Hakuna Fritatta
February 12, 2012
In an attempt to add more protein to my diet I created this fritatta recipe that’s surprisingly low calorie at no expense to the taste!
Ingredients
- 12 egg whites (I buy plain egg whites in a carton instead of using regular eggs and wasting the yolks)
This is about half way through cooking
- 10 oz fresh spinach
- 10 oz package sliced white mushrooms
- 4 slices turkey bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Once hot, add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Add spinach and saute an additional 5-10 minutes until spinach is wilted and mushrooms have cooked down.
- In large bowl, mix spinach and mushrooms with all other ingredients.
- Pour mixture into 13 inch pie plate and bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes, until no longer wet in the middle when a toothpick is inserted
Nutritional Info: 4 servings per pie plate ~170 calories and ~24 g protein per serving
This is a light, but flavorful dish that’s packed full of vegetables.
Ingredients for main dish – Fish Bake
Bad picture..I'll try to get a better one the next time I make this.
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 tsp. minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 1-3 large zucchini, diced (I always double or triple the veggies in my recipes, so I used 3)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 tsp. herbes de Provence (or use dried thyme or basil or fresh herbs)
- 1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
- 1-1 1/2 lbs. white roughy, cod, tilapia, or other white fish fillets
- 2 lemons, juice only, about 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, or to taste (optional)
Ingredients for side dish – Blue Cheese & Red Cabbage Salad
- 6 cups Romain, red butterhead lettuce, or fresh spinach, cut into strips
- 1/2 head red or purple cabbage, cut into thin strips
- 3 Tbsp. crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola
- 3 Tbsp. Walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 4-6 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I use Newman’s Own Lite Vinaigrette – this can be added after the salad is served so that leftovers can be saved without dressing)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Sauté the onions and garlic for about 2 minutes while you chop the other vegetables. Add the zucchini, bell peppers and herbes de Provence to the pan and continue to sauté them until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Season them with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lay the fish in a single layer in a large baking dish. Spoon the vegetables evenly over the fillets, and pour ½ the lemon juice (¼ cup) over everything.
- Bake for 15 minutes, pour rest of lemon juice over fish, continue cooking 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the vegetables are softened.
- For the salad, toss all ingredients in a bowl.
- I serve this dish with baked sweet potatoes.
Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
January 1, 2012
I created this recipe after researching traditional chicken enchiladas. I was able to cut out a lot of calories and fat just by using lighter versions of certain products and with just a little substitution. Overall, each enchilada has about 135 calories. I usually eat 2 and make some fresh guacamole and Spanish rice to complement – all for under 500 calories!
Ingredients
- 3/4 C light/fat free cream of mushroom soup
- 1/4 C light sour cream
- 1/2 C plain fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/4 white onion, diced
- 1 large chicken breast
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Boil chicken breast for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink inside, dice or shred
- Mix soup, sour cream, yogurt and onion together in a large bowl
- Fill each of the 8 tortillas with chicken and a tbsp full of soup mixture, roll each tortilla and place side by side in a greased 8X8 glass baking dish
- Pour remaining soup mixture over rolled enchiladas
- Top with cheese
- Bake at 350° until bubbly and cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes
There are 2 enchiladas pictured here.
2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
October 17, 2011
Yes, you heard that right, 2 ingredients. I too was shocked when I first saw this recipe and even more shocked when I tasted one – it was the moistest cupcake I’d ever tasted despite the fact that I hadn’t added any water, oil or eggs! This is a great breakfast muffin, a delicious afternoon treat with your coffee, and an easy dessert — basically, it’s good any time of day!
Pumpkin Muffins
- One Yellow Super Moist Cake mix
- 1 -15 ounce can 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl mix cake mix with pumpkin filling using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. DO NOT ADD ANY OTHER INGREDIENTS – NO water, NO eggs, NO oil – just simply the cake mix and the pumpkin! Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fill cupcakes about ½ full. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. Makes 20 cupcakes. You can make this as a cake too – just bake a little longer.
