I’ve been experimenting with eating a big lunch and a lower calorie supper - using things like homemade sushi, shrimp dinners and calamari. Seafood makes it easy.
There are whole cookbooks devoted to good lower calorie meals. Which meal do you cook regularly with the highest taste to calorie ratio? or, if you like, What is your go to meal when eating nutritiously?
I’d say you’re on the right track-- seafood, especially shrimp or other shellfish, and lots of vegetables in something Asian-flavor inspired is always good.
One of my go-tos if I’m cooking for myself and want something healthy, low-carb and relatively low-cal is to defrost an ahi tuna steak, sear it quickly on both sides (so it’s barely warm in the middle), set it on a plate, then make a quick sauce in the pan with soy, rice vinegar, a little toasted sesame oil and a bit of brown sugar (optional). With steamed asparagus or broccoli on the side and a sprinkling of chopped green onion on the tuna.
Big salad - romaine, grape tomatoes, avocado, shredded carrot, a boiled egg, and a homemade spicy soy dressing.
Can’t beat that, solost!
That’s our go-to fish dinner once a week. On occasion I make hibachi rice to go with it.
My husband went to a nutritionist to help him lose weight, and the most generally applicable advice was “start by filling half your plate with vegetables. Not starchy vegetables, but any other vegetables that you like.”
We have a lot of steamed broccoli and brussel sprouts, because they are easy and low cal. The entre might be anything, but a lot of the plate is already covered with broccoli.
I take a pot and fill it 1/4 up with water. Then I add one protein (a chicken thigh, a salmon filet, some shrimp, etc.) then I cut up an onion and add lots of non-starch veggies, fresh or frozen. No salt, but some MSG and other seasonings. I might add a small amount of tomato sauce.
A leafy green salad with tomatoes, olives, walnuts, and dried cranberries. Sometimes there will be other things like croutons, strawberries, mushrooms, or cucumbers but never dressing. I have four or five a week; just finished one minutes ago. It’s a bit boring but hard to beat for low-cal, healthy, and pretty darn tasty.
I make a quick Asian dressing with 2 TB rice vinegar, 2 TB vegetable oil, 2 TB chunky peanut butter (natural type) 1 1/2 TB soy sauce, 1 TB brown sugar (or a slightly smaller amount of Swerve), 1 large minced clove of garlic, a thumb of minced fresh ginger and hot pepper flakes to taste. Whisk to blend. This makes 3 servings of dressing.
Then chop 3-ish cups of fresh cabbage, 1/2 red pepper, 2-3 scallions, about 1/2 cup of carrots and a good handful of cilantro. Toss. This makes about 3 servings of salad.
When you’re ready for dinner, take 1/3 of the salad, 1/3 of the dressing and add 4 oz. cold leftover protein of choice. I mostly use leftover chicken but have also used shrimp and beef.
Toss all together and serve. Filling, nutritious and delish. Plus you have 2 more meals ready to go.
That is a quick peanut sauce & sounds yummy.
I’ve been making roasted broccoli and shrimp served with steamed brown rice with mushrooms.
400F oven, toss broccoli chunks with oil, put on a sheet pan bake 10 minutes. Defrost your shrimp, I use an easy peel w/ tails. Salt and pepper the shrimp.
Mix a sauce with 3 tb soy sauce 2 tb sesame oil
1 tb each fresh ginger and chili sauce ( sambal oelek)
Add shrimp and sauce to broccoli mix well, bake another 6-8 minutes until shrimp is pink.
Rice is just brown rice in the steamer with veg broth and mushrooms.
I leave the shrimp skins on for flavor, then suck the juices dry before peeling
I would substitute tofu for shrimp as well.
What’s Hibachi rice? Sounds good!
It’s the fried rice you get in a hibachi restaurant which IMO is different than the fried rice you get at a Chinese restaurant. Neutral oil (I use avocado oil) and scramble some eggs and set aside. Then in some more oil lightly cook the garlic and onion (and I add fresh ginger) also peas and chopped carrots if you want. Add the rice along with light salt and pepper, soy sauce (or tamari if going gluten free) a little butter and sesame seeds and the eggs.
There are a couple of different techniques and if you search “hibachi rice” on Youtube you can see how people do the same thing but using different processes.
Roast whole chicken isn’t terribly high calorie, but it’s pretty tasty. Get yourself a leave-in probe thermometer, and roast it in the oven at like 450-500 until the deepest part of the breast gets to about 155-160F, and you’re good (it’ll coast up above 165).
Roast chicken is simple but the test of any good French restaurant.
I’ve been taking a square of foil, throwing on some frozen cooked shrimp, butter, granulated garlic, pepper, salt and lemon juice. Cooks in twelve minutes convection oven, low calorie, lots of protein and flavour. Could add coconut, old bay, anything.
Salmon. Tonight was cedar plank grilled salmon with everything bagel seasoning. Yum!