Hey all!
I need some help--I have gotten myself into quite a rut with my eating these days. I need some NEW ideas for quick meals, and some new snack ideas too!
Here is my current dinner rut:
*whole wheat mini-pita pizzas (love 'em, but am eating them all the time!)
*turkey bagel melts (w/ moz. cheese & tomato)
*homemade turkey subs
We have those 3 items pretty much every week, at least once! It's time for a change. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Jen

Vegetable soup- frozen veggies and a can of tomato sauce and 6 cups of beef broth

i will come back with more as i think of them...

I have a recipe for veggie soup that uses V-8. When I get home I'll post the whole recipe.

We like "oodles of noodles stir-fry":
1 pkg. dry ramen noodles w/seasoning packet
big bag frozen mixed stir-fry veggies
meat of choice (chicken, shrimp, steak...)

Throw your veggies and meat into a stir fry pan and heat. Boil ramen noodles in a separate pot. When noodles boil, drain well. Throw drained noodles in with veggies and meat and use the seasoning packet that comes with the noodles (try to find low sodium). It's quick, easy, and if you pack it full of veggies it is good for you.

Chili is also a good, filling dish when the weather gets cold. Use ground turkey breast or lean beef (we use lean venison) and be creative... we toss in fresh chopped onions, peppers and mushrooms. If I have it I'll throw in chopped tomatoes, as well. Plus the beans are high in fiber!

Taco salads are fun, too. Again, we use venison but you could use turkey or lean beef. I enjoy my salad with fat free refried beans, light cheddar, fresh tomato salsa and sometimes a dollop of low fat sour cream. If I feel like "splurging" I'll crush a few tortilla chips on the top.

Jen, do you own a slow cooker? Since I have started eating better I bought one and many of my meals are cooked in it because it's so easy. Soups, chili, chicken whatever works. Plus I throw everything in it in the morning before class turn it on low and let it cook all day till I'm ready to eat. I've got to get to class so I'll get back to ya.

I do have a slow-cooker, and have tried lots of recipes in it over the past year....I use it more in the winter since it's so conducive to making soup. Trouble is, I guess I'm pickier than I realize....I don't usually end up liking a lot of the stuff I make in it! If you have any awesome favorite slow-cooker recipes, please post 'em! Thanks.

Jen

Jen you said homeade turkey subs. Try homeade toasted subs. They are very good. Get french bread cut it in half then slice those two halfs in halfs. Brush on BBQ sauce then add anything you want. We like low-fat deli ham, mushrooms, and fat-free monterey jack cheese. Then just stick it in the oven to toast. Chicken is also very yummy like this.

Also, try cooking a lot of chicken on like Sundays and put it in the fridge. Its easy to come up with several types of meals with chicken and its already prepared for you.

I like to toast 2 fat free Eggo waffles and top them with no-sugar added cherry pie filling and cool whip free. At weight watchers this is only 3 points and very filling. It satisfies my sweet tooth and is good for breakfast or snacks...

I take a potato or vegetable peeler and peel long strips of zucchini, to make what I call "zucchini linguine". Then I saute these until slightly tender and then poach them in a little white wine until they are very tender. Then I top them with some sort of spaghetti sauce--marinara, reduced fat alfredo, pesto. You can use any kind of sauce really. Once I used peanut sauce--that was actually delicious, and if you don't overdo it it's pretty low-cal. It's not quite pasta but for a lot fewer calories you can fill up on pseudo-noodles.

The V-8 veggie soup recipe I promised:

3 cups V-8
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz. bag mixed veggies for soup or stew
1 14 oz. can broth (chicken, beef or veggie)
1.5 cups water
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Dump everything into large crock pot, stir well, cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Makes about 3 or 4 quarts.


I like to make this one for "Spicy Chicken" on the weekend and eat the yummy leftovers all week long.