Apple Cider Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 T. apple cider
- 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
In a small bowl blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour over pumpkin cupcakes. Let set before covering.
Penne Pasta with Pistachio Pesto Cream Sauce
August 14, 2011
This recipe came out of the San Antonio Express News Taste section in a segment they call “Cook it Light”. Basically they take a recipe and substitute ingredients to lower the fat and calorie content. It looked easy enough and turned out to be very tasty.
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces whole wheat penne pasta (I used a gluten-free version)
- 4 to 6 cups bite-size fresh or frozen vegetables (I used diced eggplant & peas)
- 1 C fresh basil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 to 3 T fat-free chicken broth
- ¼ C shelled pistachio nuts, toasted
- 1 T cornstarch
- 2 C fat-free half-and-half
- ¾ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Boil the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Drain and set aside.
- Steam the bite-sized veggies of choice till crisp-tender. Set aside.
- For the pesto, put the basil, garlic, chicken broth and pistachio nuts into food processor and pulse until finely chopped, scraping the sides as needed and adding more broth if necessary.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the fat-free half-and-half in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly until thickened and boiling. Add the pesto and cheese and mix well.
- Cover the pasta and veggies with the sauce.
Served with warm bread
*I pan-seared a filet of salmon and flaked it into the finished pasta – it was delicious. You could add chicken as well.
Per Serving without salmon (makes 6 servings): — Calories: 338, Total Fat: 7g, Carbs: 57g, Fiber: 9g, Protein 13g
Grilled Zucchini & Red Bell Pepper Salad
May 22, 2011
This is the 2nd of 2 great summer vegetable salads that I got from Martha Stewart (from her website, not personally 
. Checkout the first recipe for Corn Avocado & Cilantro salad here.
Ingredients:
- 4 green zucchini, cut in half and then cut length-wise into thick strips
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thick strips
- 1/2 tbsp dried basil
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
Directions:
- Heat grill to medium-high.
- Grill veggies until soft, but not wilted (about 10 minutes or so depending on thickness of slices – I used a grill basket)
- Gently toss veggies with basil, olive oil and salt.
- Serve warm or cold (we ate it warm)
Zucchini & Red Bell Pepper Salad is on the left - Corn, Avocado & Cilantro Salad is on the right
Martha Stewart knows what she’s doing
May 22, 2011
Martha Stewart is a frequent guest on the Today Show (which D and I watch a few mornings a week while getting ready for work) and she is usually showing off some pretty extravagant recipes — that have 154 ingredients – which is exactly why I’ve never tried to conquer one in my own kitchen. But this past week she was showcasing low-fat summer salad recipes that did not include mayo and that had only 3 to 5 ingredients each. Dustin actually saw the segment and sent me the link to the recipes so we could try some. We made 2 to accompany our NY strips last night and they did not disappoint. I’d even go as far as saying that they were easy. If you need a quick veggie dish to add to your dinner or a salad to add to a picnic, these are both great…I’ll include the Corn Avocado & Cilantro Salad in this post and type the Grilled Zucchini and Red Bell Pepper Salad in the next.
Ingredients:
- 4 ears of corn, shucked
- 1 Hass avocado, sliced
- 1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
Directions:
- Heat grill to medium-high.
- Grill corn, rotating often, until lightly charred, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and then carefully slice kernels from cob.
- Gently toss corn with avocado, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt.
- Serve warm or cold (we ate it warm)
Zucchini & Red Bell Pepper Salad is on the left - Corn, Avocado & Cilantro salad is on the right.
Best Salmon I EVER made
May 22, 2011
The title to this post is actually a direct quote from Dustin during dinner while eating the recipe below. You see, Dustin ‘grades’ my recipes on a scale of 1 to 10 and we keep a spreadsheet with their grades so I know what he likes and doesn’t like. It also serves as a great go-to database to find dinner ideas quick. This recipe received the highest score Dustin has ever given any of my dinners – a whopping 8.5 (yes, he’s a hard judge!)! I was intrigued by this recipe because of how FEW ingredients it had and even more intrigued by how flavorful and scrumptious it was. If you like salmon, this stuffing is sure to be a simple and tasty addition to a old favorite.
