Hi! I was wonderin if you know of a recipe I can use every day that doesn't require to much work and doesn't crunch my dollars. I am trying to eat healthy and and lose 10 pounds! I eat 5 meals a day, two snacks, breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Dinner is my biggest concern. It has to be the smallest meal and something so easy I can make every day! Not to mention something I enjoy eating as well!

Chemar's recipe sounds wonderful, but, her definition of an easy recipe is more time-consuming than mine.

Some quick suggestions, when cooking cheap and healthy for one:
1. Throw some brown rice and either split peas, or dried lentils into a pot with appropriate amount of water (see directions on back of packages). If you want to add some diced carrots, green peppers, whatever, while you're cooking, you can. Or you could add tomato soup, or cook in chicken broth instead of water. Takes awhile to cook, but, not much of your time. Just start it early and let it cook while you do other things.
If you don't add veggies to the rice mixture, serve some on the side.

2. Tuna sandwiches (on 100% whole wheat bread), or add egg to canned tuna and cook into tuna burgers. (I find that using the tuna can to shape the burgers works well.) I wouldn't recommend eating tuna more than 2-3 times a week, though, because of possible mercury poisoning. Sefve with a vegetable and/or fruit.

3. Make a 3-bean salad with a can of green beans, a can of kidney beans, and a can of lima beans, or some other 3rd variety of beans. Will keep for several days, so you don't need preparation time each day. Serve with something whole grain.

4. Fat-free cottage cheese is another good meat-less protein, that can be served with a whole grain, and a fruit and/or vegetable.

I need to take my own advice. Thanks for getting me thinking about this, Silly Me. Should work for noon meals alone at home, when I can eat healthy without other family members complaining. Using the same recipe every day isn't a bad idea. You don't have to think and plan ahead much. And, I've heard that you often eat less if you eat the same thing daily.

A nutritionist on another site recently suggested only veggies, salad, quality fat and protein and no rice, potatoes.....at dinner. You are less active in the evening and carbs need to come in the daytime when you're active. I might try that too, cooking what I think my family will like, but picking and choosing which food groups I eat.

~ Faith

I just recently bought cottage cheese, and I was having such a hard time taking it in. But im getting better at it, it would help if I knew wht went good with it. Tuna and egg sounds good and I've already sarted the whole wheat eating! Im wondering if whole wheat carbs are bad at night though, since I sometimes cook egg whites and slap a slice of cheese with two slices of whole grain wheat. Sometimes I just tell my poor husband to cook! I just can't stand to cook all the foods my kids and hubby wanna eat. Thank goodness he is supportive!lol as far as the rice goes, I can't eat brown rice, no matter wht I put on it. Its just so gross to me. Is there a brand or substitute for it that taste as good as regular rice and healthy for you?

You want a healthier rice substitute?

I've got a GREAT ONE FOR YOU!!!

It's called QUINOA (pronounced keeenwa)

I use this all the time.

I cook it (I buy the one that is pre-washed and pre-rinsed). Just follow instructions. Takes no time at all.

You can do with it EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D DO WITH RICE.

I, however, SPROUT IT!!!

I sprout everything I can get my hands on. Then I lightly stir-fry (not the Quinoa, doesn't need to be stir-fried).

So I just put all my sprouts in a bowl, (I sprout lentils, beans, legumes, whatever), I sautee them for one minute,

Then I throw everything in a bowl, grate some carrots, add some Quinoa (sprouted, or some that I've cooked up already),

add some breadcrumbs, some onions, some eggs,

Make a mixture. Make some patties.

cook them like you would cook hamburgers.

I spray the pan with no -stick, and sometimes put some canola oil. They get all crispy.

Believe me, if you want a healthy FAST thing to make. (You can make up a whole batch that you can use for many days).

So for instance, make a batch on Sunday, and your whole family will be eating healthy all week.

And if you want to get creative, (The quinoa has protein and so do my sprouts), but if you don't have any of this and just want to use plain old left over veggies, then add a can of tuna, and mish up the whole thing, and you'll have tuna patties.

Today I made tuna croquettes for Alan. Same as patties, only shaped differently.

I said "why not add my sprouts, my quinoa, etc, to the tuna.

So I put everything in the bowl, added the bread crumbs, the eggs, (I use egg subsitute or egg whites), added the onion, made the mixture, shaped them into croquettes and I cooked them up in the pan.

My husband will have this with his spaghetti tonight. it's his favorite dish.

What do I put on top of the tuna croquettes? A dash of honey.

See, we eat mainly vegetarian in this house, so we need to find protein sources.

The quinoa has protein, the tuna has protein, the sprouts HAVE LOTS OF PROTEIN.

We are in protein heaven.

P.S. these pattie things that I make are SO delicious, believe me.

Get your kids involved in making them. They'll learn how to operate in the kitchen and it will be good for them to learn this as they grow up.

Silly Me --

I love cottage cheese, so I don't have any trouble eating it. I don't know; I sometimes just cook a regular meal for my family, that includes starches, and eat cottage cheese instead of the starch for me.

I don't know what the nutritionist would say about whole wheat products for dinner. She, personally, has cut out most gluten in her own diet. I don't think I could manage that. But, I'd have to think that whole wheat starches would be better for you than those with lots of white flour, no matter what time of day.

