Dinner Recipes

Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons bottled minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
  • 1 small red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 cup snow peas and/or other vegetables of your choice (broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.)
  • 1 ½ pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Combine ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and garlic in a separate bowl. Add vegetables to the pan and stir-fry two minutes or until tender. Add shrimp and stir-fry three minutes or until done. Add soy sauce mixture, and cook one minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with brown rice.

 

Korean Pork Chops

Ingredients

  • 4-6 boneless pork chops
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp sliced green onions (optional)

Preparation

Trim any fat from the pork chops and place in a shallow baking dish or quart-size plastic bag. Add the next five ingredients and marinate up to six hours. Grill until done or broil four minutes on each side.

 

Turkey/Cottage Cheese/Brown Rice Burrito

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • ½ cup salsa
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
  • 4 whole-wheat tortillas
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 4 tablespoons shredded, low-fat cheese
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Spray a pan with cooking spray and cook the ground turkey until done. Add ½ cup salsa to the turkey when it is almost cooked through. To make your burrito, spoon a portion of ground turkey on a whole-wheat tortilla. Top with ¼ cup brown rice and ¼ cup fat-free cottage cheese. Add diced tomatoes and a tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Marinated Flank Steak

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 pound) flank steak, trimmed of fat
  • ¼ cup lite soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 to 2 cloves minced garlic

Preparation

Put steak in a quart-sized zip lock bag, and add marinade ingredients. Shake well to mix. Refrigerate and marinate from one hour to overnight. Turn occasionally.  When ready to cook, remove from bag and discard marinade. Grill or broil until cooked to your liking. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain. Serve with cooked brown rice and steamed vegetables. Save any leftover steak for lunch; layer steak slices over a spinach salad with sliced vegetables of your choice.

Hoisin Pork and Vegetable Stir Fry

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
  • 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • ¾ cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 4 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
  • 3 cups snow peas or other vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms or squash
  • ½ cup sliced red pepper
  • 1 tablespoon bottled fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice

Preparation

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and pork. Set aside. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, chicken broth, hoisin, cornstarch and honey in another bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan and cook three minutes or until brown. Remove pork from pan. Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil to pan. Stir in vegetables, ginger and garlic, stir fry 30 seconds. Return pork mixture to the pan; stir in the broth mixture. Simmer two minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve over brown rice.

 

Mexicali Black Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons chili powder (or more, depending on how spicy you like your chili)
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Spray a large pot with cooking spray, add onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until onion is translucent. Add turkey and cook until done. Add black beans, tomatoes and spices and simmer for 30 minutes.

 

Tropical Halibut

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon grated lime rind
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 4 halibut filets (chicken or pork also works great with this recipe)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Cooking spray
  • 6 cups bagged, prewashed baby spinach

Preparation

Combine first eight ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Pour ¼ cup of the mixture into a large zip-lock plastic bag. Add fish to the bag. Seal and let stand five minutes. Add oil to the remaining juice mixture and stir.   Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove fish from bag. Remember to discard the marinade that was in the bag. Add fish to pan and cook four minutes on each side or until done. Put 1 ½ cups spinach on each of four plates. Divide fish evenly among servings. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon juice mixture.

Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • 6 small whole mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Preparation

Season chicken with salt and pepper (or any other spices of your choice).  Thread chicken, peppers, onion and mushrooms (alternating between each) on to each skewer. Grill or broil until done. Serve on top of a bed of cooked brown rice or with a baked sweet potato.

 

“Healthy” Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen vegetables of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray, add chicken breast and cook on medium-high heat until done. Remove chicken breast from pan. Spray pan with more cooking spray, add vegetables and cook until crisp tender. Remove vegetables from pan. Spray pan with more cooking spray and add eggs. Cook until lightly scrambled. Return chicken and vegetables to pan, mix with eggs and add cooked brown rice. Stir in soy sauce and hoisin sauce and serve.

Moroccan Crusted Beef Filet

Ingredients

  • 2 (4-ounce) beef filets
  • Moroccan spice:
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon ground black pepper

Preparation

To make the spice simply grind all the ingredients together in a clean coffee grinder and toast in a dry, hot skillet until the fragrances are released. Do not burn. Most retail stores sell a variety of ready-made spice mixes so don’t be over-whelmed thinking you have to use the Moroccan spice mix for this recipe. Use whatever you prefer and remember to clean your coffee grinder very well.

Coat the beef filets with your chosen spice mix and brown each side in a hot oiled pan. Cook to desired temperature (medium rare, 8-10 minutes; medium, 10-12 minutes; well done, 12-15 minutes).  Serve with Roast Garlic Sweet Potatoes and steamed broccoli.

 

Kale & Tomato Frittata

If you haven’t yet added frittatas to your dinner rotation then here’s the perfect recipe to start with. While this recipe calls for kale and tomatoes, frittatas can be made with whatever vegetables and meat you have on hand, simply chopped and thrown in to the egg mixture. It’s a great way to eat low carb and high protein. Enjoy!

Servings: 6

Here’s what you need…

  • 6 eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 cups kale, destemmed and chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, egg whites, sea salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast and oregano.
  3. Coat an 8-inch oven-safe skillet with the olive oil. Place over medium heat and add the kale and tomatoes. Cook for 4 minutes, until soft. Swirl in the egg mixture then remove from heat.
  4. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve. Enjoy!

 

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Sautéed Soybeans

What a delicious way to enjoy soy. Pre-shelled soybeans make this dish easy to prepare – it’s ready in 10 minutes. Serve this as a healthy side dish or a light meal.
3 servings

Here’s what you need

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups shelled soybeans
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Dash of salt
  • Dash of pepper
  1. Heat saute pan over medium heat, add oil and onions. When onions begin to soften lower the heat, add the garlic and saute for two minutes.
  2. Add soybeans and thyme, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cook until soybeans are fully heated. Serve warm.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 172 calories, 9g fat, 11g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 10g protein.

 

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Bacon & Mustard Spiked Green Beans

Smokey bacon and tangy mustard give these tender-crisp green beans memorable flavor. This side dish pairs perfectly with steak or chicken on the grill or alongside a lettuce wrapped burger. Enjoy!

Servings: 6

Here’s what you need…

  • 2 lbs green beans, trimmed
  • 6 slices bacon
  • ½ cup yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the beans into a colander and place under cold water for 20 seconds.
  2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy over medium-high heat. Remove the bacon from the skillet, leaving the bacon drippings, and chop into 1-inch pieces.
  3. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook the onions in the bacon drippings for 5 minutes, or until tender. Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, stirring until fully combined. Add the green beans and the bacon pieces and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 158 calories, 8g fat, 12g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 10g protein.