That was me recommending the spicy bean burger -- and the FF hot dogs! Good job to put them in this dinner thread!

I didn't even think about fajitas and I love em!! Thanks for the recipe . I've been trying to come up with normal foods that fill me up and still stick to my low cal diet.


Mandy- Cool recipe site.. I added it to my favorites...After the christmas shopping is all done I will definitely check that out .

I don't do hotdogs but thanks for the suggestion. I've never been a fan of TVP either. My mom used it one time in chili and after like 3 bowls she told me the truth. I was so mad at her. But on the other hand it's got me thinking maybe I should give it another shot. I think she'd absolutely flip if I told her I was cooking with tvp. She's been so surprised in all the healthy changes I've made in our house, not just food wise, that I think this might put her over the edge.

That's funny about the tvp. I remember one time my dad thought he was "putting one over" on us by serving some exotic meat (elk, moose, god knows what). Well, it was GAMEY and duh, I could tell. I just didn't like the sneak attack approach

I think a lot of those tvp options have REALLY improved in recent years--having a market sure gives the manufacturers the incentive to produce tasty things. These days, it's not just the vegetarians turning to the tvp/soy products, but health conscious folks like us. I always think of cardiac patients too since there is NO saturated fat (no animal products). If I really want a hamburger, then I'm craving the actual meat, but for processed stuff and casseroles, well....I find the tvp just as satisfying and definitely a "bargain" in the calorie (or fat gram if that's what you count) game. btw, my little hotdog soapbox--I actually like tvp hotdogs better because I don't have to think about what mystery meat is ground up in what I'm eating (ears, lips, noses, tails, etc.). BLECH.

I might give the hot dogs a try. The ear nose feet thing is what's kept me from eating hot dogs in the past.

Hey Ambabs! I've been experimenting with low calorie recipes online a lot lately, here are some of my favorites (that my boyfriend likes too!!).

Tuna Cakes! (I like these with hot sauce - no bun)

1 can of your favorite tuna fish, drained (light, packed in water)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/4 bread crumbs
1 egg
salt, pepper, Tabasco and / or your favorite seasoning, to taste
cooking spray
Mix tuna, onion, bell pepper, bread crumbs, egg and seasoning in a medium bowl until ingredients are well combined. Form the mixture into two equal sized patties.
Coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add patties and cook 6-7 minutes, or until golden brown. Spray the tops of the patties with a little more cooking spray before turning. Cook for about 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Per Cake - Cal - 199, Fat - 3.9, Protein - 26.6, Carbs - 14.1
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CRISPY BAKED FILET OF SOLE

1 1/2 pounds sole fillets *I've used tilapia, halibut and flounder and it comes out great!
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup acceptable vegetable oil *I don't add this
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons grated lime rind *I skip this
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Vegetable oil spray
1 1/4 cups plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

Rinse fish and pat dry. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine onion, oil, lime juice and rind, ginger, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. Lay fillets in a baking dish and pour liquid mixture over all, turning fillets to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 450 F. Lightly spray a baking dish with vegetable oil spray. In a pie plate, combine bread crumbs, parsley and green onion. Stir to mix well and set aside. Remove fillets from marinade and coat with crumb mixture. Place fillets in prepared baking dish and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Calories: 339
Protein: 22 g
Carbohydrates: 17 g
Total Fat: 20 g
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CHILI CON CARNE (Freezes really well. I usually make rice for my boyfriend to eat it with and I eat broccoli or green beans smothered with the chili, yum!)

1 cup dried pinto or kidney beans
3 cups water
1 tablespoon acceptable vegetable oil *I don't use this
2 cups chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 6-ounce can no-salt-added tomato paste
3/4 cup water
2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cider vinegar *I add extra at the end to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon oregano *I add extra at the end to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

Place beans and 3 cups of water in saucepan. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes. Do not drain. Set aside for 1 hour. Return beans to heat, adding water to cover if necessary. Simmer for 1 hour, or until beans are tender. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until onion is transparent. Add meat and brown. Pour off all fat. Add beans and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Calories: 229
Protein: 18 g
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Total Fat: 9 g

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Chicken Picatta (this is the BEST ONE!! I've made it 5 times already, frozen the breasts and eaten them later, made it for guests... soooo good!)

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil *I use the cooking spray instead
8 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil *I use cooking spray
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice *Kind in the bottle works too
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained, and chopped if very large *I haven't made it with these yet, and it's still AMAZING
2 tablespoons dry white wine (optional)
2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
Black pepper to taste
1 small lemon, thinly sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)

Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Place between sheets of plastic wrap and flatten slightly with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon olive oil, and sauti the green onions and garlic just until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Put the flour on a plate and lightly coat both sides of the chicken. Shake off excess flour. Lightly brown chicken in the skillet over medium heat, adding a small amount of oil as needed. Return the green onions and garlic to the pan. Add the broth, wine and sherry, if using, lemon juice, and capers. Sauti over high heat until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the pepper. Serve on a warmed platter and garnish with lemon slices and chopped parsley, if using. *I add extra lemon at the end!*

Calories: 212
Protein: 28 g
Carbohydrates: 10 g
Total Fat: 6 g

Hope you find something you like! Ah... stromboli! I LOVE IT!! I grew up on it - my great, great Aunt from Palermo's recipe - talk about fattening!! If I ever find a diet-friendly version, I will pass it along!!

