[Sapphire]

My kids love mac and cheese which is really not all that great for trying to lose weight...since we have it a couple times a week I have to make myself something else when they have that...this is one of my favourite lunches...

When I drain the mac (we eat whole wheat pasta) before I put on the cheese sauce I put some in a bowl for me.

I sprinkle on pinch of Italian herb blend (I use dried...fresh would probably be yummier)...add a little splash of olive oil...some salt and pepper if I want it...and a little grate of cheese (parmesan or mozarella if thats all we have). With that I may have a salad or just some veggies. If I was going to have it for supper I might add a little bit of leftover chopped chicken breast or something like that.

So what is your favourite really easy to make meal or snack?

Casey

[friendlykat4u]

Whole wheat wraps with FF deli turkey, roasted peppers (I roast my own at home, it's very easy), light mozarella cheese, nuke them for a minute so the cheese melts... so yummy! :P

[phantastica]

Friendlykat, can you tell how you roast your peppers?

My favorite meal I found on one of these boards - mix shrimp with salsa, chopped avocado, chopped green onion, and cilantro and eat it with chips. Delish! It's a great lunch to bring to work.

[nicolbw]

One that I found in the past week or so is a salad. I mix spinach, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, and chicken breast. Then I top it off with a little low cal vinagrette dressing I found that is very yummy. Some days I'll just eat this as a salad. Other days I either put it in a whole wheat tortilla or a whole wheat pita. Either way it's really yummy.

[Jayde]

hmmmmmmmmmmm reading this thread made me hungry!

I have lots of simple meals my family enjoys but I wouldn't say I had any one favorite. One of the simpliest ones is pasta with pesto and clam sauce.

Here is usually what I do.

1. Cook pasta. Al dente. (Barilla or Rozzano).. with a little sea salt.
2. In a skillet I quickly saute a bit of garlic in plenty of olive oil then add a can of chopped clams juice and all. Saute for another moment.
3. Scoop the pasta from the pan into a large shallow bowl. I don't drain it thoroughly as a little water the noodles were cooked in is needed.
4. Pour the clam sauce over the noodles. Mix. Cool a little. Add pesto sauce (homemade is best, Costco's pesto sauce will do if I haven't made any). Mix again.
5. Top off with a little thinly grated cheese. Most any hard cheese will do. I like how it looks.

Serve as a main coarse, side dish or a whole meal.
Leftovers are "ok" the next day.. but really it is best fresh.

[friendlykat4u]

Roasting peppers is the easiest thing to do.

You can use any kind of bell peppers you want. Wash them well, cut them in half vertically. Scoop out all the seeds and membranes. Place them skin side up and press down with your hand to flatten them a little. Some parts will break a little, that's ok.

Cover a shallow pan with aluminum foil and place the peppers skin side up. I use the broiler pan that came with the stove. Broil them in the oven, about 3 inches from the heat for about 12 minutes or until the skin is blackened.

Place them in a zip top plastic bag, seal the bag and let them stand for about 15 minutes (helps to peel them). Peel and discard skin, place the peppers in an airtight container in the fridge.

I don't know how long they last b/c I eat them so quickly! I use them for everything. Hummus, sandwiches, stews, salads. They're awesome.

[sf40]

I like this so much, and it's so quick and easy, that I have it for lunch almost every day. I start with either a whole wheat pita or multigrain wrap. I spread hummus inside the pita or on one side of the wrap. Then I fill with 1 cup of mixed greens (I like Trader Joe's herb salad blend), .5 cup of some other vegetable (I usually use grape tomatoes sliced in half), and 3-4 ounces of cooked chicken. Sometimes I add a bit of feta cheese. Yum!

I also really like the Greek Pizza recipe from the Sonoma Diet book. I believe it's also posted on the "recipe" section of the Sonoma Diet board. It's very quick, easy, and yummy.

[Jayde]

Roasted peppers sounds great! You better believe I am going to check on that Greek Pizza in Sonoma too!

[wv_lady_us]

I love stirfrys with brown rice and boneless chicken and peppers and other veggies. I like to take aluminium foil and wrap some potatoes, broccoli, peppers, onions, etc. and add a little water and close tight and roast in the oven. I either use canola oil spray on them or Im starting to use olive oil which would be good.

[shous]

here's mine:

Need 2 cups of pinne noodles (any will do)

1 can of petite diced tomatoes (you can use fresh if you feel 4 )

3 cloves of garlic

3 tbs of lemon juice

pinch of oregano (optional)

3 tbs of olive oil in sauce pan and add the diced garlic. When it is golden brown add the rest....add the tomatoes, oregano, lemon juice; add a little water if it gets dry (I like extra juice in mine) . Let simmer while..... you boil the noodles ..by the time the noodles are don't the sauce will be ready.

I dont mix the two.
I put the noodles in the bowl then top with the sauce.

It is quick and easy and YUMMY.

(you can add more lemon if you want more..ZING.