Oh, how I adore these tacos. This quick and easy Chipotle Shrimp Tacos Recipe is not only a perfect weeknight dinner recipe that can be prepared in a pinch, but they are also incredibly delicious. The rich, smoky chipotle cream sauce is the star of this dish.
Fall and football season are already in full swing, and I can’t stop fantasizing about Super Bowl foods! With buffalo wings being one of the key dishes on any Super Bowl Sunday table, I decided to try out a lighter, healthier take on that popular recipe.
One of my all time favorite sandwiches is this slimmed down version of a grilled Reuben sandwich. Just by using high quality, but lower fat/calorie ingredients, I was able to transform a traditional Grilled Reuben Sandwich into one that’s very diet friendly.
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a craving for tacos. Ground beef is finally coming down in price (a bit), but I still frequently turn to chicken.
When I want a quick and easy salad recipe for lunch, this Chicken and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Almond Butter Dressing is one of my absolute favorites. I don’t know about anyone else, but I get so tired of traditional lettuce based salads all the time.
In my opinion, eggplants are one of the most under-used vegetables. This Roasted Eggplant Salad is a perfect example of how easy they are to use and flavorful the eggplant is.
By roasting it, the eggplant develops a beautiful, smoky flavor. Combine it with the crunchy, fresh bell peppers and onions, then finish it off with fresh lemon juice and olive oil, and you’ve got one amazing mouthful of deliciousness.
Eggs Benedict is always my go to brunch choice when dining out. I am absolutely obsessed with it, and I love all the different varieties out there! Seriously…so many good ones.
Occasionally, I’ll make it at home for myself, and when I do, I use my homemade hollandaise sauce which helps to save a ton of extra fat and calories.
Even though not everyone in the house likes quinoa, I do. I like to make up a batch in my rice cooker and then make simple, nutritious and delicious lunches with it.
Today’s Honey Soy Chicken Recipe is yet another dish that my whole LOVED. Including me.
The funny thing about mayonnaise is that I always hated it as a kid. For some reason, I could never get on board with the flavor.
Mexican food is my happy place. In fact, I have yet to try a Mexican dish that I didn’t like, and the good things are that many Mexican food recipes can be petty easily adjusted to suit my diet plan.
When trying to eat a high protein/low fat diet, it’s no secret that egg whites can play a huge role in your eating plan.
I always enjoy spicing up the same old dishes. It’s fun to take something that we have on a regular basis and make it in a new and different way. My two favorite ways of making pork chops is to grill them or bake them and then smother them in either apples and onions or with homemade applesauce.
However, it’s kind of fun to do something different and I really enjoy one dish meals, where I can just toss everything in together and then just put together something quick and easy for the side dish – like a side salad or some steamed broccoli.
For us, it’s the perfect Sunday dinner, ready for us when we walk back in the door after church. The pork chops turned out succulent and juicy. Full of flavor but and moist! One of the tricks of this, I’ve found, is to sear the meat first in a fry pan and it helps to seal in the juices. In my experience, bone in pork chops also helps with this.
Then just mix together the apples, potatoes & spices and bake it all. Once it’s done, add your favorite vegetables (or whatever you happen to have on hand) and you’ve got a delicious meal ready to go.
You guys. My kids ate this salad. MY KIDS ATE KALE. A ton of it!
If that’s not a selling point for a recipe, I don’t know what is. This kid-friendly, Simple Kale salad Recipe is not only a breeze to make, but it’s also absolutely delicious!
I typically do most of the cooking in our house. We have a great deal – one cooks and the other one cleans. However, there is one thing that my husband does that is far, far superior to my efforts. Pie – my husband makes incredible pies.
We usually have a number of pie fillings (peach and apple) made up and frozen so all he has to do is make the crust and plop in the filling. However, recently, I thought it’d be fun to have a slight change from the normal. So, instead of the usual large pie, we made little individual cherry pies. They were amazing.
It was really fun to have little individual pies that we could share with some ice cream for a sweet treat after dinner one night. The remainder can be easily frozen so that they’re ready to thaw, warm and serve. It’s a great way for me to practice portion control, since it’s always very tempting to have another piece.
We are still in the midst of summer, but savory fall foods are already filling up my brain, and I’ve already started working on some new seasonal recipes! A recent one that I whipped up is this Spinach, Artichoke, and White Bean Soup. I’m a HUGE fan of artichokes, and this soup definitely delivers their amazing flavor. Every spoonful is bursting with their unique flavor, but softened a bit by the creamy, mild beans and velvety broth. It’s a pretty quick and easy recipe to make, which is great when you don’t have much time or energy on your hands. But it’s hearty enough to be satisfying, and can easily be served as a main dish or a side. Loaded with protein, fiber and iron, this Spinach, Artichoke, and White Bean Soup is as nurturing as it is delicious. Enjoy!
With the beautiful summer weather we’ve been having, my husband has been outside grilling food on a very regular basis. And today’s recipe for Moroccan Spiced Shrimp Over Garbanzo Bean Salad was actually inspired by 5 years old who LOVES shrimp! On a recent beach excursion, we stopped to have lunch at a local, seaside restaurant, and my daughter was begging to order anything with shrimp. We opted to get her this dish, and she absolutely loved it.
