TM Low-fat recipe exchange

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Okay, SOMEONE requested I do this, and I’m finally getting around to it, now that I’ve picked a few good ones. Trying to pick ones that don’t require much work (or strange ingredients).

For the chickpea fan (Swiddles?)

Baked Falafel

2 19 oz. cans chickpeas, drained
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 small onion, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I like a slight bit more, or that amount plus a bit of crushed red)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400. Mash chickpeas in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Divide mixture into 24 one-inch balls. Flatten each ball with your palm and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (spraying with Pam doesn’t work well on this, so you might want to get an oil spritzer) Bake for 35 minutes and turn the falafel over. Continue baking another 15 minutes. Serve in warm pitas with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, and fat-free yogurt. Makes 8 servings.

Calories: 529. Calories from fat: 86

And here’s some comfort food…

Fresh Tomato Soup

1 teaspoon margarine
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
3 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (2 lbs)
3/4 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup chicken broth, defatted
fresh oregano, chopped
fresh basil, chopped

To peel tomatoes easily, here’s a trick In the non-stem end, use a knife to cut a small X in the flesh, barely piercing the skin, right at the pointy part. Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for ten seconds. Pull them out with a slotted spoon and run them under cold water. The skins should peel right off.

Cook shallot in margarine. Add tomatoes and chicken broth, cook 15 minutes. Place in container of electric blender and process until smooth. Add milk. Heat 8 minutes. Add fresh oregano and basil to taste. Serves 4.

Calories: 72 Calories from fat: 22

Greek Style Pocket Sandwich

Marinade:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sandwich filling:
1 pound lean beef (round roast)
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dill
2 pita breads, halved
1 small red onion, peeled and sliced

Cut beef crosswise into thin 5 * 1/2 inch strips. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over beef strips. Cover and refrigerate for 2-8 hours. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and dill. Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 450. Drain marinade from beef, place meat in shallow pan and bake until crisp (about 10 minutes). Stuff each pita half with beef, then top each with a spoonful of the yogurt mixture and some sliced red onion.

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
16 red potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a roasting pan 3 times to coat with the vegetable oil. Put the mustard, paprika, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Whisk to blend. Prick the potatoes several times with the tines of a fork and add them to the bowl. Toss to coat the potatoes evenly. Pour the coated potatoes in the prepared roasting pan, leaving a little space between them. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Fat per serving: 1.7 grams
Calories per serving: 137

Lemon Chive Fettucine

6 ounces fettucine, uncooked
1/3 cup lowfat sour cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon lemon peel, grated
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon soft margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Cook fettucine according to package directions. Mix remaining ingredients and toss with drained fettucine.

Chicken Piccata

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin for scalloppini
2-4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
1 large shallot, minced fine
1 cup de-fatted chicken stock
1/4 cup white wine
juice of 1 lemon
basil, oregano, and pepper to taste
flour for dusting
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp capers (optional)

Dust chicken pieces with flour until well-coated. Heat 1 tsp oil on high and lightly brown chicken on both sides. Do not overcook. Remove and set aside. Lower heat to medium. Add remaining oil and saute garlic and shallot until translucent. Add seasonings and chicken. Turn up heat to high and add wine. Boil off the alcohol, then add the stock and lemon juice. Reduce until slightly thickened. Add capers if desired and serve.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

8 redskin potatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
Garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, seasoned salt to taste
Spray olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Wash potatoes and mix with the seasonings. Spray a cookie sheet with oil and spread seasoned potatoes in one even layer. Lightly spray top of potatoes with oil. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring and turning every 10 minutes, until golden brown.
That’s all for now. Please feel free to share your own, especially desserts–I don’t have many of those.

2

Peach Crumble

8 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into slices
1/4 cup quick cooking oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray pie plate with non-stick spray. Arrange peach slices in the pie plate. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. With your fingers crumble the margarine into the flour-sugar mixture on top of the peaches. Bake until peaches are soft and topping is browned. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

         Nutritional Analysis

         Calories                      140
         Fat (grams) 3
         Percent calories from fat      19
         Percent polyunsaturated         6
         Percent saturated           trace
         Percent monounsaturated        13
         Cholesterol (milligrams) 0
         Sodium (milligrams) 35
         Protein (grams) 2
         Carbohydrate (grams) 26
         Fiber (grams) 1.5

I got the recipe off of the Mayo site.

MayoClinic Virtual Cookbook

This has a lot of great low-fat recipes. Check it out.
Chrisbar

3

Thanks, Chrisbar and Libby! Great stuff…

Here’s one of my favorites. It really is pretty guilt-free for everyday munching down.

