[SuchAPrettyFace]

These are the yams I've been eating. They were yum. I only used a little bit of clover honey, bottled lime juice & skipped the sour cream.




Baked Yams with Lime and Honey

3 large Yams (abt 4 lbs)
1/2 cup Water
6 tbsp Honey
4 tbsp Unsalted butter at room temperature
Juice of 4 limes
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Freshly-ground black pepper
Sour cream for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the yams and place in a baking dish with the water. Bake until the potatoes are soft and the skins puffy, about 1 1/2 hours. Set aside to cool slightly (leave the oven on).

Peel the yams and place in a medium baking dish. Add the honey, butter, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir and mash well with a potato masher. Cover with aluminum foil and return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through. Sprinkle the top with sour cream and serve hot.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.

[Br00klyn]

SAPF - Thanks for bumpin' this thread! I'm sure a lot of us could use this right now. And those Yams sound very yummy!

[lucky]

After a year of losing weight I found myself in a rut and getting tired of eating the same stuff over and over. So, I lugged all of my cookbooks back out and found some "new" favorite recipes. They are the ones I made for the first six months and got tired of so now I'm recycling them and remembering how good they were.

Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon and Garlic (from one of the Oprah cookbooks)

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup chopped tomato
4 oz dried spinach angel hair pasta
4 oz dried semolina angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and maintian at a boil. Put the olive oil and garlic in a saute pan and cook over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Add the wine cook until it is reduced by half. Stir in the lemon juice, tomato, and basil. Cook angel hair for about a minute, drain, and add to the tomato mixture. Top with cheese and pepper.

4 servings at 291 calories each

Now, I rarely follow a recipe EXACTLY so I use diced tomato in a can (unless it is summer and I have ripe tomatoes in the garden) and, I admit it, I use 8 ounces of plain old angel hair. Plus, I've used dried basil in a pinch. I also usually throw in some left over chicken that I've cut into strips and some toasted pine nuts.

[lucky]

Here is another one that I love. I buy frozen shrimp from Sam's - they are uncooked and clean so all I have to do is thaw them and pull off the tail.

1 cup sliced mushrooms (fresh - and I usually use an entire 8 oz. package rather than measure a cup)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb medium-large shrimp, uncooked and cleaned
1 1/2 cups champagne
1/4 t. salt
2 T. chopped shallots
2 plum tomatoes, diced (I use one can, drained)
1/2 pt. Fat Free Cream (the original recipe calls for real, heavy whipping cream)
1/2 pound angel hair pasta, cooked
3 T. chopped parsley

Saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium high heat until juices appear and evaporate. Remove and set aside. In the same pan combine shrimp, champagne, and salt over high heat. When liquid just begins to boil, remove shrimp and set aside. Add shallots and tomatoes to cooking liquid and boil until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup (usually 8-10 minutes). Blend in cream and boil until slightly thickened and reduced. Add shrimp and mushrooms and heat through. Adjust seasonings then toss with hot, cooked pasta and parsley.

Serves 4 397 calories, 4.5 grams of fat.

It is YUMMY!
chopped parsely

[lucky]

This one came from Jenny Craig but I don't remember if it was from a cookbook or my counselor - I think it was her first cookbook. It takes less than 20 minutes from start to table if your shrimp is already cleaned and peeled.

Shrimp Alfredo

6 cups water
2 lbs fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 T. margarine
2 small cloves of mineced garlic
1 T. All purpose flour
1 1/3 cups skim milk
2 T. light cream cheese
1 1/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (divided)
4 cups hot cooked fettuccine
2 t. chopped fresh parsley
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil and add shrimp. Cook 3-5 minutes and drain well

Melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in flour. Gradually ad milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes).

Stir in cream cheese, cook 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of paremesan and stir until it melts.

Pour over fettuccine, toss to coat and add shrimp and toss again. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley, and pepper.

