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Share Your Favorite Diet Meal

Well, we’re just about through January, and I have to say it’s been a struggle getting back on my diet. So far, so good, and each day gets a little easier. I’m living on a lot of salad, and so I thought I would share one of my favorites.

Can you tell I’m already hungry?

I should probably mention that I stick pretty closely to the Protein Power diet — not only is it the easiest for me to follow, I feel at my best on it.

Measurements — I’m kind of a “to taste” girl, so how much of any of this you’d want to eat would be up to you, with the exception of salad dressing, which I think is very easy to get carried away with.

Basically I take a lot of nice leafy lettuce — romaine, and the red-tipped, loose-leaf kind — throw in some baby spinach — and chop the heck out of it (I hate giant pieces of lettuce)

I dice up green onion, slice a few black olives, chop up one hardboiled egg, and add a piece of barbecued or broiled salmon. Then I top it with two tablespoons of that Girard’s California Golden Cesear salad dressing (with aged Romano cheese, white wine vinegar, anchovies, and Dijon mustard).

This is one of my absolute favorite dinners — accompanied by a nice glass of wine.

Want to share your favorite diet meal with me? I could use some new recipes!

22 Responses to “Share Your Favorite Diet Meal”

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by Share Your Favorite Diet Meal by diet.MEDtrials.info on January 30th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Hmmmm…apparently it’s way too early in January to be asking for favorite diet meals! ;-D

by Diana on January 30th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
LOL, Diana. Yours sounds great–except the salmon (not a fish fan), but that’s easily substitutable with chicken I bet. I think I’ve got a chicken recipe around here that would be a good diet meal. I’ll see if I can track it down.

by Heather on January 30th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hi Diana! I’ve been busy all day, playing catch-up on chores and errands, since it’s the nicest day we’ve had in a week, tho’ still cold & very windy outside.

Diana, that salad sounds terrific! (Now Heather, close your eyes, lots of salmon talk coming up! Then I’ll post a chicken recipe we had last week and loved. ) We’ve eaten mostly fish, chicken and lean pork this month, with tons of different salads & slaws.

I’m posting links (to save space on the blog) for the salmon dishes we’ve enjoyed:

Apricot Ginger Salmon (I used Polaner Sugar-Free preserves)
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1553038

Asian Grilled (used my stovetop grill, & lite soy)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31605,00.html

Baked wDijonSoy(easy & great, lite soy)
http://www.finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=19171

Salmon w Fennel (skipped the Pernod, uses 1 pan)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/240682

And, tonite we’re trying this one, from Ellie Krieger:
Roasted Salmon w Shallot-Grapefruit Sauce, EK
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37335,00.htm

Have to go tend to laundry now but will be back to post for Heather! I love new recipes!

by Texas Lynn on January 30th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
When I need to lose, I eat raw every other day. I use The Raw Gourmet cookbook. see www.rawgourmet.com for some recipes. It’s like the ultimate no-brain diet and it always feels like the first day and anyone can handle that!

Dani

by Dani on January 30th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Hey Diana,

Here’s one for ya :

Frozen mesquite grilled chicken breasts (use as many as you need for the servings you will want to have)
three cans low sodium chicken broth
one half package of onions and green peppers and celery frozen (i think they call this menu starter?)
1/2 package of baby carrots
In the last half hour before you serve, add 1/3 cup of jasmine rice and cover soup. Lower heat to simmer.

I cooked this mess about 3 hours total. When I got finished the chicken was falling apart and the rice was perfect.

It is a made up soup, so have fun with it!!

by Kim Smith on January 30th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Hey, Dani! That’s an interesting idea. I’ll check it out.

by Diana Killian on January 30th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Heather, absolutely, chicken is a great substitute. We eat a lot of barbecued salmon during the summer, and this is so yummy for a change — provided you like fish!

by Diana Killian on January 30th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Kim, that sounds very good — I love chicken falling off the bone. True, I like it best in coq au vin, but still!

by Diana Killian on January 30th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Ooh, Texas Lynn, what a wonderful batch of recipes! That salmon and fennel in particular sounds — and I think I’ll ADD the Pernod.

by Diana Killian on January 30th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Ok, I’ve been on WW two weeks now and just ordered Pizza Hut and blew all my points for the day.

So favorite diet meal? Actually I don’t think about the food that way. I eat what I want but add more veggies and count all my points.

I do like the Applebees stuff. And I would love the salmon receipe you gave us but I don’t go out of my way to do diet food.

by Lynn on January 30th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Lynn, one thing I love about the Protein Power is that it’s all the foods I naturally love anyway. I’m carnivorous by nature, but then I also like eating salads. I’m a meat and salad kind of girl. I do add oatmeal and certain complex grains — and berries. And avacados. I’m trying to get to a point where I don’t think about food so much. And I try very hard not to feel guilty when I go off — and, although I was feeling horrible about the holiday excesses, I’ve already made up my lost ground (although that’s mostly due to working out, I bet).

by Diana Killian on January 30th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Asian Chicken Grill (recipe from Kroger!)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I pound mine to make them thinner)
2 red bell peppers, cut into wedges
2 small zucchini, sliced diagonally
4 ounces button or shitake mushroom caps
1 box rice pilaf

Marinade:
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1) To prepare marinade, combine OJ, teriyaki sauce and red pepper flakes in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 c. marinade to use with rice.

