Szechuan Pork and Veggies

I love, love, love Asian food. But you can not eat very healthy with all the oil and huge portions of rice they give you at restaurants. Therefore, mostly when I eat Asian, I make it at home. Luckily, most groceries carry a decent assortment of sauces to replicate those spicy, complex Asian flavors.

Szechuan Pork and Veggies

3/4 lb. boneless pork chop, trimmed of fat and cut into strips

3/4 lb. or about 3 c. of fresh broccoli cut into small pieces

10 white button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red pepper, cut into strips

1/2 small yellow onion, sliced

2 tbsp. lite soy sauce

1-2 tbsp. Szechaun sauce

Serves 2 - 380 calories each

In a large saute pan add peppers, broccoli and onion to about 1/2 c. water and a few tbsp. of soy sauce. You may need to cover the veggies for a few minutes to steam them. Once the veggies are cooked mostly all the way through, remove lid and allow the sauces to evaporate. Next add in raw strips of pork, Szechaun sauce and mushrooms. Stir frequently and cook thoroughly. 

You can certainly add brown or white rice to this if you want. 

Mini Zucchini Muffins - 25 calories a pop!

Growing up in a Southern home we ate a bit of zucchini bread. Now, I know there is no true substitute for the rich flavor of real butter and sugar, but I tried! Instead of opting for a bread I chose mini muffins, better portion control and they would freeze better. That is, if they last that long!

MINI ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

1 c. organic unbleached white whole wheat flour*

2/3 c. tapioca flour*

1/2 c. baking Splenda

1 -2 tsp. cinnamon (I prefer 2)

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 egg

1/2 c. Almond Breeze Coconut Almond Blend Unsweetened Vanilla Milk**

1 3/4 c. shredded fresh zucchini, unpeeled (about 2 - 7" small)

3 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp. orange zest (optional)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. granulated brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with baking spray (the kind with flour - or use paper muffin liners). In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients (flours, splenda, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt). In a smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients (zucchini, egg, milk, applesauce, vanilla, orange zest). Once both bowls are mixed well pour wet batter into dry bowl and mix until blended. 

Pour by tablespoon into mini muffin pan. Once all batter is poured out sprinkle tops with 1 tsp. granulated brown sugar (a little goes a long way with this stuff). You can add more if you like, it's only 10 calories per teaspoon. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until desired. Some folks like their muffins more moist than dry and vice versa. 

Recipe yields about 34 mini muffins - 25 calories each.

*If you only have one type of flour - you may use whatever you have, all purpose, rice flour, etc. This just happened to be what I had in the cupboard. Just make sure you are essentially using 1 2/3 c. flour. You will need to adjust the calories based on your substitution - my recipe total flour calories is 625.

**If you would rather use soymilk, skim milk, whole milk, etc. you may use that as well. Just adjust the calorie contents accordingly - my recipe uses 20 calories of the blended milk.

Broco Cauli Chicky Cheese Soup.

I've been craving broccoli cheese soup for awhile. The issue is that if you go out and try to get yourself a cup at a restaurant you will be paying pretty high in calories for it. The average for one cup is about 150-175 calories. So of course I had to fit foodie it up! Here's my version, coming in at only 68 calories per cup and it has chicken! Now this soup has several steps, make sure to read all the way through!

BROCO CAULI CHICKY CHEESE SOUP

1 lb. fresh broccoli crowns

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen cauliflower - you can use fresh too, but frozen is generally cheaper and easier!

7 c. water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tsp. Seitenbacher veggie broth seasoning (you can omit this if you like and sub another chicken or veggie bouillon cube)

7 oz. cooked chicken breast, shredded

2 oz. Cabot reduced fat Pepper Jack cheese

1 tbsp. corn starch

Here's what you do. 

Cook chicken breast with a little olive oil cooking spray, salt and pepper in the same pot you will be using to make your soup. Once mostly done, set aside to cool.

Next: Chop your broccoli into small florets. 

In the pot you cooked your chicken in add garlic, onion, seasonings and 2 cups of water. Do not clean or wipe out all that chickeny goodness in the bottom! Bring to a boil and add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook for several minutes until veggies are done but not overcooked and colorless. 

While that is cooking, shred your chicken using two forks.

If you prefer, you can dice instead. 

Next, remove about a cup and a half of the broccoli florets from the pot and set aside next to the chicken. We will re-add these later. The rest of the contents of the pot will go into a food processor or blender. Once blended to desired consistency add back in some of the cooked florets, pepper jack cheese and the chicken and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in 1/2 c. cold water mixed with corn starch to thicken soup a bit. 

Makes 10 - 1 cup servings - 68 calories each. 

**You don't have to blend it at all if you prefer a chunkier soup with a brothy quality. And you also don't have to pull out some florets before blending if it's too time consuming or you like the smoothness of the soup. I wouldn't recommend blending the chicken, that could be bizarre. I prefer a bit of texture to my soups. 

Fit Foodie Meatloaf!

I don't remember ever making meatloaf before in my life. It wasn't something we ate often growing up but for some reason I had a craving for it recently. Blame the weather, blame needing comfort food after a stressful last few weeks, blame the stars. Whatever the cause, here is what I made. I have to admit, it turned out better than I imagined!

FIT FOODIE MEATLOAF

Loaf:

1 lb. 96% lean ground beef

3 slices of light Italian bread (or any other light bread with 40 calories or less per slice)**

2 egg whites

2 tbsp. chili sauce

1/4 c. onion, diced

1/4 c. carrot, diced

1/4 c. green pepper, diced

1 tbsp. Worcestershire

2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. grated horseradish (from the bottle, not fresh)

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Adobo seasoning (you can omit this if you like)

1 tsp. black pepper

sea salt (use your own judgement)

Sauce:

1/4 c. chili sauce

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire

1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

The night before, set out 3 slices of light bread on your counter to dry out. Once the bread is crusty enough you can either a) put it in a food processor and grind to crumbs or b) place them in a plastic sandwich bag and using your palms (or a meat tenderizer mallet) crush to crumbs (this is what I did, and is much more fun). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with baking spray and set aside. In a large bowl combine all loaf ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands. Place into loaf pan and spread out evenly. Next combine all ingredients for the sauce into another bowl, mix well and spoon over the top of your loaf mixture. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Makes 6 good sized slices at 155 calories each. 

Take the leftover meatloaf (if there is any!) and make into meatloaf sandwiches!