Ees

Oops, keep thinking of something else! I'm obsessed with food, if ya can't tell!

I bought myself these really good chicken sausages from Trader Joes - they have only 90 calories and 4 grams of fat per link. You can probably find another version at any grocery store if you don't have a Trader Joes. Whenever I want fast food, I fry one in cooking spray, steam a whole bunch of veggies and bake a small potato (in fry-slices) at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes on a baking sheet, lightly sprayed (flip once, seasoned with hot salt or just salt and pepper). Sometimes I'll cut strips of chicken and bake those (without breading them, although lightly breaded is not that bad). I eat the chicken or sausage with a mustard and the fries with a low sugar ketchup - YUM!! My boyfriend buys Italian and Polish sausages for himself - so I will usually make two of those for him, and we are both happy!! He just bought cans of sauerkraut for next time!

Okay, I think that's all I have for now!!

Have you tried grilled chicken caesar?I never tried this before until I went into the grocery store and seen south beach boxes clearanced for .99 a box. Cheap enough, I tried it. Kids loved it!
The following week I went and bought the stuff I needed to make my own.
I'll post what you need if you want to try it.. Its really delicious!

2 wheat tortilla's (small)
Crafts low fat cheese (I think no more then 1 tbls)
1- 1.5 oz of chicken strips (or your own chicken cooked throughly)
then add about a tablespoon of caeasar salad dressing (optional of lowfat)

Have you ever tried the Joanna Lund "Healthy Cooking" series? Her recipes are all healthy, low-cal, low-whatever and they taste good! A good source for finding these cookbooks at a very low price is bookcloseouts.com. She has two crockpot (slowcooker) cookbooks, one for using Splenda, one for using indoor grills (George Foreman, etc.) plus many many more. One of my favorites is the "Healthy Cooking with the Man in Mind." Most of the recipes call for using an 8x8 baking dish and serve 4 -- so portion control is pretty easy. Most libraries carry some of her cookbooks or they can get them.

Kimberly

I use the soy crumbles for chili and casserols and the taste is wonderful and no one would ever know. It saves on calories and is bettr for you. I try to do two vegetarina dinners a week as well as all vegetarian breakfasts..( well oatmeal, or yogurt smoothies are not meat, you know,lol)

It is so much more difficult when there are picky family members to deal with. My daughter recently came to stay...for a while and she is ...picky. It has made my dieting a bit harder. But it can be done. she hates soups and I love them and use them all the time. Even when I dont have soupl, I can have a cup of clear broth first (5 or 10 calories) to begin MY meal and it helps to stay the pangs of hunger. She is not at all in favor of soy products and I just do not tell her. she never knows and eats with complements, sometimes. I just smile and say 'thank you'

I think trying to lower calories in your family's favorite recipes is a great idea. You could begin with a salad or soup or broth and take smaller portions as was mentioned in the thread. this way everyone will be eating healthier and your efforts will be easier and maybe new habits will begin.

O2BN...Vienna

every single crumb tattles on me

wannaBaloser

I'm really lucky in that my husband is a meat and potatos man. I make a perfectly ordinary supper .... protein, vegetable, potato .... But I make more than one vegetable and don't eat the potatos. I'm also more careful what meats we have, the leaner the better. We also have chicken and fish a lot more.

Spaghetti: Serve the sauce over pasta for the kids and over chopped veggies (broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onions, tomatoes) for you. You could use seashell-shaped noodles and add a few into your portion, also work some of those veggies into the kids' portion. I can eat just about anything if it's covered in Ragu! Of course, a homemade spaghetti sauce could be less fattening, but Ragu isn't so bad when it's just served with veggies.

Turkey burgers: These are GOOD! You can eat yours without the bun, though I firmly believe you need whole grains in your diet and should eat it on a whole grain bun. Add in lettuce and tomatoes (the kids can have cheese, too). Serve with coleslaw, carrot/pineapple/raisin slaw or Waldorf salad.(leave the sour cream out of your portion).

Turkey sausage: I just discovered this, and OMG, is it good!

Try the very lean cuts of beef available. 93% lean ground sirloin can be used to make burgers, meat loaf, whatever you like. Flank steak is lean.

I cut out red meat from my diet almost 100% about a year ago. It's actually out about 97% but I'm getting there. I use ground turkey where I used to use ground beef and the family never knew the difference.

I'm not a sausage fan but I really like turkey bacon.

Perdue also makes Italian turkey sausage that's awesome in Italian dishes.

I eat my turkey burgers like you would eat a steak. I top it with a tablespoon of cheese and add tomato slices. It's not as good in the winter when the tomatoes are not from my garden but it's still good enough.

Thanks for the fajita ideas. I bought some stuff to make fajitas & chicken wraps from the grocery store yesterday. I can't wait to make them tonight.

I make stir fry quite often, it's so good! Cabbage, shredded carrots, zucchini, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, mushrooms, onion, scallion and a tiny bit of meat. I like to use chicken and shrimp. I serve this with a little bit of rice.

Shannon