It’s that time again when I finally hook up my digital camera and share what I’ve been having for dinner these days. I’ve been pretty busy and loving simple recipes that are easy to calculate the calories since I’m writing down everything I eat for 10 days.
I don’t have recipes because I usually do not follow any and I think these are simple enough. Last week, I combined left over quinoa and roasted brussels sprouts (350F with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic for 30 minutes). I wanted more green so I added freshly steamed broccoli and Parmesan cheese on top.
I paired it with “Bruschetta Chicken” with is just pan-fried chicken with jarred Trader Joe’s Bruschetta topping. The traditional tomato basil topping is addicting and can create a flavorful dish in 15 minutes. I flattened the chicken before I put it in a hot pan greased with a little EVOO. Cook uncovered for about 8 minutes on each side or is no longer pink in the middle.
I found cauliflower on sale last week and bought it again this week because roomie and I enjoyed it so much. I preheat the oven to 450F, chop up the cauliflower and toss with 1 TBSP of EVOO, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until golden and crispy, flip half way through. This week, I paired it with quinoa and Chilli Garlic Tilapia from Trader Joe’s which remarkably was in fact in the “My Fitness Pal” app!
I paired the leftover cauliflower with “summer grill” marinated chicken I roasted in the oven. I have no idea what the spices were and it came pre-marinated from a local farm store near my accountant. To round out the meal, I created a creamy rice dish with The Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Spread in Classic Cheese in 1/3 less fat and a couple of tablespoons of left over pizza sauce. Brown rice is incredibly boring and bland to me.
After dinner, if I want something sweet I have been making banana soft serve. To make it, I combine frozen bananas, almond milk, a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or chocolate protein powder. For crunch, I’ve added coconut, walnuts and sometimes raisins. It tastes like soft serve ice cream, is satisfying and large volume for not many calories.
Recent obsessions apparently are frozen bananas and roasted cauliflower. What are you making these days?
I loved seeing this email in my inbox, because it helps me see that I’m on the right track with my clean eating/cooking. I get so bored with plain chicken and brown rice like you mentioned, so I love switching things around. My my recent creation was onions, asparagus, and broccoli slaw heated up in a saute pan, and then I added my ground turkey and rice to it, making it some sort of creation I ate in a bowl. It was delicious enough that I made it again this morning to bring to work for my lunch today! I also love, love banana soft serve! It really makes you feel like you’re eating ice cream! Any tricks though on how to make it more creamy? Are you throwing yours in a blender? Because trying to mush mine up with a spoon after I defrost it kind of leaves a weird texture sometimes.
That sounds awesome and exactly like something I would make. I HIGHLY recommend buying an immersion blender. I use mine every day with my protein pancakes. It comes out in a Wendy’s Frosty like consistency.
Oh smart! I’ll look into that. I’m also excited to add some protein powder to it next time I make it. I’m hoping that will make it a little thicker. Great suggestions! Thanks so much, Sarah!
I found a recipe on pinterest for cooking broccoli in the oven, but I changed it a bit. I tossed the broccoli in EVOO, put fresh basil and oregano on it, some pepper and sea salt and sprinkled a little garlic powder on it and baked it in the oven at around 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I LOVED it and can’t wait to do it again. My daughter who loves broccoli didn’t like this, and the one who doesn’t like broccoli actually liked it.
Last night I baked tilapia in the oven with a little EVOO on the bottom of the pan, sprinkled the tilapia with cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, little sea salt. It was really good. You could really smell the cinnamon and it was spicy enough but not too spicey where the kids complained.
I’m looking for something to do with quinoa besides cooking it in chicken broth. Any suggestions would be great.
I LOVE adding a wedge of Laughing Cow to my quinoa! It is awesome. I’ll add in some veggies too. A favorite is basil, garlic, laughing cow sun dried tomato wedge, with walnuts and sun dried tomatoes!
Ohhhh love this, I been on a very strict diet, a semi liquid protein diet. So lately it all veggies and fruit. But love doing shrimp stir fries.
http://www.lovelypinkdiva.com
Recent obsessions: quinoa and balck bean burgers, your recipe for kale and brussel sprouts salad (who knew my hubby would love it too!) and cauliflower bites! If you like cauliflower then you need to try them. First it was a gluten free “pizza dough” made with riced cauliflower, mozzarella and egg whites. Then I saw a similar recipe that suggested to use a muffin pan to create these little bites. But they used cottage cheese and I didn’t think it would work so I used the same recipe as the pizza dough and madethese little cakes in the oven…so good! I use 1 head of cauliflower and rice it, then add one extra large egg white, salt and pepper, parsley, chopped garlic and some pepper flakes. Mix with 1 cup of low fat mozzarella cheese, and create the cakes. Then on to the over at 450 for 15 minutes or until browned! I dip them in Giada De Laurentiis Artichoke marinara or a TJ sauce. SO DELICIOUS and light, even though they have cheese. I need to try to make these with Babybel cheese of Laughing cow cheese. Yummy!
PS I love TJ fish. It’s affordable, and even the marinated kinds are still light and tasty. I like the soy ginger cod!
How is your progress Sarah in your challenge! Meals look delish! Laughing cow is also really good in butternutsquash--if your looking for something low in carbs!
Hi Sarah,
I have recently starting eating clean and still learning about it. I found your website today and find the food the look delicious. But one question that i’ve been trying to figure and then on saw it on here. I love the laughing cow cheeses and I wasn’t sure if they were considered eating clean, or any cheeses? Is it that some clean eaters just stay away from diary? I have about 70 lbs to lose and I’m tired of yo-yo dieting so the clean eating seemed the way to go. Like I said before I’m new to it and still learning, so any tips can help.
Thanks,
Tammy
Thank you for all these great ideas, I really need to spend more time on my meal prep.
and must think to take care of it during the evening… always seems so difficult in the morning!