This is a great low cal side and is perfect alongside an Asian inspired dish. If you can’t find fresh bean sprouts, the canned ones work just fine here !
4 servings
81 calories per serving
4 cups mung bean sprouts
½ c scallions, sliced
6 t ginger root, minced
2 T garlic, sliced
½ t salt
1 t pepper
1 T oil
Heat oil and stir fry ginger and garlic for 1 minute then add sprouts, scallions, salt and pepper. Continue to cook 2-3 minutes then serve.
We all know how hard it can be to find prepared foods and snacks that are good for us. Well, Lifestyle Foods has some awesome products that solve that problem – all are healthy options, and all are prepared and ready to grab out of the fridge making them just as convenient as grabbing those cookies or that full of fat hot pocket from the freezer – – healthy eating just got a lot easier !
The food is available online (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) where you can mix and match and create your own personalized pack of snacks. Or if you are in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area, you can find the products in 7-11, Sheetz, and Royal Farms locations throughout New Jersey, in a few Hudson News locations including JFK Airport, and most Giant locations across Pennsylvania. There are soups, salads, snack packs, breakfasts, stand along snacks – more than enough choices to keep the pickiest of eaters happy.
Look at these low calorie counts !
Apple Wedges – 30 calories
Shred Snack – Chicken strips and cheddar cheese cubes – 175 calories
Essential Snack – Mini bagel with cream cheese, hard boiled egg, apple wedges – 200 calories
Manhattan Snack – Hummus, pita bread, carrots, cheddar cheese – 240 calories
Hollywood Snack – Honey wheat pretzels, apple wedges, grapes, cheddar cheese – 200 calories
Glam Snack – Apple wedges, grapes, almonds – 150 calories
Mac Snack – Mac and cheese cubes, grapes – 110 calories
Obsessed Snack – Greek yogurt and honey graham sticks – 150 calories
Head on over to Lifestyle Foods (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) and grab some snack foods that are guilt free !
This is a great appetizer – breaded eggplant, ricotta and tomato bruschetta. It’s like an inside out eggplant rollatini with a topping of bruschetta and herbs.
6 servings
177 calories per serving
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced
Salt
½ c Egg Beaters
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
¾ c breadcrumbs
¼ c parmesan cheese
2 T olive oil (save ½ t for tomatoes)
14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained well
2 t white vinegar
1 c fat free ricotta cheese
Chopped basil
Slice the eggplant thinly and lay rounds on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and let sit ½ so pull out some of the bitterness. Rinse and pat dry. Mix eggs, salt and pepper. Mix breadcrumbs, garlic and cheese. Heat 1 T oil in skillet. Dip eggplant in egg and then crumbs to coat. Work in batches and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Add extra oil in between batches. Drain on paper towels. Place on a platter and top each round with some ricotta cheese. Mix tomatoes and vinegar and ½ t oil and divide among eggplant rounds. Garnish with chopped basil.
This is a fantastic dish – the feta cheese brings a nice flavor and makes the dish much more special. It’s a great balanced meal in a bowl – all your protein, veggies and carbs all in one nice package.
6 servings
373 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. pork tenderloin
1 t coarsely ground pepper
2 T oil
½ t Kitchen Bouquet (flavoring in the gravy or spice section of your market)
3 qt. water
1 ¼ c orzo
¼ t salt
6 oz. baby spinach
1 c grape tomatoes, halved
¾ c reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled
Lemon juice
Rub pepper into meat and cut into bite sized pieces then cook in oil over medium heat for 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in Kitchen Bouquet and stir well. Cook pasta for 9 minutes in boiling water and then stir in spinach and cook a minute longer. Add tomatoes to the pork and cook 1 minute then add the drained orzo and finally add the feta cheese. Just before serving, splash with some fresh lemon juice.
This is one of my daughter’s favorite dishes and she made it up for me the other night. My goodness, this has to be one of the best things I have EVER eaten. You can taste each individual spice and it’s like heaven on earth.
