Low calorie + healthy recipes?
February 1, 2010 7:58 AM Subscribe
Share your best recipe(s) for low calorie meals with zero artificial ingredients.
Hi. I'm cooking a lot lately, and I'm trying to develop a repertoire of low calorie main courses and desserts but I find that frequently they call for 'fake'* ingredients and I'm trying to eat healthy food, not just low calorie food. Can you share any main course or dessert recipes that are (a) delicious (b) reasonably low calorie and (c) include none of the fake substitutes that you so often see in low calorie recipes?
*fake - I'm just using this term to broadly include artificial ingredients or very processed ingredients. Not 'real food' in other words.
Also, skim dairy products - fake or just less delicious? Are they full of something nasty or are they just devoid of a certain percentage of fat? (If the latter, then skim dairy ingredients are fine by me.)
I happen to be allergic to all ground nuts and tree nuts and most raw vegetables and lentils and chick peas so unfortunately I prefer recipes without those ingredients. However, hopefully this post will be useful to others, so I say include them here if you have a great recipe.
Also, I apologize if this has been covered. I can't find it, although I know there have been a lot of 'low calorie recipe' questions here over the years. This one's similar, but I'm also looking for more meat/fish/chicken dishes and more desserts.
Hi. I'm cooking a lot lately, and I'm trying to develop a repertoire of low calorie main courses and desserts but I find that frequently they call for 'fake'* ingredients and I'm trying to eat healthy food, not just low calorie food. Can you share any main course or dessert recipes that are (a) delicious (b) reasonably low calorie and (c) include none of the fake substitutes that you so often see in low calorie recipes?
*fake - I'm just using this term to broadly include artificial ingredients or very processed ingredients. Not 'real food' in other words.
Also, skim dairy products - fake or just less delicious? Are they full of something nasty or are they just devoid of a certain percentage of fat? (If the latter, then skim dairy ingredients are fine by me.)
I happen to be allergic to all ground nuts and tree nuts and most raw vegetables and lentils and chick peas so unfortunately I prefer recipes without those ingredients. However, hopefully this post will be useful to others, so I say include them here if you have a great recipe.
Also, I apologize if this has been covered. I can't find it, although I know there have been a lot of 'low calorie recipe' questions here over the years. This one's similar, but I'm also looking for more meat/fish/chicken dishes and more desserts.
Best answer: My go-to source for healthy recipes is EatingWell (and my posting history certainly reflects that). Here are some yummy things that I've made in the past couple of weeks:
Wok Seared Chicken Tenders with Asparagus and Pistachios (only 8 ingredients, so quick and so, so good, and we often omit the pastichios)
Mini Mushroom and Sausage Quiches
Red Curry with Vegetables
Greek Bison Burgers
(putting these on Arnolds Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins rather than on a whole wheat baguette will cut out even more of the calories, and surprisingly the Sandwich thin can stand up to it)
Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Portobellos
Multi-grain waffles (we use this recipe to make pancakes)
posted by amarynth at 8:14 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wok Seared Chicken Tenders with Asparagus and Pistachios (only 8 ingredients, so quick and so, so good, and we often omit the pastichios)
Mini Mushroom and Sausage Quiches
Red Curry with Vegetables
Greek Bison Burgers
(putting these on Arnolds Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins rather than on a whole wheat baguette will cut out even more of the calories, and surprisingly the Sandwich thin can stand up to it)
Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Portobellos
Multi-grain waffles (we use this recipe to make pancakes)
posted by amarynth at 8:14 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: skim milk = milk with the fat taken out. If the milk you're buying has hormones and other junk in it, your skim milk will too; it is "the real thing".
skim cheese = skim milk cheese, often with additional sugar and maybe stabilizers to make it work. Also: flavorless and gross. Use tiny amounts of strong full-fat cheese instead.
skim cottage cheese, yogurt = totally real food.
For low calorie real food, you really can't go wrong with working with the lowest calorie whole foods there are - fruits and vegetables. I eat like this all summer, mostly raw veggies with some lean protein and complex carbs thrown in. Some ideas:
- Vietnamese noodle salad (bun), heavy on the dark leafy greens, herbs, whatever veggies are in the fridge (carrots, radish, asparagus, whatever you want), topped with a few ounces of pork or tofu broiled in honey and lime juice, dressed with fish sauce and more lime.
