Great served hot – and equally as good served chilled. This side salad has a great taste and is very easy to prepare!
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.
Tomatillos are spicy little green fruits in the tomato family – you have probably eaten them in some salsas (salsa verde which translates to green salsa) and tomatillo sauces. Grilling them brings out a nice sweet flavor. This is a nice spicy addition to a meal that may be a bit on the blander side.
I served it aside Broiled Cod with Chili Powder – it was a great double whammy of flavor 🙂
4 servings
154 calories per serving
¼ c basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 T lemon juice
6 tomatillos cut into 1/2″ thick slices
1 T oil
Heat grill and oil grates or a grill pan. In a food processor mix the basil, garlic and lemon juice until smooth (adding 1-2 t water if needed). Brush tomatillo slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred and then serve with basil sauce.
Since your carbs and veggies are together in one dish, this recipe is a great side dish to complete a fish or chicken dish. It has just the right amount of veggies and a lovely mild flavor.
6 servings
147 calories per serving
1 T oil
1 c chopped onion
½ c chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
½ c chopped red peppers
14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 ½ c Minute white rice, raw
1 c frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in skillet and sauté onions, carrots, celery, peppers, salt and pepper for 7 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil and stir in the rice and peas. Cover and simmer 5 minutes then remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes so liquid is absorbed.
Instead of basil, this pesto is made with arugula and adds a nice tang to the salad. Sometimes instead of the yukon gold potatoes I use unpeeled new potatoes and the recipe is just as delicious !
8 servings
208 calories per serving
2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
2 ½ c arugula leaves
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 c pine nuts, toasted
3 T water
2 t lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ t salt
½ t pepper
¼ c olive oil
1 c grape tomatoes, halved
Cook potatoes covered in salted water 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Then peel the potatoes and cube them. Here is a great video on how to easily boil and peel potatoes.
In a food processor mix arugula, 1/3 c cheese, 1/3 c pine nuts, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper then slowly add the oil and mix thoroughly. Pour mix over potatoes and stir in tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.
Regular bell peppers will do fine here, but I often like to mix in fryers, and special varieties that you find at farmer’s markets. At the very least, I try to mix colors of the store bought peppers to make this a colorful dish. At only 38 calories per serving (which is a WHOLE pepper and ¼ of an onion), don’t be afraid to have an extra portion ! This is great next to steak and even next to hot sandwiches.
4 servings
38 calories per serving
4 bell peppers, varied colors, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 T oil
Pam
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
hot water
Place oil in large skillet and heat to medium high. Put onions in pan and saute 5 minutes. Move onions to the side, remove pan from heat and spray skillet with Pam. Return to heat and add peppers to skillet. Let cook down a little and then season with all the spices. After about 5 minutes, lower heat to medium and continue cooking to desired doneness. I like mine pretty soft and let them cook a good 20 minutes. If you do the same, you will likely need to add a couple tablespoons of hot water a couple times during the cooking process so that the veggie stay moist and do not burn.
This is so much better than any of the pre done rice mixes and it is so much healthier too !
4 servings
209 calories per serving
2 t oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T tomato paste
1 c white rice
1 ¾ c chicken or beef broth
½ t oregano flakes
Coarse salt to taste
Pepper
Heat oil and cook garlic and shallot until shallot begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Then add tomato paste and stir well. Add rice, broth, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil them reduce heat to low, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let sit covered 5 minutes.
This dressing has a nice rich flavor – almost like that of the old Axelrod onion dip that I can’t find in stores any more. It’s very oniony and has just the right amount of spices. This also makes a great dip for veggies.
Makes 1 ¼ cups
2 T = 19 calories – very low cal for a salad dressing !
½ c plain low fat yogurt
½ c nonfat sour cream
1 green onion, minced
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 t lemon pepper
½ t honey
¼ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Whip together yogurt and sour cream. Stir in the rest and refrigerate to chill well.
Potatoes and cheese of any sort are just a winning combination. The parmesan in this recipe is a great hint of cheese without being overpowering.
4 servings
167 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. new potatoes
1 T margarine
1 T flour
¼ c chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t black pepper
Salt to taste
1 ½ c skim milk
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced very thin
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice potatoes into ¼ thick slices and place half of them in a square baking dish. Top with half the onions, then do another layer of potatoes and another layer of onions and sprinkle with salt. Melt margarine and stir in flour, parsley, garlic and pepper and then gradually add milk stirring until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and cover and bake ½ hour. Stir gently, recover and bake another 30 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over and bake another 20 minutes uncovered.
So very good ! You can stuff potatoes with just about anything but this recipe turns out a perfect twice baked potato – the sour cream and mozzarella are just perfect here.
4 servings
172 calories per serving
4 medium baking potatoes
1/3 c low fat sour cream
2 T chopped fresh basil and chives and parsley
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Skim milk
¼ c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean potatoes, dry them and prick them with a fork. Bake one hour. Cut a 1 inch slit in the top and spoon out pulp into a bowl. Do this gently so the skin stays in tact. Use a blender so you get nice whipped consistency and mix together the pulp, sour cream, herbs and parmesan cheese. Add a few tablespoons of milk if the mix is too dry. Stuff the mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle with mozzarella. Place in a baking dish and bake 20 minutes or refrigerate and then when you bake, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.
To hollow out the potatoes, after you bake them, let them cool and then follow the instructions in this video.
Steaming these first gives them a nice texture and with the added garlic cloves to eat with the potatoes, this is a heavenly side dish. The egg wash makes them brown up nicely, so don’t skip this step.
4 servings
155 calories per serving
2 large russet potatoes sliced into strips
1 egg white, lightly beaten
¼ t paprika
10 garlic cloves, whole
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam. Steam the potatoes and garlic 10 minutes to soften some. Then place all on the baking sheet and brush the egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes then season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
