FitSugar

Healthy Lunch Idea: Chickpea, Tomato, and Feta Salad

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0800

Last week you guys all gave some great ideas for healthy, easy lunches and since we're still on the topic (well I am, at least) I wanted to share a recipe for Chickpea, Tomato, and Feta Salad that user wren posted in the Healthy Recipes Group. Not only is this recipe healthy, but it's also super easy because it requires no cooking.

For the recipe just read more.

This refreshing recipe is so simple to make and fills me up. I love to have it for lunch.
From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.

1/4 cup canned chickpeas
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
ground pepper

Rinse and drain chickpeas.
In a bowl, combine chickpeas with tomatoes, feta, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, and a pinch of pepper.

Serves 1

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Lite'n It Up Feature: Sautéed Talapia With Lemon-Herb Glaze

FitSugar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:30:00 -0800

I am always looking for new and healthy ways to cook fish. This is why I was thrilled to find user tshellyedwards's recipe for Sautéed Talapia with Lemon-Herb Glaze posted in the Lite'n It Up Recipe Group. It looks so yummy and would make a nice departure from all the traditional holiday meals we're all eating so much of these days.

To get the full recipe along with some great step-by-step photos of how to cook it, read more

Sautéed Talapia with Lemon-Herb Glaze from tshellyedwards

Sautéed Tilapia with Lemon-Herb Glaze
Serves 4
Recipe from: http://www.midwesthomemag.com

This healthy, flavorful, fast treatment makes just about any fish glorious, especially a mild-mannered one like tilapia. Serve with brown rice or whole-wheat pasta and a colorful salad or green vegetable. (And yes, you can eat the lemon slices-they’re not just a pretty garnish.)
*Note: I served the tilapia with zuccini squash and a hearty, 100% whole grain bread loaf.

Ingredients:
1 large lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tilapia fillets, about 1½ pounds
2 large garlic cloves, minced
½ cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons sliced Kalamata or other flavorful olives
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried

Directions:
Cut lemon in half. Squeeze juice from one half and reserve. Thinly slice remaining half.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets and cook, turning carefully, until browned on both sides and barely opaque in center, about 3 minutes. (*Note: I could fit fillets in my skillet at the same time)

Transfer to a warm plate and repeat with remaining fillets.

Return skillet to heat and add garlic. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice and slices, broth, olives, and oregano and cook until lemon slices are soft and sauce has thickened to a glaze, 3 to 5 minutes.

Return all the fillets to pan to coat with glaze and warm through. Serve immediately, topped with lemon slices.

And ta-da! You're done *Note: Don't mind my plastic plate - it was just the first thing I grabbed to put the dinner on!!

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Do you have your own healthy recipes? Be sure to share them in the Lite'n It Up Healthy Recipe Group.

Lite'n It up Feature: Healthier Pizza Bagels

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:15:00 -0800

Due to the frozen pizza recall last week, we've been forced to get our pizza fixes other ways. Being that most frozen pizzas are not healthy, the silver lining was that this was a good opportunity for all of us to rid our freezers of them anyway.

User steen, not willing to tempt fate by buying any more frozen pizzas, found a fabulous recipe for Power Pizza Bagels from Parenting.com that was too good not to share with everyone!

To see the recipe, just read more

Good for You Pizza Bagels from steen

I found a great recipe on parenting.com for pizza bagels! I imagine it'd be something your kids could help make but it's definitely adult-friendly as well. It involves making two purees: orange, made with carrots and yams, and white, made from cannellini beans. Naturally, I'd suggest making those beforehand and sticking them in the fridge.

1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup White Puree
3 Tbs Orange Puree
4 mini-bagels, sliced in half (preferably whole wheat)
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Combine tomato sauce with White and Orange purees. Mix well.

Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of sauce on each bagel half, and then top completely with 2 tablespoons grated cheese (without covering the hole). Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Per serving: 124 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated), 327 mg sodium, 8 mg cholesterol.

Not too bad when you compare it with Bagel Bites [200 calories, 6 g fat (2.5 saturated), 550mg sodium, 10 mg cholesterol], which don't have the added benefit of veggies!

Do you have your own healthy recipes? Be sure to share them in the Lite'n It Up Healthy Recipe Group.
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Lite'n it Up Feature: Warm Steak and Blue Cheese Salad

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:15:00 -0700

The thing about salads is that if you don't get creative, they can be pretty darn boring. This is why my mouth started watering when I read user tshellyedwards's post on a Warm Steak and Blue Cheese Salad in the Lite'n It Up Group. I am always looking for creative salad ideas so I'll definitely be trying this one.

