Whenever I try a recipe for the first time, I make notes of ways to improve it in the future if it doesn’t come out quite up to my expectations. One of the things about cooking with recipes is that there is always room to improve on them a bit and it’s totally fine to tweak them.
One of the hardest parts about cooking low-fat or low-calorie meals is that if changes are made, it is important to make sure that they keep the recipe low-fat or low-calorie. For instance, when I made the chicken tenders with spicy tomato and black beans,
I thought it lacked a little bit of flavor. It would have been easy to add in cheese, full-fat sour cream and some guacamole to make it taste better. But that would have diminished the healthy properties of the meal. Instead, I opted to add in some more spices such as cumin and ground oregano.
The spices add more flavor to the dish without additional fat or calories. If I were to cook this dish in the future, I would add in a diced onion and swap out half of the black beans for kidney beans to give it more flavor.
With the Asian Noodle-Vegetable soup, the flavors turned out great because it used fresh ginger and garlic, both potent ingredients. But when we finished cooking up the dish there was not much broth left in the pot.
I added in an extra cup of chicken broth so there was more liquid in the dish. In the future, I would probably also use fresh vegetables instead of the frozen stir fry mix.
I would also have chili paste for those who want a little more spice to the dish. The sesame oil drizzle on top of the dish added a richness to finish off the dish, but I did make sure to measure it out so that I wasn’t adding in too much of the oil.
Chicken tenders with spicy tomato and black beans
Recipe adapted from the
American Diabetes Association
12 (about 1 ¼ lb.) chicken tenders
½ tsp. each chili powder, cumin and ground oregano
1-10 oz. can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies
4 oz. can no-salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, diced
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ c. fat-free sour cream
Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces evenly with chili powder (add additional spices if desired.
Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Coat skillet with cooking spray, cook chicken two minutes or until browned on one side, turn and top with the tomatoes, onions and beans. Bring to a boil (over medium-high heat), and cook for three minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.
Remove from heat and drizzle with the oil evenly over all. Serve in shallow soup bowls, topped with sour cream.
Makes four servings, with three ounces cooked chicken, ½ c. bean mixture and 2 tbsp. sour cream.
Calories: 265; fat: 6 g.; carbs: 16 g.; dietary fiber: 3 g.; protein: 35 g.
Asian Noodle-Vegetable Soup
Recipe adapted from
Weight Watchers
Cooking spray
3.5 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced (about 1.5 cups)
2 tbsp. ginger root, fresh, grated
1 tbsp. minced garlic
16 oz. reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 c. water
6 tbsp. low-sodium chicken broth
6 oz. uncooked vermicelli (broken in half, spaghetti or angel hair can be substituted.)
1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables, Asian stir-fry variety
1 c. edamame (shelled), frozen
½ c. scallions, sliced
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms; stir-fry until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add broth, water and soy sauce; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in vermicelli, reduce heat to medium-high and boil, 2 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and edamame; bring to a simmer. Simmer until vegetables and vermicelli are tender, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and stir in scallions. Spoon soup into bowls; drizzle each serving with 1/4 teaspoon oil. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving. Makes six servings.
