little_tippler

So, I did a search and couldn't find any threads here on this topic. I have recently been a lot more health conscious in my daily diet but sometimes have trouble not reverting to old favourites, that are usually not the most healthy or balanced meals. I was hoping some of you would be able to offer me ideas on tasty recipes but that are healthy also.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

Plaid13

it really depends on what kinda food you like. alot of normal recipes can be adjusted to be healthy and still taste basicly the same. Little things like using lemon juice to add flavor to stuff instead of butter can help alot. or if a recipe calls for ground beef try diced steak instead. normaly a little less fat. instead of frying something in a pan try grilling it so it dosnt sit in grease while it cooks.

maleficent

Or grind your own beef... (or ask the butcher to do it rather than buying the prepackaged ground beef)

I've been on a healthy eating kick lately and it's been successful..

I do a lot of light marinating of chicken and fish in lemon juice, white wine, garlic, and an assorted herb or two... then grilling it...

Having more vegetables, whole grains, and fruits also has helped a lot as well.

I still love cheese, but rather than getting lesser quality and using more of it - I will get the better stuff, with more flavor and use a lot less...

You're plate should be a good portion of protein, carbohydrate and vegetable.

You don't want to completely give up fats, fats are what make your hair and your skin look good, as well as doing all sorts of stuff on the inside... But it's the right fats that you want... Olive oil rather than butter.

The mediterean diet seems to bethe big fad type diet these days, but it is a healthy eating plan...

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la petite moi

Try www.fatfree.com

There are some great recipes on there!

genuinegirly

Yay! Tasty good-for-you food!

Cooking with olive oil is delicious and typically better for you than butter or other oils.

Here's a recipe that I stumbled accross the other day:

Fresh Baguette, quartered, toasted with a drizzle of olive oil, light sprinkling of parmesan cheese for flavor - and piled high with sprouts & spinach. Quick, easy, and incredibly delicous. Filling somehow, too.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

little_tippler

One of my first recipes:

Brown Lentil Salad:

1 200g packet ready-steamed brown lentils
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1, 0% fat cottage cheese (About 50g), cubed
a handful of roughly chopped rocket leaves and baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup cubed cucumber
1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
8 cooked large prawns, halved
1 tsp french mustard
salt and pepper
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese (grana padano)

300 calories and 6 g fat per portion (2g saturated), serves 3-4


Rinse the lentils and place in a bowl. Add the rocket and spinach leaves, the cottage cheese pieces, the cucumber, the prawn pieces, the cherry tomato halves and mix well.

In a little bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, french mustard, salt and pepper (a sprinkle of each), some grated lemon rind and about 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Drizzle over the salad mixture then top with the grated parmesan. Serve. Very yummy!

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

spindles

I have one word for you: Risotto.

And if it has to be two words: Pumpkin Risotto

Cut half a butternut pumpkin into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks and slice a red bell pepper (what we call a capsisum) and bake this until soft
put 1/2 litre of chicken stock into a pot and warm (not boil)
finely chop and onion and a clove or two of garlic and fry (in a heavy based frying pan or large saucepan) in a little olive oil until soft
add 400g of arborio rice and stir to coat with oil
add a cup of the stock
add the pumpkin and capsicum
continue adding stock by the cupfull, stirring gently (add the next cup when there is no more liquid).
once most the stock is gone, test the rice to see if it is cooked (it is supposed to be a little crunchy in the middle (but hey cook it how you like it)...

straight into bowls, serve with shredded parmesan and black pepper
yummy!

I love risotto - it is easy to make and once you get the hang of it, easy to change what is in it.

For example, add a rasher or two of chopped bacon before adding the rice and replace the pumpkin with chopped mushrooms - mmmmmm.

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who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

little_tippler

Thanks for that recipe spindles, I will try it. Last night I made something up that turned out rather yummy and it's pretty healthy.

2 aubergines/eggplants, sliced in rounds
4 carrots, shredded
4 tomatos, sliced in rounds
1 chicken breast, boiled and broken up
a handful of capers, chopped
1 red pepper (roasted over the hob and peeled), thinly sliced
100 g ricotta cheese
100 ml skimmed milk
1/2 a small pot 0% fat natural yogurt
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
italian seasoning
red pepper flakes
garlic powder
fresh fine breadcrumbs

Before starting, the aubergine should be salted and left in a sieve for 10 mins to draw out water, then patted dry with kitchen paper.