2) Place chicken, vegetables, and remaining marinade in large resealable bag. Marinate in fridge 30 minutes or longer.

3) Preheat grill to medium hot. Grill chicken 15 minutes or until done (internal temp 170*). Grill bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms 5 minutes or until crisp-tender, tuning once.

4) While chicken is cooking, prepare rice according to package directions. Stir in reserved marinade. Keep warm.

*The pilaf probably isn’t too diet friendly and might need to be substituted with another type of rice.

Oh, and I actually make this on my George Foreman grill–I cook the veggies first, then put them in a metal bowl with foil over the top to keep them warm while the chicken cooks.

~heather

by Heather on January 31st, 2008 at 11:59 am
I’m not one of those folks who loves to cook for its own sake - I just love to eat good food, so I had to learn to make good things that were also easy things (necessity being the mother that it is…)

I like to cook a turkey, or at least a big turkey breast, every so often, and this is my favorite way to use the leftovers, although worth cooking the bird just for this dish.

- saute a smallish onion and a couple cloves of garlic (mince them) in a little olive until softened.
- add a whole clove
- add a cup of dry bulghur and stir it around for a minute or two
- add a cup of vegetable or chicken/turkey stock, or a cup of water and a bouillon cube. Cover and let it sit over very low heat for 20 minutes or so - taste and see how it is. If it’s dry and/or crunchy, add some more stock and let it sit a while longer. Fish out the clove. Fluff with a fork.
- add a cup or so of cooked and cut up turkey and some broccoli florets (fresh or leftover) and allow to heat through. Add salt and pepper if you want, although if you used bouillon it’ll probably be salty enough. You can also adapt this to what’s on hand and use other leftover meat things and different vegetables, like chicken and red peppers, beef and asparagus, etc.

That’s it - one pot, low fat, whole grain and all that good stuff. Wash it down with a nice gewurztraminer.

by Karen on January 31st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Ooh, good, more recipes! Heather, thanks for the Asian Chicken Grill –I’m going to the grocery tomorrow & will give it a try sometime this coming week. (Minus the pilaf for myself, of course, dh can have rice or couscous with it.)

Karen, I make tabbouleh with bulghur and chicken all the time during the summer and never thought to make it warm, with other veggies, sheesh! Thank you for suggesting that–sounds terrific! I’ve copied it to try when I add more grains back into my diet in a few weeks.

Here’s one of the chicken dishes I promised Heather, though now I’m wondering if it’s kid-friendly with the spinach & strong-tasting cheese. I made 2 breasts stuffed with the bleu cheese and 2 with Pepper Jack, and both were equally delicious.

Spinach-and-Blue Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup onion; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Add spinach, and sauté 3 minutes. Combine spinach mixture, cheese and 1 teaspoon mustard in a small bowl. Stir well; set aside. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons spinach mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken with pepper.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from skillet. Set aside, and keep warm. Add 1 cup onion to pan, and sauté 5 minutes. Add wine and thyme; cook 3 minutes or until reduced by half. Add broth and 2 tablespoons mustard; cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to skillet; cover and simmer 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve sauce with chicken.
Makes 4 servings.

CALORIES 199(21% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.4g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 29.2g; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 87mg; SODIUM 427mg; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.6g

by Texas Lynn on January 31st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Wow—-what great recipes, guys!!! I’m printing this off now. Will be using lots of these.

I, too, noticed how hard it was to get back on the “straight and narrow” this month. Especially, since I’d been traveling and visiting family from Dec 15th thru Jan 8th. Boy, that was hard. But, now I’m back on track amd really appreciate these great recipes.

by Maggie on February 1st, 2008 at 12:13 am
OK, I really have to stop reading this blog so late at night…the food posts anyway….I’m so hungry now! I did find the meatloaf recipe I mentioned in another blog entry. Luckily it was online…Not sure it would qualify as a diet meal, so I’ll save it for another time.

Diana, your salad sounds really good! I love Salmon (Except for the Salmon in soy sauce recipe from Perkins), so this would be perfect for me.

by Traci on February 1st, 2008 at 3:56 am
Oh, Traci, believe me, I understand! I’ve been printing recipes out all evening. ;-D

by Diana Killian on February 1st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Maggie, I really went nutty towards the end of the holidays. I started out okay, but then…something weird happened. I fell back into that “dieting” mindset. Deadly! But now I’m strong and focused.

Yes, aren’t these the best recipes!?

by Diana Killian on February 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Oh, Texas Lynn, you are wonderful! Look at this stuff!

by Diana Killian on February 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Karen, I LOVE that recipe. I’ve already sent it to Mr. Thrilling for next week’s menu.

by Diana Killian on February 1st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Thanks, Heather! This is another delicious sounding one. I get so tired of chicken, I love finding new ways to cook it. Well, new ways for Mr. Thrilling to cook it.

by Diana Killian on February 1st, 2008 at 10:57 pm

Share Your Favorite Diet Meal

22 Responses to “Share Your Favorite Diet Meal”

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