this sounds soooo good! one question though... does it HAVE to be kraft cheese? or can it be any other brand?

City Fried Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded (or use the thin cut)
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
2 egg whites, beaten
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges *optional

Season chicken generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place egg whites in a shallow dish or plate. Whisk in cheese, and parsley. Dredge each chicken piece through the egg mixture, shaking off excess, and set in flour. Shake the plate so chicken pieces get coated, turn chicken over and repeat. Shake off all of the excess flour. Lay on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and set next to stove.
Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick pan over medium high heat. When hot but not smoking, add chicken and cook, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges.

*This recipe is very versatile; I use it plain (like above), in Chicken Parmesan (just add side of pasta & sauce), and I've also tossed it in Buffalo sauce to make great Buffalo Chicken Salads/Sandwiches.

Nutrition Information:
Nutritional Analysis per serving Calories 280 Fat 5 g Saturated Fat 1.4 g Carbohydrates 24 g Fiber 1 g Protein 32 g

Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 Hours
Ready in: 2 Hours 20 Minutes

MEATBALLS
1 pound ground beef (*use extra lean) OR ground turkey
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

Sauce
3/4 cup chopped onion
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (*no salt added)
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
In a large bowl, combine ground beef (or turkey), bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, ½ teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Puree sauce (not meatballs) in blender or food processor (if desired). Serve.

*I don't have the nutrition info. for this on hand, but my mother-in-law looked it over and approved, and her husband is on a low-fat heart healthy diet, so it must be decent.

Asparagus with Shaved Parmesan
(great side dish with grilled meats/poultry)

1 pound thin asparagus spears
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese (don't use the powdery grated kind)
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or to taste (I use less - just drizzle it)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Place asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer. Spread Parmesan cheese over asparagus, and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and asparagus is tender but crisp. Serve immediately on warm plates, sprinkling with balsamic vinegar to taste.

Per Serving: 78 Calories; 6g Fat (60.5% calories from fat); 2g Saturated Fat; 4g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 133mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.

Low fat Refried Beans

1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 large onion, quartered
1 1/3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/3 drops hot sauce (or to taste)
salt (to taste)
*may add garlic powder or more hot sauce to taste after done

Place beans in saucepan, cover with water, add onion & garlic cloves, simmer for about 30-45 minutes or until everything is tender, adding more water to cover if needed. Drain beans. Transfer beans, garlic & onion to food processor, puree. Add hot sauce, cumin & salt. If too thick, add small amounts of water & stir. Add any additional seasonings, serve.

Nutritional Analysis: One 1/2-cup serving equals 180 calories, 1 g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 6 mg sodium, 34 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 11 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable.

Grilled Steak Fajitas

Flank steak *be sure to prep with diamond-type cuts across top required for this cut of beef*
Steak marinade (I use KC Masterpiece Steakhouse Marinade)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
Canola oil, salt & pepper
Tortillas

Put steak in ziplock bag to marinade (about 30 minutes or more).
Cut peppers & onion into slices, toss with canola oil & season with salt & pepper. Preheat grill to medium.
Let steak sit at room temp. for about 10 minutes before cooking. Cook steak on medium heat on grill for about 6-7 minutes on each side (medium rare). Let rest.
Put veggies in grill basket (if you don't have one, leave the peppers & onion in larger pieces & slice after done), cook until tender.
Warm tortillas in oven in foil.
Serve with optional lettuce, light sour cream, low fat cheese. I like serving the previous recipe for lowfat refried beans with these.

Nutrition info. for steak:
Serving size: 3 oz. Calories: 180 Fat: 9g, Sat. fat: 4g Cholesterol: 60mg

Pasta Primavera

2 cups broccoli florets
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup (lowfat or nonfat), undiluted
1 large carrot, julienned
1/2 cup milk (skim)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (lowfat or nonfat)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups cooked spaghetti

In a large saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in spaghetti; heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (prepared with low-fat cream of chicken soup, skim milk & nonfat Parmesan topping) equals 238 calories, 425 mg sodium, 8 mg cholesterol, 43 g carbohydrate, 11 g protein, 2 g fat, 3 g fiber. Diabetic exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 1/2 fat.

you should be able to use whatever cheese you like. I usually use sargento, I'm not a fan of kraft.

Okay, this isn't really a recipe but if you have a hubby like me who likes to BBQ here is a super fast, easy dinner.

1) Zucchini, sliced longways down the middle, seasoned with salt and pepper and a little olive oil.

2) Frozen turkey burgers.

3) Lettuce and tomato. Cheese if you want it.

My husband cooks the turkey burgers on the grill (don't defrost) and seasons them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Grill the zucchini at the same time. Serve the turkey burgers on top of a few lettuce leaves and tomato slices. Top with cheese if you want and your favorite condiments.

I like this recipe because there is no mess to clean up in the kitchen, the turkey is high in protein and low in fat, and you can basically eat as much as you want of everything without worrying about how many calories you just consumed.

Great thread!!

I think I posted this someplace else, but it seems more appropriate here, so sorry for the duplicate.....I was watching 'The Biggest Loser' last night and Jillian did a great recipe!!! You buy those 'Ziplock Zip n Steam' bags. Fill them with cut up fresh veggies, like zucchini and peppers and whatever you like. (The cooking times are right on the bags) then add some seasonings, I put in a couple shakes of Ms Dash, and steam! What a fabulous way to get your veggies for the day and have a great low fat lunch to boot!!! You can also add a chicken breast or some shrimp, the times for meats is on the bags as well.....

This recipe is not only lite, but is super easy and super quick. I found it on the internet, so I can't take any credit for it!

1 cup plain couscous, regular or whole grain (you can also use pastina, or any other grain that cooks in 5 mins or less)
1 can low sodium no fat chicken broth
1 can chickpeas, drained
carrots (if it's the baby carrots, I chop up a bunch; otherwise one or two regular carrots will do ya!)
1 rib of celery, thinly chopped
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp minced garlic (doesn't need to be fresh - I use the jar stuff!)
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a deep skillet (must have a lid), heat oil and garlic for a minute over med low heat. Add carrots, celery, salt and pepper and stir around for another 5-10 mins (I like my carrots with a little less crunch, but either way, it's up to you).

Add chickpeas and cranberries, cinnamon, and cumin. Heat through, about 2 mins, stirring a bit. Add broth, bring up to a boil. Once the broth is boiling, add couscous, stir, turn off heat, cover with lid.

Walk away and come back in 5 mins. Remove cover, dinner is served!

I love to pair this with some roasted squash - yummy. Makes a great lunch too. If you reheat in microwave, add 1/2 tsp water first.

Enjoy!!

my friend told me about this last week, but a way to make cake a little more healthier is to substitute diet pop for the water,eggs, oil, butter in cake mix. so basically mix 1 pouch of cake mix with 1 can of diet pop. (that's it!)

we tried it recently with red velvet cake and diet cherry coke, a dozen cupcakes turned out great!

So this sounds odd, but it's a good light snack.

1 piece of turkey bolognia
1T low fat chive flavored cream cheese.

spread cream cheese in bolognia and roll. warp tin foil around it and place in fridge till it's time to eat.

I know it's odd, but not too bad and VERY easy to make.

I made this one for lunch today. It was very easy and tastes good!

Salsa Chicken:

2 cups brown rice (can use quick cook to make a faster version of the recipe)
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (15oz) black beans; rinsed and drained
1 1/2 - 2 cups chunky salsa (mild, medium or hot depending on preference)
1 can (11oz) whole kernel corn; drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or dried cilantro to taste)

Prepare rice according to directions. While rice is cooking, heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides (about 10 mins). Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over hot cooked rice.