So that’s what I did today with a single serve salmon pack. I received a bunch of seafood products in a price pack I won at the Perinatal Nutrition Working Group’s booth at BlogHer. Now you must know when I entered the raffle I didn’t KNOW I was pregnant. So when I won it seemed serendipitous! Oh… you did know I was pregnant, right? I can’t remember if I spilled the beans here on GreenLiteBites so if you don’t follow me on twitter or read my weight loss blog you may not have known. Anyway… I’m 2 months! :)

Pretty big news, I know, but let’s get back to this recipe. It turned out more delicious then I thought and SO simple. It’s super light but really flavorful. My favorite combination!

Oh! even the husband liked it. The little guy wasn’t home but when he saw a picture he said it looked good and that he would have tried it if he was here. He’s too stinkin’ cute!

• 2.6 oz package of cooked salmon (I used Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon )
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic diced tiny
• 1 plum or italian tomato diced
• 1 heaping tbsp of chopped chives diced (I think it was about 15 stalks)
• Pinch of Kosher Salt

Combine all ingredients and let it sit for a few minute allowing flavors to merge.

You don’t HAVE to serve it on cucumber slices, it would be great in a pita with some baby spinach or on some whole wheat toast. You could even easily double or triple the batch and serve it on the cucumber slices for a pretty appetizer at a party. Heck.. I was eating it straight up in between scooping it on the cucumber.

The nutritional information is just for salad. The WHOLE salad but just the salad.

I made something similar to my quick Sausage and Pepper idea but used bulgur instead of pasta and added green beans to the sauce simply because I had them. Really any vegetables would work and I was actually mad at myself for forgetting I had some summer squash in the fridge. They would have soaked up the sauce deliciously and bulked up the meal even more! Regardless, the idea is the same, brown some onion with the sausage. Add some veggies, simmer in a quick sauce and serve over your favorite grain/pasta. For me it will always be bulgur from now on, The earthy, nutty taste went wonderfully with the sweet sausage and tomato sauce. Even better then rice in my opinion!

Here’s what I did….

• 1 cup of dry bulgur (140g)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 package of Sweet Turkey Sausage cut in pieces (easier to do when partially frozen)
• 2 Bell peppers (I used red it’s what I had from the farm)
• About 1 cup of Green Beans
• 1 15oz can of tomato sauce (I use Contadina Tomato Sauce, 15 oz (Pack of 24))
• 1 tsp dried basil

Bring the water and bulgur to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.

While the bulgur is cooking spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Start to cook the onion over medium high heat. Add the sausage and brown it. Add the peppers and green beans.

After a minute or two add the can of sauce plus about 1/4 can of water (just to get the stuff that sticks in the can.) Sprinkle with basil and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes allowing the flavors to merge.

At this point the bulgur should be done, scoop about 1/2 a cup and top with about a cup and half of the sausage/veggie mixture with sauce. I got 5 servings using my 1/2 cup ladle as a scoop. Depending on how many veggie you use this makes 5 hearty servings you could probably stretch it to make even more but I had two hungry boys! It was the first day of kindergarten! :)

Oh! and the little guy loves the stuff! :)

Here’s a write up for those that don’t want to sit thru the distracting video. ;)

• 5 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I used wild) (70g)
• 1/2 of a banana
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder (I use Any Whey)
• 6oz Almond milk

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend!

Here’s the links I mentioned in the video…

• “My Mango, My Mango” – Ryan’s First Video Post
• Homemade Almond Milk the Video
• Homemade Almond Milk Take 1

Anyway, with stocks running low my options were pretty limited. I had a package of chicken tenders in the freezer and a container of sun dried tomatoes I bought for Feta month (for some reason feta inspired me to try sun dried tomatoes, not sure why) in the fridge. I decided it was time to use the tomatoes by making a sauce and pair it with some simple chicken fingers "breaded" in parmesan cheese and dried herbs.

The result was an absolute hit! While cooking the little guy actually walked in to the kitchen and said "MMmmmm it smells DELICIOUS in here! When’s dinner??" It totally cracked me up an put a smile on my face. :)

Here’s what I did….

