I need some good, healthy recipes... Please!

there are some really greak cook books you can get, otherwise anything that is more simplier made will reduce the calories :-). Yogurt, granola, fruit, and chocolate sauce is a good ice cream subsitiute.

S-L-O-W-L-Y wean yourself and your family away from the red meat. You can get iron in green leafy vegetables instead of eating red meat more than 2 times a week. My family is/was a die hard carnivore red meat eating family with a huge side of starch like potatoes and very little vegetables until Mom decided (that's me) we all needed to change our eating habits. My kids are 16 and 18 years old, very physically active and by their looks don't need to change their diet. However after explaining to them that mom and dad are the size and girth they are after not watching the amount and type of food and drink we consume all of our adult life. Think *YOU too can look like this at (insert age here)* type of talk with your kids. You and they don't need to radically change anything...just substitute a little here and there. Try one meatless dinner a week. Get out a package of cards to size up how much a serving of steak should be on your plate. Measure serving sizes. This alone has stopped me from sitting down with a bag of chips and it also has given me a rude wake up call on what I use to consider a serving size.

So, for the red meat in your freezer: Take a recipe and cut the serving of meat in half, replace it with vegi's, legumes or starch such as rice or potato. Try one new food item a week, just at dinner. Have you ever thought about trying cauliflower mashed potatoes or sweet potato baked fries?

Also, sign yourself up to Hungrygirl.com and Relish.com. Have recipes and ideas (low calorie) about food items delivered to your in box daily. Search for and keep any dinners that are at or below 500 calories a serving. Make a huge salad once a week that can be available for at least 2-3 meals a week. Make sure to drink 16 oz. of water as you are preparing dinner. This one thing alone helps curb your appetite. Before pulling anything out, pour yourself that water. Here is my week's dinner menu. I *try* my best to spend at least an hour a week just planning for dinners. This way I am less likely to fix a heavy meal or call for take out!

Dinners:

1. Ground turkey tacos, (one for me) with yellow rice, red beans (I prepared a package of dried red beans last week and froze 1 cup serving sizes to get in more legumes in our meals), salsa and a serving size of chips (I ate 1/2 serving size)

2. Atheana fish ( tilapia) 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 3/4 cup diced onion, 1 tsp minced garlic, greek salad dressing, 1/4 cup white wine, 14oz artichoke hearts, Greek seasoning.

The cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, salad dressing seasoning and salt to taste make a vegetable salad. The fish is pan saute' finished, seasoned with Greek seasoning, salt and pepper, diced onion and garlic.

Calories per serving:140, Fat:11g, Sodium: 520mg, Carbs: 31g, Fiber 2g, Protein 1 g, Vit A 15%, Vit C 20%, Calcium 2%, Iron 2%

3. Root Vegetable Pie: Any root vegetables, I use leeks, spinach, carrots, potato, onion, turnips, dried and reconstituted mushrooms. 1/4 cup cooking sherry. Dice into 1 inch pieces, saute' with cooking sherry, salt and pepper to taste. Make a white roux gravy. I use about 1/2 cup milk product (your choice), mushroom water, a splash of sherry, 1/2 chicken bouillon cube. Heat together, add flour or corn starch to thicken. Use a prepared pie crust dough, mix white gravy and vegi's together, pour into pie crust. Top with second crust or do without. Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Serve with a salad.

4. Grandma's Chicken with Salad and pre-packaged noodle mix.

Ingredients

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. In a separate dish, mix bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Mix together the melted butter and lemon juice. Pour about 2/3 of the butter mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Tilt pan to coat the bottom. Spread mushrooms in an even layer in the bottom of the dish. Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place on top of the mushrooms. Drizzle remaining butter over the chicken, and sprinkle with parsley.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear.
Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 281 | Total Fat: 11.6g | Cholesterol: 113mg

5. Tofu Spicy P-nut Noodles (I am using tofu for the first time this week)

Linguine (8oz)
1/3 cup low fat creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs. low sodium soy sauce
1 -2 tsp. chili paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 med. size red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped cucumber
3 green onion slice diagonally
2 tbs chopped cilantro
4 lime wedges (1 lime)

per serving: 234 calories, 9g protein, 8g fat, Sodium 270mg, 33g Carbs, 3g fiber

I serve this with a pre-packaged pork egg roll.

5. Bratwurst and french fries (not healthy or low in calories, but I will adjust my other meals to allow for this)

6. Peas and cheese tortillini - Pre-packaged tortillini, a small bag of frozen peas, 5 green onions sliced, 2 tbls. flour, 1 2/3 milk product (your choice), 1/3 grated parmigiana. Serve with a salad or slice tomatoes and fresh basil. Also serve with cheese toasts; small slices of bread topped with minced garlic, a little olive oil and a very small amount of parm. cheese toasted.

7. Chicken Verde Salsa Casserole - 2 tblsp. oil (I use olive in almost every meal if it calls for it), 2 lbs chicken, skinless, boneless, cooked and diced, 1 16 oz jar of salsa verde, 1 can (15oz) kidney or red beans (I used a serving of red beans made earlier in the week) , 1 onion diced, 3 cups tortilla chips, 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese. The original recipe calls for 1/2lb of chicken, another 16 oz jar of verde salsa and sour cream. Also 8oz bag of cheese. I reduce when I can the 'bad' stuff! Place all in a casserole dish and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

8. Balsamic Pork Chops with tomato, basil wide noodles and green beans

4 pork chops (your call on type or thickness), 1/2 cup green onions sliced, 1 green bell pepper chopped, 1/2 diced piminentos drained, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 cup chicken broth. Saute' flour dusted pork chops several minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate (I tuck into a warm oven) Add pimientos, onions, cook 3-4 minutes, add vinegar and broth, reduce broth to thicken. Add pork chops to pan and coat with vinegar mixture.

Tomato -Basil Noodles

No Yolk wide noodles ~ cooked per package directions
fresh basil
tomato finishing butter or phildelphia cream basil and tomato cream mixture, to taste (I wouldn't use a whole container ~ just enough to taste) 1/4 cup grated parm. cheese

Steam fresh green beans or another family loved vegetable side

Enjoy!
BTW~ I enjoy cooking but don't like to spend all night in the kitchen. Most of these meals are well under an hour from start to finish, and many of them under 500 calories a serving.

Natalie:flowerforyou:

i have been living by skinnytaste.com....the asian glazed wings are amazing! i also love italian food and use italianfoodforever.com to make sauce and seafood recipes!

Agreed skinnytaste.com is awesome! Also, www.thegraciouspantry.com great clean eating delicious recipes )

bump for recipies

Thanks for posting this topic - I've gotten many good recipes from here, a new blog to follow for more recipes and at least three new favorite sites! So, thank you, thank you , thank you! Good health and blessings to us all!