To check out the recipe, just read more

Warm Steak and Blue Cheese Salad (from www.kraftfoods.com):
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 20 min
Makes: 4 servings, about 3-1/2 cups each

Hi ladies! Here's a super easy, quick salad that is healthy and delicious. I've started taking pictures while cooking... so hopefully they'll be helpful to you if you decide to attempt the recipe yourself! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing, divided
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin slices
2 red peppers, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced, separated into rings
10 cups torn mixed salad greens
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
**Note: I just used the light Italian dressing I had in my fridge and used a small sweet yellow onion because that's what I had in the pantry.

Directions:
1. Slice the peppers, onion, and steak as directed in ingredients.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook 2 min., stirring constantly.

3. Add peppers and onions; cook and stir 5 min. or until meat is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in remaining dressing.

4. Place 2-1/2 cups of the greens on each of four salad plates. Top evenly with the meat mixture and cheese just before serving.

And wa-la! Your tasty salad is ready to eat and enjoy!

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Just as an FYI, I went onto the Kraft site and one serving of this salad is only 240 calories, which is not too shabby. However with four grams of saturated fat per serving, it's not something I would eat daily, but a great way to switch it up every once in a while.

If you have come across a healthy recipe idea, be sure to share it in the Lite'n It Up Group and I may feature it on FitSugar!

Lite'n It Up Feature: Chicken Breasts With Mustard-Caper Sauce

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0700

I love browsing through the blogs in the Lite'n it Up Group when I need a new healthy recipe idea. User rlveronica recently posted this yummy recipe she found (and tried) in one my favorite magazines, Fitness.

To get the recipe yourself, and to see what she (and her parents) thought about it, just read more

Chicken Breasts with Mustard-Caper Sauce from rlveronica:

My parents didn't like it because:
1. I used cous cous instead of regular rice that they always eat
2. I didn't put any salt or olive oil in the cous cous so it would be that much healthier
3. It didn't make them "full" - see they think full is food coma or the -itis status

Whatever... me and my sister thought it was good!

Chicken Breasts with Mustard-Caper Sauce
Start to finish: 22 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 2 pounds total)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
• 1/4 cup drained capers
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 1/2 cups cooked hot couscous

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add to skillet; cook each side about 5 to 6 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove and keep warm.

Add broth, capers, rosemary, and thyme to skillet; cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet, for 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in the mustard and honey. Pour sauce over chicken and serve with couscous.

Nutrition facts per serving: 314 calories, 40g protein, 31g carbohydrate, 2g fat (1g saturated), 2g fiber

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Yum, I can't wait to give this a try. Thanks for posting!

Do you have any healthy recipe ideas? Share them in the Lite'n it Up Group. You can also browse all the yummy recipes that other users have already shared-I'm eager to try the southwestern stuffed acorn squash that was posted recently.

Lite'n it Up Spotlight: Eggs Re-Benedict

FitSugar — Sat, 19 May 2007 03:30:00 -0700

I love when you guys take a recipe and make it healthier in the healthy recipe group. Eggs Benedict is quite yummy but that hollandaise sauce can really get you, calorie wise. User llendril has created her own, much healthier version.

Want to see her Eggs Benedict aka Eggs Re-Benedict? Then read more

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Do you have a great and healthy recipe? Then share it in Lite'n it Up, a healthy recipe group. You can always look around for other yummy recipes.

This recipe looks yummy to me: Asian Stroganoff/Drunken Noodle Combo:

Going Halfsies: Ways to Lite'N Up Your Recipes

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:25:17 -0800

We are all looking for ways to "clean up" our favorite recipes and here's an idea to try when you start experimenting. Instead of completely getting rid of the offending ingredient, why not try just getting rid of half of it? Test your results and see if you can venture further.

If you are trying to lessen the caloric and fat load of mayonnaise, try using non-fat yogurt for half of the required amount of mayo. You don't have to go cold turkey off mayo. This will also work with sour cream.

Another easy ingredient to alter is eggs. Substitute some egg whites for whole eggs. Instead of 2 eggs use one whole egg and 1 or 2 egg whites.

These "halfsies" substitutions will keep the texture and taste of your new lite recipe closer to the original. Use this technique as a starting point and keep on experimenting to see how much fat, sugar, or salt you can remove from a recipe and still keep the dish tasty.

Don't forget to share your redone recipes Lite'n it Up Group. I, for one, would love to try them.