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6oz sun dried tomatoes (dried NOT packed in oil)
• 2 cups of water
• About 3/4 lb of chicken tenders or boneless chicken breast cut into tender size pieces
• 6-8 oz of you favorite whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Sauté the onion and garlic over medium high heat with the olive oil until transparent and just browning. Add the sun dried tomatoes….

…and 2 cups of water. Crank up to high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place a pot of water on the stove over high and bring to a boil to cook your pasta.

Mix the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and place in a large ziplock bag. Put the raw chicken tenders in the bag and shake to coat. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay your coated chicken down and cook in the preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minute until cooked thru.

Now back to the sauce. Pour the pot of boiled sun dried tomatoes into a blender or food processor and puree. (This is when the little guy walked in to smell the glorious smell!)

At this point your pasta should be done. Drain and toss with the pureed tomatoes.

Pull the chicken out of the oven and serve the pasta with 2-3 chicken tenders.

No nutritional info on this one just yet hence the "idea" categorization. It’s one of those family meals that are just hard to calculate because servings vary but I really wanted to share it hoping to inspire. I will tell you I used 8oz of pasta and the 3/4 lbs of chicken. The sauce to pasta ratio was perfect but we had a leftover serving. The chicken was so good I wish I made more. :) Oh! and proof that the little guy went gaga over this, here’s a little before and after dinner. Notice the thumbs up. :)

It worked out great as I had friend over for lunch today. The 6oz was perfect to make two loaded cheesesteaks. I decided to use a wrap to make it fun, light and full of fiber. Plus, I really didn’t have any other options. ;)

Here’s how I made them…

• 1/2 a sweet onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 6oz of leftover london broil or other cooked beef/steak
• 2oz Fancy Shredded Mexican Cheese blend
• 2 Large Whole Wheat Wraps
• Ketchup :)

Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the onion until just browning then add the peppers and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

Cook for about 2-3 minutes and then add the beef. Cook for another minute or two until the beef is warmed thru. You don’t really want to overcook it as it will start to get tough.

Turn on the oven broiler. Lay two large whole wheat tortillas on a sheet of aluminum foil. Split the the steak mixture between the two tortillas and top each with an oz of cheese. Place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Remove from the oven, squirt with a bit of ketchup and wrap like a burrito.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Value will vary based in your tortilla. If mine were a little smaller I could have easily gotten 3 wraps out of this recipes. I actually had a little leftover and out wraps were stuffed. Pair with with a salad or some cut veggies and you have a super satisfying 8 point meal! Want to make it lighter? Halve the cheese to save a point!

London Broil is actually not a cut of meat although I always see packages of beef listed as such. I believe it’s a cooking process. Generally I buy choice cuts that are labeled "London Broil" which are about 1 inch thick and a pound. It’s more then enough for us and allows me to cook dinner up quickly having just enough leftovers to make a cheese steak or two the next day. :) (I may do that for lunch tomorrow :)

I made this one tonight and it was devoured by both the husband and child. I LOVE it when that happens! Here’s what I did…

• About a pound of choice London Broil cut beef
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Pull the defrosted London Broil out of the fridge an hour or two before dinner. A room temperature steak cooks better. Honestly, I pull mine out of the freezer in the morning and defrost it all day on the counter. By dinner time it’s perfect. (Note: I realize some may disagree with this method for food safety reasons but it works for me.)

Make the dry rub by mixing all the dry spices together. Sprinkle the rub on both sides of the london broil using all of it.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Make sure it nice and hot and then add the steak.

Cook it for 4 minutes then flip.

Cook for an additional 4 minutes. If you’re london broil is thicker then an inch you may want to transfer the meat to a preheated 350 degree oven to finish cooking. For my cut the 4 minutes per side was perfect.

Remove from the skillet and let rest for at least 10 minutes! This is the hardest part, I know, but think of it as past of the cooking process. The meat is still actually cooking during this time.

After 10 mintues cut the beef against the grain so that you can see lines up and down the cuts.

I served mine with corn of the cob and sugar snap peas. It was a perfect summer meal!

