Recipes With a Twist
400 calories or less
Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup
Jul 26th
Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup
This post is long overdue. Last few days it was little hard to keep up with things. Even though it is getting late at night, I decided today I will make an effort to get back on track 
.
I made this soup few weeks ago as I experimented with these two ingredients: Brown Lentils and Collard Greens. I had tried both of them in separate recipes and my son enjoyed them all. This time I wanted to make something with both greens and lentils with a mild flavor that my son will enjoy as well. It made a great nutritious low calorie soup for us and since my son enjoyed it couple of days in a row (with rice and butter), I am happily tagging this recipe as ‘Toddler Friendly’.
You need:
1 red onion, onions
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 bay leaf
3 large cloves garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1 small zucchini , chopped
1 cup brown lentils
1.5 cups collard greens, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp salt / or to taste
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot or a pressure cooker
2. Add bay leaf and garlic and fry for few seconds.
3. Add onions, fry on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Add carrots and zucchini and cook for few minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, cumin powder, salt, nutmeg, clove powder and turmeric powder and cook for couple of minutes.
6. Add brown lentils, collard greens and about 6 cups water and pressure cook for about 15 minutes.
7. If not using pressure cooker then cook for about 40-50 minutes on low-medium heat until brown lentils are cooked and vegetables are tender.
8. Adjust water and seasonings as per taste
9. Add lemon juice and oregano.
Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup
Serve hot! Its tastes great with toasted sourdough bread and makes a wholesome quick lunch – add some rice to the soup, lunch packed in less than 5 minutes
Moroccan Style Red lentil and Garbanzo Soup (Low Calorie)
May 31st
Moroccan Style Red lentil and Garbanzo Soup
Today I tried Moroccan Lentil and Garbanzo soup at Sweet Tomatoes. The soup was great- light, chunky, flavorful and apparently low calorie just the way I like my soups. I guess I liked it so much that I came home, looked up a few recipes and decided to make a batch for dinner (while I was cooking Mint Chicken Biryani for my husband!). The soup I tried had brown lentils but I did not have any on hand, so I decided to go with Red lentils. The mint aroma from the chicken biryani was so appetizing that I decided to throw in some fresh mint leaves as well. So an addition here and an omission there, what I have is Moroccan ‘Style’ Red lentil and Garbanzo Soup. The soup turned out great, we all had big bowls including my son- I added some rice and butter in his bowl. It has all ‘good for you’ ingredients-yellow squash, lentils, garbanzo beans, garlic and spices minus the not so needed cream and extra fat! Bonus: It passes my ‘toddler test’ so I am happily tagging it as toddler friendly. A large bowl or this soup with a side salad or bread also makes it a perfect filling 400 calorie lunch or 500 calorie dinner.
You need:
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 x 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
a pinch saffron strands, crushed
20-25 sprigs fresh cilantro
10-15 mint leaves
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1/3 cup red lentils cleaned and rinsed
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans, boiled
1 bay leaf
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add bay leaf, followed by garlic and cook for few seconds. Add the onions, and cook for 5 -6 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add celery and cook for couple of minutes. Add squash, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, salt, saffron, cilantro, mint and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until spices and herbs are nicely blended with the vegetables. Add 8 cups of water and bring it to boil. Add red lentils, reduce heat and simmer covered for about 20 minutes. Add garbanzo beans and simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes. Add black pepper to taste and serve hot.
Serves 8- if you like big servings
Mediterranean Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup
May 9th
Mediterranean Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup
Couple of weeks ago I tried red lentils soup at a local Mediterranean restaurant. It was light and flavorful and perfect for lunch. Although it did resemble a bit like Indian red lentils dish and we call it ‘lal masoor dal’ and it is commonly served as a main dish with rice or Indian flatbreads for dinner. I tried to make a similar soup but decided to add fresh pumpkin as well. It added nice sweetness to otherwise meaty flavored red lentils. My two year old son liked it as well so I am tagging it as ‘Toddler Friendly’.
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium tomato
2 cups chopped pumpkin
1 cup red lentils
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
salt to taste ( 1 tsp or so)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker/large pot. Add bay leaf and garlic and fry for few seconds. 2. Add onions and fry until medium brown.
3. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, nutmeg and cook on medium high for about five minutes.
Mediterranean Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup-chopped pumpkin
4. Add red lentils, 6-8 cups of water and pressure cook for about 15 minutes. If using a pot, bring to boil and cook on medium for about 30 minutes (until lentils and pumpkin are well cooked and blended with water).
5. If needed, blend the pumpkin with lentils using a ladle.
6. Stir in fresh cilantro, sugar and lemon juice.
Serve hot with bread to make a complete meal.
Baby spinach salad with carrot and cucumber ribbons
May 2nd
Baby Spinach Salad with carrot and cucumber spinach ribbons
With days warming up a bit, I prefer having salads for lunch or as side (sometimes bigger than a side portion) for dinner. I am big fan of low calorie salsa based mexican style salads-which one of these days I will put together for my blog as well. However, these days I am experimenting with baby spinach and carrots and I am loving it. Here is a low calorie salad with a light home made dressing made with buttermilk. I use carrot and cucumber shavings that add lot of crunch to the salad and the buttermilk dressing is absolutely refreshing.
You need:
For Salad-
3 cups chopped baby spinach
1/2 cup yellow corn (I used canned)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots
2 cucumbers
topping of your choice – I prefer some crushed baked pita chips (Stacy’s)
Garlic Buttermilk Dressing-
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic spread and seasoning
few dashes of Frank’s hot sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and mix well before serving.
