Low-cal Recipes

Danny & I have been trying to be conscientious about our calorie intake. Here are just a couple of recipes that we've tweaked/created on our own (I have more, but they aren't on my laptop).  This dressing took a little bit to grow on me, but the few choices that are available here aren't really low in calories so Danny came up with this one.

Dill Yogurt Dressing

1 tsp Dried Dill - 13 calories
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice - 5 calories
1/2 tsp Vinegar - 5 calories
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder - 4.5 calories
1/4 tsp Onion Powder - 4 calories
100 g - Low-Fat Yogurt - 42 calories
1/2 Salt - 0 calories
Dash of Ground Pepper - 1 calorie


Total Calories: 65.5 Calories


Serving Size: 1 TBSP - 8 Calories
                                         

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.

We really, really like Chinese food.  Having gone to school in Springfield, Mo. the Cashew Chicken capitol... well, we get to craving it at times.  But that stuff is high-cal!  I'm not saying we'll never have it again (the original way), but we do want to try and come up with different ways to enjoy our favorite foods so we can have them more often.  So here is our version of Cashew Chicken.

Cashew Chicken (for One)

Ingredients:

¾ cup Brown Rice - 164 Calories

70g Chicken Cubed - 106 Calories

2 cups Frozen Vegetables - 47 Calories

(Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots)

or

2 cups Frozen  Carrots - 62 Calories

100g Low-Fat Yogurt - 44 Calories

1 TBL Soy Sauce - 10 Calories

1 TBL Oyster Sauce - 13 Calories

½ Chicken Bullion - 14 Calories

¼ tsp White Pepper - 2 Calories

7 Cashews Chopped - 64 Calories

½ tsp Extra Olive Oil - 19 Calories

2/3 cup Water - 0 Calories

Black Pepper, Garlic/Onion Powder to taste - 4 Calories

with mixed veges - 487 Tot. Cal.

with carrots - 502 Tot. Cal.

Directions:

Add water to wok.  Heat on highest temperature setting.  Once boiling add chicken and vegetables.  Add black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste.  

Allow to cook until most of the water has evaporated, stirring often.  Add oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cashews and white pepper.  Stir well.  Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from burner and stir in yogurt.  Serve over a bed of brown Rice.

Now, these numbers are based on the brands we get over here... but it'll give you an idea and hopefully you can find the equivalent.  The yogurt is the key here... it does give it a different zing than the original recipe, but without it the calories are just too high.