- Green curries, again full of vegetables, made with more water and just a couple tablespoons of coconut milk - enough to make it creamy but still very brothy.
- big chopped-vegetable salads, sometimes with beans or whole grains thrown in for oomph. Like, canned tuna, red peppers, white beans, a little olive oil and lemon. Or raw asparagus, white beans, and a shaving of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Or roasted beets, wilted beet greens, caramelized onions, quinoa, tiny bit of feta.
- soups! Portuguese kale soup with potatoes and chorizo; split pea made with a smoked turkey leg; tomato soups without cream; borscht. Anything with water composing much of the bulk will be lower calorie.
In general, I try to cook with low-calorie raw ingredients (non-starchy vegetables, water, some whole grains) for bulk, and just use a little bit of strongly-flavored higher calorie items (cheese, sausage, etc.) for flavor. Really watch the added oils, too - you can saute a whole panful of veggies in a teaspoon of oil if you're judicious about heat and stirring.
If you're interested in what meals can look like, here is a set of meals I cooked when I was super-focused on eating clean and low-calorie. Szechuan pork at 475 calories. Roasted cauliflower and a poached egg at 275 calories. Fritatta with greens at 422 calories.
posted by peachfuzz at 8:19 AM on February 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
skim cheese = skim milk cheese, often with additional sugar and maybe stabilizers to make it work. Also: flavorless and gross. Use tiny amounts of strong full-fat cheese instead.
skim cottage cheese, yogurt = totally real food.
For low calorie real food, you really can't go wrong with working with the lowest calorie whole foods there are - fruits and vegetables. I eat like this all summer, mostly raw veggies with some lean protein and complex carbs thrown in. Some ideas:
- Vietnamese noodle salad (bun), heavy on the dark leafy greens, herbs, whatever veggies are in the fridge (carrots, radish, asparagus, whatever you want), topped with a few ounces of pork or tofu broiled in honey and lime juice, dressed with fish sauce and more lime.
- Green curries, again full of vegetables, made with more water and just a couple tablespoons of coconut milk - enough to make it creamy but still very brothy.
- big chopped-vegetable salads, sometimes with beans or whole grains thrown in for oomph. Like, canned tuna, red peppers, white beans, a little olive oil and lemon. Or raw asparagus, white beans, and a shaving of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Or roasted beets, wilted beet greens, caramelized onions, quinoa, tiny bit of feta.
- soups! Portuguese kale soup with potatoes and chorizo; split pea made with a smoked turkey leg; tomato soups without cream; borscht. Anything with water composing much of the bulk will be lower calorie.
In general, I try to cook with low-calorie raw ingredients (non-starchy vegetables, water, some whole grains) for bulk, and just use a little bit of strongly-flavored higher calorie items (cheese, sausage, etc.) for flavor. Really watch the added oils, too - you can saute a whole panful of veggies in a teaspoon of oil if you're judicious about heat and stirring.
If you're interested in what meals can look like, here is a set of meals I cooked when I was super-focused on eating clean and low-calorie. Szechuan pork at 475 calories. Roasted cauliflower and a poached egg at 275 calories. Fritatta with greens at 422 calories.
posted by peachfuzz at 8:19 AM on February 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
One of my fav's is to take non-fat plain yogurt (I'll let you determine the "fakeness" of this), add garlic, fresh dill, salt pepper and some finely diced cucumber.
Put on grilled chicken in pita or on any kind of fish. De-Lish.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:58 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Put on grilled chicken in pita or on any kind of fish. De-Lish.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:58 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
I make this soup sometimes, I found it in a book of soup recipes and it was called "Diet Soup" -- I did the math and it's about 175 calories per bowl.
