Healthy Low Calorie Dinner Recipes

Looking for healthy low calorie dinner recipes? I know it can be difficult to find healthy and delicious meals to make when you are counting calories, so I did a bit of searching for you to hopefully make things a bit easier. Below are videos and other resources that will teach you how to make healthy low calorie dinner recipes. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Recipe: How to Make a Healthy Seafood Dinner

Watch as weight management consultant Darlene Nicholson prepares her easy and healthy lime salmon dinner. Be sure to check out Darlene’s website, www.healthygrocerystoretour.com, for more!

Eating Low with Amy: Tilapia with Soy Glaze

Eating Low with Amy: Zucchini Layered Quiche

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie from the Kraft Kitchens

Here is a great recipe from the folks over at Kraft Foods that demonstrates how to make a low fat, low calorie Shepherds’s pie.

Chef Dave - Eating Right Every Bite

Here is a three part video series from Chef Dave that demonstrates how to make three healthy, low fat, low calorie salads. These salads will make great additions to your next meal, or enjoy them all on their own. These recipes were designed for people who have undergone weight loss surgery, but anyone can interested in a healthy lifestyle can make good use of these recipes. Enjoy.

Great Books on how to Eat Healthy Low Calorie Meals

Cooking Pot Roast in Slow Cooker - Recipe and Instructions

One of the most satisfying and delicious home cooked meals you will ever make is a pot roast cooked in a slow cooker, also known as a crock pot. It is especially wonderful during cold winter months. This easy to make, tender and savory pot roast recipe is sure to be a huge hit with your friends and family. There are many variations to this dish and if you ask 5 different people how they prepare a pot roast, you will more than likely receive 5 different answers. While the ingredients for making pot roast may vary from cook to cook, the method is generally the same: Season then brown a piece of meat on all sides and then slowly cook the meat along with a mix of vegetables in some type of broth mixture until the meat is fork tender.

Choose your Cut of Meat

The very first step to cooking a pot roast is to choose a cut of meat. There are several cuts of meat that will work for pot roast, but some are better than others. I recommend that you visit your local butcher and ask him or her to recommend a good piece of meat for your pot roast. If however, there is no butcher shop close by, visit your local supermarket. Most supermarkets will put helpful labels on the meat telling you what that cut of meat is generally used for. Common cuts of meat used for pot roast are Chuck, Brisket, Top Round and Bottom Round. Most people prefer chuck as the meat of choice, but I find it a bit too fatty and prefer to use Bottom Round. Experiment with different cuts to find the one you like best. For the purpose of this recipe, choose a cut of meat that is 3 - 5 Pounds.

The Vegetables

I like to use a variety of different vegetables when I make this dish. It makes it more interesting than the usual carrots, celery and onions that many recipes call for. The best vegetables to accompany pot roast in my opinion are carrots, celery, onions, garlic, potatoes, turnips and rutabaga. You are free to use all of these or just a few. The choice is yours and nothing is written in stone. I just love the different textures and flavors that these different vegetables provide. Here are the measurement estimates for the veggies I like to use. Use more or less depending on how big your crock pot or slow cooker is. You don’t want to overcrowd the crock pot.

1/2 Cup of Chopped Turnip

1/2 Cup of Chopped Rutabaga

1/2 Cup of Chopped Onion

1/2 Cup of Chopped Carrot

1/2 Cup of Chopped Celery (Look for celery with celery leaves still attached. The leaves impart an excellent flavor to the broth)

3 Garlic Cloves Minced

The Cooking Liquid

People use a variety of liquids to braise a pot roast and add their own unique flavors to this dish. People use a combination of water, beef stock, red wine (choose a wine that you would drink, not a cooking wine) and even beer. I like to use simple water mixed with beef stock. I usually use one part water to one part beef stock and use enough to where the roast is only submerged half way.

Let’s Get Cooking

Ok, we are ready to start cooking this beautiful dish.