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, the yogurt, the milk and 1 tbsp of the parmesan.Add a little black pepper. Set aside.

Place the sliced aubergine, tomato and chicken pieces in an oven-proof tray, and sprinkle with a little salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Give the mix a couple of sprays of olive oil. Place in the oven at 200º C for 20 mins. Once they are cooked, the aubergine should be browned but quite dry and still a little firm, the tomato should be a little mushy and the chicken should have browned.

In an oven-proof dish that's about 5 cm deep, place a layer of the aubergine, a layer of the tomato and chicken (sparingly - a little goes a long way), scatter over some of the capers, the red pepper strips, and finally a layer of the carrot. Over this, drizzle about 1/4 of the ricotta mix. Then repeat the layers (you should have enough for a total of 3) but on the last layer there should be no carrot on top, and you cover it all with the 1/2 of the ricotta mix, which is all that should be left.

Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and the breadcrumbs too. Top with some freshly ground black pepper.

Place the dish in the oven at 200ºC for about 30 mins, until browned. Serve.

This tasted great and it's not very fattening, high in calories, and it's full of veggies. It was also filling. I also liked that the vegetables werent' all soggy or mushy like they sometimes get, the aubergine was soft yet firm, the carrot was also soft but had a little crunch, and you could taste the individual ingredinets quite well.

This should serve about 4. The dish I made it in was about 20 cm in diameter (round) and 5 cm deep.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

little_tippler

Another healthy recipe that tastes yummy. This should be had as an occasional treat for tea or maybe as breakfast with a glass of juice. Very more-ish.

Carrot-Mango Cupcakes with Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup carrot
1 cup mango pulp/pieces crushed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinammon
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup small raisins

Frosting:
1/4 cup light cream cheese, chilled (30% less fat)
1 tbsp reduced fat butter
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350º F / 170 º C

Mix the oil, apple sauce, sugar, egg and vanilla with a beater at medium speed until well blended. Add the shredded carrot and mango. Mix together in a separate bowl the flour, baking powder, cinammon, salt, nutmeg then add slowly into the carrot mix and beat well. Finally, and the raisins into the batter and mix well.

Spoon the mixture into a non -stick muffin tray (12 muffins) and place in the oven for 20-30 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and blend with a beater. Slowly add the powdered sugar. At the end, add 2 tbsp of the coconut flakes. When the cupcakes are coo, frost them and then sprinkle over the lefotver coconut flakes. Keep in a closed container in the fridge.

The cupcakes are packed with flavour and are quite healthy considering they are cupcakes, and the best part is that they have only 200 calories each and about 5g fat.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

absence_of_color

I really dont eat meat a whole lot. I eat it when I crave it, and thats only occasionally, so I eat a LOT of veggies. For the most part, that is, if you like them, you can steam pretty much every single kind. Each has its own full, unique flavor, which is enhanced by steaming, in my opinion, so its perfect for a great tasting, diverse, fat free, healthy way of eating. Also, there are so many to choose from, the variety doesnt get boring. And since I love to snack, i just eat fruit. Again, lots to choose from, naturally sweetened, fat free, and really healthy.
If you eat in this manner, you can indulge once or twice a week on whatever the heck you want, so you dont even feel like you are restricted.

My personal recipe for steaming veggies? Uhhh... put veggies of choice onto microwave plate, barely drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with seasons and herbs of choice, usually Tiger seasoning and powdered butter substitute, cover with plastic wrap tightly, microwave until tender. Perfect!

__________________
...absent of everything.

genuinegirly

Does this not sound delicious!?!
From Vegetarian Times' website.

Avocado and Feta Cheese Salad Wraps

Ingredient List
SERVES 4

1 ripe avocado, seeded and diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced scallions
2 Tbs. soy “bacon” bits
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, preferably toasted
2 Tbs. fat-free soy mayonnaise
16 grape tomatoes
1 cup shredded leaf lettuce plus half head for garnish
4 8-inch low-fat plain or flavored flour tortillas

Directions

Preheat oven to broil.
Put diced avocado into a mixing bowl, and stir in feta cheese, lime juice and black pepper. Add scallions, “bacon” bits, sunflower seeds and soy mayonnaise, stirring gently to combine. Stir in grape tomatoes and shredded lettuce.
Spray tortillas lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and heat in oven until softened, for about 30 seconds. Remove from oven, and place each tortilla on individual plates.
To serve, line each tortilla with whole lettuce leaf, and mound salad mixture on top.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy