Healthy Eats-Along 2013

[thisbirdsabsurd]

Miracle noodles??  They're made of glucomannon (for constipation - ha!) and have zero nutritional value.  I'll pass on the stinky air. 
  I made some deeee-licious spinach artichoke chicken last night! 
Four free range chicken breasts topped with  half a can of artichoke hearts, 5 oz. spinach, 1/4 c non fat Greek yogurt, 1/4 c light mayo and a clove of chopped garlic, a chopped shallot and 1/2c shredded mozzarella.
  Salt and pepper the chicken and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. (You can put a small amount of olive oil in the pan so it won't stick.)
  Remove the chicken form the oven and spread the artichoke/spinach mixture over the top and bake for another 20 minutes.  Let stand 5 min.  I think you could even double the topping mixture and still keep the calories pretty low -
  I always hate cooking chicken breasts alone because they dry out so easily - but this one turned out delicious!  So delicious that we ate it before we could take a picture. 

[MareMare]

How is everyone doing? I'm making a taco soup tonight and thought I'd share. It's yummy and full of fiber rich beans! You can make it with or without meat. Tonight I'm being lazy and using some leftover rotisserie chicken. I originally ate this when I was on Weight Watchers, but looking for the recipe today I had a little bit of trouble finding the exact one. You can add more beans or veggies if you like. You can't really mess it up. The refried beans make it nice and thick!

Easy Taco Soup
Meat, if using. 1/2 a pound to 1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey, or about 2 cups cooked chicken breast
1 can diced tomatoes, or Rotel, or stewed tomatoes, whatever
(I puree mine a bit because I don't like cooked tomato chunks)
1 jar salsa (16 ounces-ish is probably good, this is a very forgiving recipe)
1 can refried beans
1 can beans (black, kidney, pinto, whatever), drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 package ranch dressing, dry (you can omit for less sodium)
1 package taco seasoning (I make my own, and use about 1 Tablespoon because it's spicy!)
Chicken or veggie broth (2-4 cups)

Brown the ground meat first if using, otherwise just throw everything into a pot, starting with just 2 cups of broth. Mix everything together and bring to simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, adjusting spices and adding more broth as you like. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro.

[LimeRiot]

Mare, I bet that soup would be good with the veggie crumble fake taco meat stuff! I'm going to give it a try. It's nice that most of those ingredients are things I regularly have on hand.

I've been trying out a lot of new veggie recipes lately! It's fun to experiment and most dishes have turned out to be at least edible .

I made those soufflés tonight and they were really yummy! I've always been intimidated by soufflés but these were pretty easy.
http://www.lifescript.com/food/healthy_recipes/recipe_collections/meatless/10_low-cal_vegetarian_entrees/4.aspx

[MareMare]

That looks good! I have been craving goat cheese lately, will have to go buy some!

[MissingWillow]

Thanks for posting that, LimeRiot!  I'm always looking for goat cheese recipes. 

[LimeRiot]

Here are some recipes I've tried and liked the past couple of weeks! Have you discovered any new healthy recipes lately?

burrito filling baked in phyllo dough - I mostly followed the recipe but I think you could fill these with just about anything and they'd be yummy
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/crispy-chipotle-bean-burritos/

rainbow stir fry - the sauce is made with orange concentrate that added a nice sweetness
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/rainbow-stir-fry/

brie and egg strata - we like to have breakfast for dinner
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/vegetarian/vegetarian-casseroles-00412000072113/

vegetarian wellington - the pesto/goat cheese mix in this was really delicious and I'm sure they'd be yummy with meat too!
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegetables-wellington/

[craftylittlemonkey]

Breakfast for the past few days, so happy to get back into green smoothies! My system is taking a bit to adjust though, that's a first. Usually my bod is just so happy to get fed the good stuff it jumps for joy. Interesting how things change as we age .

[MareMare]

So pretty! What's in the bottom? Pepitas? Oats?

[craftylittlemonkey]

The bottom layer is soaked raisins, dates, gogi berries, elderberries, and another super food berry the name of which escapes me at the moment, then soaked pumpkin seeds, then hemp and chia seeds. Spinach, frozen fruit, juice, and banana in the kids portion. It's pretty creamy with all those seeds, and it's purpley. My kids hate it though, sigh. It keeps me full for hours, and it's way more energizing than coffee (which I've given up, along with wine so yay me!).

[TkRainy]

I hate cooking, so my boyfriend and I don't eat too well. (He NEVER cooks... Unless it's meat.) We're making an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables, so we've started making smoothies. I love adding vegetables to these because you don't really taste them. I only add vegetables, fruits, fat free milk, non-fat yogurt, and sometimes emergen-C to our smoothies. I'm also making an effort to learn how to cook simple but wholesome meals. I love to make homemade baked mac and cheese, but that's full of carbs. I make the cheese sauce and everything though.

I'm only 20, and we haven't been able to move out of his moms yet, and she likes to eat our food because she's too lazy to go get her own groceries and that makes it hard for us to eat healthy sometimes. She got groceries today... Enough for a dinner tonight. So that's annoying...

Does anyone have any tips for easy and healthy meals? Keep in mind that I am super beginner... My stepmom never bothered trying to teach me how to cook -.- Or clean. I know a lot of kids think it's annoying when their parents give them chores to do but how else are you going to learn for when you move out?