As for nutritional info I’ll base it on cooked beef. The number of servings will vary based on the size of your cut. I usually count all my lean protiens like this as a point an ounce, it works for me.

So this morning little guy asked to make blueberry pancakes and then changed his mind to waffles. You gotta love a the fickle mind of a 5 year old. :)

Normally I would make my Quick Whole Grain Banana Pancake batter but I’m all out of ripe bananas. My next go to pancake recipe is my original 100% Whole Grain Pancakes that I made years ago but I’m all of out oatmeal (yea… I need to go shopping something fierce.) So I whipped up a new batter this morning.

It worked beautifully! I’m sure it would also make great pancakes but I haven’t tried it yet. If you’re up to it give it a whirl and let me know in the comments how they turn out. I’m pretty confident they’ll be just fine.

Here’s what we did…

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (120g)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup almond milk (8oz) (could use skim)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (61g)
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 1/2 cup of blueberries (74g)

Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside. I mix it with a fork or whisk to help aerate it a bit.

In another bowl whisk the milk, egg, vanilla, applesauce and honey together until frothy. Add the blueberries.

Pour the flour mixture into the milk mixture and continue to fold until combined but don’t over mix.

Add the batter to your skillet or waffle iron. I spray the iron with non-stick spray since these contain no additional fat. Using my square iron I get 4 batches (8 waffles) and they cook for 4-5 minutes making them nice and crisp.

Little guy loved them with a bit of jelly. I ate mine straight up with some extra fresh blueberries on top like you see next to the silly bands. ;)

Update:The DO make great pancakes. Check it out!!

My solution… Order a small to minimize leftovers and make a simple salad on the side. Genius right?!? Sorry.. patting myself on the back for this one. Pizza is by far me weakness. So I had one slice and a cup of this salad for a wonderful, satisfying dinner!

You may have noticed that anytime I put "Quick" in front of an idea it using some convenience item. This time it’s a store bought light italian dressing. Normally I like to experiment with my own combination of ingredients to use as dressing but having a light italian on hand is great in a pinch!

• 1 can of Northern (White) Beans drained and rinsed
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes halved
• 1-2 cups of raw spinach chopped
• 1/4 of Red Onion chopped (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp of your favorite Light Italian Dressing

Toss all ingredients together and eat! Really… that’s exactly what I did although letting it sit probably would have been a good idea. I’m sure it will be even better tomorrow. :) I had to make it fast to pair it with that pizza.

Nutritional Information will vary based on your dressing but here’s an estimate. My normal site is down for calculations so I couldn’t pull a sugar figure.

Honesty, I never understood peoples fascinations with these deli favorites. What the big deal anyway?

Well I have to admit I’ve dabbled with deli style salads a few times now and I’m starting to "get it." There’s just something about certain flavor combinations and even textures that go into these salads that make them tasty. It’s a fun way dress up a sandwhich. Here are a few of my other experiments…

• Curried Turkey Salad with Apple and Pear <--forgot I already used a curry idea!
• Sweet Chicken Salad – Video Post
• Fiesta Chicken Salad

Today, I whipped together this idea using some leftover chicken from last nights dinner. It was easy, tasty and totally satisfying. Great on a wrap but could have easily held up on two slices of your favorite bread or sandwich thin.

I’m hoping to inspire you to look in the pantry and redefine the traditional deli "salad." It doesn’t need to be smothered in mayo to be good. ;)

• 3oz cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup 0% fat greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp curry powder

Mix all the ingredients and serve on a wrap, bread, or even a bed of greens.

I used the peas frozen as they defrost in minutes but you can zap them in the microwave for a few seconds if you feel like it.

Here’s the nutritional information for just the salad, not the wrap. You can cut out an ounce of chicken if you need to watch your points. It’ll save you one if you’re counting.

This idea is the result. I based it loosely The Original All-Bran™ Muffin recipe but added some flavor with almonds and cherries. I also halved the recipe to make less. I don’t know about you but I can’t make 12 muffins in my house unless I throw them directly in the freezer. The husband is NOT a muffin man at all so he’s no help. The little guy is, but he wasn’t feeling well this morning so I knew I was on my own.

