Eating Healthy
Jun. 30th, 2009 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthYesterday, I finally succeeding in actually hunting down some recipes, grocery shopping, and then cooking stuff that was tasty to eat and healthy. I hope to be doing this regularly - towards that end, I will be purchasing a microwave today, since one of the main impediments to my doing this has been that because I didn't have a microwave I couldn't really make hot food unless I intended to finish it that day - problematic, given how much time cooking takes.
Since I hope to do this regularly, I thought it might be fun for me and others if I put up posts as I made stuff with the recipes. Note that I use Calorie King to figure out calories.
Lime and Pepper Grilled Chicken Breasts
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1/2 cup lime juice (from about 4 limes)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves
I used Splenda instead of sugar, and three chicken breasts (each one was about a third of a pound).
Preparation
1. Combine lime juice, sugar, pepper, oil, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. On a flat surface, lay 1 chicken breast half between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a mallet or a small saucepan, pound chicken to an even 1/4- to 1/3-in. thickness. Put chicken in bowl or plastic bag with marinade. Repeat with remaining breasts. Cover or seal; chill 30 minutes.
3. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking-grate level only 3 to 4 seconds). Remove chicken from marinade and grill 4 minutes (cover if using gas). Turn chicken over (cover if using gas), and grill until cooked through (chicken should feel firm when poked), 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Calories: About 250 per chicken breast.
I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this. Basically, it was the first grilled chicken breast recipe I found while looking. It was pretty tasty, though - it had a nice kick without having an overpowering flavor. I've got two more breasts I'll be making tonight, which will have marinated about 24 hours - we'll see how that goes...
Roasted Potatoes
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Romano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
24 small red potatoes (about 3 pounds)
Vegetable cooking spray
I used cheddar cheese instead of Romano, dried parsley, and only 8 rather largish red potatoes (2.4 pounds worth)
Preparation
Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine oil and potatoes in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag, and shake to coat potatoes with oil. Toss potatoes in breadcrumb mixture. Place potatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Calories: about 250 for 2 potatoes.
These were pretty good, though it kind of seemed like the spicing was too subtle, and I had to add more salt. The cheese in particular really didn't take - next time, I think I would not mix the cheese in with the other ingredients and would instead sprinkle it on top of each potato after tossing them.
Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
1/2 cup raisins
Cooking spray
I used Splenda, Spelnda-blend brown sugar, low-fat butter, egg substitute, and whole wheat flour.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Add flour and oats to egg mixture; beat until blended. Stir in raisins. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pan for 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.
Calories: I made 21 cookies from this mix (it was supposed to be 2 dozen). They have 75 calories each.
I made cookies so that I could have something sweet to snack on that would feel like a treat but still have some redeeming qualities - I used low cal ingredients and got some fiber into them with whole wheat flour. They turned out pretty tasty. :) I ended up eating three last night...so maybe they are a little too tasty. ;)
I also made egg salad, cause I love it - 6 hard boiled eggs plus 3 tablespoons of low-cal mayo makes enough for about 4 sandwiches (including the bread, between 200 and 250 calories each). I don't add anything else to it, not even salt or pepper. :)
All in all, I have enough chicken for three dinners and enough potatoes for four, plus lunch for four days. The groceries cost about 50 bucks, which isn't bad for three meals a day for three full days at NYC prices (and it included a few spices which will last a bit). It took a lot of time yesterday, but now it's all ready except for reheating...I'm kinda looking forward to the next thing...(I'm thinking low-cal lasagna, cause I LOVE lasagna and have been meaning to figure out a healthy version for a while - like, turkey and home made sauce and whole wheat lasagna noodles...)
Since I hope to do this regularly, I thought it might be fun for me and others if I put up posts as I made stuff with the recipes. Note that I use Calorie King to figure out calories.
Lime and Pepper Grilled Chicken Breasts
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1/2 cup lime juice (from about 4 limes)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves
I used Splenda instead of sugar, and three chicken breasts (each one was about a third of a pound).
Preparation
1. Combine lime juice, sugar, pepper, oil, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. On a flat surface, lay 1 chicken breast half between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a mallet or a small saucepan, pound chicken to an even 1/4- to 1/3-in. thickness. Put chicken in bowl or plastic bag with marinade. Repeat with remaining breasts. Cover or seal; chill 30 minutes.
3. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking-grate level only 3 to 4 seconds). Remove chicken from marinade and grill 4 minutes (cover if using gas). Turn chicken over (cover if using gas), and grill until cooked through (chicken should feel firm when poked), 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Calories: About 250 per chicken breast.
I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this. Basically, it was the first grilled chicken breast recipe I found while looking. It was pretty tasty, though - it had a nice kick without having an overpowering flavor. I've got two more breasts I'll be making tonight, which will have marinated about 24 hours - we'll see how that goes...
Roasted Potatoes
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Romano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
24 small red potatoes (about 3 pounds)
Vegetable cooking spray
I used cheddar cheese instead of Romano, dried parsley, and only 8 rather largish red potatoes (2.4 pounds worth)
Preparation
Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine oil and potatoes in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag, and shake to coat potatoes with oil. Toss potatoes in breadcrumb mixture. Place potatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Calories: about 250 for 2 potatoes.
These were pretty good, though it kind of seemed like the spicing was too subtle, and I had to add more salt. The cheese in particular really didn't take - next time, I think I would not mix the cheese in with the other ingredients and would instead sprinkle it on top of each potato after tossing them.
Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
1/2 cup raisins
Cooking spray
I used Splenda, Spelnda-blend brown sugar, low-fat butter, egg substitute, and whole wheat flour.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Add flour and oats to egg mixture; beat until blended. Stir in raisins. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pan for 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.
Calories: I made 21 cookies from this mix (it was supposed to be 2 dozen). They have 75 calories each.
I made cookies so that I could have something sweet to snack on that would feel like a treat but still have some redeeming qualities - I used low cal ingredients and got some fiber into them with whole wheat flour. They turned out pretty tasty. :) I ended up eating three last night...so maybe they are a little too tasty. ;)
I also made egg salad, cause I love it - 6 hard boiled eggs plus 3 tablespoons of low-cal mayo makes enough for about 4 sandwiches (including the bread, between 200 and 250 calories each). I don't add anything else to it, not even salt or pepper. :)
All in all, I have enough chicken for three dinners and enough potatoes for four, plus lunch for four days. The groceries cost about 50 bucks, which isn't bad for three meals a day for three full days at NYC prices (and it included a few spices which will last a bit). It took a lot of time yesterday, but now it's all ready except for reheating...I'm kinda looking forward to the next thing...(I'm thinking low-cal lasagna, cause I LOVE lasagna and have been meaning to figure out a healthy version for a while - like, turkey and home made sauce and whole wheat lasagna noodles...)
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 03:00 pm (UTC)The site has a ton of other good stuff too, but many people just use it for one or 2 of its features.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 03:22 pm (UTC)Good luck with your jogging, by the way!
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Date: 2009-06-30 06:49 pm (UTC)When I get around to looking up the sight for the recipes, I might send them off to you so you can check them out yourself. :)
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Date: 2009-06-30 07:13 pm (UTC)http://health.discovery.com/fansites/devin-alexander/recipes/
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Date: 2009-06-30 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-07-01 12:33 pm (UTC)