Ingredients:
- 4 salmon filets (about 4 oz each)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 C baby spinach
- 1/3 C feta cheese
- 3 Tbsp red onion (chopped fine)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1/3 C fresh basil (chopped)
Preparation:
- Combine spinach, feta, onion, garlic and basil in a food processor. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice each salmon filet horizontally, stopping 1/2” from the edge
- Open the filets and divide stuffing mixture evenly between them
- Close filets and brush with oil
- Season with salt and pepper
- Saute in non-stick skillet, grill or bake. I baked at 350° for 8 to 12 minutes (until salmon flakes easily with a fork).
2 pictures of the stuffed salmon and 1 of the stuffing ingredients before being processed.
Chicken Souvlaki Pita (or Wraps)
May 22, 2011
I was looking for a simple wrap recipe to use the rest of the wraps I bought for the Eggplant Parmesan Paninis and although this recipe called for pita bread, I knew I could substitute for a wrap (which in turn lowered the calorie and fat content!). Even though the recipe looked great on paper, I didn’t expect the meat to be as yummy as it was. We ate these wraps warm (meat right off the grill) the night we made them and then ate them cold (put them together with meat coming right from the fridge) the next day – both were delicious.
Marinade:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 C onion (minced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 bay leaves (crushed)
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt & pepper
Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 C lowfat plain yogurt (I used nonfat Oikos)
- 1/4 C grated cucumber
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic salt (be careful, this stuff is potent and can easily ruin your sauce…add a little at a time and taste it as you go. This yogurt sauce should be a little thinner, but have the same flavor as a traditional tsatziki sauce served at Greek restaurants).
Garnishes for wrap:
- Raw spinach
- Feta Cheese
- Dived tomatoes
- Avocado
- Whole wheat wraps or pita bread
Directions:
- Put marinade in large ziplock baggie and add 1 lb chicken strips. Marinate chicken 1 hour or longer (I marinated it all day while I was at work).
- Cook chicken on grill or in skillet, flipping occasionally until cooked throughout.
- Combine all ingredients of yogurt sauce and refrigerate while cooking chicken.
- Place chicken, a few tablespoons of yogurt sauce, and 1/8 cup of feta on a wrap or in a pita. Add garnishes (tomato, avocado, etc.). Enjoy!
Creating the wrap - I wrapped my wrap in foil to pack it in my lunch (this worked well for eating it at my desk without making a mess!)
Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine
May 22, 2011
I got this recipe from Self magazine and while at first glance it looks complicated because the number of ingredients, it’s actually pretty easy to throw together. We used gluten free noodles for the pasta and it turned out great. Also, it tends to be much more flavorful the day after so you can look forward to yummy leftovers!
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (or more!)
- 1 medium onion, chopped (we used about 1/2 onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 C dry white wine
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp instant chicken bouillon, crumbled
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (you can buy them already deveined at the seafood counter @ HEB!)
- 1/4 C fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (we actually used curly, not flat-leaf)
- 1/4 C grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz whole-grain fettuccine (again, we used gluten free pasta)
Preparation:
- Heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic, stirring until onion is tender, 2 to 3 minutes
- Combine 1/4 C water with wine, basil, bouillon, cornstarch and oregano in a bowl
- Add tomatoes and shrimp to skillet. Cook until shrimp begins to turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes
- Reduce heat to low, stir in wine mixture
- Cover; simmer until shrimp is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more
- Stir in parsley, cheese and pasta
- Serve immediately
Per Serving (makes 4 servings): — Calories: 400, Total Fat: 8.4g, Saturated Fat: 1.7g, arbs: 55.14g, Fiber: 6.7g, Protein 33.4g
First night - Leftovers the next day (with better lighting for a picture)
