Veggie Omelet

I did it! I finally found the knack for making perfect veggie omelets. The trick is to sautee a cup of vegetables separately, and cook two eggs on a 10″ non-stick pan, then add the veggies. I tried different combinations, sometimes egg whites only, other times combining a whole egg with one serving of egg whites.

Spinach & Turkey Meatballs Pizza on Tortilla

This is my healthy version of pizza on crispy thin crust, one that is under 200 calories. It’s fast and easy to make.

The recipe for the meatballs was from a previous post: Jessica Alba’s Turkey Meatballs

Start by covering a tortilla with shredded cheese and minced garlic. For this size of tortilla I used two tablespoons of Mexican style blend of shredded cheese from Costco.

Cover with spinach, after cutting the stems.

Slice the meatballs in four parts, using only three meatballs; then sprinkle a few shredded cheese for aesthetics

Put in oven toaster for 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it because my model burnt the edges of the tortilla on one side.

 

 

Celery Stuffed with Tuna Salad

The original recipe calls it Tuna Salad Celery Boats. I modified some ingredients so here’s my version:

• One small can light tuna in water
• 1 Tbsp mayo
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• 1-2 Tbsp onions
• 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed pepper flakes
• 1/8 Avocado
• 4-5 Grape Tomatoes

Mix the top five ingredients, season with salt and pepper. Spread on celery stalks, then add the chopped avocado and grape tomatoes. This recipe is good for three stalks (cut before the leafy section), but mine were skinny so I used up four. This is about 200-250 calories.

Quick & Easy Healthy Recipes

I continue to explore low calorie meals with carbs and protein, as I am trying to get fit and need to eat smaller meals every 4 hours. These meals range from 100 calories (deviled eggs) to 200 calories (tofu chowder). Healthy deviled eggs – instead of using egg yolk and mayonnaise I mixed a quarter of avocado with two grape tomatoes with a teeny bit of salt. RECIPE: Avocado Deviled Eggs The steak we had last night was too big, so I set aside some to make my favorite Vietnamese Beef Salad. Simply add thinly sliced steak to spring mix with carrots and onions. I only used a couple teaspoon of the sauce. The recipe is one of Prevention magazine’s Flat belly Diet Recipe. Even when I halved the quantity of ingredients I was still left with about a 1/3 cup of sauce. RECIPE: Vietnamese Beef Salad Well, not exactly a new recipe. These are stuff I add to a leafy salad, but I got tired of these ending up in the bottom of the serving bowl. Of course, they’re perfect as healthy finger food, and they look so appetizing on this brightly colored plate. The pine nuts provide protein. I have been using the recipe for the tofu chowder for years, but I realize now that it can get way too high in sodium if I’m not careful in choosing the ingredients. Avoid canned products, if possible. Look for the low sodium chicken broth. I used a cup frozen peas and carrots to save time, although back in Pakistan I could easily buy shelled fresh peas. RECIPE: Tofu and Corn Chowder

Mushrooms Stuffed with Garlic, Cheese, Tomatoes

Mince garlic and mix with shredded cheese. They can even be prepared ahead of time. I also use the mixture to stuff regular tomato halves for breakfast. Add herbs like thyme or rosemary if you like.

Dip or spray with olive oil. I used an imported basil-infused olive oil that a friend brought as a present.

It’s so nice to have an oven toaster. It only took me 3-5 minutes to roast these babies. The mushrooms were too small, though, so I used grape tomatoes. I will use bigger mushrooms next time as they taste better with more tomatoes and fresh basil.

Jessica Alba’s Turkey Meatballs

While not exactly a fan of Jessica Alba I like this recipe, which she shared thru Martha Stewart’s show. It can be served as appetizer, perhaps with sweet and sour sauce (not as good with ranch, or kung pao sauce, we tried). Obviously it is a healthier option for spaghetti with meatballs, and can also be a snack or munchie. The recipe yields 100 meatballs, each containing about 19 calories.

Chop 1/4 cup each of carrots, zucchini, and onions (as fine as you can). I didn’t have Italian seasoning so I improvised with basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.

Add two whole eggs and a cup of bread crumbs then mix everything. I used Progresso bread crumbs instead of Panko.

 

Shape in 1-inch balls. A teaspoon helped.

 

About 35 pieces fit in a 12-inch pan.

Add the chicken broth and cook until liquid is absorbed

 

Original Recipe: Turkey Meatballs

My husband liked it, while I thought it was too salty. My mistake was not adjusting the amount of salt when I did not have coarse sea salt. Even so, I will probably use only 1 tsp. instead of a tablespoon.

Yummy Carbs & Protein Bites

Carbs and protein, carbs and protein – my new mantra as I try to come up with pre-workout and post work-out bites.

Remember the leftover from yesterday’s tuna balls? Here’s what I did with it (and there’s still enough left for a few more balls).

The mushrooms are stuffed with minced garlic, grape tomatoes, shredded cheese, and ground thyme. I used a mini-muffin pan, which was the perfect size for keeping the mushrooms upright. Before putting everything in the oven, I infused the olive oil with garlic by heating them up in a pan. Don’t forget to spray coat the baking pan with olive oil. It only takes 5 minutes to cook it at 400F. The bell pepper stuffed with tuna and mushroom stalks took 15 minutes, and if you want it softer make it 20-25 minutes.

Baked Tuna Balls

Here’s my version of tuna balls – just 40 calories each, great as snack, for pre-workout or post-workout munch, or perhaps even pasta. I did not have sweet potato so I used regular potato. I also added onions, but will use celery next time just because I always like my tuna salad with celery.

My new diet is challenging my creativity. Eating a complete but small meal of carbs and proteins every three hours, and stick to 1,200-1,400 calories a day. So I am constantly looking for something to eat that is 200 calories, and am pleased with this one. Just need to tweak it some more for my taste buds – too much cilantro I think.

The bread crumbs can be gluten-free. I also wonder if parsley would be better than cilantro.

 

Mix everything together except the corn flakes crumbs

 

I grind corn flakes for the crumb coating, but you can use regular or gluten-free crumbs, too

I use a cookie dough scoop for consistent size, then roll them to coat in cornflakes crumbs

I made 12 balls with a third left, which I kept in the fridge. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy with or without your favorite sauce.

The original recipe is called Sweet Potato & Tuna Balls.