Healthy, Tasty Recipes

[MichelleandCraig 1]

Along with exercising, I want to start cooking us healthier foods. Unfortunately, I've always been in the same mode of cooking...things that are generally too buttery or 'heavy'. When I look at low-fat cookbooks, slow cooker recipes, one-dish casseroles, or things like that, I usually get frustrated quickly because the recipes tend to be 'fancier' than something I would normally cook, or require ingredients I don't have on hand. Do you know what I mean? Why can't anyone come out with a low-fat "normal" people's cookbook???

Does anyone have any ideas for me? I know fish/chicken are good for you, if they are cooked correctly, and I'm sure other things can be as well....

I'm looking for "normal" foods...suppers, etc. Different types of salads would be great too....Craig has always like pasta salads...any type of cold salads the best...and he is much better at eating healthy than I am already. Would appreciate any/all ideas...

Thanks! M.

[Fandango 1,439]

There is no quick fix for eating healthy, I'm afraid

[MichelleandCraig 1]

I'm not looking for a 'quick fix' just some healthy recipes. I will put the effort into cooking, but I don't want to have to come up with a million ingredients I don't have. Maybe I'm more clear now? M.

[Fandango 1,439]

a trip to the store will fix that, that's my point.

With healthier food, you're losing a lot of flavor due to lower fat/oil ingredients, so in order to replace it, you need to rely on more spices and things you wouldn't normally use....unless you want to eat stuff that tastes like cardboard

Am I clearer now?

[Married_my_love 0]

Here is an all time favorite recipe, easy, tasty and it seems "fancy" but it is really quick to prepare. It's kinda like lettuce wraps.

BEEF in a LEAF

2 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean sirloin steak, cut into 2 x 1/4 in. strips

2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

4 cups cooked capellini (angel hair pasta)

1 head (1 1/4 lbs) red leaf lettuce, separated, washed and patted dry

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the beef and cook, turning as needed, until browned, 5-6 minutes.

2. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, honey and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add the pasta and toss to coat; cook until the pasta is heated through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to serving dish.

3. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter; place the serving dish in the center. Spoon about 1/4 of the beef mixture onto each lettuce leaf; roll up and eat with your hands.

429 calories, 9 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 69 mg cholesterol, 381 mg sodium

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I like to get filets of haddock or tilapia from the grocery store, brush them with a paste of coriander chutney with chipotle spices and stick them in the oven at 350 for about a half hour. I like it but my wife doesn't.

[JaJo 1]

a trip to the store will fix that, that's my point.

With healthier food, you're losing a lot of flavor due to lower fat/oil ingredients, so in order to replace it, you need to rely on more spices and things you wouldn't normally use....unless you want to eat stuff that tastes like cardboard

Am I clearer now?

One quick tip: you can use yogurt instead of cream in almost all recipes, and yeah LisaD is right you'll lose some of the flavor.

[Peikko 1,575]

Buy the best chicken and fish you can afford, but buy small pieces. Some cheap chicken is so bland it's not worth eating no matter how much butter you heap on it. Salmon has a lot of flavour on it's own, really doesn't need much to make a decent meal, and quick to cook too.

Cook the chicken and fish simply, use olive oil instead of butter but most important, cook a bunch of vegetables to go with a small amount of meat. Potatoes aren't really veg in this context though

Use garlic/herbs and spices freely .

[MaryandMian 1]

Stir fry and my kids and Mian love it.

A couple of chicken breasts and you can boil them in broth with some seasonings. Then I take a large fry pan and cut up celery, carrots, onions, ginger, mushrooms, peppers, and garlic. Saute them until they are tender but not mushy in one tablespoon of canola oil and then add the cooked meat and a little soy sauce. Stir and until all mixed and completely warm and then serve over cooked rice. Simple and easy and tasty since you can add any types of veggies and spices that you wish in any amounts.

Mary

[Peggy 1]

Do a google search for some low fat dishes Michelle.

They have tons of recipes online that are healthy.

[Fandango 1,439]

Substitute whole wheat whenever poss for breads and pastas. And brown rice instead of white.

[crazyinEgypt 0]

We eat tons of chicken, fish and lentils. Just that change in my diet I've lost about 20 pounds!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

From my Mom - when baking cakes that call for oil, you can try subsituting it with apple sauce, or try half oil, half apple sauce.

Also, read it in a magazine recently that chicken thigh meat is healthier than the breast if you remove the skin. I was surprised by that one. I'll see if I can confirm that though.

[Lou Lou 1]

I use this Thai style marinade all the time for meat or fish. It can be prepared the night before and just leave the meat brewing in the fridge. For fish, just smear it over the top about 20mins before cooking it.

Mix in a bowl...

Thumb size piece of ginger finely chopped/grated

2 heaped tsp of dried red chilli flakes or more if you like it really spicy

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp of soy sauce

1/2 tsp unsweetened peanut butter

Juice of half a lemon

1 bay leaf ripped up

Fresh basil chopped up if you have it

A couple of chopped spring onions

Big glug of olive oil

Black pepper - NO salt as you have soy

Sometimes I just throw the meat or fish on the grill, other times I stir fry it with load of chopped veggies.

Soup is so easy to make, and so good for you. You can either buy stock, or I like to make my own.

For the stock:

Take the chicken carcass and break it up in to a big saucepan with a few sticks of celery broken in half, onion chopped in half and about 4 cloves of garlic. Herbs of your choice and S&P. You don't need to peel any of it as it will be thrown away. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 2 hours.

Drain, and this can either be frozen or used to make soup straight away.

For soup:

Just chop up your favourite veggies. I use onion, garlic, carrots, and whatever I have left in the fridge. Any veg will do. Use a little oil in a saucepan, throw the veggies in on a medium heat and cook for about 10mins. Add the stock, bring to boil until veggies are cooked, whizz up in the processor, and there you have soup.

Once you have that under your belt you can do all kinds of fancy types of soup. Perfect for a winter lunch and way better than any ####### that comes out of a can.

Edited October 29, 2006 by Lou Lou

[MichelleandCraig 1]

Thanks everyone! Just what I was looking for....when I get to school, I'll be printing these off...

The fish/chicken things are great. We do have Tilapia in our store...we had it a couple months back, but cooked with butter. Will have to do better than that. As far as the whole wheat, Craig already loves that,but I don't like it *as much*, but I guess will have to sacrifice a bit of what I love for eating healthier. Butter is a big one, along with potatoes...I love potatoes any and every way they can be cooked, and I know that's a huge problem for me. I hadn't heard that on the thigh/dark meat...I hope it's not true, because all of us love the white meat, so I normally buy chix breasts. If you think of any more...recipes OR tips..by all means!

Thanks! M.

PS. Yes, I DO see what you mean now, Lisa. What I was getting at, I suppose, is this is a really small town, and even the next biggest town where we shop doesnt' carry a lot of the things. It gets so frustrating to look up a recipe, realize I don't have half the ingredients, and then when I go shopping I can't find them either. Sometimes I sooooooooo wish we lived in a bigger town!!! Just want some good, healthy recipes with some "normal" ingredients...these look good so far! M.

Edited October 30, 2006 by MichelleandCraig