6 servings (306 calories, 7.3 g fat)

You have to eat this one quick because if the sauce gets to cool it isn't so good. If I remember right, it reheats okay though.

[lucky]

Yep, I'm on a roll. I love this one because it is so easy but I'm not sure about the calorie count for it.

Quick Beef Soup

1 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef (I'm sure you could use turkey if you prefer but I've never tried it).
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, undrained
6 cups of water
6 beef boullion cubes
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 cup uncooked orzo (I use the stars or ABC pasta instead for the sake of my kids)
1 (16 oz) bag of frozen vegetable blend (peas, carrots, corn, and green beans is our favorite).

Cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium high heat until beef is brown. Drain well. Puree tomatoes with juice in a covered blender (Sometimes I just buy a can of tomato puree but I prefer doing it myself so that there are some chunks of tomatoes left). Add tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, and pepper to meat mixture. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes. Add orzo and vegetables and simmer 15 minutes more.

[lucky]

Clearly, I could never be on a low carb diet. This is really, really good and not as involved as the recipe sounds. Oh, and it freezes well too!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles, cooked
2 zuchinni (sp?), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 yellow pepper, coarsley chopped
1 sweet or red onion, coarsley chopped
2 T. balsalmic vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
26 oz spaghetti sauce
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
10 oz chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 large egg white
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat ove to 425 degrees. Coat shallow metal pain with cooking spray. Add vegetables. Combine vinegar, oil, garlic, and rosemary. Brush over vegetables. Bake 15 minutes, toss, then bake another 8 minutes. Spoon 1 cup of sauce in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange 4 pieces of lasagna on top. Cover with another 1 c. of sauce. Mix ricotta, spinach, egg white, and pepper. Drop by spoonfuls over sauce. Arrange 1/2 of vegetables betweenthe cheese and top with 4 more pieces of lasagna. Continue layering. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover, sprincle with mozzerella and parmesan. Bake 5 more minutes then let stand 10 minutes before serving.

12 servings (150 calories each)

You can roast just about any vegetables you like. Every thing I've ever tried has turned out good.

[Glory87]

I love to cook

Spinach Chickpea Leek Soup

This is SO good and so fast and easy to make - makes plenty for several days. Great to make on a Sunday and eat all week.

1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thinly (circles)
1 zuchini, chopped
minced garlic (I use tons)
2 14 oz cans tomatoes
small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
3 3/4 cup veg broth
1 14 oz can chickpeas (gabanzo beans) drained
block of frozen spinach (thawed, drained)
1 tbs oregano
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parm cheese for topping (if desired)

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add leeks and zucchini and cook briskly for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, vegetable broth, chickpeas and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

Shred the spinach finely, add to the soup and boil for 2 minutes. Season to taste. (the longer it cooks on the stove, the better it is). Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if desired). Great with crusty bread!


Spicy pasta sauce with veggie crumbles

3 cans 14 oz tom
1 can 12 oz tom paste
1 onion, diced
garlic (I use TONS)
1 tbs olive oil
Sun dried tomatoes
Fresh Basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Whatever else I feel like - black olives, mushrooms, carrots, zuch
1 package MorningStar Farm Crumbles
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Splash of red cooking wine
whole wheat/spinach pasta

Saute onion/garlic for 5 minutes until translucent. Add veggie crumbles, dried oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. Brown the veggie crumbles - stirring often.

While the veggie crumbles are browning, put 2 cans tomatoes (with juice), tom paste, fresh basil and half the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor -blend until smooth.

Put the tomato mixture over the crumbles and stir.

Put the last can of tomatoes into the food processorand pulse until the tomatoes are chunky. Throw these in with the rest.

Add the rest of the sun dried tomatoes and any other additional veggies. Add a splash of red cooking wine. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over whole wheat pasta.

