Quick & Easy Dinner for under 300 calories

Need a quick, healthy and easy dinner? Well here is the perfect meal for you!

I went to Target for a few things and noticed they had frozen tilapia filets for $6.99 for 8 of them. Perfect!

I needed a meal for one so tilapia is perfect because you can thaw out one or all eight as they are in individual packaging in the bag.

First, you must thaw out one tilapia filet, which there are a few methods to do so listed right on the bag. Leaving the vacuum packing on as you thaw in cold water. I choose to thaw in cold running water. In about 5-6 minutes under cold water, the tilapia is thawed out.

You will know its thawed out when you touch it and it bends to your touch. You shouldn't feel any hard parts aka frozen parts.

I choose to make a Parmesan Tilapia. I took 1/3c of bread crumbs and 1TBSP of Parmesan cheese and mixed it together.

After it's thawed, I took Dijon mustard and brushed it on the front then put that side in the breadcrumb/cheese mix. Then I brushed the other side and flipped that side into the breadcrumb mixture.

After both sides are coated, you can put it in the toaster oven on bake for 12 mins on 400 degrees. I would recommend lining the toaster oven pan with aluminum foil as it makes for each clean up.

As the tilapia was baking, I began on my sides. I choose Shop Rite Steamers Green Beans (on sale 4/$6.00) and Betty Crocker 80 calorie instant mashed (on sale 10 for $10).

I love Shop Rite Steamers so when they go on sale I stock up. They are basic vegetable and into the microwave they go for 3-5 minutes depending on the vegetable and you have healthy steamed vegetables.

Betty Crocker Instant Mashed Potatoes are only 80 calories for 2/3 cup of potatoes! They come in three different favors : home style, loaded mashed, garlic. I usually pick them up as a quick and easy side dish. You just dump the package into a microwaveable bowl, add 2 cups of water (some flavors it's cold and others its warm) and whisk it together. Then place plastic wrap on the bowl leaving one side slightly uncovered. Into the microwave it goes for 3 mins 30 secs. After its done, I whisk them again to fluff and they are done!

So a meal of Parmesan tilapia, mashed potatoes and green beans took me under 20 minutes to make and it was only 251 calories!!

Breakfast Find

Shop Rite was out of Van's mini waffles when I went food shopping, so I started looking for other options. I found Kashi's Blueberry Waffles. They were on sale for $3.49, normally priced $3.69 for 8 waffles. They have been my breakfast a few days this week and they are delicious!

Another Visit to Panera Bread

Stopped by our local Panera Bread for a late lunch/early dinner today with Charlie after running errands.

Charlie choose the "Pick Two" and chose half a sandwich and half of their new item, tortellini Alfredo. I didn't look up his sandwich but the half order of tortellini held a 390 calorie count but OH.MY.GOD, it was delicious!! I may have to try it next time and skip the soup and baguette!!!

I ordered "Pick Two" and chose half order of French onion soup and half order of Greek Salad with an unsweetened iced tea and a French baguette. I normally choose apples but I had the calories so I got the baguette today. Including the baguette and iced tea my lunch was 590 calories.

I work at 6pm tonight and always have a light dinner so I was able to factor it into my 1200 daily calories!

Breakfast Find

Went to Giant on Thursday to pick up the rice noodles and found this breakfast item. They were on sale 10/$10. It is breakfast sausage, Banquet Light Sausage. Three links for 110 calories. What I like about them I can pop them into the microwave and they are ready to go!!


This morning, I paired the Banquet Light Sausage with an three egg white, Kraft Fat Free Cheddar Cheese and green bell pepper scramble for only 205 calories!!

Skinny Taste Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

I decided to try a new and different recipe from Skinny Taste.

Here is the entire recipe, Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken 

Here is the ingredients:

For the Peanut Sauce:
14.5 oz fat free chicken broth
5 tbsp better'n peanut butter
1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce (use Tamari for gluten free)
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
For the chicken:
16 oz chicken breast, cut into thin strips
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce (more or less to taste)
juice of 1/2 lime
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp soy sauce (use Tamari for gluten free)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
8 oz rice noodles

3/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups shredded carrots
1 1/4 cups cup shredded broccoli slaw
1 cup bean bean sprouts
2 tbsp chopped peanuts
1 lime, sliced
cilantro for garnish (optional)

Sometimes when I try a new recipe I don't know what an item is so here is a picture of the ingredients used to make the peanut sauce.

The recipe calls for better n peanut butter but I don't use that so I used my PB2 and it tasted great still.

Also in the recipe it calls for "crushed garlic" which before I googled this a whole back I had NO idea what that meant. Basically it means you literally crush the garlic. Here is a picture tutorial:

Cut off one end of the garlic 

Cut off the other end, then peel the skin off 

Lay knife down on it's side and press down using your hand 

Final Product 

For the peanut sauce mix all ingredients above in a saucepan and simmer on medium/low.