I tried my best to replicate the version from the restaurant, and I’m pretty pleased with the results…it turned out delicious and very light at just 4 Smart Points per serving. Of course, the final approval came from the harshest critic, my little girl herself, and she vehemently approved. So if you are looking for a new grilling recipe to try this summer, get this one on your menu ASAP!
On those nights when you want a complete meal in one pot, this One Pot Moroccan Chicken Rice and Potatoes Recipe is a breeze, and it delivers a delicious and filling meal with minimal effort. By cooking all the food together in one pot, the chicken juices really help to add amazing flavor and tenderness to the rice and potatoes. And the Moroccan spices make it all just taste soooooo good together!
This recipe was taught to me by my amazing Moroccan friend who makes this meal at least once a week. The first time I had it served to me at her house, I assumed this was a dish she slaved over all day. But to my surprise, it’s a pretty easy hands off meal that comes together perfectly! And who doesn’t love having just 1 pot to clean up afterward?
Who doesn’t love apple desserts? Especially when they’re wrapped up in light and flaky dough. One of the down sides of most apple strudel recipes is that they use either puff pastry or pie dough for the outer wrap. While they’re both delicious, they’re also really high in calories and fat. In my recent quest to find a good alternative, I happened across the delightful Phyllo dough. I’m enjoying playing around with it, so I decided to try the traditional apple strudel recipe as an apple wrap with phyllo dough instead of pastry dough. It was delicious. It’s even more light than the traditional strudel recipes. Typically, the strudel is a little more heavy, dense and rich. This is light, sweet but still tart and really delicious. I have to stop myself from eating more than I should of this one. I love the contrasts of the tart, crisp-tender apples and the light, flaky dough. It’s delicious, easy and I’ll definitely be doing this one again.
I’m always looking for good brunch ideas, so when I saw one that involved puff pastry and hard boiled eggs, I thought I’d give it a try. Then I looked at the ingredients of the puff pastry and though better. In my quest for a lower calorie recipe to replace the puff pastry, I saw the suggestion to try Phyllo (Fillo) dough. It’s not as robust, so it tends to flake and crumble more easily than puff pastry, but for me, it’s a great alternative to puff pastry. It’s a much lower calorie option, but still have a delightful flaky texture and can be moulded around your food. For me, this was definitely a brunch sandwich. It works perfectly if I don’t get around to eating breakfast until mid morning. I love the tender crunch of the dough as I bite into the sandwich. But be warned – it’s not a neat and tidy sandwich to eat. But it’s delicious enough that it’s totally worth the mess!
Pasta dishes are one of my favorite go-to meals when I’m in a hurry and need dinner fast. I can my own pasta sauce, so I always have a few jars of that on hand so I can mix up a meal of spaghetti if we’re in a hurry. However, I thought I’d try something a little different for this one. I love pasta with pesto, but I saw a recipe on Pinterest for one with spinach, and I just had to try it. The original called for far more oil (and a far more expensive oil), but I used olive oil, and it worked fine and tasted fabulous. Since the nuts tend to make their own oil when they’re processed for long enough, I started with that and let it go for a few minutes. After a couple of minutes, I drizzled in a little olive oil at a time until it reached the right consistency. Combined with whole grain pasta, some garden fresh tomatoes, you’ve got a simple and delicious meal ready to go.
Perfect for a light summer side salad, this Quinoa Cucumber Tomato Salad is not only incredibly easy to make, it’s super tasty! I love the slight crunch of the quinoa along with the fresh, crisp vegetables. And the simple lemon dressing pulls it all together wonderfully. This salad is a great way for me to get my kids to eat some vegetables and healthy whole grains – they love this dish. And any leftovers go great in their lunch boxes the next day. If you have a few Smart Points to spare, I suggest adding in some feta or goat cheese crumbles for an added kick of flavor. It’s sooooooo good! You could also top it with some grilled chicken, and/or add in some extra roasted veggies like bell peppers and zucchini, to make to a complete meal. This Quinoa Cucumber Tomato Salad works great at BBQ’s, potlucks, parties…you name it. It’s versatile, delicious, healthy, and just 5 Smart Points per serving.
Last summer, some of my friends made some blueberry ice cream that was just amazing. It was made with whole milk and fresh blueberries, sweetened with honey, and was absolutely fabulous. This summer, I decided to try it but ended up making frozen yogurt instead. I’m lactose intolerant, so I can only do a very small amount of ice cream before I end up regretting my decision.
Starting with yogurt and making frozen yogurt seemed like a great alternative. And it was. I started with fat free Greek yogurt. It provided a delicious and creamy base for the dessert, but without the fat.
I used plain yogurt since I wanted to add a bit of honey for flavor, and the vanilla was easy enough to add as well. I used my frozen yogurt and sorbet maker from Cuisinart, but you can use any ice cream maker you have.
Alternatively, just stick the mixture in the freezer and you’ll end up with a very tasty dessert just as easily as you would have with an ice cream maker.
This Peruvian Chicken Stir Fry recipe is one of my favorite, and incredibly reliable chicken recipes that deliver an absolutely delicious dish with minimal effort.
Sautéed bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes are so flavorful, and the simple stir fry sauce is low in Smart Points, but big on taste.