Category: Low Calorie

Pumpkin Soup

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Pumpkin Soup

  • Servings: 8 1 cup portions
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Is there ever a wrong time for pumpkin? What you will find here is a soup that is great as is, or can be used as a base. The puree I used was one I froze from a pumpkin I cooked, you can use canned puree (just be sure not to use pie filling)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 4 cups of pumpkin puree
  • 6 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spice
  • 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat
  2. Add onion and cook until tender.
  3. Add garlic cook for approximately 2 minutes.
  4. Add puree, broth and spices.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 60 minutes.
  6. You can either serve or if you want smoother, use your blender to puree it even more.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 107
  • Fat 1.8 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 11.6 g
  • Protein 5.1 g
  • Fibre 3.3 g

This is an easy soup that is both nutritious and low calorie. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. As a main course, use two servings. You can serve it with a nice sunflower and flax seed bread (see recipe), white bread (see recipe) or country biscuits (see recipe). You can use this as a base for a vegetable soup. You can thicken it with a little flour and use it as a sauce. So basically, have fun and make it your own.

No Bake Bumpy Peanut Butter Nuggets

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No Bake Bumpy Peanut Butter Nuggets

  • Servings: 30 small balls
  • Difficulty: Easy
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These are easy to make and quick. You feel to dress up a bowl of sugar free jello, this is a great option. Straight, they are good too.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup of nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened orange juice concentrate

Directions

  1. Combine peanut butter, milk powder, and coconut in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in oats, ground cinnamon, wheat germ and orange juice concentrate until thoroughly combined.
  3. Shape into 1 inch balls, chill thoroughly before serving, store remaining nuggets in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 46
  • Fat 2.9 g
  • Sugar 1.8 g
  • Carbohydrates 3.8 g
  • Protein 1.9 g
  • Fibre 0.7 g

A healthy serving could be three balls. I think they are great as an add on. Any concentrate can be used. Watch the sugars. You could add a little unsweetened cocoa, would add 1 cal per ball. Can you see it, a chocolatey ball over a light white chocolate sugar free pudding? Possibilities are endless, so have fun and make it your own.

Egg Cups

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Egg Cups

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 250 ml of egg whites (8 ounces)
  • 1 tbsp of milk
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup cooked turkey or chicken chopped
  • 1 cup chopped raw spinach
  • 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk 3 eggs, egg whites and milk along with the salt and pepper. In another bowl mix your other ingredients. Your turkey with cilantro and sundried tomatoes. (or variation you like).
  3. Spray muffin tin with non stick cooking spray (I used silicon muffin inserts and he used a silicon muffin pan).
  4. Arrange your ingredients at the bottom of each muffin tin.
  5. Using a soup ladle, put your egg mixture into each tin on top of the other ingredients.
  6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops of the egg cups get big and fluffy and slightly golden brown on top.
  7. Let cool for a few minutes before popping them out of the muffin tin.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 90
  • Fat 4.9 g
  • Sugar 0.8 g
  • Carbohydrates 2.4 g
  • Protein 6.6 g
  • Fibre 1.2 g

A young chef came to me with this. What he loved about this was the versatility. He has done this at home over a dozen times and each time he uses what he has in the fridge. When he asked if we could do this together he reminded me that depending what I used, this was low in fat, low in cholesterol, with high protein. They can be used as part of breakfast, a protein snack, or as an hors d’oevres.

The prep time includes cooking your chicken or turkey or saussage. The versatility is fun. He has one version he calls Tex-Mex which is 1 avocado diced, 1 diced bell pepper, a little jalapeño and a little cilantro. I tried mine with hot italian sausage. I will say, careful what you use. Mine made this a little oily. If you use something that is fatty, make sure you remove as much of the fat as possible. You can have so much fun with this and make them your own.

Hamburger Soup

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Hamburger Soup

  • Servings: 10 of 1 cup
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Cold weather is upon us. Comfort food is a must. I love seeing the leaves turning colours, cooler nights for sleep, but salads get pushed aside for cozier foods. Here is one of them.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves or 1 tsp of garlic powder
  • 19 ounce can (540ml) of chopped tomatoes
  • 10 oz can (284 ml) tomato soup (preferably sodium reduced)
  • 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups of low sodium beef broth (I use campbell)
  • 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced (relatively thin)
  • 1 cup chopped cabbage

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, brown the meat and drain off excess fat.
  2. Add onions and garlic and cook on low heat until onions are tender.
  3. Add tomatoes, tomato soup, worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and broth.
  4. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
  5. Add the vegetables and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 122
  • Fat 4.8 g
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Carbohydrates 8.5 g
  • Protein 11.2 g
  • Fibre 1.7 g

This is an easy soup that is both nutritious and low calorie. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. We had it as a main course and it made 6 bowls. You can serve it with a nice sunflower and flax seed bread (see recipe), white bread (see recipe) or country biscuits (see recipe).

Overall, it was a nice comfort food for a cooler night. If you want it spicy, you can add a little cayenne pepper to taste. You can add extra veggies like frozen corn. Possibilities are endless, so have fun and make it your own.

Ginger Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

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Ginger Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This recipe is well balanced. You have your protein. You have your veggies. You get to decide how spicy you want it and you choose your starch.

IMG_1626

Ingredients

  • 1 lb inside round beef
  • 2 tbsp of cornstarch
  • 4 tbsp of soya sauce
  • 1 tsp of hot pepper sauce
  • 1 tsp of sesame oil
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tbsp minced ginger root
  • 6 cups of broccoli pieces into bite size about 1 lb
  • 1 cup water

Directions

  1. In a bowl, mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch, 2 tbsp of soya sauce, hot pepper sauce and half the ginger. Stir in beef strips to coat and let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. Sauce: in a small bowl mix 1/2 cup of water, remaining cornstarch and soya sauce and set aside.
  3. In a wok, heat 1 tsp of oil over high heat and stir fry beef, in two batches until browned. Set aside.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add remaining oil, stir-fry onion, garlic, and remaining ginger for 1 minute. Stir in broccoli and water. Cover and steam for 3 minutes.
  5. Return beef to the pan. Stir in sauce, bring to boil, stirring to coat beef well.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 273
  • Sugar 3.2 g
  • Carbohydrates 12.7 g
  • Protein 12.3 g
  • Fiber 2.8 g
  • Fat 20.6 g

IMG_1625

This recipe is not overpowering in spice or very spicy. You can adjust as you need. This was the original recipe. I add about a teaspoon of crushed chilli peppers to step 1. Your starch is your choice. I served with 1/2 cup cooked rice but you could serve with a small tortilla or pasta or noodles. You can try it a different way every time. So have fun and make it your own.