Stress, food, and some great recipes to try

Stress and food, need I say more? For me they seem to go hand in hand and it is not a good combination for me being I am trying to lose weight. When I am stressed I love to cook and eat all my favorite comfort foods that I remember from growing up, the problem with these foods is that they are full of calories and high in fat.

I love to cook and cooking is a way for me to relieve stress, I just send the girls downstairs and turn up the tunes. Lately though while trying to lose weight cooking has become boring to me, I think it is the one ingredient cooking (Leigh Peele) that is doing it to me. To those who are not into cooking, I think one ingredient cooking while trying to lose weight is a wonderful idea, it is quick and straight forward, but to me it has gotten boring not only to me but to my kids. I try different spices to mix things up and it works great, but I miss some of my favorite dishes as does my kids. I am getting tired of hearing, "Oh, chicken again!" So, the following cookbook a friend let me borrow has given me a great idea, it is called NOW eat THIS! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories by Rocco DiSpirito. It is a great cookbook full of stuff we love to eat. I have tried two recipes, Meat Loaf with Portobello Mushrooms and Grilled Chicken Parmigiano, they both went over well and will be made again. I try to plan my meal plans 2 weeks in advance, so my new goal is to try and make the comfort foods I love a bit healthier.

I just read a great review of this book on Diets in Review.com. I have not tried the recipes that are listed on this site, Rocco’s Brownies and Flash-Fried Finger-Lickin’ Chicken but I will soon along with the Mac n' Cheese recipe he has in there. Until then I will leave you with the Meat Loaf recipe in hopes you will follow the links and try all these tasty recipes and go buy the book for even more. If these recipes are not what you are looking at trying I found some more sample recipe in the Google Books section.


For this recipe I could not find Ian's All-Natural Panko breadcrumbs, so I used other whole wheat ones. I also added 1-2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes in it to give it a bit of a kick, it turned out great and does not add any additional calories.


Meatloaf with Portobello Mushrooms
Serves 4
Per serving: Fat 8.9g, calories 212, protein 21g, carbs 11g, cholesterol 55mg, fiber 2g, sodium 400mg
From Now Eat This!

Ingredients:

4 ounces portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup reduced-sugar ketchup, such as Heinz
12 ounces 93% lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (try and use fresh, dried just does not taste the same!)
1/2 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian's All-Natural
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it aside.

Place the mushrooms in a food processor, and pulse until they are very finely chopped; scrape them into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic cloves to the food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the egg substitute and 1 Tablespoon of the ketchup, and puree until the garlic is smooth. Scrape the garlic mixture into the bowl containing the mushrooms.

Add the beef, parsley, and panko to the bowl. Add the salt and season with pepper to taste. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients until they are just combined.

On the prepared baking sheet, form the meat mixture into an 8x4x1 1/2 inch loaf. Brush the remaining ketchup over the loaf. Bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, 18-20 minutes.

Allow the meatloaf to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.


Source: DiSpirito, R., (2010). Now eat this!. New York:Ballantine Trade Paperback Original.

Black Bean Chili

Makes 10 servings


It is great served with homemade flat bread or cornbread.

Ingredients
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb ground beef, extra lean
1 can or 12 oz tomato juice
2 cans tomatoes, diced, do not drain
1 clove, garlic
1 cup onions
1 cup green peppers
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons basil, dried
2 tablespoons cilantro, dried
2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

1. Brown the beef in a non stick pan and drain if necessary.

2. Stir everything together in a heavy pot. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.

3. If the chili is too thick, add tomato juice or V8 as needed.



Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 296.7g (I figured this to be between 2-3 Cups, not sure if this is accurate though)
! Some items from this recipe could not be found or sized. This estimate is incomplete.

Amount Per Serving

Calories
480
Calories from Fat
41

% Daily Value*
Total Fat
4.6g
7%
Saturated Fat
1.5g
7%
Trans Fat
0.0g
Cholesterol
40mg
13%
Sodium
133mg
6%
Total Carbohydrates
73.8g
25%
Dietary Fiber
17.9g
72%
Sugars
6.5g
Protein
38.3g
Vitamin A 19% • Vitamin C 44%
Calcium 15% • Iron 41%

Black Bean, Rice, & Chicken Burrito

This is something else that went very well in our house. It is very filling and tastes great.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cooked and shredded
options for seasoning for chicken: taco seasoning OR garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups of rice, cooked according to package
salsa of your choice
taco sauce of your choice
2 C cheddar cheese or taco blend cheese
Chi-Chi's Flour tortillas, burrito size


Direction:

Heat 1 T of olive oil in pan, sprinkle each side of chicken with seasoning of your chice. Cook chicken 5-10 min or until done. Cool for a bit and then pull apart so it is shredded.

Put black beans in a microwave safe container and cook on high for 2-3 minutes.

Place Tortilla on a plate and spoon a layer of rice, beans, salsa and/or taco sauce, chicken, and cheese. Feel free to layer however you want. Roll up into a burrito.

Black Bean Burgers

Ryan is the only on in our house that likes them, so I make them for him to take to work for lunch.


Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
**I did not have any onion, so I used 1 Cup of Westpac Seasoning Blend, it has onions, green peppers, red peppers, celery, and parsley. It can be found in the freezer section at the grocery store.

1-2 garlic cloves chopped
1 can black beans, well drained
1/2 cup flour
2 slices bread, crumbled
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Preparation:

Sautee the onions/onion mixture till soft, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well. Mixture will be thick.

Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm. Make veggie burgers and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:
Servings: 6
Calories per serving: 294
Calories from Fat: 11
Total Fat: 1.2g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 25mg
Total Carbohydrates: 55.3g
Dietary Fiber:11.3g, 45% RDA
Protein: 16.8g
Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 1%, Calcium 10%, Iron 23%, based on a 2000 calorie diet