Shrimp Cocktail Lunch

When you are using shrimp in a shrimp cocktail, splurge and get them at a fish market or a food market that has a good fish department – they are just fresher and better suited to cocktail. I like my cocktail sauce very zesty – if you cannot find a spicy enough one at the food store or fish market, just stir in some extra prepared horseradish.

Shrimp Cocktail Lunch
Shrimp Cocktail Lunch

1 serving
179 calories per serving

4 large shrimp, cleaned and cooked
4 T cocktail sauce
1/2 lemon, cut in wedges

2 c field greens
1/2 c sliced cucumber
2 T low fat dressing

Spritz the shrimp with lemon and put on a plate with cocktail sauce for dipping.

Mix cucumber, salad and dressing.

This one is satisfying, packed with protein, yet so low fat and low cal that you can have an extra latte today 🙂

Healthy Buffalo Chicken

This is a great appetizer or lunch portion – for dinner, add a nice salad or fruit mix on the side.

Healthy Buffalo Chicken
Healthy Buffalo Chicken

4 servings
230 calories per serving

1 lb. chicken tenders cut in half
1/2 t cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T cayenne pepper sauce (Frank’s Hot Sauce)
1 T water
1 T buttery spread, melted
1/3 c low fat sour cream
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese
2 T low fat mayonnaise
2 T skim milk
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
Carrot and celery slices

Preheat broiler. Spray baking sheet with Pam. Toss chicken with cayenne pepper and 1/4 t salt. Place chicken on pan and broil 6 inches from heat for 5 minutes. Microwave cayenne sauce, water and butter 10 seconds. Brush onto chicken and broil 2 minutes longer, then flip chicken, coat with more sauce and broil another minute or until chicken is done.

Make dip by combining sour cream, cheese, mayonnaise, milk and Worcestershire. Serve chicken with dip, carrots and celery sticks.

Creamy Chicken Soup

This is a filling, creamy soup packed with iron – get your Popeye on ! Serve with whole wheat garlic toast for a great lunch meal.

3 servings
262 calories per serving

4 oz. dry cheese tortellini
8 oz. fat free chicken broth
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 oz diced cooked chicken (Purdue Shortcuts strips save time here)
1 c skim milk
1 c water
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil water and cook tortellini according to instructions. Heat all other ingredients and bring to boil and heat thoroughly. Add tortellini. Heat for another few minutes.

Lemon Cookies

So buttery, so lemony, so good ! These are like lemon shortbread and they just melt in your mouth. A little high on the calorie count, but sooooo worth it. And 3 cookies really is enough for a snack – these are so rich !

Lemon Cookies
Lemon Cookies

30 cookies
328 calories for 3 cookies

2 c flour
1 c confectioner’s sugar
1 t Kosher salt
1 T plus 1 t lemon zest
1 t lemon juice
1 c sweet butter cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/4 c granulated sugar

Pulse flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add butter and process until coarse like breadcrumbs. Add yolks and lemon juice and process until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. If you freeze any longer than 3 hours, these will be too hard to slice and you’ll need to let defrost a bit or microwave for 30 seconds or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread sugar on a piece of foil and roll logs in the sugar. Cut into 1/4 thick slices and place on baking sheets 1 inch apart as they will spread as they cook. Bake 15 minutes or until edges are browned.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Muffin

This breakfast muffin has not one, but TWO pieces of Canadian bacon, cheese and eggs – all for 250 calories ! Compare that to the fast food breakfast sandwiches that weigh in between 300 and 500 calories and the choice is clear !

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Muffin
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Muffin

1 serving
250 calories per serving

1/4 c Egg Beaters
2 slices Canadian bacon
1 slice Kraft fat free American cheese
1 lite whole wheat muffin, toasted
1 T lite buttery spread
Pam

Heat pan on medium high heat. Remove from heat and spray with Pam. Return to heat. Add Egg Beaters and reduce heat to medium and use a spatula to keep eggs contained to a small circle while they set and cook. Cook until done. Meanwhile, heat bacon in microwave 30 seconds. Butter muffin and place cheese on hot toasted muffin so it will melt. Add eggs and bacon.

Here’s a quick video to show you how to prep the eggs:

Thanks to all the fans !!!

I wanted to give a big thank you to all my Facebook fans and Blog followers. I’ve taken my love of cooking, a new interest in food photography, wrapped it up with my need for a food/meal plan that is healthy and something I can stick with – – and it all became 400 Calories or Less.

Seeing your interest, reading your comments and emails, and knowing that I am helping others really makes it all so rewarding.

And to answer a few questions that are coming in often:

1. Yes, I do take all the pictures of the food. (Special thanks to my family for being so patient as I photograph the food before we sit down to eat !)

2. Yes, I cook all these recipes. Not a single one goes up without my trying it at least once. And the ones that are not blog worthy never get posted here. These are tried and true and definitely worth your experimentation.

3. Yes, portions are typically big. It just does not make sense to me to sit in front of a cupful of food and try and call that a meal. All the meals are plentiful and satisfying. That is a big part of my challenge – – fitting in as much healthful, delicious food as I can for 400 calories.

4. Yes, I have lost weight and continue to do so. It has been about 6 months and my husband has lost 30 pounds and continues to keep it off. His drop was fast and his maintenance has been over a couple months now. He did not exercise a bit during this 6 month period. He eats 2000 calories a day as opposed to my 1600. We basically double up dinner for him. My drop has been slower – a pound or sometimes more a week and so far I have dropped 25 pounds and plan to keep going for another 10 pounds or so before I move to a maintenance plan. And our plan includes a “CHEAT DAY” once a week. We don’t go completely overboard (well, maybe sometimes a little – who can resist KFC hot wings?!?!?!?!?!) but we eat what we like on this day, often eating out for dinner.

I hope you reach your goals ! If I can help in any way, please write. I love to hear from you all 🙂 Stay tuned for lots more recipes and tips. And again, thanks !!!

Crock Pot Brownies

Can you say ooey gooey chocolate? This recipe sure does ! This is definitely a 4 star keeper 🙂

Crock Pot Brownies
Crock Pot Brownies

12 servings
198 calories per serving

2/3 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2/3 c fat free evaporated milk
1/3 c margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 c Egg Beaters
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c semi sweet baking chips
Pam
Powdered Sugar

Spray a 4 qt crock pot with Pam. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Combine milk, margarine, egg and vanilla in another bowl. Mix the dry mix into the wet mix until smooth. Finally stir in the chips. Spread batter in the crock pot and cook on low 2-3 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 30 minutes and then invert over a plate and cut into 12 pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Grilled Bread with Sofrito

The recipe below calls for a small piece of whole wheat bread. Often I double up the calories using a piece of thinly sliced Italian bread instead, especially if the rest of the meal is relatively low in calories.

Grilled Bread with Sofrito
Grilled Bread with Sofrito

6 servings
80 calories per serving

6 slices 45 calorie wheat bread
6 T sofrito (available in most supermarkets with all the Goya products, it is a condiment of richly condensed tomatoes, peppers and spices).

Spread 1 T sofrito on each slice of bread and place the bread sofrito side up in a toaster oven. Heat until bread edges or toasty brown. Serve immediately.

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