Ladies, are you tired of eating the same grilled chicken three and four times a week? Do your kids beg you to cook something different? Well, I want to give you some great recipes for low fat meals that will have your family jumping for joy. These dishes are tasty time-savers that you can cook up in about 30 minutes or less.
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Breakfast
Eggs Florentine Mediterranean
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 package spinach (prewashed)
1/3 cup fat free yogurt
1/4 sun-dried tomato pesto
1 tsp vinegar
4 large eggs
2 whole grain English muffins, toasted
Preparation:
• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
• Combine yogurt and pesto in small bowl. Stir ¼ cup into spinach and remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
• Boil 1” of water in medium saucepan. Add vinegar and pinch of salt and reduce heat to low. Working one at a time, gently break each egg into custard cup and slide into water. Cover and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until eggs are cooked to desired doneness.
• Place English muffin half on a breakfast dish, spoon spinach onto each muffin. Remove eggs with slotted spoon and drain over paper towels while still on the spoon. Place drained egg on top of spinach.
• Stir 1 tablespoon of the poaching liquid into the reserved yogurt mixture to make it smoother. Spoon mixture over each serving and top with freshly ground black pepper.
Saturated Fat: 2g, Protein: 12g, Sodium: 462 mg, Total Fat: 6g, Carbs: 21g, Fiber: 5g, Cholesterol: 212mg. For those who find it necessary to count calories: 175 calories
Lunch
Palm Beach Chicken-Avocado Petite Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 cup mashed Haas Avocado
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp green pepper sauce—if you like a little heat
4 small whole grain rolls—the 2 oz size is best
1 cup baby spinach
10 oz grilled or roasted chicken breast—about 2 cups
1 mango, peeled, pitted and sliced
Preparation:
• Combine avocado, lime juice and green pepper sauce in a small glass bowl. Spread top and bottom halves of the rolls with 2 tablespoons of the avocado-lime mixture.
• Layer one quarter each of spinach, chicken and mango on bottom halves. Top with other halves of rolls.
• Serves 4
Saturated Fat: 2.5g, Protein: 29g, Sodium: 355mg, Total Fat: 11g, Carbs: 41g, Fiber: 8g, Cholesterol: 60 mg. For those who find it necessary to count calories: 367
Dinner
Grilled Zingy Lemon Chicken
The ingredients are simple but the flavor is delightful. This is a Low-fat recipe, and the zingy salsa keeps the chicken moist and tender. This meal requires cooking on the grill, so if you don’t like to stand over a grill, you might get someone else in the family to actually cook the chicken on the grill while you prepare the other accompaniments.
Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup salsa or picante sauce (from scratch or store bought)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Preparation:
• Flatten chicken breasts by placing each chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap or food storage bags and pound gently with the flat side of a meat mallet until the meat is about 1/4-inch thick.
• Cut each flattened chicken breast into strips about 1-inch in width. Place chicken strips in a glass baking dish or nonreactive shallow container.
• Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and chill chicken in marinade for 1 to 2 hours.
• Thread chicken onto metal skewers or well-soaked wooden skewers.
• Grill over hot coals or on gas grill for 6 to 8 minutes, turning a few times and basting with remaining marinade. Serve with additional salsa, if desired.
• Serves 4.
Saturated Fat: 3.3g, Protein: 30.5g Sodium: 274mg, Total Fat: 15.2g, Carbs: 6.5g, Cholesterol: 82mg. For those who find it necessary to count calories: 285
How to Select the Best Chicken for Healthy Cooking
When selecting whole chickens, look for ones that are solid and plump with a rounded breast. Whether purchasing a whole chicken or chicken parts, the chicken should feel pliable when gently pressed, and it should not have an odor. Do not buy chicken if the past the expiration date.
The color of the chicken’s skin, white or yellow, does not have matter in terms of nutrition. Regardless of color, the skin should be opaque and not spotted.
If purchasing frozen chicken, buy only chicken that is frozen solid and does not have any ice deposits or freezer burn. Additionally, avoid frozen chicken that has frozen liquid in the package as this may indicate that it has been defrosted and refrozen.
If possible, purchase chicken that has been organically raised or that is “free-range” since these methods of poultry raising produce chickens that are both tastier and better for your health. Organically grown chickens have been fed an organically grown diet and have been raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics. Free-range chickens are allowed access to the outdoors as opposed to being confined to the henhouse.
Instead of buying skinned chicken from the store, purchase your chicken with the skin intact. Cook chicken with the skin on to keep it moist and not have to add oil or butter. Remove the skin from the chicken breasts after cooking.
Store chicken in the coldest area of your refrigerator. If the store packaging is intact and secure, go ahead and store it in the original packaging since this will reduce the amount of handling. But, if the package has been open or torn and you think the chicken liquids will leak, rewrap it securely before storing. This is very important to make sure that the chicken does not contaminate other foods in the refrigerator. Refrigerated raw chicken can keep for two to three days.
To freeze chicken, remove it from its packaging, wash it and then pat it dry. Then wrap it with either aluminum foil or freezer paper, wrap all pieces as tightly as possible so as not to allow any air to get in. Once the raw chicken is wrapped well as described, frozen chicken can keep for about one year.
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