Charcooked Vegetables with Spicy Sidekick Dressing

Note: I don't eat meat, but I guess this would be a great recipe to add a grilled chicken breast to

Grilled Veggies

1 red pepper
1 orange (or yellow pepper)
2 zucchini
4 corncobs
1 eggplant
olive oil

Spicy Sidekick Dressing

1 tbs olive oil
crushed garlic (I use a lot)
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 small green chile, seeded and finely chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 inches of cucumber, finely chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs lime or lemon juice (I usually use a little more)

Dressing

To make the dressing, heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic and onion and saute gently until softened, around 3 minutes. Add the celery, chile and tomatoes, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Add the cucumber, tomato paste and lemon/lime juice and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick and pulpy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Veggies

Cut the veggies into thick slices and brush with a little olive oil. Cook the vegetables on the grill for about 5-8 minutes, sprinkling them with salt, pepper and fresh herbs as they cook, turning once (under the broiler in the oven is okay too).

This dish is delicious served over brown rice with lime wedges to squeeze.


Quinoa Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadillas

1 cup quinoa, washed/drained (use brown rice if you can't find quinoa)
1 large sweet potato/yam
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (I used more)
1 14 oz can of tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained
1 can green chiles
2 tbs minced cilantro
Some low fat cheese
Whole wheat, low fat tortillas
Salsa

Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water. When done, set aside.

While the quinoa is simmering, I cut up the sweet potatoes into small pieces (dice sized) and spray a cookie sheet with PAM. I bake the potatoes for around 20 minutes (shaking often) until they are soft and getting crispy. (if I don't have time, I nuke them for 5 minutes!)

Saute onion, garlic. Stir in tomato (crushed, with juice), black beans, chiles, cilantro. Add quinoa, potatoes. Season with salt and pepper (I added some red pepper flakes, because i like spicy). Stir and heat through.

Put in tortillas, add some cheese so it sticks together, grill on both sides. Top with lots of salsa. Made enough for 3 nights! (I just grilled a new one each night. Last time I made it, I added some spinach leaves to mine, it was pretty good.

Pan Seared Scallops Over Wilted Spinach

This recipe may look complicated, but it's really not. The whole thing took me about 45 minutes, including marinating the scallops.

Marinade
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (I just used regular)
2 teaspoons sesame oil (I used one!)
Juice of 2 small limes (I saved two small pieces to serve as a garnish)
1 small piece of fresh ginger, grated
Garlic (the recipe didn't call for any in the marinade, but I love the stuff)
10 good sized scallops (I made this dish for 2)
The recipe didn't call for it, but I added some red pepper flakes to the marinade!

Sauce
Minced green onion
Minced garlic (I used a TON)
Minced ginger
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (I forgot to buy these, so didn't use them)

Spinach "Nests"
1/2 teaspoon oil
Minced green onion
Minced garlic
2 bunches of fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped (I bought one of those bags of ready to go baby spinach)
1 tbs sesame seeds

The recipe didn't call for it, but I made a cup of quinoa too! I made it like rice (1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15)

To make the marinade -

Combine vinegar, water, soy, oil and lime juice in a blender. Add the ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and blend on high speed until smooth.

Put the scallops in a shallow pan with 1/2 of the marinade (save the other half of the marinade for later). Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce

Put the reserved marinade in a sauce pan, add the green onions, ginger, garlic and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stir in the cilantro and then remove from heat (it reduces nicely).

Make the Quinoa

As directed above, I also thought a nice pearl cous cous would be good here!

Make the Spinach Nests

In a large saute pan, heat hte oil over medium heat and cook the green onions and shallots until softened. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (it's amazing how much spinach cooks down!)

Pan Sear Scallops

Remove the scallops from the marinade and discard the extra marinade. Heat a large skillet over medium-high, and heat a litte oil. Place scallops in the pan and cook until golden brown. Turn scallops, and cook the other side. (I added a little salt and pepper before I put them in the pan).

