Quick and easy dinner ideas - HELP

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JohnnyAce
JohnnyAce Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I justed started and I've lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks. This site is amazing. It is fairly easy for me to track my calories and I am good at saying 'no' to snacks and desserts, etc. But, my problem is figuring out what I can do for quick dinners as I am constantly 'on the go'. I am tired of having a 170-calorie granola bar all the time. If you have any quick and easy low-calorie dinners that fill you up, please share your ideas. Thanks and good luck everyone.

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  • jENNiP125
    jENNiP125 Posts: 4
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    turkey taco salad. (Jennie O ground turkey) Top your lettuce with seasoned turkey meat, tomato, taco sauce, onion, a little cheese and a few taco chips and you have a low cal meal. It is also good with Light Western dressing.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    This is a set of recipies- for all times of day:

    http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipes/SearchResults.aspx?CriteriaIds=12_10
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
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    You can do something simple like cook chicken and a few sides.

    For example, last night I put 2 tbsp of hot sauce and 1 tsp of red pepper in a bowl and mixed it. Then I sprayed a pan and cut chicken breasts thin and laid them in the pan. I brushed the hot sauce mix on the chicken and put it in the fridge for 30 mins (you don't have to do that) and then I put it in the oven. It only took about 20 minutes to cook. Then you can make rice, corn, or anything you want on the side. You don't have to do the hot sauce thing, I just love it!
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
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    Ohhh that site has a recipe that reminded me of what I had for the dinner the other night.

    I boiled whole wheat pasta, only an ounce, and then when it was done, I put a dab of butter and mixed it around and then poured grated Parmesan cheese on top. Real Parm, not the Kraft stuff. Then put a little bit of oregano and mixed it all up. Was SO yummy and so simple! I ate it with an Italian sausage.
  • ivyjbres
    ivyjbres Posts: 612 Member
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    Being a mid-western girl, my diner philosophy is take 4 cans of something out of the pantry, stir it together, bake it for an hour and put Velveeta on top. I know its not very quick as far as cook time, but there's 0 prep time, so while its cooking, I'm doing whatever else I need done.
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    Being a mid-western girl, my diner philosophy is take 4 cans of something out of the pantry, stir it together, bake it for an hour and put Velveeta on top. I know its not very quick as far as cook time, but there's 0 prep time, so while its cooking, I'm doing whatever else I need done.

    Unfortunately most canned goods are way too high in sodium, and Velveeta is really bad, high in saturated fat, processed crap. I've completely dropped all of these type of items from our kitchen. Try to opt for fresh when you can.
    Our dinners consist of a lean protein and steamed veggies or a salad with either brown rice or whole wheat couscous on occasion. It always takes me no time at all to throw this together.
  • JohnnyAce
    JohnnyAce Posts: 2 Member
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    bump
  • Bearjumps
    Bearjumps Posts: 10
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    This is what I do when I'm in a hurry.

    Heat the oven up to 375;
    At the same time, cut up some vegetables that don't really a lot of washing ( like squash & zuccini; broccolli & potato) into small chuncks;
    Toss them in a mixing bowl;
    Add 1 tbsp of olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and whatever spice you like
    Mix the vege
    Put tin foil paper on top of a baking pan
    Pour the vegetables on the baking pan, stick it into the oven.
    Done in 15-20 min!

    If you want some carbs, boil some corn/potato on the side.
  • HonestOmnivore
    HonestOmnivore Posts: 1,356 Member
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    My standard quick meal -

    Frozen chicken breasts - rinse off ice glaze, pat dry and put in a baggie with some balsamic vinaigrette* for a few minutes then use either the George Forman Grill or a hot heavy weight skillet (I use cast iron) to grill.

    Serve with 1/2 cup brown rice and a steamed veggie (microwave). - you can have this done - freezer to table in under 30 minutes depending on your brown rice. I cook a bunch on the weekend then just re-heat. You can pre-cook and freeze too, or buy it pre-made at the store.

    *look for interesting salad dressings or marinades in the clearance racks and keep these on hand to mix up boring chicken breasts!

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