Category Archives: Lunch Recipes

Easy Skinny Chili

Easy Skinny Chili

I adore chili!  The spices, the steam, the comfort....  Perfect.  While it can be healthy with its ingredients, traditional chili is also a very calorie dense food.  That means a little goes a long way, so it's easy for all of us to overeat.  Who wants a tiny bowl of anything?Most chili cooks also use salty canned beans and salty and sugary seasoned canned diced tomatoes, paste and/or puree.  Look at the labels and pick no-salt and no-sugar.  The leanness of the meat makes an enormous difference in the calories, and restaurants often use inexpensive fattier ...
Healing the Body, Anti-Inflammation, Anti-Aging Benefits, Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 1 Comment
Roasted Spiced Chickpeas, Squash and Asparagus Medley

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas, Squash and Asparagus Medley

If you don't have ground cumin and turmeric in your spice drawer right now, run out to the store and buy it!  There is nothing quite so interestingly fragrant as this spiced dish roasting in the oven.  The easiest part --- It's a one dish, one pan, pop it in and forget about it kind of meal.   Another bonus is it is very low in calories, yet absolutely filling ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes, Side Dishes | 4 Comments
Kale Barley Soup:  Skinny Food for Comfort

Kale Barley Soup: Skinny Food for Comfort

I was really in the mood for a spicy, comforting, highly nutritious soup to serve as my vegetable side dish with dinner.  Unfortunately, most soups offered at restaurants, specialty food stores, grocery stores or the processed kind in those god-awful canned varieties contain way too much sodium.  Innocent victims think they are eating healthy by having "soup", yet wake up the next morning with puffy eyes and bloated bodies.  No thanks!This fresh and clean Kale Barley Soup ...
Lunch Recipes, Recipes, Side Dishes | Comment
Naked Skinny Turkey Burger with Swiss Cheese

Naked Skinny Turkey Burger with Swiss Cheese

It's time for summer cook-outs and BBQs with family and friends, especially this week for Independence Day.  When offered the basic all-American choice for either a burger or hot dog, one simple strategy I use is to request a medium-rare burger with cheese, but hold that typically big white roll of empty calories.  One slice of full fat cheese is usually 100 calories of filling protein, yet a large roll is up to 300 calories, typically with no filling ...
Eating Rules, Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes, Survival Guide: Dining Out, Restaurants, Events, Family Gatherings | 4 Comments
Healthy Tuna Salad with Avocado, Goat Cheese and Beans

Healthy Tuna Salad with Avocado, Goat Cheese and Beans

Give me a can opener, and I'm set for a no-bake, no-heat, no-processed food healthy meal.  This easy dinner using cabinet staples worked perfectly during a summer power outage at my home.  Think plain tuna from a can is dry and boring without gobs of mayo?  Think again.With each forkful, I layered the quality protein tuna with tangy goat cheese and smooth avocado to create a moist and salty taste.  I was sold!  ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | Comment
Orchard Nuts: Eat Fat To Get Skinny

Orchard Nuts: Eat Fat To Get Skinny

One of my stay skinny secrets is just plain nuts.  If you follow this blog, you already know all about my absolute love of heathy fat throughout the day.  It keeps me full, nourished, calm, and happy, so naturally when I find a new "fat" discovery to make life even easier, I want to share it.For those who shop at the local Safeway stores, a new Safeway Select package called Orchard Nut Trio with Sea Salt makes ...
Eating Rules, Lunch Recipes, Recipes | Comment
Healthy Strawberry Avocado Salad with Stone Ground Mustard Garlic Dressing

Healthy Strawberry Avocado Salad with Stone Ground Mustard Garlic Dressing

This beautiful large salad combines the sweet taste of fresh plump strawberries with the cool smoothness of avocado and the spicy hot flavor of stone ground mustard, garlic, and apple cider vinegar dressing.  From a taste standpoint, it is absolutely superb.  And from a nutritional standpoint, it is an absolute powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and healthy fat to nourish the skin, hair, nails, and soul.For a main course meal, add one serving of a quality protein ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 1 Comment
Warm Portobello Mushroom Wrap:  Low Calorie and Low Carb

Warm Portobello Mushroom Wrap: Low Calorie and Low Carb

I'm not often satisfied eating plain, cold vegetable wraps.  It's usually why restaurants add fatty creamy dressing or too much cheese to so-called "healthy vegetable wraps" to give it a little substance, flavor and moisture.  Plus at restaurants, you typically receive a refined flour tortilla with too many calories, salt, and additives all rolled together for zero nutrition or fiber.   It's rarely a pure and hearty whole grain.  Wraps, like any meal, ideally should be controlled in your ...
Lunch Recipes, Recipes | 2 Comments
Skinny Baked Mac and Cheese Comfort Food

Skinny Baked Mac and Cheese Comfort Food

What could be more comforting to eat on a cold winter day than a steaming plate of Mac and Cheese?  An easy Skinny version!  This simple and innovative recipe is adapted from Cooking Light magazine, but tweaked with my own touches for a whole grain and pure Skinny style.  By using cottage cheese as a smooth and silky sauce and crispy panko topping for an added crunch, it provides all of the cheesy pleasure, with no toll on ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes, Side Dishes | Comment
Jennifer Aniston’s Favorite Quinoa Salad

Jennifer Aniston’s Favorite Quinoa Salad

Unlike many celebrities, Jennifer Aniston is a true testament to clean and healthy living in your 40s.  This clean and pure main dish or side dish salad combines the high quality protein and whole grain of quinoa with the healthy fat of avocado and olive oil, along with filling and quenching vegetables.Jennifer writes, “This is a really simple salad, but so delicious, and all these beautiful, healthy ingredients, make it one of my favorites.”As ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes, Side Dishes | 2 Comments
Skinny Lunch Tricks:  Largest Vegetable Hummus Wrap