Lite'n it Up Recipe Feature - Yogurt + Apples = Yum!

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Looking for a tasty dessert or snack that is healthy as well? User celebrity_soup posted this great recipe that is made from ingredients most of us have anyway:

Ok guys, so just now I was craving something sweet and healthy.
My mom suggested an apple, but nahh!
So I wipped up something yummy, sweet and healthy with the apple!
What you ask?
A yogurt and apple sweet treat. Enjoy!

What you need:

- 1 grany smith apple
- 1 cup of plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 2 tablespoons of honey

How to make:

Its all very easy. Just cut the apple into bite size pieces (like you see above) and toss in all the ingredients above!

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Have you joined Lite'n it Up, the healthy recipe group, yet? There are tons of fabulous ideas such as these recipes for banana bread and chicken with shallots, as well as a handy way to skim the fat off liquids:

All this and more can be found in the group! Share your recipes and tips too! By the way, if they are not your own creations, please be sure to source where it came from and I just may feature your idea right here on FitSugar.

Lite'n It Up Group Feature: Tofu Pumpkin Pie

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:30:00 -0700

To me, nothing says fall more than pumpkin pie, and I think user llendril read my mind when she posted a tasty recipe for Tofu Pumpkin Pie in the Lite'n It Up Healthy Recipe Group. What's more? She paired it with my new favorite, goat's milk ice cream. Yum!

To see the recipe, just read more

Tofu Pumpkin Pie from llendril

fall is here.
it's obvious-- from the weather to the changing leaves to the crop of non-rerun television shows.

and then, of course, to the grocery store produce section.
the pomegranates have arrived. the apples look wonderful. squash lie around in abundance.
and, of course, there is no better time to enjoy the wonderful, autumn-appropriate flavor of pumpkin pie.

if you know me or my cooking style at all, i never can seem to just leave well enough alone. i enjoy finding ways to make things more healthy, or perhaps just slightly more interesting. so when i came across the following recipe for pumpkin pie, i was sold on both counts.

tofu pumpkin pie
adapted from morinu.com

* 18 ounces lite extra-firm tofu
* 2 cups canned (or cooked) pumpkin
* 2/3 cup honey
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1 9" reduced-fat prepared graham cracker crust

1) preheat oven to 350°
2) drain tofu. place in a food processor and process until smooth
3) add remaining ingredients. process until well-blended
4) pour into pie crust. bake for about an hour
5) remove from oven and chill until firm

this pie is ridiculously easy to make (especially when using a store-bought crust). throw everything into a food processor and . . . you're pretty much done. it's even easier if you choose to use 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices listed above. i went with the individual ones and i have to admit, something seemed slightly off. if i make this again in the future, i will probably make sure to have the pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice on hand first.
aside from that, i thought this pie was very pleasant. i ate it with vanilla goat milk ice cream (the best ice cream i have come across to date). the combination was wonderful. the pie on its own was very tasty-- forget flour and sugar and evaporated milk or whatever ingredients a normal pumpkin pie will generally include. tofu and honey are apparently all you need to produce a nicely-textured and delicious pumpkin pie dessert. this is dairy free and quite good for you, between the tofu and the pumpkin. i see no faults with this whatsoever, and would even consider serving it as the main pumpkin pie at thanksgiving.

t.g.i.f. - thank goodness it's fall!

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Lite'n It Up Feature: Pumpkin Flan

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:30:00 -0800

If you're looking for an alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season how about switching it up with Pumpkin Flan. User fragiletearez added this yummy recipe for pumpkin flan from Weight Watchers and it looks totally tasty and super easy. For anyone that follows the WW's points system, this little dessert is only 2 points. For anyone that doesn't follow the WW's point system, that is pretty darn good for a dessert!

To see her recipe read more

Pumpkin Flan from user fragiletearez (via Weight Watchers)

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp ground cloves
* 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1/8 tsp table salt
* 16 oz canned pumpkin
* 1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
* 8 Tbsp lite whipped topping
* 1/2 medium orange(s), cut into 8 thin wedges

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350°F.

* Stir together sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in pumpkin, milk, orange juice and egg substitute; divide among eight 6-ounce custard cups.

* Set custard cups in a high-rimmed roasting pan and pour boiling water around them to a depth of 1 inch. Bake until firm around edges and slightly puffed, about 45 minutes. Remove cups from water (careful not to burn yourself), cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Before serving, top each cup with a tablespoon of whipped topping and an orange wedge.

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If you have your own healthy recipe ideas, be sure to share them in the Lite'n It Up Group.

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