Healthy Meal ideas..

Can anyone give me some ideas for healthy/light meals?

I love drooling over the weekly menu lists - but DH wouldn't eat like 75% of those things because they're too "unhealthy" for him

I don't need recipes (unless you want to share them!) - just more ideas for non-boring things!

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Can you cook what you usually do only use lighter things like low-fat cheese, whole wheat pasta or skim milk instead?

I go to Kraftfoods.com a lot. They have a lot of healther type meals. I make a chicken parm, but bake it and use part skim mozerella and I buy those steamer veggie bags from BJ's and make it with most meals so we always have a side of steamed veggies or I make a salad

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

hayley, maybe tell us what you are drooling over.

you have a pretty extensive repertoire already, so I don't want to sit here and repeat the stuff you already make.

what does Steve put the ixnay on out of the box (besides obviously anything out of a box )?

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Rob is a pain in the azz too. I'm the daughter of a southerner.. and he's a health nut.

Some of my "appease Rob" meals:

Turkey tacos with all the fixings
Grilled Barbecue Pork Cutlets with charred corn, balsamic veggies.
Chicken souvlaki with whole wheat pitas, lemon cous cous, greek salad and homemade Tzatziki (I use the Fage 0%.. it tastes good!)
Chicken Noodle Soup (skim the fat) with homemade rosemary garlic focaccia
Seared Cod with grape tomatoes, sauteed spinach and brown rice.
Ginger Soy salmon with brown rice, steamed snow peas and carrot salad.
Pasta with summer sauce, turkey sausage and garden salad
Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Grilled steak, roasted brussel sprouts, oven fries and sliced tomatoes
Flank steak stir fried with broccoli, leeks, peppers and onions.

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Posted by Ophelia

hayley, maybe tell us what you are drooling over.

you have a pretty extensive repertoire already, so I don't want to sit here and repeat the stuff you already make.

what does Steve put the ixnay on out of the box (besides obviously anything out of a box )?

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

rojerono - those sound really yummy!

but that brings another issue - ME! i don't eat pork.. and i'm not so big on fish. we bough tilapia at costco a few weeks ago and were eating that 1x/week.. but now we're all out and not planning on buying more this week since we're also out of plain chicken breast (again, trying to be frugal and not spend too much each week!) i'm not a big fan of salmon either - or most fish for that matter, but tilapia is so mild that i actually do like it.

so for example, i'm trying to make this week's menu. i see that t-bone steaks are on sale so i definitely want to have that one night.

so i was thinking, okay 1 night t-bone steaks, maybe a spinach side...

i wanted to try rachael ray's eggplant parm bread pizza (that would be "other")

then someone posted penne a la vodka this week, so that sounded good too - maybe side of parmesan & garlic baguette

someone also posted chili with cornbread.. and that sounded good too.

then when i looked at all of those - i thought WOW, steve is going to think these meals are way too heavy to eat all in one week!

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

maybe different salads?

We do a carrot ginger salad that's really nice. I love beet salad.. it's high in sugar.. but if you aren't eating it 3x a week it's fine! Snap Peas are a favorite in our house with my littles. And Edamame is a huge hit also.

I roast fresh red peppers instead of using tomatoes in my winter salads.. it gives it a whole new flavor profile.

I don't find chili to be all that heavy if you use fresh ingredients. I usually use turkey meat and drain it well. I use whole canned tomatoes and crush them by hand instead of using a heavy sauce. some fresh diced green chilies instead of canned.. and don't use Mesa if the thickness is a turnoff! Or do a nice green chicken chili!

Have you given Cod a chance? It's very light and flakey and not terribly fishy. Rob is not a huge fish fan.. but the marinated salmon he likes because the marinade kind of robs it of some of the innate fishy flavor. And he looooves cod because it is so light and kind of adapts the flavors you use to cook it with.

Maybe a nice frittata with crumbled pancetta and a little Gruyere? Served with a simple salad with an orange vinaigrette?

Message edited 12/3/2009 2:07:17 PM.

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

don't serve bread with the pasta. serve a salad or maybe some sauteed kale or swiss chard.

can you do pork chops (center cut)? you could do roasted or pan seared pork chops with a cider/mustard sauce, green beans and roasted rosemary potatoes

for a veggie meal, what about a soup? escarole and white bean soup is yum and would go nicely with the baguette we stole from the penne.

I would do one night where you can make a "heavier" meal and then lighten the rest of the week.

so this week it's the penne, next week it's the chili.

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

If he's fine w/ grilled chicken every day - make him a few on monday - then tues and wed you can make your dinner.

I take cooked chicken, a jar of salsa and its a base for a lot of things:

-Serve over rice
-add corn, black beans, serve w/ rice
-smush black beans to make a paste, put on pizza, top w/ chicken/salsa, cheese - mexi pizza
-roll up, top w/ cheese - bake
-layer soft taco shells w/ mix & cheese - make mexi lassagna
-add more tomatoes, liquid - make a soup
-put on top of nachos

you can use different salsas to mix it up too.
==========================

Last week I made this - it was really good - needed a little side - maybe spinach:

baked off some portabella mushrooms (uncut)
topped w/ breaded chicken and cheese - bake to melt cheese. OMG - yumo!

variations to try:
grilled chicken & veges, balsamic vinegar

I saw a bruschetta topping - mix w/ the chicken. My friend is a little unhealthy - needed some carbs - I told her to mix the chicken, w/ stuffing and bruschetta.

Maybe a pesto - not sure if you'd use cheese then.

Message edited 12/3/2009 3:32:39 PM.

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

when I am craving fast food and boy was I when I was pregnant, I make the Hungry Girls Spicy Chicken Sandwhiches
DH loves these

I cut a boneless breast in half and each portion is the chicken for the sandwhich. Dipped in egg whites, and breaded with crushed fiber one ceareal with a little bit of paprika and chili powder and bake it in the oven. I put a little bit of light mayo on a toasted weight watchers while wheat bun, lettuce and tomato. Some sweet potato fries on the side.

its really good.

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Hayley-how about a crock pot Turkey chili with low fat cheese and sour cream?

Or I can give you my split pea soup recipe-it is the healthiest thing I can get Jeff to eat-I don't use oil and instead of ham, I use short rib (you can just use a beef bone)

Or Chicken matzoh ball-I overload it with veggies

They are great with a salad! I remember we discussed that soup was not a meal-but these really are!

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

Here are some of my favorites:

Escarole and White Bean soup
Cous Cous - with sauteed zuchinni, red onion, garlic, dried cranberries, feta and fresh mint

for a light pasta: toss hot pasta with fresh diced tomatoes, minced garlic, olive oil and fresh basil

frittatas- I do a few different variations. My favorite is with spinsch, onion, tomatoe, feta, parsley. I try to use any veggies I have on hand and left over herbs from other meals

Re: Healthy Meal ideas..

How about a turkey bolognese over spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I do this all the time and it is delish.

Every week I make some type of bean/legume soup. I make a huge pot - its really healthy and I can have it for lunch for several days. Split Pea, Pasta e Fagioli, Lentil etc.

Salad with grilled turkey sausages and roasted veggies (peppers, portobello, green beans etc.)

Eggplant or Zucchini lasagna (using the vegetables in place of the pasta).