Hi all -

I'm in need of some delicious (and easy) low-cal recipe ideas. I've been buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts and seasoning them up with lemon or lime juice and mrs. dash and then baking them for about 45 minutes and serving that with brown rice. eeeeesh, i am sooooo burnt out from plain chicken breasts now that i am a little sick to my tummy thinking about it. i also want some variety because i don't want to get stuck in a rut.

i don't eat cooked fish (i DO love me some sushi)!!! any ideas for entrees or sides....let me know! much thanks, traineo pals!

Smoked salmon over salad. One of my fav's!

Legumes of all kinds.

Lean steaks now and then, can't beat a good steaky, RAHHR!

Tofu, if you're into it.

And never forget the power of nuts and seeds.

Lofat yogurts are a staple.

There's a thread on kitchen stocking for health here, have a good boo at that, good stuff.

1 lb ground turkey breast
1/2 large red onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-4 jalepenos, diced (with seeds for kick!) (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can whole-kernel sweet corn, drained
1 package chili seasoning (or you can mix it yourself)
1 tablespooon gruond flaxseed
1/4 cup water

I usually get reduced sodium corn and beans, although it's less of a factor since you rinse and drain the beans and drain the corn, and the ground flax seed is usually in the baking section if you don't already have some (it's an awesome addition to a lot of recipes for fiber and stuff)

Sautee the onions and garlic (and jalepenos!) in some olive oil until the onions soften and start looking clear (should only take a few minutes). Add the ground turkey breast and brown evenly. Add all the rest of the ingredients (I usually "prepare" them while browning the turkey) and continue cooking over low-medium heat for 10 minutes.

There you go, nice quick and easy chili, takes less than 20 minutes to prepare since most ingredients are already canned and premeasured. If you don't want to use the canned products you can get fresh ingredients, but then it just takes more time.

I should note that this recipe is taken from, and slightly modified, from "The Abs Diet" by David Zinczenko which is a good reference book for making a healthy lifestyle change, although most of the information is available online and in this forum. It's not really a "diet" book in the classic definition either, although I think he even admits in the book that the title is more of a marketing device, the book encourages lifestyle changes more than a program you go on, then eventually go off.

The recipe right out of the book (no onions, garlic or jalepenos which are probably mostly negligible in terms of calories) has the following nutritional value:

407 calories per serving, 30g protein, 52g carbs, 11g fat, 3g saturated fat, 1,578mg sodium, 9g fiber. Makes 4 servings.

It's pretty high in sodium (mostly because canned goods are a salt mine, which is why I buy the reduced sodium variants) but if you're good about watching your sodium intake throughout the day it's not THAT bad since it's just over half of the suggested daily intake (or so I'm told!)

I have a few other recipes from the book I can post, but they're also up on the Mens Health website. I usually make a pot of this on Sunday for quick and easy dinners throughout the week and I take in very little salt for other meals so I haven't seen any significant water retention as a result of it.

what about salads, wraps, pitas, or sandwiches with turkey, roastbeef, or... etc in them? very simple and easy to make

DAMMIT I wish I could find ground turkey here. The Frenchies just don't do it.

Hey Minu could you buy some turkey meat and mince it yourself???

One of the best kitchen things I ever purchased was a mincer and I mince my own meat AND I know how much fat is in it!

THAT is a cool idea.

It's next on the list, right after a food processor. Then again, perhaps there's a high horse-powered processor out there that could handle meat? Why the hell not?

I agree, chicken does get very boring very quickly. I can't stand it after a while.

I also agree that sandwiches are a quick and easy fix and depending on what you put on them can be very healthy as well.

Good ol' canned tuna, a little mayo and mix it in with non or lowfat cottage cheese in a bowl. Now that's delicious.

Try adding hummus to the chicken in a bowl of brocolli while it's warm. The hummus will then out and behave like a dressing.

B & B (Brown rice, black beans, garlic, mrs. dash and some tabasco drizzled on top)

Egg salad

Egg white omelet with ground turkey and lowfat cheese.

Get a frozen turkey breast at walmart, bake it for a few hours and you have a few days of lunch or dinner. They're high in salt but if you're working out, who the hell cares if you "binge" once in a while.

Filet Mignon on the grill

Cottage cheese with chopped apples in it

Pork tenderloin! Sear on all sides, toss in oven... yum

Isn't pork tenderloin really expensive?

I like to cook my chicken breast in a small covered pan on the stove with a little water. It is much more tender and moist than baking.

Put salsa on your chicken! Experiment with spices. Chop it up and mix it with beans and rice. Make homemade vegetable soups. There are a zillion meals you can make, so long as you're creative. One of my favorite websites is allrecipes.com.

stop and shop has it on sale about every 3 weeks, 2.99 a lb... that's pretty much cheaper than almost all their beef... I get two when it's on sale, one to freeze and one to cook...

