Lean and Green Recipes

Thin cut boneless pork chops. Broiled in the oven. Spiced with a dash of black pepper and garlic powder. Garlic powder is my one of my best friends in the kitchen. I tend to put it on everything.

Along with my pork chops I usually alternate between sauerkraut baked on top for 30 minutes and steamed zucchini and mushrooms sprinkled with…you guessed it Garlic powder!

Turkey burger that is pan fried. I use a non-fat olive oil cooking spray to coat the pan. Medium heat with some pepper on top. Cover with a lid and cook for probably 20 minutes. I think I usually flip them twice during the twenty minutes to make sure they don’t burn.

For some of us who like a bun with our burger I found a couple alternatives to help satisfy that fact that it is just a piece of meat sitting on a plate.

The last two minutes of cooking you can add your allotted portion of your favorite BBQ sauce. Sugar free is recommended but I just dab whatever I have in my fridge on top. Not smother, just lightly coat the top. This gives it an extra kick. If you want a little more portion control you can always keep the BBQ sauce on the side and dip it after it’s all done cooking.

Or

In a pan, put a teaspoon or a little more of smart balance butter. It’s 95 % fat free and doesn’t even count towards your fat serving. Melt the butter then add, a bunch of cut up asparagus. (Side note: Before eating any asparagus, make sure and take a potato peeler and peel the bottom half of the asparagus down a bit. This ensures it gets nice and done. I really don’t like any of my asparagus to be crunchy and raw tasting.) Then take a package of mushrooms. About a handful or two depending on the size. Pull of the stems and throw them away then cut them in half. I would start the asparagus off first for about five minutes. Cover with a lid and let steam on medium heat. Then add the mushroom halves. Cover and steam for another five minutes. Take the lid off when they are as steamed as you like and fry until it adds a little crisp. Measure the asparagus and mushroom mixture and pour over the cut up turkey burgers.
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Black Bean Garden burgers
I found mine at the local Costco. These contain only veggies. Serving size is almost two full patties. These are mildly spicy and to me taste kind of like a fajita. The black bean taste is very strong, so obviously if you’re not a fan of black beans you probably won’t like these. I have not tried a wide variety of garden burgers, but I do not care for regular ones. If the idea of a garden burger throws you off, these are worth a try. They cook for about 22 minutes baking in the oven. (Real directions on the box) and are to be flipped half way through cooking. With about 5-2 minutes left cooking add a thin layer of teriyaki sauce on top. For some reason this just adds the extra flavor they seem to be missing.

Two great veggie sides are steamed broccoli or steamed zucchini. If you don’t use your entire portion of teriyaki on top of the burgers (you really only need a very thin layer) drizzle some on top of your veggies too.

Taco salad.
I buy a bag of pre-shredded lettuce, and have my allotted ounces of hamburger meat. Then I add some cut up tomatoes, salsa, and a dab of sour cream. This is altogether a pretty big serving. This is an on the run type of dinner. I usually get a huge amount of hamburger meat and brown it. Add the taco seasoning. Then weigh out the five ounce servings and freeze them. On a night you don’t feel like making dinner, take the baggie of meat and microwave it to reheat it and add the rest of the ingredients. It takes less than five minutes to make.

Chicken Cesar salad
This is also an easy make dinner. I buy romaine lettuce pre cut. One bag is usually a tad more than a serving size but it’s close. You can buy pre-cooked, pre-sliced, grilled chicken strips from Costco and microwave them for a quick heat up or toss them in a pan with some non stick fat free olive oil spray. In the beginning the entire diet was a big change, cooking for myself every night. I relied on the quick dinners for the first few weeks. I got tired of the pre-cooked chicken and now prefer to cut up my own chicken breast and season it, and cook it up in a little bit of olive oil. I also use a light Cesar dressing and it tastes just as good as the regular. I add three tablespoons of the dressing shake it all up and it’s good to go. This is also a good meal if you are going to a dinner party or a meeting to just bring along with you. I try and put the dressing in a separate container and add it when I am ready to eat so the lettuce doesn’t get soggy.

I have plenty more that I cook on a regular basis. For now this is all I have the time or patience for. I will add another blog recipe list coming up soon.