HEY! I am starting to get bored with the 2 or 3 meals I fix myself for dinner every night. Any suggestions for quick and easy (but healthy) dinners? I cook for just myself, and used to eat Lean Cuisine's all the time but haven't eaten them in a year or so. Do you guys eat frozen dinner, which ones are good, etc. I don't eat beef or pork but love chicken and seafood. SO any suggestions, ANY AT ALL, are welcome and appreciated! I try to stay away from processed foods (like frozen dinners) but it shouldn't be too bad if I eat them once or twice a week. Just want the educated crowd's thoughts and opinions! And any recipes for easy meals are wanted, too. Tell me your favorite pasta sauce, canned soup, frozen meal, etc... thank you so much!
dinner ideas
- Thread starter saralh
- Start date
Hi! I buy a pound or two of frozen chicken breast and then wrap them in individual freezer bags so I only have to thaw one at a time. One quick idea is stir fry. I can cut up the chicken, and buy a bag of pre-cut broccoli, or whatever veggies you want. I add a hint of low sodium soy sauce. It only takes a few minutes and you can also make a big batch and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. If you like tuna, a tuna melt on whole grain bread with fat free cheese is another option. Chili made with ground turkey is quick and you have tons of leftovers that you can freeze. Back to the chicken, you can also dice it and add it to a huge salad. I make Egg Beaters omelets for dinner quite often too. I'm sure others will be able to come up with many more ideas. I'm a picky eater so my dinner choices seem to become limited quickly too!
Stacy
StacyHEY! Thanks for the ideas. I think I will try making an omlette this week. I usually do fish, chicken, or a veggie burger with a side of veggies and a sweet tater, or tofu with veggies and a whole wheat tortilla. I am thinking of getting some whole wheat spaghetti and adding tomato sauce, veggies, and chicken breast. And I think there are quite a few new Lean Cuisine meals now. DO you ever eat frozen meals? How much egg beaters do you use for your omlette? What do you eat it with? Just curious, and thanks again for the tips! :0)
B
bebop
Guest
I use lo-calorie Italian salad dressing as an all purpose marinade. You can just pour it over the chicken or fish - bake it in the oven and its done. The chicken is also great cold the next day for salads or sandwiches. Also, if you do a search on the web for whatever recipe you are looking for, you will get more links than you an look at.
Happy eating.
Happy eating.
I just use one single serving container of Egg Beaters for my omelet. I usually dont eat anything with it, but when I do it's usually some low fat cottage cheese. Egg Beaters just came out with a new product...Egg Whites. Of course to me nothing tastes as good as a real egg, but this way is much healthier. The Egg Whites taste the same as Egg Beaters to me, just kinda weird eating a white omelet!
Stacy
StacyHEY! I will see what my local grocery store has as far as Egg Beaters go. I guess I could always use egg whites (seperate them from the whole egg). But egg beaters sounds easier. Do you add veggies or anything to your omlette? Well I will try it this week. I bet it'd be great with low fat soy cheese, and onion, spinach, and mushrooms. Maybe I'll get a bag of frozen mixed veggies and add that to the egg beaters when they cook. Ok, so just pour the egg beaters into a skillet and let it cook, add some veggies, fold it over, and then what... seems like I should know how to cook an omlette! Sheeesh. Well thank you very much. I really appreciate the suggestions!
Yep....you've pretty much described how to cook the perfect omelet. And, if during the flipping process, it sticks to the pan, then stir it all and you've got scrambled eggs! You cant lose either way!! And, yes, I do eat frozen foods. I'm trying to cut down on them but I used to eat them religiously for lunch. I try to stick to either Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers or Healthy Choice and pick only the entrees with 300 calories or less. And, no I usually dont add veggies to my omelet, only because I dont like most veggies...I'm pretty picky as I mentioned before. I do however like mushrooms and spinach, maybe I'll try that next time, if I'm not too lazy to dice the mushrooms
Chow,
Stacy
Chow,
Stacy
L
Lizzie
Guest
Hi there,
Well if you like chicken and you like stove top stuffing then you should try this. One of my favorites (and very easy) is a chicken and stove top casserole. It came from Stove Top's website but I made it lower in fat.
I use 1 can of campbell's healthy choice cream of mushroom soup (could use crm of chicken)and about a cup of dry Stove top stuffing (that's an approximation.. don't hold me to it). Then I add a little skim milk, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup. I sometimes add a little shredded light cheddar cheese to add a little cheesy goodness (you could add it on top as well). ;-) Mix it all up. Chop up some skinless boneless chicken breasts (2 breasts is good if you use a 9x9 casserole dish) and cook it in a skillet. Put the chicken in the casserole dish. Put the stuffing mixture over the chicken. Bake at about 375 for 20 - 25 minutes. It's quick, easy, yummy and I always have leftovers for lunch the next day!