1.5 cup vinegar
1 cup oil (I use less)
1 cup water
1 TBSP pepper
2 TBSP salt
2 TBSP paprika
4 TBSP garlic
1 TBSP oregano
2 cup chopped onion
10 pounds chicken (or pork)

Cook in crock until chicken is done (approximately 6 - 8 hours). I typically start this one in the morning and have it for dinner. The leftovers are GREAT on salad or on sandwiches. The tang in this chicken is wonderful for kicking cravings. I know I tend to get a little crazy eating "bland" grillled chicken. One warning - your house will smell like spicy chicken for days

OK, OK, one more recipe that gets me through the day. Veggie quiche cups to go (from the South Beach Diet book + web site). I love snacking on these during the day because (1) it is very satisfying and (2) it sneaks in extra veggies.

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3/4 cup liquid egg substitute
3/4 cup reduced fat cheese (I prefer cheddar)
1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
1/4 cup diced onions
3 drops hot pepper sauce (optional)

Line 12 cup muffin pan with foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean). These cups can be frozen and heated in the microwave. I have used other combinations of veggies (asparagus, red pepper, carrots...) and they come out just as good. I often double the recipe so that I can have lots in the freezer for "emergencies". One serving is two quiche cups.

77 calories
3 g fat (2 saturated)
10 mg cholesterol
3 g carbohydrates
9 g protein
2 g fiber
160 mg sodium

Thank you ALL for contributing your great ideas! I really appreciate it. I know one thing, we will NOT be having any mini-pita pizzas this coming week....have to have a break. I'm going to make french toast & scrambled eggs one night, because that's something we haven't had in awhile!
Keep the great thoughts comin'....

Jen

Jen, ok this is my fav slow cooker soup recipe:
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 can low sodium beef broth
1 can low sodium veggie broth
1 can french style green beans
1 can sweet yellow corn
1 can butter beans
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs
2 cups of baby carrots
small package of tenderized stew meat

other things I sometimesl add in:
potatoes
minced garlic
1 can of beer or some red wine

cook on low all day or high for less time, I don't even bother to brown the meat since it cooks so long. Sometimes I also start this at night and before I go to bed I throw it in the fridge and in the morning I spoon out the little bit of fat that solidifies on the surface. I like this soup because it's light but still has aweome flavor, plus it freezes well. It's starting to get chilly here in oregon so I'll be making it more often!

Couple of new breakfast things I am trying also

1 carton of fat free yoplait yogurt mixed with 1/4 c. of cottage cheese. Tastes really good actually, weird combo but good mixture of carbs/protien/fat low in points and keeps me full.

2 low fat whole grain eggo waffles each topped with 1 tbsp. of reduced fat crunchy peanut butter, sliced banana, and drizzle with a little honey. Super good!

1 Packet of quaker instant oatmeal (vanilla cinnamon) women's stuff with soy, and folic, and other good stuff. With 2 hard boiled egg whites- I toss the yolk because of the fat and choles.

These are just a few of the things that I'm trying out hope they help. It is hard for me to get into the habit of eating breakfast but I've been doing well with these so far. I'm trying to get more lean protien in during the day to help keep me full so we'll see!

Here's some of my family's tried and true recipes:

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

2 cooked chicken breasts-cut up
1 small pk. spaghetti-cook and drain
4 oz. Velveeta light-cubed
1 can 98% FF cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
garlic to taste

Put onion and peppers in pan and saute with a little water until tender, add garlic. Meanwhile, melt the cheese into the soup in the microwave. Combine everything in a large pot and heat through. Makes 6 servings at 5 points each.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2/3 cup extra chunky peanut butter
14 oz. can FF sweetened cond. milk
1 cup semi-sweet choc. chips

Line an 8-in. pan with foil. Microwave PB and 2/3 cup of the milk for 2 1/2 min. Stir and microwave 30 sec. longer. Spread into the bottom of the pan. Pour the rest of the milk in a micro. bowl and add the choc. chips. Heat in the micro. for 1 1/2 min. or until smooth. Spread over the PB layer. Chill until firm. Cut into 20 pieces=3 points each, 146 cal.

Mmmm - those are all really good ideas. I LOVE soup!!!!
My favorite snack of the moment is melba toast with fat free cream cheese. yummmmmm