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, white part only, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 med zucchini, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed
14-oz can of stewed tomatoes
1.5 cups V-8 vegetable juice
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
5.5 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves, crushed
Cayenne pepper to taste (I think I used 1 tsp)
In a large soup pot, saute garlic, onion, leek, zucchini, pepper,
and mushrooms, stirring frequently, until onion is semi-transparent.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and
simmer, loosely covered and stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:04 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, white part only, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 med zucchini, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed
14-oz can of stewed tomatoes
1.5 cups V-8 vegetable juice
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
5.5 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves, crushed
Cayenne pepper to taste (I think I used 1 tsp)
In a large soup pot, saute garlic, onion, leek, zucchini, pepper,
and mushrooms, stirring frequently, until onion is semi-transparent.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and
simmer, loosely covered and stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:04 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
One of my favorite low-calorie meals is a giant bowl of steamed-crisp broccoli topped with homemade tomato sauce and a smidge of parmesan. With the homemade tomato sauce/marinara you can decide how much olive oil to add, and doctor it up with your favorite seasonings. I'm sure other vegetables would be good, as well.
(low-cal base) + tomato sauce + cheese for flavor = way better than one would think.
posted by lizjohn at 9:09 AM on February 1, 2010
(low-cal base) + tomato sauce + cheese for flavor = way better than one would think.
posted by lizjohn at 9:09 AM on February 1, 2010
I've become a fan of shirataki noodles lately, especially good as a base for stirfry.
posted by emkelley at 10:26 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by emkelley at 10:26 AM on February 1, 2010
Response by poster: @amarynth - that red curry dish sounds delicious. I'll be making that this weekend!
@peachfuzz - agreed re portuguese kale soup - that's one of my standards.
@everyone else - Thanks - lots of good options! what about dessserts?
posted by n'muakolo at 1:35 PM on February 1, 2010
@peachfuzz - agreed re portuguese kale soup - that's one of my standards.
@everyone else - Thanks - lots of good options! what about dessserts?
posted by n'muakolo at 1:35 PM on February 1, 2010
One awesome and easy low-cal dessert I have often is frozen blueberries. The big bags of blueberries that they have at Costco are awesome -- the berries are big and quite sweet. It's like ice cream, I swear.
I also like to make dessert smoothies -- milk, yogurt, juice (I like the V-8 V-Fusion juices), a banana, and frozen berries (either blueberries or strawberries). Add half an avocado and it's like a milkshake (though not quite so low-cal anymore).
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:31 PM on February 1, 2010
I also like to make dessert smoothies -- milk, yogurt, juice (I like the V-8 V-Fusion juices), a banana, and frozen berries (either blueberries or strawberries). Add half an avocado and it's like a milkshake (though not quite so low-cal anymore).
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:31 PM on February 1, 2010
Self-link is yucky I know, but lately I have been focussing my blog on vegetarian recipes, all of which are healthy and relatively low calorie. I only use 'real' ingredients. I'm trying to add 1 vege recipe a week, seeing as I'm not eating meat on weekdays now. There might be some recipes in there you like. I am in the southern hemisphere, however, so it's all summer atm!
posted by smoke at 3:00 PM on February 1, 2010
posted by smoke at 3:00 PM on February 1, 2010
Grilled Eggplant with Tomato And Feta is simple and delicious.
Slice an eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Salt for 15 minutes and rinse. Broil on an oiled cookie sheet until the eggplant browns slightly. Place a slice of tomato on top, sprinkle with oregano and pepper. Crumble feta cheese onto the top, and broil until feta bubbles. Remove from oven and serve.
Texas Caviar is another cheap and nutritious meal, but it has to sit overnight for the flavor to mature.
posted by benzenedream at 1:14 AM on February 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Slice an eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Salt for 15 minutes and rinse. Broil on an oiled cookie sheet until the eggplant browns slightly. Place a slice of tomato on top, sprinkle with oregano and pepper. Crumble feta cheese onto the top, and broil until feta bubbles. Remove from oven and serve.
Texas Caviar is another cheap and nutritious meal, but it has to sit overnight for the flavor to mature.
posted by benzenedream at 1:14 AM on February 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
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They're not full of anything that the full-fat versions aren't full of.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:00 AM on February 1, 2010 [1 favorite]