Q. I'm the one responsible for cooking for my husband and I and we are trying to eat healthier meals. I'm in a rut!! I enjoy cooking but I get tired of always deciding.
For instance tonight, grilled chicken sandwiches (or something else with chicken), pork tenderloin? Salmon in the freezer? And then what about side dishes? I have carrots, broccoli, salad, cauliflower.
Please help!
A. I have a hard time deciding also, which makes cooking frustrating. So I have gone to various food recipe websites such as Rachel Ray's, Martha Stewart's, and allrecipes.com to find new recipes to try out. There are plenty out there, so I just look what main dish I want to eat (such as beef) then look online, and usually find something appetizing. Good luck!
Btw: with the ingredients you have, you could make a chicken pot pie, or a chicken-broccoli baked calzone.
What are your favorite healthy recipes and food?
Q. My husband and I are eating healthy and was wanting to know what kind of recipes you have that are delicious that are healthy? Also, what kind of snacks or other healthy ideas do you enjoy? Thank you!!!
A. Ways that helped me to a healthy lifestyle way of eating:
Nutritious foods that are high in nutrients and low in fat and sugar (no sugar, if possible).
Substituting sugar and oil (partially, depends on the recipe) by using applesauce and pureed fruits in baked goods.
Eating veggies as the main dish and lean meats (including beans), fish and chicken (very little red meat) as a side dish.
Eating whole wheat rice, pasta and breads is good as a side dish or as part of the main dish, as long as it is not high in fat, but is high in fiber. Lots of times, breads and pasta will say its wheat when it isn't whole wheat; something to watch out for.
Eating 3 meals plus 2 snacks a day is good.
Staying away from fast foods and tv dinners laden with fat and sugar.
Staying away from mayonnaise, in sandwiches or salads especially, use mustard instead. For dips and salads, use non fat to low fat yogurt. Or used tomato based dressing or dip (like salsa)
Use monosaturated fats like olive oil, not polyunsaturated or saturated fats.
Key is finding what kinds of foods you like; going to the American Heart Association website as a guideline.
Then looking at recipes that appeal to you.
I made a binder, with plastic sheet pocket protector page with index pages (salads, meats, side dishes, desserts, etc.). I’d try the recipe, if it’s good, it stays, if not, its tossed.
Tuna cakes
1 can tuna, drained (I like the one packed in water)
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I use leftover whole wheat bread and grind it up in the food processor)
1 egg (or 1/4 egg substitute)
onion (optional)
Mix together, using pie plate with crumbs in it (2 inchs thick or more), make 4 to 6 patties, (or one big one if you want a big tuna burger sandwich), cover each one with the crumbs.
Place in preheated, oiled pan.
Brown on one side then flip it, to brown on other side.
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Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
OR
Frozen pepper stir fry, thawed (red, yellow, green pepper slices and onion slices, available in the freezer section at the grocery).
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg (or egg substitute equivalent to1-1.5 eggs (1/4-3/8 cups))
OR
1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water Stir together until thick and gelatinous.
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs (maybe in addition, add 1/2 cup cooked brown rice) (possibly use rolled oats instead of bread crumbs)
Note:
How to keep them from falling apart. Rinse the black beans and dry them off before mashing them. Use the food processor for the onion, garlic and pepper mixture and then strain juices through a fine strainer to remove any excess water. Put back in food processor.
Blend everything in the food processor, beginning with onions, peppers, and garlic, bread crumbs, eggs and spices and then the beans last.
Note: Put a little oil on your hands when shaping the patties to prevent sticking.
Divide mixture into four patties. (Made them smaller, ended up with 6 and served them with a "dipping sauce" salsa.)
For Grilling: Freeze patties and grill them frozen.
Directions
For grilling: Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil.. Place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking,
For Oven Baking: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet. Place patties on cookie sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
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Homemade Chicken or Fish Nuggets
This was originally used for fish but I have also used it for chicken nuggets the same way, I just cook them a little longer:
2 or 3 Tilapia filets
1 egg
about 1/2 c milk
about 1/3 c parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
about 1 cup bread crumbs
Preheat over to 400. Cut the fish (or chicken) up into bite size pieces. Put the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and parmesan into a ziploc bag. Mix the egg and the milk in a good sized bowl and add the fish (or chicken) nuggets to the bowl.
