Sunday, June 22, 2008

Recipes

Here is a place to post healthy (or easy/simple/not too bad for you) recipes. I'll try to find and sample new ones as often as I can. Then, I'll share the recipe, and my thoughts about the taste, etc.

Ideally, these would be health conscious recipes, yet somewhat simple to make.

Happy Sampling!

10 comments:

Myowne said...

I have a recipe for a couple different meals I have been cooking for my godmother that she seems to enjoy but I'll just post one for now.

If you like chicken and mushrooms and wild rice, I think you will like my garlic and mushroom chicken with wild rice meal. It is something I "made up."

You will need:
Skinless and boneless chicken tenders or chicken breasts
Cut Fresh mushrooms (not the canned stuff)
Fresh garlic
Italian seasoning
Fresh herbs: thyme, dill, basil (using these will diminish the need for salt)
Ms. Dash Lemon and Herb Seasoning
Lemon Juice
Red Onion
Rice-a-Roni Wild Rice (Side Dish)
Mixed Frozen Vegetables (Side Dish)

Coat pan with Olive Oil pan spray and then place tenders or cut up chicken breasts in pan. Chop fresh veggies (onions, garlic, and herbs and place in pan with mushrooms. Saute the meat and vegetables under medium to high heat.

You can make the wild rice according to the Rice-a-Roni directions: brown rice in pain with butter or I like to use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter; once browned add water and seasoning; bring to boil; cover; reduce heat and let simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

After meat and veggies are sauted, keep under low heat. In a separate pan you can make a light gravy if you like by combining seasonings and "drippings" from the pan with butter, flour, and hot water. I recommend that you mix the water and flour in a measuring cup first by stirring vigorously and then add to to the pan under high heat. This will turn into a thin gravy mixture as you stir the mixture in the pan. Pur the gravy into the pan with the sauted veggies and chicken.

At this point the meal is pretty much done. All you have to do is make the frozen mixed vegetables by cooking in a pan or sauteing in a sauce pan.

Enjoy!

The warden said...

This sounds like it will be delicious. I will definitely try it.

The warden said...

Here is a recipe for a a great
fat- free smoothie. It is great for an after walking/exercise refresher especially on a hot day.

Here are the ingredients:
1 Banana
1 cup of slightly thawed
strawberries
1 cup of Silk soy milk (vanilla)
1/4 cup of orange juice

Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend for a few second or until as smooth as you like it. It can also be made with light chocolate Silk just leave out the orange juice. I actually like the chocolate smoothie better.

If you have not tried soy milk, do not be afraid. I do not notice any difference when I use it this way.

LypheWriter said...

Trying to Cut Soda (pop) from your Diet? Try This:

Sparkling Water.

Okay.... maybe that's asking too much for those who have a slight fear of 'going there', so how about a little twist?

Try sparkling water combined with 100% juice.

I like to use a sparkling water like Canada Dry or Faygo, because it is inexpensive and it doesn't have any after taste. There is absolutely no sugar at all, no 'sweet'. Just a refreshing beverage.

Next, you will need some 100% juice, like Juicy Juice, or any other of your favorites.

Combine half juice and half sparkling water. It's very refreshing! If you want, you can go a step further and try 1/3 juice to 2/3 sparkling water.

Enjoy!

It's just another way to get your juice in and a way to avoid that soda pop if it is one of your no-no's.

KeliBean said...

Here is an easy recipe for chicken thighs, although boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used just like chicken breasts in other recipes too.

Chicken Rice Bake
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (98% Fat Free or the regular kind)
1.5 cups frozen peas
1.5 cups water
1 cup uncooked rice
5 to 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
pepper and paprika to taste

The warden said...

This is not so mush a recipe as a quick healthy breakfast to have in place of cereal and milk. You probably do this already. Try 1/2 a container of Yoplait fat free yogurt with granola. Granola can have a lot of calories so you have to be careful. I found one with 140 calories per 1/4 cup. It is 'Bare Naked Granola' with fruit and nuts.

You can also add fresh strawberries or blue berries.

narahoskins said...

Good idea for help with cutting pop from the diet! I am going to try it!

The warden said...

Here is an easy way to use those skinless chicken breasts and also the thighs. Make your own Fajitas. There are no exact amounts given. I just use as much of each ingredient as I think I want for the number of tortillas I have.

Ingredients:
chicken breast - cut into strips
green/red peppers - cut into strips
large onion - sliced
(any other vegetable you think would work)
low-fat flour tortillas
canola or olive oil

1.Season chicken strips to your taste. (I like pepper, salt, cumin, chili powder)
2. Saute' onions and peppers in canola or olive oil.
3. Add the chicken to peppers and onions.
4. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Veggies should not be mushy.
5. Divide the pepper /chicken mixture among your tortillas.

Add
low fat cheese,
low fat sour cream
a slice of avacado (good fat)
chopped tomatoe
salsa
black beans
shredded lettuce
"Whatever"

Roll and enjoy!

LypheWriter said...

I found some nice Smoothie recipes. I haven't tried them, yet, but here they are:

You'll notice that they also recommend substituting soymilk for the milk for a healthier drink (so here's more to try, huh?)

Summer Smoothies:

The weather is heating up, and nothing beats a cool drink on a hot summer day. Mixing up a smoothie is a perfect way to cool down. Basically, a smoothie is simply a blended mixture of milk, fruit juices, yogurt, sherbet or sorbet, with fruit and ice added. These recipes can get you started. Once you've tried a few, start experimenting with different combinations of fruit and juice. If you are adding fruit, use frozen fruit or freeze fresh fruit in the freezer for about half an hour first. Substitute soymilk for the milk or yogurt for a healthy drink.

1. Basic Banana Smoothie
In a blender, combine 1/2 cup milk, 1 banana, 1/4 cup plain or flavored yogurt, and enough honey to sweeten to taste. Blend until smooth and serve in a chilled glass.

2. Chocolate Banana Smoothie
To Basic Banana Smooth ie, add two tablespoons chocolate syrup.

3. Strawberry Banana Smoothie
To Basic Banana Smooth ie, add 1/2 cup frozen strawberries. Also works great with blueberries or raspberries~

4. Peach Smoothie
In a blender, combine one cup peeled and sliced peaches, slightly frozen, and 1/4 cup raspberries, also slightly frozen. Add one cup apple or peach juice, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt or peach sorbet, and toss in a small handful of ice cubes. Blend until smooth.

5. Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Blend together one frozen banana, three tablespoons peanut butter, two tablespoons chocolate syrup, and 3/4 cup milk. Serve in a chilled glass.

6. Peanut Butter Ice Cream Smoothie
Combine 1/4 cup peanut butter with one cup vanilla ice cream and one cup milk. Blend until smooth.
(maybe try Edy's slow churn, because I heard that is better for you)

The warden said...

Hey Mykie, Your post for the smoothies went to my email. I did not see that I could still post a comment to the blog until I had already sent the reponse. The last time I posted a comment, there was a place where I requested that comments be sent to my email. Now I know how that works.