As the sauce was simmering, I went to cook the noodles, which are rice noodles. I picked these up at Giant in their Japanese/chinese food item section, here is a picture:

What I didn't know was you are supposed to soak the noodles for 30 minutes before boiling, crap! So I decided to stick them in the water as I prepped and began cooking the chicken which was only about 15 minutes .

As the noodles soaked, I filled up a pot and turned it on so I could add the noodles to the boiling water.

Now it's time for the chicken, I trimmed off all fat, and cut it up into bite sized pieces. Added all ingredients and tossed the chicken in it until all chicken was coated.

In my wok (you can use a normali frying pan) I heated it then added Sesame Oil, which I bought at Shop Rite. Let the oil get hot a little then added the chicken, letting it sautéed.

By this point the water was boiling so I added the noodles and cooked them for 5 minutes.

After the chicken was done, remove it from the pan and our in a dish. In the wok (don't worrying about cleaning it out as it adds flavor to the next step) add the bean sprouts and broccoli slaw. Broccoli slaw is sold everywhere in the bagged salad section and bean sprouts in a can in Japanese/Chinese food section. The recipe called for shredded carrots, My broccoli slaw had some so i don't add more. I allowed that to cook for 2-3 minutes.

Apologize for the picture, had opened it when I realized I didn't take a photo 

Lastly, you must add the peanut sauce to the chicken and noodles. When you are mixing you might need to add a little chicken broth (you should have 6 oz still aside as you only used a cup in the sauce) and mix well! Next this recipe has a 1/6 serving and since the only way I could figure it out was to take out 6 bowls I did. I used two plates for dinner and four Tupperware containers. I separated the chicken, noodle and sauce combo among them. Next, I took the slaw from the wok, placed it on top of the noodles and divided it up among the six bowls/plates. Lastly, I sprinkled about 4/6 peanuts on plate.

That's it. Charlie said it was a little spicy so next time I will use less Sriracha sauce as that adds the heat. But it was delicious and something different!

Sweet Tooth: Skinny Cow

The SkinnyCow line is a dieter's heaven! They sell a wide range of sweet treats including: ice creams, Popsicles, and ice cream sandwiches.

My favorites are their mini ice cream cups. They are all delicious in taste, and are enough ice cream to solve that sweet tooth.

They were on sale this week at Giant, $10/10 so I picked up four. I choose Caramel Cone, Chocolate Fudge Brownie (got two) and Cupcake Batter (which taste like
Frozen Funfetti and its delicious), which were all under 160 calories per container.

For more items by them, visit their website: http://www.skinnycow.com/

80 degrees bring 1st Rita's Trip

With a day of 80 degree weather, Charlie and I both wanted to go to Rita's Water Ice. Knowing we are both trying to incorporate more exercise into our lives, we decided to walk with Lloyd to Rita's. we looked it up and it would be a 3 mile round trip walk, perfect!!

As always I tried to plan ahead using My Fitness Pal before heading out anywhere so I know what is a healthy option. I had decided on a regular size gelati with sugar free water ice and sugar free custard, for 220 calories.

After we enjoyed our leisurely walk to Rita's we got there and found out that their sugar free water ice option was cherry which I HATE! So back to My Fitness Pal to get a second option. I ended up getting regular sized gelati with Swedish fish and sugar free custard which was 302 calories which was exactly how many calories I had left for the day from my 1200.

It was absolutely delicious, and Lloyd loved his treat too!

When I got home, I put our walk into my Fitness Pal and it told me I had burned 167 calories. Since choosing to walk, I had burned off a little more than HALF of my dessert.

So choosing to walk had allowed me to rid myself of my Rita's craving, not go over my 1200 calories, enjoy a beautiful night with my husband and exhaust Lloyd!

Spring Weather = Quick Meal Needed

Driving home yesterday with the windows down was amazing, however my motivation to stand inside at the stove was decreasing by the minute. I had taken out pork chops in the morning so I knew I had to use them. Decided on a meal that was quick and easy. BBQ Pork Chops, Baked Potato and Cucumber/Tomato Salad. The entire meal was prepped and done in about 20-30 minutes.

Before prepping anything, I tossed the baked potatoes into the microwave and uses the sensor heat baked potato button! So they were already cooking with a few presses of buttons!

As for the pork chops, I had bought boneless pork chops, and as I prepped the George Forman grill, I added salt, pepper and garlic powder just for flavor.

Next I used 2 TBSP of Kraft's Light BBQ sauce and brushed the pork chops with it. I only do the side that is facing up for now.

Once the George Forman is hot, I put the pork chops on, the side I just seasoned and Bbqed facing down. I used the rear of the BBQ sauce to brush this side now.

Now they are ready to cook! 8 minutes is all they take! After about 6 minutes I added 1 TBSP of Kraft Light BBQ on the pork chops because some of the previous bakes off.

Pork Chops are done, BBQ sauce is barely noticeable but has cooked into the pork chops!