Directions:
1. Put the chopped baby spinach leaves in a large salad bowl.
2. Using a potato peeler, peel the carrots and cucumber into thin ribbons. Cut them with shears, if needed
3. Microwave the corn for couple of minutes ( put in a bowl with some water) anddrain. Add to salad.
4. Add the peppers and dressing and toss. Do not pour all dressing at once, increase quantity as you prefer.
5. Optional – add a topping of your choice – handful of croutons /baked pita chips
Serve with a side of soup and/or bread. Serves 3-4.
Fitness tip: Depending on your portion size you can create your custom 300/400/500 calorie menu. A large salad plate with 2- 2.5 tbsp dressing should not exceed 200 calories
Mexican style vegetable soup with black beans and rice
Mar 20th
Mexican style Vegetable soup with black beans and rice
Low Fat Chicken Noodle Soup
Mar 11th
Chicken Noodle Soup
On cold winter evenings, I love having a big bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner. It is a nutritious, hearty and low fat meal that does not need too many ingredients. Moreover, this is one of the dishes my entire family enjoys including my 2 year old son. I thought I should make one more batch while it is still little chilly in my part of the world. I have experimented with different types of noodles and pasta shapes. This time I mixed tri color egg ribbon pasta with some spiral pasta (my son loves both!). However, please feel free to use regular egg noodles if you like.
You need:
1 lb rotisserie chicken (with bones and skin)
Chicken Noodle Soup-Prepare
4-5 carrots
5-6 celery stalks
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts water
1 cup egg ribbon pasta
14 cup spiral pasta
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
garlic seasoning to taste
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot add water, chicken, carrots, celery and garlic and bring it to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.
Chicken Noodle Soup-prepare broth
Turn off the burner and take out the chicken. Remove skin, debone and shred the chicken to small pieces (you can use your fingers of pull it apart with fork).
Chicken Noodle soup-shred chicken
Return the chicken to pot, add pasta, chicken broth and cook on high until pasta is cooked.
Chicken Noodle Soup-Add pasta
For my son, I make sure I over cook the pasta. Add salt, pepper and garlic seasoning to taste.
Serve hot! I eat it with a dash of Tobasco sauce and my son enjoys it with some butter on top!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Hawaiian Toast
Feb 23rd
Recipe by Heidemarie Swanepoel
Hawaiian Toast
Today we visited Gran, and she dished up my childhood favourite treat. When we came home from school, on a cold or wet day, she would be standing by with a delicious slice of Hawaiian Toast. My kids love it now, just as much as I loved it then (and still do!)
Ingredients: (per slice of toast)
1 slice of toasted bread
1 slice sandwich ham
1 pineapple ring (canned)
2 – 4 slices cheddar cheese
Butter (optional)
Pre-heat your grill.
Toast your bread, and butter it.
Start off by placing your ham on the toast.
Place the pineapple ring on top.
Top with Cheddar cheese.
Place under the grill, until the cheese is nicely melted.
Serve hot.
Toasted Avocado Sandwich
Jan 31st
By Heidemarie Swanepoel
Avocado Sandwich
I found a few yummy looking Avocados in the supermarket today, and my mouth literally watered for them. So when I got home I made these toasted sandwiches. I prefer sweet and my hubby prefers salty, so I made two variations. Let me know which one you prefer.
Ingredients: (per person)
- 2 slices of toasted bread
- 1 Avocado (small), or ½ if it is large.
- Sweet Variation:2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
- Salty variation:Salt and pepper to taste
- A good swirl of sweet chilli sauce, or regular chilli sauce
Method:
- Pre-heat your grill.
- Toast your bread, and butter it.
- Mash the avocado, and spread generously on the toast.
- For the sweet variation, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar.
- (To make cinnamon sugar, mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon with ½ cup sugar)
- Place under the grill for a few minutes, until the sugar melts a bit.
- Serve while still warm.
- For the salty variation:Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add a good swirling of sweet chilli sauce.
- Serve ungrilled.
Mediterranean Style Bean Wrap
Jan 12th
Mediterranean Style Bean Wrap
I am a big fan of Fitness magazine’s 400 calorie lunches. Basically their mantra is 300 calories breakfast,400 calories lunch, 500 calories dinner and 2 snacks 150 calorie each. A sensible diet on this calorie plan and moderate work out and you will lose pounds without losing on taste! Here is my attempt for a 400 calorie lunch where I wanted to have Taco Bell style burrito lunch but with less fat. I switched the cheese with ‘good fat’ and filling hummus, regular tortilla with whole wheat tortilla, added some whole beans and salsa. I did not leave the crunch either although I switched the tortilla chips with my favorite Stacy’s baked pita chips. All under 400 calories!
You need:
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 tbsp hummus (I used roasted garlic)
1/4 cup refried beans (I used Taco Bell’s)
1/4 cup black beans
1 tbsp fresh salsa
Handful of pita chips on side served with 2 tbsp Seven Layer Dip or salsa of your choice
1. Wrap the tortilla in a paper towel and microwave for 10 seconds. Alternately you can also warm up the tortilla on a griddle.
2. Warm up the beans. You can even use just refried beans or black beans. I just like to blend different textures and flavors.
3. Spread the hummus on the tortilla. Spread a layer of beans and top it with salsa. Wrap it or make a burrito.
4. Serve it with pita chips and salsa on side. I had some seven layer dip so I added a couple of tbsps of that as well.