What's for dinner at your place?? Topic

K8sMom2002 12/15/15
Hi! I thought maybe a thread where we could share dinner ideas would help motivate all of us to eat healthier and build some rapport and support. Join in, please!

I'm having copycat Chipotle's burrito bowls -- black beans, brown rice, chicken, with fajita veggies, a little pepper jack cheese and sour cream and homemade guac, and a lot of salsa. If you cook it at home and mind the portion size, it's full of power foods and lighter on calories.

So what's on the menu at your place??

Dietitian 12/15/15 replied to K8sMom2002
Oh, invite me over to your place for dinner tonight! :) I love the burrito bowl.

I'm making a slow cooker chili. I took Cooking Light's recipe and put it into a slow cooker - 3-4 hours means no gassy beans.

Here's the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cincinnati-turkey-chili-0

I replace kidney beans with No Added Salt pinto beans (Kuner's is my fave brand).
I use Morton's Lite Salt instead of regular salt.
I use No Added Salt Fire Roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen is good)
I use one full lb of lean ground turkey instead of 8 oz since to boost protein
I don't use spaghetti with the chili as in the recipe

I have made a lower fat skillet cornbread to go with the chili in the past, but I eat too many calories when I do that. So instead, I'm making small cornbread muffins to see if that helps me portion control. I LOVE cornbread with chili! I use a lower fat cornbread from Cooking Light: you can find it in the discussion here: https://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?60045-Rev-Corn-Bread-with-Fresh-Corn-CL-7-04

Oh, and I'll have a salad and maybe steamed swiss chard too!

Best,
Kathy

K8sMom2002 12/16/15
I love crockpot chili! Yum! Too bad none of my darlings love it as well. :(

As a lower calorie high protein sub for the cornbread, how about socca? I use it instead of a cornbread "pone" (if you're from the south, you know what I mean -- thin, crispy oven-baked cornbread. Think crispy tortilla.)

Here's a recipe that's close to my recipe:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/06/socca-enfin/

It's basically a one-to-one of garbanzo bean flour and water, with a tablespoon of olive oil, and salt and seasonings to taste. I make mine plain, no seasonings, but you can go Tex-Mex or French. This can make a great grain-free pizza crust, by the way. And I get by with 30 minutes to an hour of soaking in the fridge. If I know I'm going to have socca, I usually mix it up that morning and stick it in the fridge.

For all my good intentions last night, a spontaneous event (a self-defense class for ladies) interrupted. I had my beans and rice cooked and my chicken marinated, and we had plans to finish things up when we returned home. But my daughter and her friend wanted to eat out -- at Chik Fil A, no less! EEK.

Still, even with three-quarters of a Coke and the chicken sandwich, I came in under my calorie budget -- thanks to smart eating earlier in the day, by skipping the mayo on the sandwich and the fries. Thanks, MND for helping me avoid a total disaster!

Tonight we finish up the burrito bowls and the kale chips and we're back on track.

Dietitian 12/16/15 replied to K8sMom2002
Oh, right on with the Chik Fil A maneuver. It's amazing how many calories are saved when fries are out of the equation. :)

Thanks for the link about how to make socca! I have had versions of it but didn't realize I could make it at home.

Tonight: I took a healthy enchilada recipe and made it with flounder. Turned out great! I used this recipe as the base: http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/4277399-Cortez-Chicken-Enchiladas

K8sMom2002 12/17/15
Wow! I've been looking for something to do with flounder. I'll look your recipe up.

Last night I enjoyed my burrito bowls. Yum!

Tonight is Beef stroganoff, with Brussels sprouts and oven roasted carrots.

The beef stroganoff is my own recipe, with lots of onions, garlic and mushrooms. I'll pair it with the Brussels sprouts and carrots to up my veggie quotient.

I found that a salad (at least my hubby's definition of one) just doesn't pack a nutritional punch. So I skip it by roasting veggies with minced garlic, a little salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I can better control the amount of calories that way rather than setting a bottle of salad dressing on the table beside a bowlful of mostly romaine lettuce.

Dietitian 12/17/15 replied to K8sMom2002
Beef stroganoff and roasted veggies sounds delicious!

I had an easy meal tonight since I ate alone. This is my replacement for take out tonight:
1 cup Progresso Light Corn Chowder with Chicken
1 oz lower fat corn bread
Salad with shredded raw beets & avocado.
A little high in the sodium, but still a lot lower than if I had gone out for take out Chinese or Thai food.

This is fun.

K8sMom2002 12/18/15
Easy is good ... Got a link to the salad? Is it vinegar based? Beets intimidate me!

Tonight is not a healthy night ... I'm having to cook for a church family, and my best and most dependable meal that lends itself to transport is lasagna. So I'll make a double batch and have a salad and rolls to round things out.

It's 500 calories a serving -- I use ricotta and mozzarella, and that boosts the calories. But even for a big pan, I only use a half pound of sausage, and no one seems to miss the meat.

I'd like to try a zucchini lasagna...but I didn't want to risk a new recipe on a family that's got three kids and now added twin babies!

It IS fun! I hope more folks will join in.

Dietitian 12/18/15 replied to K8sMom2002
500 kcal for an entree seems good to me, especially if the lasagna tastes good! Zucchini lasagna is tricky - you have to deal with the extra water content. Saute it enough to lose the extra liquid?

My salad is really simple - nothing fancy:
Red leaf lettuce
shredded raw carrot
shredded raw beets
peeled & sliced cucumber (I detest the skin)
avocado - 1/4 (about 30-40 grams)
tomatoes (if I can find any good tasting ones)
sometimes raw cilantro
sometimes raw spinach
sometimes diced raw zucchini
+
2 tbsp Light Marzetti Ranch Dressing (I find it in the refrigerated produce area)

Tonight is just me for dinner again (flight delays, sigh). So, the same dinner as last night! :)

K8sMom2002 12/18/15
I've used the Marzetti brand -- at least, I think so. It's one of the few corn-free dressings. Avoiding corn is hard work!

I've been researching zucchini pasta, and a couple of websites suggested dehydrating zucchini "noodles." That might be perfect for lasagna, as it would absorb the juices like dried pasta does.

If I had a dehydrator, I might try it. You'd think some smart health food company would try it.

Karlasmyth 12/20/15 replied to K8sMom2002
I am totally new here but I'm loving it so much. I will post when I get better at the meal planning. I believe I will get lots of ideas here!

What's for dinner at your place??