Bored with dinner

try skinnytaste.com

Last night I did a stir fry with a chicken breast, california blend veggies and a cup of whole grain rice (the 170 calorie one) I added soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, onion and garlic. It was really good. I ate half for dinner and plan on having the other half for lunch today. Try to add in some fish too or homemade pizza or tacos. Ground turkey is great for homemade tacos just make sure you get the wheat tortillas and load it up with veggies too. Hope that helped!

I'm also trying to establish some "go-to" foods that I know I will like, will be quick to make, and tasty. Also that the boyfriend will like and eat. Luckily we both have the same tastes and there's not much on our "Don't Like" list.

I bought a box of Salmon burger patties from Sam's Club (also at Costco) and I am going to try them tonight...

I like breakfast food for dinner, and I notice any time I do eggs (omelette, scramble, light fry, etc) even with bacon and some cheese at night, I have good calories for that day.

You can do turkey or lean ground beef meatballs, but mince onion, mushroom and/or garlic really fine and mix them into the meat so it spreads the meat out and keeps it juicy but less calorie dense.

Cans of chub mackeral, tuna, or salmon can make easy and quick fish patties that you can pan-sear in a little bit of spray oil. Add celery, chives, minced onion, garlic, etc and seasonings.

Baked potato with some chili on top, or frozen broccoli in cheese sauce with peas on the side? Maybe some cottage cheese on top to add protein...

:happy: We had these cabbage rolls last night... I served them with homemade mashed potatoes w/chives (made with skim milk and fat free cream cheese) and some whole wheat rolls with a light garlic spread. There wasnt any left over and even my picky 12yr old son cleaned his plate!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked brown rice
8 cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato
soup ( I use the low sodium)

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until softened; drain.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.
4. Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.
5. In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.

Nutrition
Information
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Calories: 223 Amount Per Serving
Total Fat: 13.1g
Cholesterol: 69mg
Sodium: 657mg
Amount Per Serving
Total Carbs: 13.3g
Dietary Fiber: 0.9g
Protein: 12.8g

Have you tried those Buffalo Chicken Wraps they have in here? MMMM good. Another good one is the Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken. I served it with wide egg noodles, canned spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese and it was 354 calories. In fact, I had left overs last night and since I didn't have any more spaghetti sauce to top the chicken with I used Pace Medium Picante and that was good too. I have also tried to the taco cupcakes and I liked them. They were a little higher in calories than I would have liked but that was because I used 73/27 ground beef and full fat cheese.

There are a lot of really good sounding, low calorie meals listed. It has gotten me out of the slump of not wanting to cook because I was tired of the same old, same old too.

Wine. It makes everything better.

I would invest in some cookbooks, or subscriptions to monthly magazines that have recipes in them. Maybe try the library or used bookstores in your area first, and work toward building a collection.

I have the opposite problem. I have subscription to Food Network magazine, Weight Watchers magazine and Cooking Light magazine - I'm overwhelmed with dinner ideas! (I like to cook, I guess, or like to think I like to cook.)

For an easy, no thought meal, brown 1/2 pound of ground turkey, then add one can of rinsed, drained black beans. Stir in 1 can of ManWich mix until warm, and serve with whole-wheat burger buns. Makes four servings. Reduces calories by using the beans to sub for half the meat but keeps the protein count up.

Brown your turkey with some red, orange, or yellow sliced peppers, throw in some fresh mushrooms. Serve in a warmed wrap with a slice of white cheese and fresh baby spinach.

bump

Taco chicken with rice, salsa and greek yogurt:


This recipe is for 1 serving

1/2 cup dry white instance rice - 160 cal, 0g fat
2 oz Chobani fat free plain yogurt - 33 cal, 0g fat
2 tbsp Tostitos salsa - 10 cal, 0g fat
6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (trimmed of fat) - 180 cal, 2g fat
4 tsp Taco Bell Home Originals seasoning mix - 40 cal, 0g fat
Pam non-stick canola oil cooking spray - 32 cal, 4g fat
3/4 cup water

Totals: 455 calories, 6g fat

Cut up chicken to pieces of desired size. Spray non-stick pan with Pam. Cook chicken on med-high heat until lightly browned. Mix 1/4 cup water with seasoning mix. Add seasoning mixture once chicken is cooked, bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes (or until sauce is thick and sticking to chicken).

In a small pot, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add dry rice, stir. Then cover with lid and remove from heat. Rice will cook in 5-6 minutes.

Pour cooked rice into a bowl, top with chicken, yogurt and salsa. Enjoy!

Also, using Manwich with ground turkey doesn't taste as bad as it might sound.

Maybe more a lunch option, but here you go

CHICKEN & CHICKPEA SALAD

Left over Roasted chicken breast
Green leaves including Rocket for flavour
(Ie lettuce, spinach,mixed leaves etc)
Nice vine tomatoes, chopped
100g of chickpeas
Sugar snap peas or Green pepper
Half red pepper optional

Also a little dried chilli can make it more interesting..

My new favourite dinner - http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/tv-show/cook-yourself-thin-recipes/chicken-courgette-and-lemon-pasta-bake-recipe

If you're american, a courgette is a zucchini, I believe :-) I changed the recipe slightly - I added fine beans for a bit of texture, I made courgette ribbons instead of grating it, and I added a cheeky little garlic clove and lots of black pepper. Oh and I used chicken breast fillets which I poached in water with a bay leaf instead of roast chicken. I'm a real mac and cheese fiend and I love fresh flavours so I really love this dish.

All the best!