Always a great side – such a nice change from a regular green salad !

Cucumber Tomato Salad

4 servings
70 calories per serving

4 small tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
½ c lite Zesty Italian dressing

Arrange all veggies on a plate and drizzle with the dressing.

This is an awesome reuben sandwich ! Give it a try

Turkey Reuben Sandwich

1 serving
330 calories per serving

1 Arnold Sandwich Thins roll (only 100 calories each !)
1 T low fat thousand island dressing
1 slice low fat swiss cheese
3 oz. smoked turkey deli meat
2 T sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread half the dressing on both buns. Add cheese, turkey and kraut to the roll and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining piece of roll, wrap in foil and bake 5-7 minutes.

This is a great lunch size serving. You could also halve the portion and serve as a dinner side. The pasta and veggies are just a perfect lunch !

Spaghetti Salad

4 servings
280 calories per serving

8 oz. FiberGourmet spaghetti broken in thirds (without FiberGourmet, you have to add 70 calories per serving)
2 c frozen mixed vegetables
¾ c grape tomatoes, cut in half
½ c low fat zesty Italian dressing

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions and in the last 5 minutes, drop in the frozen veggies. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool down. Toss pasta mix and the rest of the ingredients then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour so flavors blend.

The orange flavor in this dish is subtle and this is a perfectly easy way to make a great pork dish. The brine solution definitely tenderizes and flavors the pork so don’t skip that step !

Orange Glazed Pork

6 servings
263 calories per serving

½ c kosher salt
½ c sugar
2 1 lb. pork tenderloins, trimmed
½ c orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 t Italian dressing

Dissolve the salt and sugar in a bowl with 4 cups of water and add the meat and let stand 45 minutes. Then rinse the meat and pat dry. Heat a grill. Place the orange juice concentrate in a pan and on low heat cook until it is reduced by half them mix in the dressing and garlic and brush over the pork. Cook the pork about 7 minutes per side or until well seared and done throughout.

Quite sweet and definitely tastes of the islands ! This sweet/spicy sauce would do well on any white fish, but I love tilapia !

Spicy Jamaica Tilapia

6 servings
150 calories per serving

¼ c brown sugar
1 t ground cumin
1 t red pepper flakes
6 tilapia fillets, 4 oz. each
¼ c lite zesty Italian dressing
¼ c lime juice
½ c orange juice
¼ c chopped cilantro
2 T chopped mint leaves

Heat dressing in a skillet on medium high. Combine sugar, pepper and cumin and sprinkle 2 T over one side of the fish and put in skillet sugar side down then sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mix. Cook 5 minutes each side or until done. Remove from pan. Add juices to skillet and heat through then stir in cilantro and mint and spoon over the fish.

Looking for something a little different for lunch? Instead of regular old pasta salad, how about some Hawaiian pasta salad? Plentiful Pantry makes it so easy and it is such a refreshing change of pace.

Hawaiian Pasta Salad

8 servings
180 calories per serving

Their mix basically handles the noodles and the dressing spices – you just add some cooked chicken (I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it was great !), pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, onion and avocado. The mixture of noodles (colors and shapes) makes for such a fun salad! And their poppy seed dressing is so special – sweet without being too sweet and just a little tart with the mustard in the dressing and the vinegar bite. Just whisk up the dressing and pout over the fruits, meat and cooked pasta. Chill a bit and presto…LUNCH IS SERVED !

Hawaiian Pasta Salad

Plentiful Pantry does such a great job of getting you out of the kitchen fast providing mixes that are tasty and easy to put together. I have tried several of their products and I find them all to turn out very good food.

Check out our reviews of other Plentiful Pantry products:

Blondies and Maple Sauce
Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
Roasted Tomato Parmesan Bisque

Pumpkin Cobbler

Simple, quick, and a great tasting lunch wrap.

Turkey and Ranch Wrap

2 servings
340 calories per serving

1 T light Ranch dressing
1 Whole wheat wrap (80 calorie version by Smart and Delicious)
1 lettuce leaf
6 slices deli turkey breast
2 slices tomato
1 Laughing Cow light cheese wedge
2 avocado slices

Spread the cheese on the wrap then fill with the rest of the ingredients and wrap it up. Here is a video that shows you how to make a wrap that does not leak

This has sooooo much flavor in it that you just want to keep eating and eating ! It was just a perfect mix of ingredients and makes a great lunch serving.

Mushroom and Feta Salad

2 servings
270 calories per serving

6 T Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette dressing, divided
2 large Portobello mushroom caps
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
5 c mixed salad greens
½ c chopped roasted red peppers
½ c low fat crumbled feta cheese
2 T toasted pine nuts

Brush mushrooms and squash with oil and 2 T of the dressing, Grill or broil 3-4 minutes each side and then cut mushrooms into slices. Add mushrooms and squash to lettuce and peppers. Add the rest of the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts and serve immediately.

To toast nuts, heat a dry skillet and sauté nuts 5 minutes or so. You will know they are done because you will star to smell the nutty aroma

Great served hot – and equally as good served chilled. This side salad has a great taste and is very easy to prepare!

Citrus Salad

4 servings
280 calories per serving

2 c Minute brown rice, uncooked
6 oz. baby spinach leaves
11 oz. can mandarin oranges
½ c light Catalina dressing

Cook rice according to package instructions. Place in a bowl and add spinach and oranges then toss with dressing t coat.

This dip would be equally as good used as a salad dressing (even though it is nice and thick). But as a dip for vegetables, it makes the perfect healthy snack.

Lo Cal Ranch Dip

2 cups
87 calories per serving (1 serving=3 T)

1 c light mayonnaise
2 T lemon juice
2 T chopped parsley
2 T chopped green onion
1 packet Equal
1 T dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 T Dijon mustard
1 ½ t minced garlic
¼ t salt
¾ c buttermilk

Combine mayo, juice, parsley, onion, Equal, mustard, garlic, ranch mix and salt and whisk well. Then whisk in buttermilk and cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve with veggies.