BUTTERMILK DRESSING/DIP/TOPPING

2 cups buttermilk
2 cups fat-free mayonnaise
1/2 cup fresh parsely, minced finely

  • 1/2 tsp. minced chives, other herbs, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
    1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

The * are options. I prefer to squeeze in some fresh garlic and just add some kosher salt. If you’re using chives, you won’t need the onion salt. You can also substitute onion or garlic powder–whatever you have on hand.

2 TBSP = 19 calories, trace fat

You can cut down a bit on the buttermilk to make a dip or topping for baked potatoes (or french fries?), etc.

Hope you enjoy it.

Veb

4

Found a couple of chocolate desserts in a cookbook of mine.

Double-Chocolate Sorbet

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder
1/2 square unsweetened chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, honey, espresso powder, chocolate, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups water.

Transfer to a 9 * 13 inch baking pan. Freeze until just frozen, 2-3 hours.

Transfer to a food processor, puree. Scrape into a quart-sized container with a tight-fitting lid. Freeze until firm. If the sorbet loses its texture, run it through the food processor right before serving.

Per Serving:
194 calories
3 g fat
Chocolate Orange Pudding

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup low-fat (1%) milk
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons Grand Marnier (or triple sec if you’re cheap)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk, let stand until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the brown sugar, cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. DO NOT BOIL OR OVERCOOK.

In a blender, combine the ricotta, cocoa powder, orange liqueur and vanilla. Puree on medium speed about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and remove the knob in the lid of the blender. Gradually add the milk mixture, blending until combined. Pour the pudding into each of four 6-ounce custard cups. Refrigerate, covered, until set, at least 2 hours.

5

5 Dill pickles from Albersons cut into cubes, 1 bunch of celery cutup, salt & pepper & Japanese vinegar to taste.
Servings 4. Calories: 0 Fat:0

6

Thanks for the recipes, I’m especially looking forward to trying the falafel.

Here are some recipes I got out of Cooking Light Magazine. I highly recommend it; they have a good assortment of recipes and good articles on wellbeing. They also have a website, with a recipe search.

Quick Beef With Broccoli

1/2 lb lean, boneless top round steak
3/4 oz. sund dried tomatoes, packed w/out oil (about 10)
1/2 cup boiling water
Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 tsp. veg. oil
2 cups fresh broccoli flowerets
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 clove garlic minced
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Chablis or other dry white wine
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 cups hot cooked rice

Trim fat from steak. Slice steak diagonally across grain into thin strips (this is easiest if the steak is partially frozen)

Combine tomatoes and water; let stand 5 minutes. Drain, thinly slice, and set aside.

Coat a wok or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add steak; stir-fry 2 min. Remove steak from wok; set aside, and keep warm. Add oil to wok; place over medium high heat until hot. Add broccoli; stir-fry 3 min. Add tomato, green onions, and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute.

Combine cornstarch, wine, and soy sauce; stir well. Add cornstarch mixture and beef to wok; stir-fry 1 minute or until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve over rice.

Yield 2 servings (1 cup steak mix and 1 cup rice)

calories: 473 (13% from fat)
Protein: 36.1 gram
Fat: 6.9g (sat 2g, mono 2.3g, poly 1.1g)
Carb: 66.6g
Fiber: 4.1g
Chol: 65mg
Iron: 5.9g
Sodium: 1278mg
Calc: 100mg
I’ve got a ton more recipes, I’ll post them throughout the day, whenever I can snatch a few minutes.

7

Here is a good suggestion, that has saved me loads of aggravation and money. Whenever possible, I make the next night’s dinner the evening before, then refrigerate it so that it only needs reheating. This works very well with casseroles, stews, pasta sauces. If I’m making a stir fry, I’ll do all the prep work in the morning, then put it away until it’s time to cook. It really helps out on those days when you come home to tired to think straight, let alone chop onions. I also pack my husband’s lunch the night before, that way he doesn’t have to rely on fatty & expensive junk food.

And now back to the recipes!
Spicy Carribean Black Beans and Rice

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes (for sake of efficiency start cooking the rice first)

1 tsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups sliced onion
3/4 cup finely chopped carrot
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic (better yet 2-3 gloves fresh minced garlic)
2 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon basalmic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 bay leaves

  1. Heat theh oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrote and garlic, saute 10 minutes. Add rice and remaining ingredients; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Yield 4 servings, 1 3/4 cup per serving

Calories: 325 (6% from fat)
Fat: 2.3g (sat 0.4g, mono 0.9g, poly 0.5g)
Protein: 13.9g
Carb: 62.2g
Fiber: 7.5g
Chol: 0mg
Iron: 4.3mg
Sodium: 484mg
Calc: 78mg

8

Prep time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes

1 (9oz) package fresh cheese tortellini, uncooked
2 cups (2 inch) julienne cut zuchini
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced green onions
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fat free red wine vinaigrette
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dillweed
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook tortellini in boiling water for 6 min, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold, running water; drain well. Combine tortellini and next five ingredients in a bowl. Combine vinaigrette, dillweed and pepper in a bowl; stir well. Pour over tortellini mixture; toss gently.

