What a great flavor ! The orange gives these tomatoes a great fresh flavor. Try on your favorite heirloom or farmer’s market tomatoes for a great side dish so low in calories, but so big in flavor !

Citrus Tomatoes

2 servings
36 calories per serving

2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
1 ½ t orange zest
1 ½ t lime zest
1 T lime juice
Dash if kosher salt
Dash of Tabasco sauce
2 small tomatoes, sliced
1 t fresh chives, sliced

Mix together all except tomatoes and chives. Plate tomatoes and drizzle with dressing. Then sprinkle with chives.

You can use the popsicle ‘molds’ you get at the store, or even more fun is placing the mix in Dixie cups, adding a stick, and then peeling away the cup just before serving. Simple, simple to do and a very tasty evening treat. At only 82 calories per creamy pudding pop, I might just have one every night

Bananasicles

7 servings
82 calories per serving

3.4 oz. package of instant banana pudding mix
2 c skim milk
1 banana cut into small pieces
7 T sugar free chocolate syrup (the type you use to make chocolate milk)

Place 1 T of chocolate syrup into the bottom of each cup. Combine pudding and milk until thick then stir in banana pieces and divide mix into 3 oz. paper cups. Cover with foil and poke through popsicle sticks and freeze 3 hours. Peel away cup to serve.

Though the dressing is a simple vinegar and oil mix, this salad does not lack in flavor. The egg yolks and tomatoes give this most of its flavor. Try making a nice big serving dish instead of placing on individual bowls – it makes a pretty centerpiece to a party table

Tomato, Egg and Cucumber Salad

4 servings
190 calories per serving

4 large eggs, hardboiled and sliced
½ c balsamic vinegar
4 t oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
2 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
½ head lettuce separated into leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Set on medium heat and bring to a boil. Cover and keep at a low boil 2 minutes. Shut heat, but leave eggs in pan and covered for 13 more minutes. Then rinse eggs under cold water. Refrigerate eggs for ½ hour as they will peel easier this way. Combine oil and vinegar. Place the lettuce leaves down and then add the tomatoes and cucumbers to the plates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then pour over the dressing. Finally place the egg slices on top of each plate.

These steaks are just DELICIOUS! I had my doubts of how the pesto and parmesan flavors would go with steak, but this was just great. It was a mild yet super flavorful addition to the steak and added back a lot of moisture that grilling can deplete. Serve with a quick salad such as Tomato, Cucumber and Egg salad for a great BBQ meal.

Pesto Stuffed Steaks

6 servings
284 calories per serving

2 beef rib eye steaks, about 1 ½ inches thick (2 pounds)
¼ c pesto sauce
2 T shredded parmesan cheese
1 T oil

Heat the grill. Make a horizontal slit in each steak to form a pocket and stuff with pesto and cheese and then press closed. Drizzle with oil and then grill 7 minutes each side or to desired doneness. Cut into thin strips before serving.

I’ve been making this recipe for years, and my Mom for years before that. It is always a great summer time treat that even yogurt non-likes find tempting and delicious. Sometimes I take the filling and make ice pops out of it rather than placing in a pie crust. No matter how you slice it, you will love this pie !

Yogurt Pie

8 servings
200 calories per serving

1 prepared low fat graham crust
20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained well
8 oz. tub Cool Whip lite, thawed
6 oz. non fat lemon yogurt (don’t substitute – you need the lemon flavor to bring some tang to the pie)
6 oz. non fat yogurt – any flavor
Some fruit for garnish

Mix all ingredients and place in the pie crust. Cover and freeze at least 5 hours. Defrost 10-15 minutes before serving. If the pie has been frozen longer than over night, you may need to defrost 20 -25 minutes before serving.

Summertime is time for barbecue chicken ! I like to parboil mine so that it does not get all dried out on the grill. And then I slather it with sauce

Barbecue Chicken

4 servings
271 calories per serving

4 skinless split breasts (5 oz. each)
4 oz. barbecue sauce

Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer chicken for 30 minutes to partially cook them. Remove to a plate and then place on heated grill, slather with sauce, and cook another 15 minutes or until done. Flip and rebaste with sauce several times during the grilling process.

Creamy and cheesy this is ! The Swiss cheese in this made for a very mellow flavor that mixed very well with the chicken and broccoli. But I’m sure that any other flavor would do very well. This is one of those great recipes where you have everything incorporated – a protein, a starch and a veggie.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken

5 servings
390 calories per serving

3 c (6 oz.) uncooked wide egg noodles
2 t oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
3 c frozen broccoli florets
1 t minced dried onion
1 t onion powder
½ c white wine
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1 c (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
2 t Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Heat oil and add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes or until browned. Add broccoli, onion flakes and onion powder and cook 4 minutes or until hot then reduce heat and stir in wine. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is done. Add noodles, soup, cheese, mustard, salt and pepper and cook until cheese is melted and all is hot.

If you let this marinate overnight, the meat will be that much more tender and flavorful ! I often plan these for entertaining – they are so easy to do so very savory. They get a nice seared crisp outer layer which tastes just grate with the soy marinade.

Grilled Marinated London Broil

4 servings
170 calories per serving

1 lb. lean London broil
2 T minced garlic (jarred is fine)
2 T soy sauce
1/2 c water

Place meat in a zip loc. Add remaining ingredients, zip up and mush it all around so all the meat gets covered. Let sit overnight. Heat a grill to high and sear the meat for 3 minutes each side then lower temperature and then cook to desired doneness. If you do not have access to a grill, you can also quick brown this in a large skillet sprayed with Pam and then finish cooking until desired doneness in a hot oven (375 degrees or more).

Frothy, refreshing, just the right amount of sweet and very good for you – that’s a great line up in a drink that takes a snap to put together !

Virgin Melon Margarita

2 servings
121 calories per serving

2 c honeydew melon chunks
½ c orange juice
1 T lime juice
1 T honey
4 ice cubes

Place all in a blender and mix well.

Pork just has such flavor ! And when you add garlic and lime you get a great marinade that can easily be adjusted to just your taste. I added a ton of garlic powder to mine and the tenderloin was just fantastic !

Garlic and Lime Pork Tenderloin

6 servings
160 calories per serving

2 ¾ lb pork tenderloins
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 T grated lime peel
1 T oil
2 t lime juice
½ t honey
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper

Heat grill. Make small slits around the tenderloins and place slices of garlic inside them. Combine all the rest of the ingredients and brush over the pork. For extra garlicky goodness, sprinkle liberally with garlic powder just before cooking. Grill the tenderloins 20-25 minutes or until no longer pink.

You can also do this in the oven if you it is wintertime or you don’t have a grill. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place pork on a rack inside a baking pan. Place about ½ c of water in the bottom of the pan to help keep the pork moist during the longer cooking time. Cook 45 minutes to one hour flipping and re-basting during the halfway point.