4 servings
403 calories per serving
Marinade:
1 c plain non fat yogurt
1 T lemon juice
2 t ground cumin
1 t cinnamon
2 t cayenne pepper
2 t black pepper
1 T ginger, minced
2 t salt
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken cut into bite size pieces
Sauce:
1 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced and then cut the rounds in half
2 t ground cumin
1 ½ t coriander
¼ t cardamom
¼ t turmeric
2 t paprika
¼ t cayenne
2 t salt
4 oz. tomato paste mixed with 4 oz. water
1 c heavy cream
¼ c cilantro, chopped
Mix all the marinade ingredients except the chicken. Place chicken in a zip loc bag and add the yogurt mix. Mush it around to coat all the chicken and then refrigerate 1 hour to overnight. Preheat grill. Grill chicken in a grill basket 5-6 minutes or until done. (You can also broil 4 minute a side)
Melt butter and sauté garlic and jalapeno 1 minute then add all the spices, tomato paste mix and cream. Simmer 15 minutes to thicken. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes to heat through. Garnish with cilantro.
This ginger dressing rivals those served at Japanese steakhouse. Make a batch up and use it on salads and even atop fresh tomatoes as a great side dish to any meal.
3 servings
167calories per serving
2 T minced onion
3 T peanut oil
2 T distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 T finely grated fresh ginger
1T ketchup
1 T soy sauce
1/4 t minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium tomatoes, sliced thinly
Combine onion, oil, vinegar, ginger, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender. Process until combined. Lay tomato slices on a platter and drizzle with dressing.
This is one of those recipes where you just don’t miss the meat – not one bit ! Roasting the veggies first gives them a great flavor, then you add chili powder, then you add rice simmered with chipotle for the smoky flavor and then you add CHEESE ! This is a satisfying, perfect lunch.
4 servings
380 calories per serving
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/3 c water
½ c brown rice
1 T minced canned chipotle in adobo sauce
4 bell peppers cut into thin strips
4 medium carrots thinly sliced
1 T oil
1 T chili powder
6 oz. fresh spinach leaves thinly sliced
4 10 inch burritos
¾ c low fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese
½ c salsa (optional)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring water to a boil and add rice and 1 t salt along with the diced chipotle. Cover and cook 45 minutes then remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Toss pepper, carrots, oil and chili powder in a baking pan and roast about ½ hour then add spinach and toss. Warm tortillas and add rice, cheese and veggies and wrap. Serve with salsa.
Here a quick video on how to create a wrap so it does not leak
[youtube]ydEdNouwsbI[/youtube]
We all know how hard it can be to find prepared foods and snacks that are good for us. Well, Lifestyle Foods has some awesome products that solve that problem – all are healthy options, and all are prepared and ready to grab out of the fridge making them just as convenient as grabbing those cookies or that full of fat hot pocket from the freezer – – healthy eating just got a lot easier ! 
With so many options (and all of them tasting GREAT), you could live off these little meals and snacks. And that is precisely what I’ve done for a few days as I’ve been taste testing and reviewing all the different options. My goodness, there are so many things to choose from and one tastes better than the next. They definitely get a thumbs up rating from me !
The food is available online (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) where you can mix and match and create your own personalized pack of snacks. Or if you are in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area, you can find the products in 7-11, Sheetz, and Royal Farms locations throughout New Jersey, in a few Hudson News locations including JFK Airport, and most Giant locations across Pennsylvania. There are soups, salads, snack packs, breakfasts, stand along snacks – more than enough choices to keep the pickiest of eaters happy.
I would love to see this product line on shelves in every food store, in every convenience store, and in all colleges across the nation – how great it would be if college students all had easy access to prepared foods that they can eat on the run or place in their dorm refrigerators for easy access to healthy snacks.
The quality is stupendous, the taste is great, the combinations are well thought out, the packaging is minimal (which is an added bonus in my mind!) and the calorie count is way low. Add a piece of fruit and some nuts as a dessert to one of the salads and you have a complete meal. Or instead of 2 slices of pizza next meal, have one slice and one of these quick salads next to it. Eating healthier is so much easier when great options are a few steps away and READY TO EAT.
Below you’ll see a list of all the products I’ve tried and some misc. comments – even if you don’t have time to read the info, please do yourself and your family a favor and grab some of these items. When they are there in the fridge ready to eat, you will find that you grab them. I have, my husband has, my teenage daughter has – and we all feel better because of it !