Stack the food

Divide the spinach between plates and top each mound of spinach with quinoa. Add scallops. Spoon the sauce over the scallops and garnish with a lime wedge.

[Nori71]

Just wanted to bump this thread up - I've gotten so many good meals from it so far! Thanks!

[activeadventurer]

I haven't really had a chance to read all of this thread but wanted to pass on the thing that has helped me the most with MAINTAINING my previous weight loss has been eating 6 times a day. It seems to cut binging to a very bare minimum. I can' t wait to print out some of these recipes. See ya DCM

[Scrappy Chick]

This is one of my favorite recipes. My husband even loves it and requests it almost every week.

Healthy Pork Chops Dijon
3 TBSP Dijon Mustard
2 TBSP Lite Italian salad dressing (I use the "zesty" version)
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 Pork loin chops, cut 1/2 inch thick
PAM
1 medium onion, sliced

In a small bowl, combine mustard, dressing and pepper; set aside. Trim excess fat from chops. Spray a 10-inch skillet with PAM. Preheat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and brown on both sides. Remove chops from skillet. Add onion to skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes. Push onion aside; return chops to skillet. Spread mustard mixture over chops. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. Serve onion over pork chops. Makes 4 Servings.

[Heva2015]

My recipe but I don't eat meat so I feed it to the other half...it is his diet recipe!!!

Chop up some peppers and put them in a bag with bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and italian seasoning. Shake it up and then throw in some mini chicken fillets. Put the peppers in a baking tray leaving the chicken in the bag to marinate. Put the peppers in the oven on about 200c, no idea in farenheit, after a couple of hours put the chicken on top and leave it in the over for another 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Serve with rice or pasta.

[SuchAPrettyFace]

Easy Italian Pasta Dinner

1 can diced tomatoes (I use the no salt added)
1 can fat free or healthy request cream of mushroom soup
Italian seasoning (if you dont have it, can add garlic, parsley, oregano, crushed red pepper)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (can use more or less)
hot cooked pasta

Mix soup & tomatoes with their juice in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, adding seasonings & cheese when bubbly. Stir in, mixing well. Serve over hot pasta w/extra parmesan cheese & parsley on top if you wish. Very easy & very good.

That is the basic recipe, I like to add mushrooms to it. You could add whatever you wanted, even meat!

[buckettgirl]

One of my favorite dinners is baked potato w/veggies and chicken and it is very easy...
Baked potato - large or small, doesn't matter (or however many you need to serve your family)
Green Giant frozen veggies with a sauce - There are not many calories even with the sauce(I like the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with cheese; I have yet to try the brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans with a tuscan herb sauce)
Precooked grilled chicken (you can find it in your deli section)

Microwave the veggies and the grilled chicken

Top your baked potato with the veggies, letting the sauce seep through (no need for butter or anything like that). Top that with a serving of the grilled chicken.

I find this to be very filling and usually can't eat very much of it... But I love potatoes, so this is a good way to get my potato without all of the "extras". Plus it also gives a good serving of protein... It is quick and easy, as long as you have time to get the potato in the oven far enough ahead of dinnertime.

[corayay]

Just thought I'd throw this out there...

One of my favourite foods (that I really shouldn't have ever again, oh dear) is fish tacos from Del Taco. Depending on where you are in the world, you may or may not have heard of them. They are FABULOUS. This is my cheap (in more ways than one!) knock-off...they don't quite capture the...charisma of Del Taco's version, but they are tasty and very easy on calories/fat, but probably not a good idea for low-carb.

Fish Tacos Brie-style

2 corn tortillas
2 fish fillets (I used Van De Kamp's frozen fish tenders)
1/4 cup shredded fresh cabbage
2T. FF sour cream
1T. salsa, any kind (Pace chunky mild here)

Assemble as desired.

Nutrition info (for my choices):

Calories: 258
Fat : 7g
Carbs: 40g
Protein: 13g

For 2 tacos. They're pretty small but they're very, very filling.