With today being Father's Day, I would like to cook a good meal for husband and the kids to all enjoy. Problem is, today is a 1200 calorie day for me. Usually on these days I just have a homemade sub sandwich for dinner and cook whatever they want.
I would like to do a chicken and rice type dish, something tasty but low cal at the same time. All I have on hand today is white rice. I have searched recipes online but am not seeing the calorie totals per serving. So far, I intend on consuming 892 cals, this is including the chicken (130 cals for 4oz) for dinner and everything else for the day. I have about 308 calories left over to play with for the rice and one slice of 50 cal. bread.
Honestly? Why not make rice for them, and have salad with your grilled chicken? Otherwise - just have a half portion of rice, and enjoy the meal with your family!
Here's a way to get a lot of flavor into the rice without adding too many calories... I allow myself to have 1/2 cup and it doesn't add up to any more than 150calories.
-1cup rice
-2tbsp evoo
-1 lemon
-a few saffron threads
1. place the oil and rice into the sauce pan. Coat the rice completely and let it shine and sizzle just a little bit.
2. Add the juice of the lemon and the saffron threads, stir for another minute.
3. Add salt/pepper and 2 cups of water, cover and simmer until rice is cooked.
Heather, I had a chicken salad for dinner last night and haven't had a chance to get to the grocery store yet. I used up all of the good parts of the romaine lettuce and threw out the rest, which was wilted
Wannabeskinny: do you think this would be good without the saffron threads? I don't even know what that is, LOL. I have LOTS of other spices and seasonings though, at least 30 different kinds. Before making the changes to my diet, I was a pretty good SOUTHERN cook (meaning lots of fat and calories!). I have cajun, paprika, lemon peel, nutmeg, corriander, curry, tarragon, basil. Okay, you get the idea, lol. Do you see anything listed that might serve as a sub but just as tasty? I do have a fresh red pepper and an onion also.
A few weeks ago I did a ginger-spiced chicken from my BHG new dieters cookbook but my husband said he didn't like it due to the cinnamon. I thought it was great. I could do that again b/c it is served with rice and just skip the cinnamon on his.
Typically, I make plain rice and spice up what I'm serving with it. What about making a chicken & veg stir fry to go over the rice? You can use broth or water to do the "frying".
Instead of saffron you can replace the water with some low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth and add a bit more lemon, very tasty yet still low cal. My mom always made it with butter instead of olive oil, it's a middle eastern dish called rice pilaf.
There is no substitute for saffron so if you leave it out just leave it out. It's even more expensive than real vanilla beans but indispensable when making certain mediterranean dishes particularly spanish or middle eastern foods. You have probably eaten it if you've ever tried spanish paella dishes - it's what gives the rice that golden yellow color.
My kids even LOVED it! I did the regular rice, had a can of 99% FF broth, "fried" it up with about 1/4 can of the broth, added red, yellow, orange and green peppers, a little paprika and black pepper and 1 tbsp EVOO.
It was very good. I had a whole cup because after the chicken, I still had 308 calories to consume. The broth was not the low sodium so I may regret that tomorrow after stepping on the scales.
I like to do a "fried" rice version with rice, scrambled egg whites, frozen stir fry veggies, diced onions, and chicken breast. I add a low sodium soy sauce after it's done. Makes a ton and great as leftovers for lunches.
Your dish sounds yummy, Niecy!
Isn't it fun to use what's on hand to come up with new meals?
Can anyone help with rice?
