, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and bake 15-20 mins until cheese is melted.

Per 6 servings – 293 calories. 4 servings – 440 calories

Stuffed zucchini – serves 1
1 whole zucchini, cut in half long ways, with insides gutted out (save these)
½ cup meatless grounds, or ground turkey, beef etc
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped onion
1/8 cup marinara sauce
¼ cup shredded mozzarella

After zucchini has been halved and gutted, in a skillet sautee the insides of the zucchini with garlic, onion, and meatless grounds. Stuff the zucchini with the mixture, top with sauce and cheese and bake 15-20 minutes

209 calories

Eggplant curry – serves 4
1 eggplant, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ cup coconut milk
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cayenne powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground mustard
2/3 cup pearl onions, thawed
1 bell pepper, diced

In a large pan, cook the eggplant until soft. Add tomato paste, spices, onion, and pepper, cook a few more minutes stirring to avoid anything sticking. Stir in coconut milk and bring to a light boil, the milk should coat the eggplant. Serve over rice, couscous, quinoa, etc.

74 calories (not including rice, couscous, quinoa, etc)

Quinoa spinach patties (from skinnytaste.com) – serves 7 (makes 14 patties)
Per 2 patties, 236 calories

Shirataki noodle stir fry – serves 2
1 package shirataki noodles, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen stir fry veggies (broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc)
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
3 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Soy sauce, sweet n sour sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc
If desired, add in protein such as chicken or tofu

Dry cook noodles in a skillet, add in vegetables and cook. Add in sauce of choice, if desired add in a protein as well

135 cals with 1tbsp teriyaki sauce

Taco salad – serves 3
1 cup meatless grounds, or ground beef or turkey
4 tbsp taco seasoning, or season to taste
4 tbsp salsa
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 oz plain greek yogurt or sour cream
12 romaine heart leaves
85 grams frozen pepper onion mix

In large skillet, cook meatless grounds or meat. Add a little water and add taco seasoning, stir in peppers and onion, and any other veggies you may want to add. Serve over lettuce and top with salsa and greek yogurt or sour cream

192 calories

Sushi bowls – serves 2
1 ½ cups rice cooked
10 slices cucumber, halved
½ cup steamed asparagus
½ cup edamame
3 oz baby carrots, steamed
½ sushi nori sheet
1 tbsp soy sauce

Cook rice, add in ingredients, crumble nori sheets.

266 calories

Vegan slow cooker soup – serves 8-10
½ head cabbage, chopped
Anywhere between 3-9 oz baby carrots
3 red potatos, cut up into bite sized pieces
½ block tofu, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
5 cups vegetable stock or broth
1 container diced tomatoes in juice
3-5 oz sliced mushrooms

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours

Per 10 servings – 99 calories

Is there some way to make my Recipe Box viewable to others? I have about 40 recipes that I've created in there that are 400 calories or less per serving.

best thing would prolly be to take a screen shot of the recipes and load them on this thread, time consuming. there is also an option in the recipe box to share them where you type in the cooking directions with it

bump

Bump!

Chicken "Chili"

2 Chicken Breasts
1 c. Salsa
1 pkt. Taco Seasoning
1 can Fat Free Cream of Mushroom
1 can Black Beans
1 can Ranch Beans
1/2 c. Water

Put it all in a slow crooker; cook on low all day (6 - 8 hours). Shred chicken (it will fall apart). Viola! You can eat plain in a bowl, with tortillas, in a pita, on polenta, over rice...possibilities are endless. Less than 200 calories per serving!

One more tip, half of cooking (simple dishes anyways) is the prep work. In order to break up the monotony, I do a little prep work in the morning and a little in the evening. Also, I take my ipad in the kitchen and play pandora. Listening to music while chopping vegies makes it more fun.

This is a great tip! I usually spend about 3 hours prepping veggies and fruits for the upcoming week after I've gone grocery shopping, and playing music makes the time fly!

Use quorn!

Last night my hubby cooked for me, I had a chicken style quorn fillet, with a tomato sauce on it (with onion, mushrooms, garlic in it) It was 187 cals!

You could have two fillets, or add some rice or something and still be well under 400