*Healthy* Recipe Exchange!

[mexbride83]

I love to cook, and I especially love cooking healthy (but yummy!) foods. And I'm always on the look-out for new recipes, especially those suggested by friends.  So as I was preparing dinner tonight, I thought that a recipe exchange on BDW would be a great way to get more tasty, healthy recipes to try out!  I'll start out by posting some of my favorite recipes for a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Then you all can join in with your favorites, and hopefully we all benefit in the end:) Bonus points if they're healthy yet taste good enough that even the men like them hahaha! 

 

Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches: This is one of my fiance's favorites. I make it healthier by skipping the butter (its really unnecessary) and using a low carb, whole wheat roll. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Buffalo-Chicken-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx

 

Homemade Applesauce: Super easy, yummy, and includes none of the preservatives, colorings, sugars, etc that Mott's has in it!  Just take 2 pounds of apples, peel and slice them, and put them in your slow-cooker. I usually add cinnamon as well. Then turn the slow-cooker on low and cook for 4-6 hours. When you stir them, they'll just melt right into a sauce... perfect snack!

 

Peach French Toast Bake: Yum yum yum! Only adjustment is that I'd suggest you don't let it sit overnight. I think just 2 hours of sitting is plenty, or else it gets too soggy.  Also, I use Splenda brown sugar. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/peach-french-toast-bake-recipe/index.html

 

Fried Rice: I love fried rice, and this is a healthy alternative!

1 cup rice, cooked (I use brown, but it's not for everyone!)
1 cup veggies of choice (I use carrot shavings, frozen peas, and onions)
3 egg whites
Cooking spray
Low-sodium soy sauce

 

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat. Add eggs and scramble.When eggs are cooked, remove and set aside. Spray pan again and place over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion, saute about 2-3 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, veggies and soy sauce. Cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Gently stir in cooked egg and voile! I've added in chicken or shrimp with great results. Also served it as a side to grilled shrimp kabobs and the fiance loved it!

 

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins:

1 box of Spice Cake mix

1 14 oz can of Pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)

 

Just mix these two together, and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. It should yield 18 muffins at 120 calories and 2 g fat per muffin.

 

Chicken Enchiladas - Slow Cooker: I created this recipe myself after eating a very good but terrible for me Mexican meal one night and thinking of my upcoming wedding in Mexico. I thought, there must be a way to make these enchiladas in a healthy way! Drawing inspiration from shredded chicken out of the slow cooker, I came up with this. The fiance LOVES them! And I love that I eat Mexican food without the guilt:)

 

3-4 chicken breasts

3 10 oz cans of Enchilada sauce or 1 28 oz can (I use Spicy when I can find it, but its a personal preference)

1 can Black beans

1 small can Corn

Tortillas (I love Tortilla Factory's low carb or whole wheat tortillas. Read the packages for all, there are plenty of healthy ones out there to choose from!)

Low fat Mexican cheese (Weight Watchers makes one that is really good!)

2 tsp Garlic

Salt

Pepper

 

Salt and Pepper your chicken breasts, then place into slow cooker. Pour 20 oz of Enchilada sauce over them. Add the garlic and toss the chicken, garlic, and enchilada sauce together. Cook on low for 6 hours. Then shred the chicken, add the black beans and corn, stir it up, and cook for another hour. (You can add other veggies too, like onions, these are just my favorites) Now preheat the over to 350 and coat a cooking dish with cooking spray. Take a tortilla and add the slow cooker mixture to the tortilla (how much you do depends on the size of your tortilla and how big you want your enchiladas to be. I do about 1 cup of the mixture, as I would prefer a "fat" enchilada so I get more of the filling and less of the tortilla in each serving. Then sprinkle the filling with the shredded cheese (I do 1 Tbsp per tortilla), roll it up, and place it in the baking dish with the seam down.  Once you have your enchiladas lined up, pour the last of the enchilada sauce over them, cover the dish with foil, and bake it for 15 minutes.  

Another great tip for this one is that it typically makes more filling than you'll eat in a night! So what I usually do is roll a couple enchiladas for me and the fiance to eat that night. Then, while they bake I keep rolling up enchiladas, only wrapping each one in foil at the end (think Chipotle burritos). I stack them up in a container and put it into the freezer. Then for a quick meal you just have to grab a roll and pop it in the oven as is!

 

These are all that I can think off right off the top of my head, but I'll be back with more as they come to me:) And I'd love to get some recipes from you all!

 

[mexbride83]

Oh! Another one popped as soon as I submitted that. Another slow-cooker recipe (can you tell I love that thing??), this time a dessert!

 

Slow-Cooked Pineapple: Fiance and I made this last weekend and both LOVED it! I did think the ginger was a bit strong though, think I'd leave it out the next time around. I used Splenda brown sugar instead of regular, and coupled it with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Bean (there are lots of great low-fat ice cream options out there, this is just my personal favorite). We both kept talking about how we think it'd be great to try out with beaches (obviously would cook for less time) or apples sprinkled with oatmeal. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/slow-cooked-pineapple-recipe2/index.html

[Lua]

hey! check out my blog for some of my recipes! i'm always trying to add more!

 

http://startingoutfit.wordpress.com

[mexbride83]

Your peanut butter, banana, chocolate oats parfait looks SO good that I think I may need to make that this weekend!! Thanks for sharing:)

[Lua]

OMG it's TO DIE FOR!!!!   let me know if you try it out!

[Lizk23]

I love to make bruschetta. I don't really like tomatos on much but i love bruschetta, the balsalmic vinegar makes them so delicious! here's a good recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/tomato-and-basil-bruschetta-44232 

 

 

 

and hummus is so good, it'a a nice healthy alternative to dip or i like to put it on sandwiches as well!

 

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/real-hummus/Detail.aspx 

[mexbride83]

Lua - Sorry, I never posted after trying it. But Oh. My. God! I am sooo in love with it, it's become a staple! The best part is, my fiance loves it too. And he's more of a fatty pastry breakfast guy (marrying a dietitian... you can imagine the arguments we have over eating hahaha). I only add a teaspoon of nutella, yet it's enough to give that chocolate-y fix that hooks him:) Thanks again for posting your blog - next up I want to try your apple crumble dish:)

[Lua]

yay!! so glad you like it mexbride!!

[pfeiffla]

These all sound so good, I don't know where to start!

[pfeiffla]

I can't wait to try this! 

 

Originally Posted by mexbride83 

Your peanut butter, banana, chocolate oats parfait looks SO good that I think I may need to make that this weekend!! Thanks for sharing:)