As the pork chops cooked, I prepped the salad which is super easy! I had three cucumbers, which I peeled and sliced. Added them to the bowl, and sprinkled salt and pepper lightly onto them.

Next, I sliced grape tomatoes, which isn't necessary but I fully believe grape tomatoes taste better sliced. I used about 10 grape tomatoes and added it to the cucumbers. I mixed it up slightly.

Lastly, I added 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar to the cucumbers and tomatoes. I mixed it up completely and it's done!!

So in 20 minutes, I had an easy and HEALTHY dinner for only 288 calories which included 2tsp "I can't believe it's boy butter light" for my baked potato.

Breakfast on the Go

Usually I avoid breakfast sandwiches from Wawa due to their high calorie content but I was craving a breakfast sandwich after yesterday's Phillies Game. Planning my day out on My Fitness Pal allowed me to treat myself to the original 390 calorie Turkey Sausage, Egg and Cheese muffin sandwich I planned on ordering.

However, when I got to Wawa I noticed they offered a new sandwich and it only was 240 calories. It is a Multigrain muffin with ham, egg and cheese. It was delicious and I felt much less guilty eating it since it was only 240 calories.

Way to go Wawa for offering a healthy option on the go!!

Lunch Date: Cheesecake Factory

Meeting a family member from out of town brought us to Cheesecake Factory, a favorite of mine! They have an entire Skinnylicious Menu. With over 30 options of Skinnylicious meals, you will have plenty to choose from.

I decided on splitting an appetizer of Chicken Potstickers, 189 calories for 2 potstickers. They were delicious!

For lunch, I order Skinnylicious Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps, for 3 wraps it was 260 calories. Again, they were very delicious and filling.

I had a few forkfuls of cheesecake from other family members but turned down ordering my own piece, due to the 600+ calories per slice!!

Friday Meal on the Go!

Every Friday I leave one job and head directly to job two, today I had an extra hour to spare so I stopped at Panera bread. I love Panera's delicious sandwiches, salads and soups but many carry a high calorie content. I love that they post their calories next to the menu item, makes it very easy to decide. I rarely eat at "fast food restaurants" so Friday I don't feel so bad when I have to so I can eat before work.

I decided one their "Pick Two" option. I got 1/2 Turkey BLT sandwich and 1/2 Spinach Power Salad. With the pick two you are given an option of white or whole grain roll, you may also substitute that for a bag of chips or an apple. I decided on the apple.

Turkey BLT with avocado 260 calories
Spinach Power salad 230 calories
Unsweetened Tea 0calories
Apple 80 calories
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570 calories

This meal put me 100 calories over my 1200 but knowing I ran around all day with the kids and will continue tonight with the "older children" I didn't mind it.

Food Find

My obsession with Monster Trail Mix is known by many but at 340 calories by serving, it's not worth the calories.

For those that don't know what Monster Trail Mix is its a mixture of raisins, peanut butter chips, M&Ms, peanuts.. It's AMAZING.

Today I was browsing in Target when I stumbled upon Monster Trail mix bars! They are only 170 calories for the same great mixture and controls my portions for me.

Perfect snack :)

Killing a Sweet Tooth for 25 calories!

Craving chocolate yet don't want to spend 200-300 calories to get rid of it? Try Diet Swiss Miss packet for only 25 calories!

New Food Finds

Chobani Yogurt is a signature in my fridge for a fast & easy breakfast. Recently, they released a new type, Chobani Flip. So far they have release: honey yogurt with banana flip, vanilla chocolate chip yogurt with raspberry flip, coconut yogurt with almond & dark chocolate chips flip, key lime yogurt with graham cracker and white chocolate chip flip and vanilla yogurt with cornflakes, honey oats and praline pecan flip. With the calories ranging from 150 - 230 calories per serving they are a great breakfast item to grab on the go! Head to Chobani's website to find out where you can find these delicious yogurts near you!

4/4/2013 Daily Bites

Breakfast: 

Thomas Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese 

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cup

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155 calories

   

Lunch:

Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley (which I subbed Mango for chickpeas)Sargento Light String Cheese Stick
Blueberries (1/4c)
----------------------
276 calories









Dinner: 
Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken
Uncle Ben's Brown Rice (2/3 cup cooked)
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336 calories











Snack:

Splurged today and treated myself to Philadelphia Pretzel Factory Pretzel and a Diet Coke
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290 calories












Total Calories Consumed: 1057/1200

4/3/2013 Daily Bites

Breakfast: 

Thomas Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese
Hardboiled Egg (1)

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cup

-----------------

228 calories

Lunch:

Skinny Taste Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley (which I subbed Mango for chickpeas)
Sargento Light String Cheese Stick
Blueberries (1/4c)
----------------------
276 calories









Dinner: 

Skinny Taste Mushroom Risotto (1cup)
Skinny Taste Pork Chops with Mushrooms 
---------------------
458 calories











Snack:

Banana
Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cup
----------------------------
93 calories



Total Calories Consumed: 1055/1200