Skinny Lunch Tricks: Largest Vegetable Hummus Wrap

I always seem to compete against myself in sports, health and work, setting my own private goals to meet or beat each day.  When it comes to homemade wraps for lunch, I compete again, but it's much less serious.  In fact, it's getting ridiculously funny.  Lately, I try to one-up myself with the largest, fattest "skinny" wrap I can create without the whole thing exploding in my face.  At this point, it's almost too large to fit into my big ...
Eating Rules, Food Shopping, Lunch Recipes, Recipes | 5 Comments
Skinny Breakfast Lunch and Dinner: Roasted Shrimp, Asparagus and Red Pepper Salad

Skinny Breakfast Lunch and Dinner: Roasted Shrimp, Asparagus and Red Pepper Salad

Another day in the life of a regular, forever skinny woman who lives LARGE.  Each meal may have followed the usual pattern, yet with wildly different ingredients to make it feel like a new discovery with every bite. For breakfast, I prepared a fast omelet with two eggs with two egg whites using different vegetables and cheese.  Today was green zucchini, yellow squash, red tomatoes and green kale with melted crumbled goat ...
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Easy Skinny Shrimp Salad Sandwich

Easy Skinny Shrimp Salad Sandwich

To all of my readers addicted to fast "can opener sandwiches" to tote along for lunch, it's time to cheat on that same old tunafish sandwich.  Break out of your rut by preparing this fast and easy Skinny Shrimp Salad to pack for your lunch instead.  Hey, you even get to use that can opener if you don't want to substitute fresh minced shrimp.  Consider canned varieties an emergency back-up, so you never have an excuse to ...
Lunch Recipes, Recipes | 1 Comment
Simple Skinny Chicken Avocado Salad

Simple Skinny Chicken Avocado Salad

At first, it hardly seemed worth a photograph of my meal.  Yet there is beauty in simplicity, and this simple meal captures the essence of an Easy Skinny Life.  Lean protein prepared without bottled sugary marinades, salty sauces or gimmicks, coupled with a pure healthy fat and entrenched in a colorful array of fresh chilled and roasted vegetables.   All topped off with one serving of crumbled cheese for that extra protein-calcuim flavorful punch and drizzled with a homemade dressing ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 3 Comments
Kale Barley Soup:  Skinny Food for Comfort

Kale Barley Soup: Skinny Food for Comfort

I was really in the mood for a spicy, comforting, highly nutritious soup to go with my dinner.  Unfortunately, most soups offered at restaurants, specialty food stores, grocery stores or the processed kind in those god-awful canned varieties contain way too much sodium.  Innocent victims think they are eating healthy by having "soup", yet wake up the next morning with puffy eyes and bloated bodies.  No thanks!This fresh and clean Kale Barley Soup proved to be a nice diversion from the usual ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 8 Comments
Fast and Skinny Homemade Pizza for One

Fast and Skinny Homemade Pizza for One

It is hard to believe that this amazing fast pizza is only 250 calories.  Very thin or flatbread pizza is all the rage right now in restaurants, but creating my own Skinny version at home really controls the calories, fat and nutritious ingredients.  It also limits the salt and kicks any refined white flour or sugar to the curb!Fast and Skinny Homemade Pizza for OneIngredients:Large 100% Whole Grain 9-Inch Tortilla No-Salt Diced Tomatoes - 1/2 cup drained (or slice ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 5 Comments
Homemade Vegetable Hummus Skinny Wrap

Homemade Vegetable Hummus Skinny Wrap

Years ago, I never would have believed that two handfuls of fresh salad wrapped with a strange, smashed up bean substance called "hummus" would be able to fill up an active woman like me or even remotely taste good.  I was very wrong!Try this easy Vegetarian wrap for lunch, and you will be a believer, too.  For less than 400 calories, this high fiber combo of protein and quality carbs keeps me going strong until dinner.  The ...
Lunch Recipes, Recipes | 3 Comments
Naked Skinny Cheeseburger and Healthy Baked Chips

Naked Skinny Cheeseburger and Healthy Baked Chips

It’s easy for me to pass up processed chips and snacks in bags, because my fast homemade versions taste so much better.  I was in the mood for crunchy and spicy chips as a side dish to a grilled juicy burger tonight.  This quick meal was created in 15 minutes --- While my burger grilled, both the corn tortilla chips and crunchy kale chips were baked in the oven side by ...
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Fastest Healthy Fast Food Ever!  Skinny Shrimp, Avocado and Vegetables

Fastest Healthy Fast Food Ever! Skinny Shrimp, Avocado and Vegetables

I challenge anyone to drive to a fast food restaurant and grab a greasy burger faster than this 10 minute dinner!Fast Food Skinny Shrimp, Avocado and Vegetables Recipe:Start heating up a few inches of water in bottom of metal steamer pot. Chop fresh vegetables, toss on some frozen ones, and place in insert. Cover and steam in the pot for several minutes. Pull out frozen cooked tail-on shrimp and toss in ...
Lunch Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Recipes | 1 Comment
Skinny Lunch Pack To Go!

Skinny Lunch Pack To Go!

Skinny Lunch Pack Options to go!  Nuts and Cheese, with Fresh Fruit and Green TeaNeed fast and easy to pack, healthy options to bring to the office or for lunch on the go?  Here is what I packed last night to bring with me today.Before bed, I pulled out some frozen berries from the Farmer's Market and placed them in a to-go container, along with one sealed 2% string cheese stick.  I then packed a heaping ...
Lunch Recipes, Recipes | 2 Comments