Thanks all! Great advice all around!

What sorts of sandwiches do you all like?

You know what I found that's lean and protein filled and cheap? Ham steaks. Dirt cheap, lean and lotsa protein. Of course it's only good if you don't mind eating an animal that rolls around in its own excrement. I don't, that's on the outside, not the inside, that's why pig's feet are gross.

I normally get a brand called Thin & Trim Oven Roasted Turkey breast and Land O Lakes Light Cheese from the deli. Put on some lettuce, tomato, and pickle slices. Slop on some low calorie Miracle Whip and call it a day.

I haven't made a sandwich in a while, but I like to have lean, low-sodium turkey or ham, any kind of cheese, spinach, tomato, cucumber, spicy mustard... pickles and roasted peppers optional, as is onion... all yum

150 recipes from Dr. Dean Ornish (low fat, mostly vegetarian). Includes articles on stocking your kitchen, sample menus, etc.

Fat free vegan recipes from Dr. McDougall.

Dr. Fuhrman posts some sample recipes on his site as well, but charges for access to his member section where the full list is kept.

Drs. Campbell of The China Study recommend these two vegetarian cookbooks:
Arrowhead Mills Cookbook
Vegetarian Cooking with Jeanie Burke

For chicken specifically, see this recipe on Fuhrman's other site (DiseaseProof.com).

I'm not into the whole vegan thing. I don't think I could ever give up meats. I love veggies but not that much.

A lot of folks try to eat healthy by taking their current recipes and substituting healthy options in.

Why not the other way around?

Start with a vegan recipe, then replace some beans and tofu with chicken or steak!

Being vegan is not magical -- there are plenty of overweight vegans for pretty much the same reason as non-vegans: too much fats, simple sugars and carbs, and not enough daily physical activity and exercise.

Mmm, good call Itadaki! Thanks for the great ideas!

one great chicken breast recipe i discovered recently, and its really easy to:

Ingredients:
1 Cup Fat Free Sour Cream
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
1 Clove Garlic, minced
6 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 Teaspoons Dry Mustard
1 1/2 Teaspoons Thyme
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 (5 Oz) Package Melba Toast Crumbled
Cooking Spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a plastic bag.
Add chicken and shake to coat.
Refrigerate over night.
Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor.
Place 1/2 mixture in a bowl.
Reserve the rest for another use.
Remove chicken from bag and dredge in crumb mixture.
Place on a pan like a cookie sheet or an 11 x 7” pan.
Bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Recipe makes 6 servings
Serving Size = 1 Chicken Breast

Nutrition facts per serving: (est from the sight i got the recipe on)
Calories 192
Total Fat 6.2 g
Protein 20.2 g
Carbs 10.9 g
Fiber .8 g
Chol 59 mg
Iron 1.1 mg
Sodium 603 mg
Calc 64 mg

and in all honesty, ive found you can cut out all but the chiken, lemon juice, sour cream, hotsauce and breadcrumbs, and its still delish

oh! also, it doesnt really have to sit over night, i made some in a hurry a few nights ago, and only had time to let it mairinate for about an hour, still came out sooo tender and juicy!

I LOVE Franks Spicy wing sauce... of course wings are very fattening.. So I drown a breast in this sauce... and either grill or back it.... YUM... and when I'm splurging on fat... I use ONE tablespoon of Blue Cheese Dressing... DELISH!

The thought of sour cream + lemon juice (or any citric acid) makes me cringe... just means I gotta try that recipe now!

Really, any marinade that you let the chicken drink up before you cook it up will make it nice and juicy, provided that your'e not overcooking it. 45 minutes in the oven at what temperature? Boneless or bone-in? Get a meat thermometer and see just hwo long you need to be cooking that chicken, if you pull it out right at 165 (or a little before since the meat will still be cooking out of the oven for a while) then it shouldn't be THAT dry!

i thought the same thing about the lemon with the sour cream, but its fat free, so who knows if its ACTUALLY sour cream anyways, lol
but yes, its so good, that even my husband likes it, and he pretty much thinks of anything healthy as falling into two categories:
rabbit food, and cardboard, haha

Here is a super favorite of mine - chicken breasts can get boring!!!

Greek Burger

Ground Chicken or Turkey meat
mix in 2 egg whites
salt/pepper
feta cheese (to your liking. just dont go overboard bc its cheese!!)
spinach
red onion
teaspoon of olive oil

basically just mash up to what feels like the right consistency and so all ingredients are mixed well and make into patties. I realize i didn't give amounts for each ingredient bc when I make it I dont measure. I stick in spinach until its green enough and red onion to my liking (and i like onions)

finally once cooked on the grill, in the oven, whatever it is. place in whole wheat pita w/hummos tomato and cucumber. its crunchy juicy and delish.

dellllish!!!

Wow! That's sounds amazing!