I also like brown rice. I prefer the texture to the softeness of white rice. But, my daughter doesn't care for it. I find that she doesn't complain (or, possibly even notice) if I mix 1/2 brown rice with 1/2 white rice. It actually tends to resemble white rice and the brown rice is barely detectable.

~ Faith

1 stick butter (I use Parkay)
2 c. buttermilk baking mix or Bisquick
1 (8 oz.) sour cream

Melt butter, mix with buttermilk baking mix, add sour cream. Spoon into ungreased muffin tin and bake at 450 degrees about 13 minutes. Yields 1 dozen.

These are really good....and so easy to make. I make several batches at once and freeze them.

New Potatoes In Creamy Dill Sauce

1 1/2 lbs. New Potatoes (about 22), quartered
1/2 Cup Philly Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp. dill weed

Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and return to pot.

Microwave cream cheese spread and milk for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Pour over potatoes along with dill and mix to coat.

Yummy!!

Well, I've said this before. I don't like to cook. I am a good cook though since it is my 'duty' to prepare our food. (yuk!).

I try all kinds of stuff, but know what I'd really like??

I'd like simple ideas for meals which don't require so much prep or clean up.

I'd like to do healthier eating, but just more like 'noshing', not dining.

IF it were just me...I'd pick all day. I can eat an entire pint of blueberries or raspberries. Yum.

I'd like to have more veggies (fresh) with dips too.

(I hate to clean the veggies though). I try to clean veggies in the living room (with protective towels around) so I can watch the telly or something to take me away from the banality of the job.

Okay, this is nuts, but I just don't enjoy preparation and the clean up is so monotonous.

Am I alone in this?!

Tootsie

This is the best macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted and it's easy to make:

3/4 lb. ellbow macaroni noodles
3 large eggs
3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 & 1/4 Cup Milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter your baking dish (8X12 or 9X13)

Cook macaroni noodles.

Drain noodles (don't rinse!!) and transfer to a large bowl. Add two cups of the shredded cheese and stir until cheese has melted.

In another large bowl scramble the three eggs and add the sour cream. Mix until all the lumps are gone. Add the milk and the 1/2 stick butter (cut up into small pieces). Stir this mixture into the macaroni , mix well and transfer into buttered baking dish.

Top with remaining cheese and bake for 35 minutes.

Let stand about 10 minutes before eating.

More or less cheese can be used according to taste. I use Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp - it seems to melt the best and have the best flavor.

This recipe is for those of us who ....AHEM!!!! don't eat butter, chocolate, cake, icing, (ALL THE GOOD STUFF).

This is a very easy side dish, not fattening (at least not the way I make it). and you get your serving of vegetables. And you get a neat side dish.

You can also make this in variable ways to suit ANYONE's tastes.

All you do is take whatever veggies you prefer. For this one I'll use the one's I always make.

I take (all fresh now). Broccoli, zucchini and carrots.

I grate them using either a food processor, or a hand grater. I have a V SLICER and i can grate my veggies into little bits.

In a bowl, put all the ground up veggies (you can also make them look like little slivers (depends on the attachment you use to cut up the veggies).

Take one onion and chop it fine and add to veggie mixture. You can also add some chopped garlic.

So put all veggies in a big bowl. Add egg whites (or egg beaters), or eggs. I use the equivalent of two eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into the veggies. Add one half of unsalted breadcrumbs (we use un-salted) but any kind will do.

Add two teaspoons of seltzer (the carbonation will make the fritters puff up).

You can add salt and pepper to taste if you prefer.

Mix up the mixture, (adding more or less of the breadcrumbs so you get a nice handful that's easy to mold).

Now here's the fun part. You can shape this fritters into any shape you like.

Alan likes the shape of croquettes. I can shape them into croquettes, or into flat patties.

Once you make a batch of these, (now this is where you can make them the regular way (heat up oil in a frying pan), or non-fattening way (spray the frying pan with PAM or any non-stick coating.

Once the pan is nice and hot, place the croquettes or flat patties, in the hot pan, letting one side cook so thoroughly that it doesn't fall apart when you flip them. When one side is done and nicely browned, flip over and cook the other side. Cook on low (after they are browned) if they are croquettes, cook for 10 minutes, (you'll see how they look and you'll know when they are done).

Let's say you make 8 patties or croquettes. Use half one night and the other half the other night. But these are so good that if you have a lot of people, they'll gobble them up.

Now here's where it gets really interesting.

You can serve these with sour cream (absolutely divine).
You can serve these with apple sauce (also absolutely divine).

Or you can serve these like I make them for Alan.

I drizzle honey over the croquettes and add Splenda. Alan has taste buds problem since he used the fentanyl pain patch, and he can't taste sweet so I have to sweeten things extra for him.

Well, you should have seen his face the first time I made these with the honey and the splenda.

He said. "this is the most delicious thing I ever ate, WHAT IS THIS??

I simply said 'Brocolli, zuchini, and carrots".

Now you can use diced up red and yellow peppers which will add color.

Use your imagination.

This is a good side dish to get kids to eat their vegetables.

I can only imagine what serving it with Sour Cream would taste like.

Oh my god, MAYBE SOME DAY!!!

So enjoy!!