Well if you like chicken and you like stove top stuffing then you should try this. One of my favorites (and very easy) is a chicken and stove top casserole. It came from Stove Top's website but I made it lower in fat.
I use 1 can of campbell's healthy choice cream of mushroom soup (could use crm of chicken)and about a cup of dry Stove top stuffing (that's an approximation.. don't hold me to it). Then I add a little skim milk, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup. I sometimes add a little shredded light cheddar cheese to add a little cheesy goodness (you could add it on top as well). ;-) Mix it all up. Chop up some skinless boneless chicken breasts (2 breasts is good if you use a 9x9 casserole dish) and cook it in a skillet. Put the chicken in the casserole dish. Put the stuffing mixture over the chicken. Bake at about 375 for 20 - 25 minutes. It's quick, easy, yummy and I always have leftovers for lunch the next day!
One of my favorite dinner meals I prepare for my husband & I is grilled salmon, steamed veggies and whole wheat soba noodles. I make this once or twice a week. The noodles take only 5 mins to make and are delicious tossed with rice wine vinegar & low-sodium soy sauce. I mix the steamed veggies (whatever you like) with the noodles and serve with the salmon. The salmon can be broiled if you don't want to grill. I usually marinade it in chili sauce & honey, sprinkled with green onions, garlic & fresh ginger. Fresh ginger is wonderful sprinkled in the noodles too (use sparingly)
marnie
marnie
SOUNDS GREAT! My dinners are always a carb (sweet potato, brown rice, whole wheat tortilla), and protein (fish, chicken, tofu, soy patty), and lots of veggies. I just need to branch out and find some more mix and match combos that are quick and healthy. I bought whole grain rolls but haven't used them yet. I want to start buying some whole wheat spaghetti and find a good pasta sauce so I can cook it and add veggies and some chicken or soy protein. I think that sounds good. I probably need to branch out with my spices and herbs, too... they make such a difference! Thanks for all the ideas. I will get noodles of some kind this week. And egg beaters, too!
J
Joanna
Guest
Here's one I did tonite (made most of it up after I read a recipe in Sunday's paper):
Chicken Chili
four uncooked skinless chix breasts,cut into cubes
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sm jalapeno, diced (seeds removed!)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can red beans, rinsed
salt & pepper
mexican seasoning (McCormick brand)
flour for chicken
Roll cubed chicken in flour with a little salt and pepper. Brown in skillet along with onion and garlic. Add jalepeno. Cook until begins to soften. Add Mex seasoning to taste. Cook some more. Add tomatoes and beans. Add salt, pepper, and more Mex seas to taste. Simmer for awhile until all flavor melds. Adding a little beer adds liquid and flavor, if desired.
Serve with salad and cornbread (I make my own w/o any fat...)
Enjoy!
Chicken Chili
four uncooked skinless chix breasts,cut into cubes
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sm jalapeno, diced (seeds removed!)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can red beans, rinsed
salt & pepper
mexican seasoning (McCormick brand)
flour for chicken
Roll cubed chicken in flour with a little salt and pepper. Brown in skillet along with onion and garlic. Add jalepeno. Cook until begins to soften. Add Mex seasoning to taste. Cook some more. Add tomatoes and beans. Add salt, pepper, and more Mex seas to taste. Simmer for awhile until all flavor melds. Adding a little beer adds liquid and flavor, if desired.
Serve with salad and cornbread (I make my own w/o any fat...)
Enjoy!
I simply eat healthy with lo carbs all day and eat a normal portion sized dinner. No second helpings (except for veggies if I am low on calories that day) and no bread. You can also check out www.allrecipes.com, they have a lot of different recipes to choose from. They also have just added a low-fat section. : )
I just found a great quick meal my husband and I love. It's Turkey Quasadea's. You take a Tortia shell or soft taco wrap. You heat that up and flip it then take it off on the side and do the same to the 2nd one. when the second one is on the second side, (so all sides of both tortia's are heated up), put (cooked) ground turkey with sauted scallions and salsa (we like mild), and then top it with lite cheddar on top. Then you put the other warm tortia on top and heat through.
Slice like a pizza and serve with rice and black beans, or something mexican.
Faythe
Slice like a pizza and serve with rice and black beans, or something mexican.
Faythe
L
Lizzie
Guest
Great point there - ALLRECIPES.COM is the best. You can find multiple recipes for pretty much any dish you can think of and quite a few low fat ideas as well.