Frustration - Chickpeas! All legumes?

vivmom2014
vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
Calculating a super healthy skillet dinner that includes chickpeas comes to over 600 calories per serving. That doesn't include any side dish (like a salad or piece of naan) either. I might as well go to McDonalds and get crap fries and a greasy burger (except I'm vegetarian these days.) I'm discouraged!!

Cooking a healthy vegetarian dinner will blow WAY too many calories. What's healthy about that? The other ingredients in the skillet dish include chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, 6 ounces angel hair pasta (split 4 ways), the dreaded calorie-dense chickpeas (one 15 ounce can, drained & rinsed), 1/2 cup fresh shredded Parm, 2 teaspoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Is this skillet dinner even healthy? If it isn't, what IS?

I'm hungry hungry hungry and now I'm mad.

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    600 calories is perfectly fine for a main dish. Calorie dense means calorie-full.

    If you want a low-calorie miserable meal, eat four cups of puffed wheat.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    It sounds very nutritionally dense. It sounds delicious. You won't need to snack later!
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    Sounds pretty good though I'd not have the pasta. I eat chickpeas a lot. Not sure how it is running up your calories so much. A can has 2.5 servings usually at around 120 cals per serving. And 1 serving is usually plenty. Even 2 would be fine. Sounds like portion issue.
  • crazyDogLady61
    crazyDogLady61 Posts: 62 Member
    If you don't have the calories, dump the pasta and sub with a big pile fresh of spinach or kale. That will fill up your plate and I bet it drops 100 calories from the meal.
  • zomarose
    zomarose Posts: 9 Member
    Calories don't dictate whether or not a meal is healthy. Those chickpeas are full of calories but also full of fiber and other valuable nutrients. You absolutly can go to Mcdonalds and eat crap, but those are empty calories and you will feel like crap afterward.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Thank you everyone. I'm sorry to throw such a baby tantrum. I do have the calories to spare but I'm back to MFP after falling waaaaay off the wagon (holidays) and getting back into it is so much harder than I'd anticipated. I have a panic thing about using all my calories at dinner - I know that I will want to snack later. (Or get up in the middle of the night and eat Twizzlers in a fit of rebellion, but that's another forum.) Thanks again.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    It is probably very filling so you would not miss a side dish but if you want something else with it you could always just eat a half serving.
    You could probably knock down some calories by reducing the amount of parmesan cheese or eliminating it.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    For most of the cans of beans I read, a serving is a half cup. The other calorie heavy items are the pasta, cheese and the olive oil, don't blame it all on the chickpeas. If it were me being REALLY careful, and unable to just do a good workout the next day, I'd skip the pasta, just lightly sprinkle on the cheese I want, and I see no reason for that much oil in a non-stick pan.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    Oh and yes, all legumes are calorie dense, but so much better for you than a McD's whatever. I often have a half cup of chili beans (Bush's), with sauteed kale (clarified onions, garlic, sauteed in coconut oil), as my work lunch.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    Cooking a healthy vegetarian dinner will blow WAY too many calories.

    Lentils & rice. Cheap, nutritious, as few (or as many) calories as you want.
  • anewstart22
    anewstart22 Posts: 885 Member
    edited January 2015
    I have a recipe I found from Lynn Matava using Chickpeas and one serving is quite low in calories and very healthy. I am not vegetarian but I often eat meals considered vegetarian, this is one of them. I use water instead of chicken stock to cook the quinoa.

    My recipe contains the items listed below and I use good reverse osmosis water but chose what I could to add the recipe. Her recipe is basic and you add what you want to in the end. I serve it on a pile of baby spinach and one serving without the spinach is just 269 calories. There are 8 servings per recipe and I eat it all week.

    See the link for Lynn Matava's recipe all the way at the bottom.



    3.00 onion, Onions - Sweet, raw
    2.00 clove(s), Garlic - Raw
    0.25 tsp, Salt and Pepper
    14.00 oz(s), Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram) - Canned
    1.00 cucumber (8-1/4"), Cucumber - With peel, raw
    1.00 pepper, Green Bell Pepper Net Carb (5/24/2014)
    4.00 stalk, Onions - Young green, tops only
    1.33 fruit, Avocado, No Skin or Seed
    0.25 cup(s), Parsley - Raw
    1.00 Cup 170 g, Quinoa (Uncooked)
    2.00 floz, Ancho Chile Sauce
    1.00 tsp(s), Oil - Olive
    2.00 tbsp(s), Water - Municipal
    1.50 cup (8 fl oz), Water - Municipal
    20.00 tomatoes, Grape Tomato

    Nutrition Facts

    Servings 8.0

    Amount Per Serving
    calories 269

    % Daily Value *
    Total Fat 8 g 13 %
    Saturated Fat 1 g 6 %
    Monounsaturated Fat 5 g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
    Trans Fat 0 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
    Sodium 279 mg 12 %
    Potassium 690 mg 20 %
    Total Carbohydrate 43 g 14 %
    Dietary Fiber 9 g 35 %
    Sugars 9 g
    Protein 8 g 17 %
    Vitamin A 27 %
    Vitamin C 488 %
    Calcium 7 %
    Iron 16 %


    * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

    countrytart.blogspot.com/2014/02/i-do-lot-of-healthy-cooking.html
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