Step 1

Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the meat on all sides, in a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Step 2

Place your chopped vegetables in the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the vegetables and then pour your liquid over the top.

Step 3

Cover the slow cooker and cook at the lowest setting possible for roughly 8-10 hours. Meat should easily fall apart when pierced with a fork and vegetables should be soft. Remove meat and vegetables and place on a serving platter.

Step 4

Now to make the gravy. Whisk together, in a sauce pan, 1/4 cup of cold water and 2 tablespoons of flour until smooth. Slowly incorporate 1 cup of the hot broth from the pot roast and bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened.

Enjoy this pot roast slow cooker recipe!

Old Fashion Recipes For Your Fall Parties, Game Watching Or Just Because You Enjoy Them!

By Linda Carol Wilson

Fall is always a time of Halloween, Harvest, or simply Fall parties. It is also a time when family and friends gather to watch their favorite sports teams both college and professional. Eating is always a big part of these parties and gatherings. Here are some recipes to help make your gathering or party successful. Recipes include, Orange Punch, Pineapple Orange Fruit Salad, and Homemade Soft Pretzels. Whether you choose one recipe or all three, you are sure to have a hit!

ORANGE PUNCH
An old Southern Indiana recipe.

2 tall cans orange Hi-C drink
1 pkg orange Kool-Aid
1 bottle (2-liter) 7-Up soda
1 fresh orange

Prepare the Kool-Aid per package directions. Chill all the ingredients. Place all the ingredients, except the orange, in a large punch bowl. Cut the ends off the orange, slice into thin rings and float on top of the punch.

PINEAPPLE ORANGE FRUIT SALAD

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 small carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cans drained pineapple chunks
2 small cans Mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together until blended. Fold in the whipped topping. Gently fold in the pineapple chunks, oranges, and nuts. Chill before serving.

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

2 pkgs active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups enriched cornmeal
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
Coarse salt, optional for garnish
TOPPING:
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp water

Dissolve yeast in 2 cups water in large mixing bowl. Add 5 cups of the flour, cornmeal, eggs, sugar, and salt. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes; stir in enough additional flour to make the dough stiff.

Shape dough to form a ball and place in a greased large bowl. Turn once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume. Punch dough down. Divide dough in half on a lightly floured surface; shape each half to form a ball. Flatten one ball and cut into 16 wedges. Roll each wedge to form an 18-inch long rope; shape to form a pretzel. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat the process with the second ball of dough.

Combine the topping ingredients and brush over the tops of the pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Let rise in warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until double in size. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

For more of my old fashion recipe collection visit my blog at http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com

For Linda’s recipes and diabetic information go to http://diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com

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Easy & Healthy Split Pea Soup Recipe

The weather is starting to get colder as winter approaches and there is nothing more comforting and satisfying than a hot bowl of homemade soup.  One of my favorite kinds of soups to make at home is split pea soup.  It is easy, healthy and delicious.  The best part about making split pea soup is that it won’t cost much to cook this for your family.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound of Split Green Peas

6 Cups of Water

2 Cups of Chicken Stock

1 Small Ham Hock (optional)

3 Large Carrots Peeled and Sliced

2 Large Celery Stalks Sliced

Small Bunch of Celery Leaves Chopped (take these from the celery stalks)

1 Medium Onion Chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic Minced

Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to  Taste

DIRECTIONS

Step 1 - Rinse and sort the green split peas thoroughly.

Step 2  - In a large stock pot, add the water, ham hock (optional)  and split peas and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover pot and simmer for 1 hour.

Step 3 -  Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, chicken stock and celery leaves and simmer for 1 more hour or until the vegetables and ham hock are tender. Remove the cover after 30 minutes and allow soup to simmer uncovered for remaining half hour so soup can thicken.

Step 4 - Remove ham hock from pot.  Remove meat from the bone and dice. Discard the bone and add the diced ham to the soup.

Step 5 - Stir and add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6 - Serve and enjoy!