SOUP + SALAD
The soups are fresh and tasty and if they were packaged separately, I would be buying them up ! They do not taste like Campbells’s canned soup – they are fresh and scrumptious. The salad dressings appear to be low fat options and more than enough is provided, even for dressing hogs like me.
My favorite here is the Tomato Basil soup – oh my goodness ! Just a little chunky; actually the perfect texture. Super taste.
The only thing here is I would recommend NOT using the cardboard as the microwave stand – if it opens up after you grab the soup, you could end up with hot soup all over the place 🙁 And you certainly don’t want to waste even a spoonful of the yummy soup !
Chicken Noodle+ Caesar – 120 calories
Vegetable and Garden – 90 calories
Tomato Basil and Garden – 120 calories
SALADS
The salad dressings appear to be low fat options and more than enough is provided, even for dressing hogs like me. The dressings are very flavorful.
The chicken salad is white meat only and for only 190 calories you are FULL when you are done – the portioning is fantastic. The tuna salad is equally as fresh and quality tuna is definitely used. The chicken in the cobb salad has a nice little kick to it – this could actually use a little more lettuce for all the add ins and dressing you get.
Taco Salad – 160 calories
Caesar with Chicken – 220 calories
Garden with Italian – 80 calories
Garden with Ranch – 120 calories
BLT with Ranch – 200 calories
Tuna Salad and Romaine – 210 calories
Chicken Salad and Romaine – 190 calories
Cobb with Ranch – 220 calories
SNACKS
All the apple wedges are crisp and fresh without any flavor of the agent used to keep them from browning (ascorbic acid).
Veggies are sweet, cheese is mild and fresh, dips are zesty – great snack attack packs.
Apple Wedges – 30 calories
Shred Snack – Chicken strips and cheddar cheese cubes – 175 calories
Essential Snack – Mini bagel with cream cheese, hard boiled egg, apple wedges – 200 calories
Manhattan Snack – Hummus, pita bread, carrots, cheddar cheese – 240 calories
Hollywood Snack – Honey wheat pretzels, apple wedges, grapes, cheddar cheese – 200 calories
Glam Snack – Apple wedges, grapes, almonds – 150 calories
Mac Snack – Mac and cheese cubes, grapes – 110 calories
Obsessed Snack – Greek yogurt and honey graham sticks – 150 calories
BREAKFASTS
The oatmeal was so hearty and such a grand portion ! I might add a little honey or nuts to make it even better. But this is a great little package even as is.
Awake Snack – Granola, apples, grapes, trail mix – 170 calories
Oatmeal and Apple – Whole apple, steel cut oatmeal (with turbinado sugar and raisins to add in)- 230 calories
Lifestyle Foods (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) have snacks and mini meals to satisfy your sweet tooth or your craving for savory food – they have it all. They provide nutritious, ready to eat, delicious snacks that compliment a healthy lifestyle.
This is a very traditional dish that has been skinnied up – but don’t think it’s short on the flavor !
4 servings
275 calories per serving
4 5 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 c shredded Swiss cheese
2 T low fat cream cheese
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 T chopped parsley
4 t oil, divided
1/4 c chopped ham
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Mix swiss and cream cheese. Mix some pepper with the breadcrumbs and parsley then add 2 t oil. Heat 2 t oil in an oven proof skillet and cook the chicken 2-3 minutes per side to brown it. Move chicken to a baking sheet sprayed with Pam and spread with cheese. Sprinkle with ham and breadcrumbs. Bake 7-8 minutes or until done.
No peeling, quick boil time, easy dressing – this one is GREAT ! You could not even guess that low fat yogurt makes up half the dressing 🙂
8 servings
112 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. small new potatoes quartered (16 or so)
1 c celery, sliced thin
1 c sliced baby carrots
1/3 c light mayonnaise
1/3 c plain low fat yogurt
¼ c thinly sliced green onions
2 T white vinegar
¼ t pepper
½ t salt
Cook potatoes 8-10 minutes in salted water. Add carrots and celery and cook another 4 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl and chill 2 – 24 hours. Mix mayo, yogurt, onions, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve. When ready to serve mix dressing with potatoes.