Honestly, for my first try at this, the result was better then I expected. The flavor was good, it was the right amount of the cherries and almonds, even the size was ok. The texture was a bit dense but I think that’s just how All Bran muffins come out. I can’t say for sure though I never made nor ate a basic All Bran Muffin. Have you?

Either way, I’ll make them again when I have a chance and see if I can get them a little lighter but the recipe is definitely done enough to share with you. I enjoyed 2 of them for breakfast this morning. If you have any ideas or try an iteration of this hit us up on the comments. I love to hear your ideas!

• 1 cup All Bran Cereal
• 4.5 oz almond milk (would work with regular milk to but I would maybe add a squirt of honey to add some sweetness)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp apple sauce
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (75g) Sweet Cherries chopped
• 1 oz (28 g) almonds chopped up

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 6 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the All Bran with the almond milk and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Chop the almonds and cherries as small as you would like them in the muffin. I went pretty small on the almonds but left larger chunks of the cherries.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Add the egg white, apple sauce and almond extract to the All Bran/milk mixture. Mix well. Add the cherries and almonds mix well. Finally, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. the batter will be thick.

Plop the batter into the muffin tin equally over the 6 cups. They will be filled.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I’m happy to say it was! This is my 18th idea! Click here to see them all!

I made this simple salad the other night and it went perfectly on the side of leftover Spinach Feta burger along with some roasted fries and quick sugar snap peas. Perfect for the vine ripe tomatoes you may be getting from your garden or farm stand.

Here’s how I made it..

• About 6 small tomatoes quartered (Could use even more, this is just what I had)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup (34g) Crumbled Feta
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 heaping tsp dried parsley
• Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients and eat immediately or chill it. I ate half with dinner and brought the other half to work for lunch. It was simply wonderful both times.

No Nutritional Info on this one. Adjust the amount of tomatoes to meet your needs and just count the feta.. that’s what I’d do. ;)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

I decided to face my fears this morning and take your suggestion. Worst case scenario…. I don’t like it. It wouldn’t be the first time I cooked something that just didn’t work out.

Well… I know I say this a lot but… I’m SO GLAD I DID! Holy moly I was blown away. The salty bite from the creamy feta in this omelet was so awesome. I love the combo of spinach and bacon bits (note my two previous recipes.. Spinach and Bacon Egg Wraps and Mini Spinach Egg Muffins)
but the feta simply put it over the top!

Here’s how I made it..

• A nice handful of baby spinach leaves chopped
• 2 cherry tomatoes diced
• 1 tbsp real bacon bits (7g)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 oz of crumbled feta (14g) <– I went lite becuause I was nervous but I thought this was the perfect amount
• Non-stick spray
• Kohser Salt & Ground Pepper

Here’s my little omelet making station on my messy counter.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high and spray with non-stick spray. Add the spinach, tomatoes and bacon bits with a pinch of salt.

Cook until the spinach wilts, about a minute or two.

Remove the spinach filling from the pan and set aside.

Whisk the 2 eggs together with a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

Lower the heat to medium and re-spray the skillet.

Add the whisked eggs to the skillet and swirl around to cover the whole pan.

Add the spinach filling to one side of the cooking egg and top with the feta.

In about a minute you’ll notice the top of the egg just starting to get firm. At this point run a large plastic flipper under the egg and fold over the best you can. It doesn’t have to perfect you’re only gonna eat it anyway. ;)

Once it’s folded over cook for about 30 more seconds, flip and cook for another 30-1 minute depending on how done you like your egg. I leave mine on a little longer, I’d rather it browning then runny in the middle.

Turn off the heat and serve with a side of ketchup… that is.. IF you like ketchup and eggs. :)

I love that this is a nice 5 point breakfast. If I was still in losing mode I would replace one of the eggs to make it 4 points. And if my daily points were REALLY low I’d go 4 egg whites to make it 3 points. (I calculated all three scenarios and there are about 225, 185, 150 calories and 15, 10, 5g of fat respectively, rounded of course.) Everything else pretty much remains the same.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!