Yield: 6 servings, 1 cup each

Calories: 168(20% from fat)
Protein: 8.2g
Fat: 3.8g(sat 2.2g,mono 1g, poly 0.2g)
Carb: 25.1g
Fiber: 1g
Chol: 21mg
Iron: 0.7mg
Sodium: 335mg
Calc: 42mg

9

I just posted this in the original…

Smoked tofu- tastes good and has the consistency of cheese. Use it on sandwiches, on salads, in soup, etc.

One can chopped tomato’s and a can of tuna. Add salt, pepper, (olive oil), etc. and use on pasta or rice (even cous-cous). VERY quick, high in protein, tasty. Originally a home-cooked Sicilian recipe.

Go to a health food store and get some liquid amino acids. It is a flavoring like Maggi and actually tastes great on salads.

I don’t know if Knorr has put these out yet in the States, but they have a cucumber jogurt salad dressing packet (1 packet, one thing white jogurt). Tastes EXACTLY like Ranch dressing. Maybe try mixing a normal packet of rach with jogurt- don’t know, might work though.

Good (meaning pricey) frozen jogurt tastes great!!!

Take care-
-T

10

I posted this before but since this is the collection, I’ll add it. You can make a really good, extremely simple, fat-free, cool dessert by taking:

1 cup fresh fruit (strawberries work well, as do peaches)
1/2 cup fat-free Cool Whip

Puree fruit in blender/food processor. (Strain if using strawberries (blackberries, rapsberries) and do not want seeds) Stir in Cool Whip. Place in freezer. Voila! A creamy, frozen fat-free treat!

Also, I have started making this potato salad with fat-free sour cream instead of mayo and I really like it! (I don’t like regular potato salad because of the mayo!) This is not a recipe for those who do not keep spices/herbs around the house but I’ll share it anyway. I’ll give you the ingredients but unfortunately, I make this to taste so I don’t have measurements–feel free to try it yourself with your own proportions. I use new potatoes, red onions, fat-free sour cream, chives, garlic, dill weed, dijon mustard, cracked black pepper, a dash of cayenne pepper, a tiny bit of crumbled bacon for flavor (can omit), and garlic dill pickles. Also, you can make a meal out of this by mixing in some cooked white chicken cut into cubes.

11

Thanks a lot, Libby, for starting this thread, I really appreciate it. Thanks to all of the others who have posted recipes also. I am looking forward to trying out several of them, and I do have a few of my own to post, which I will do in a couple of days. I have family coming in from Wisconsin and Houston for our son’s graduation (which is Mon nite), so I’m really busy right now. I am thinking of all of you, and will post when I can. I’m very sorry that I’m so busy right now.

Take care, and I’ll lurk at least, if I don’t have time to post for a few days.

12

Beef and tomato soup

About one pound of stew meat, cut up into smaller pieces
One can of whole peeled tomatoes (28oz)
Two cans of College Inn fat free beef broth
One package of white mushrooms
5 celery stalks
one bunch of scallions
One box of small pasta, (elbows, alphabets)
Any other veggie you like
Oregano, parsley, pepper…whatever spices you like

Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters
Chop the veggies into bite size pieces
Put everything into a big pot (except the pasta) and cook for at least an hour
I cook the pasta separately, and only add it before I serve the soup. I like firm pasta, and if you leave the pasta in the soup, it gets mushy and soaks up all the juice :slight_smile: Keeping it separate, you can also control how much you are eating.
The soup makes at least 4 serving, and the only fat comes from the stew meat. Sometimes I top my bowl off with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese, but I’m Italian, and like to put cheese on everything :slight_smile:
You can also substitute the beef broth for chicken, and use cut up chicken breasts instead of stew meat. When I make chicken soup, I leave the breasts whole, and cut them up before I serve the soup, so I know I’m getting a whole breast, no more, no less. I started doing that because of Weight Watchers, to be sure I’m getting all my protein in.
If you are concerned about the sodium, use only one can of broth, and a can of water. College Inn also makes Fat-Free Low-Sodium broth, but they are sometimes hard to find.
Rose

13

ingredients:

2/3 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 c. broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 1/2 c. diced green cabbage
1/2 c. green beans
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. diced zucchini

preparation:

  1. In large saucepan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, saute the carrot, onio, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

  2. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until beans are tender.

  3. Stire in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings (about 1 cup each)