Take the nuggets out of the milk/egg mixture a few at a time and drop into the bag. Shake around until well coated and then place on baking sheet (you can grease it but I usually just line with foil). Do this until they are all coated and bake about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your nuggets, slightly longer for chicken. They are good!
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Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies (Low Fat and Moist)
Total Time: 1 hr
Makes: 3 1/2 dozen
Ingredients:
1 1/2cups all purpose flour
1tsp. baking soda
1 1/2tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2tsp. salt
1/4tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2cup Splenda
1/4cup margarine, softened
3/4cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/4cup egg substitute or 1 egg
2Tbsp. fat-free milk
2tsp. vanilla
3cups quick or old fashioned uncooked oatmeal
1cup diced (can use food processor, much easier) dried mixed fruit or raisins
Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or grease lightly with cooking oil.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; mix well. In large bowl, beat sugars and margarine until well blended. Add applesauce, egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir in flour mixture' mix well. Stir in oats and dried fruit; mix well. (Dough will be moist.)
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookies sheets.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store in tightly cover container.
Notes:
These cookies are moist and chewy; low in fat and low in sugar. I like them better the next day when they are moister and even more flavorful.
Plan on try making these with powdered flaxseed (good source of omega-3 fatty acids).
What are some healthy meals\snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner that I can make at home?
Q. What are some healthy, easy meals\snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner that I can make at home?
10 points for the most ideas for all the meals\snacks!
A. Breakfast:
- Egg whites (better for you than the whole egg) with a little salt and pepper, maybe some cheese to add flavor, on wheat toast.
- Grapefruit (it's sooo healthy for you, it can be a snack too)
- Cottage Cheese Pancakes: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/351
- Oatmeal
- All fruit smoothie. Have non frozen fruit and add ice or use frozen fruit and add a little 100% fruit juice. You can make it a *healthy* milk shake by using low fat milk instead of juice and adding a little sugar (sugar isn't unhealthy in small amounts, but fake sugar like sweet and low and equal are bad for you)
Lunch/Dinner:
- Chicken breast with lemon pepper or other seasonings
- A spinach tortilla with chicken cooked in some bbq sauce. Add lots of lettuce and a little bit of light ranch (like a teaspoon, if even that).
- Salad- there are thousands of possible salads you can make but what I love doing is a bunch of lettuce, some spinach if you like that, salt, pepper, garlic (powder and only a small amount) and vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, or even carrots and peppers
- Taco Salad: brown some lean beef, drain any fat, add seasonings (McCormick has a taco seasoning packet for 50 cents). Make a bowl full of lettuce, tomatoes if you want, some beef, some cheese if you want, and tortilla chips if you want (less healthy version).
- Chicken in a bag- McCormick's has these awesome chicken bag seasonings where you throw chicken in the bag (they provide) with some carrots, potatoes, whatever you want, add the seasoning and bake for about an hour. One of my husbands favorites!
- Costco sells individual salmon fillets. Take one out of the fridge/freezer, season to your liking, throw on a pan, the grill, or in the oven and cook.
- a sandwich- between whole wheat bread slices, pita style, or wrapped up (spinach wraps are really delicious, or whole wheat wraps which I'm not a huge fan of).
- Make some quinoa or brown rice in a rice cooker or in a pot if you don't have one. Add some black beans, salt and pepper, and some mozzarella if it's still to bland. I like to add some sriracha (chili hot sauce) into the rice as it cooks and some garlic seasoning. It adds some kick and makes it taste really good without adding the sodium from cheese.
Snacks:
- peppers
- celery. If you hate it alone add some organic peanut butter (no preservatives) you can even go to many stores and grind your own peanuts into peanut butter.
- peas, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, other vegetables but not potatoes or corn.
- apples, pears, bananas, berries, grapefruit, and other fruits.
- some nuts or a homemade trail mix (raisins, peanuts, almonds, some dark chocolate chips, whatever else you want)
Dessert
- a small amount of dark chocolate is actually really good for you. The higher the cocoa content the better :) But only a small amount.
Those are my favorites but check out this site: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/over-100-quick-and-easy-healthy-foods.html
for more options. There are an unlimited amount of healthy foods out there you just have to find what you like and stick with it :)
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