8 Weight Loss Recipes ...

1. Breakfast Parfait

If you are like me, sometimes you prefer something cold and light for breakfast, rather than a heavy, hot cooked meal. While on weight loss, your options are more limited if you want to get something that is nutritionally wholesome for you. One way to go is a breakfast parfait. It's one of the simple weight loss recipes, and absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat plain yogurt

1 cup pineapple chunks, papaya chunks or cling peaches

2 teaspoons toasted wheat germ

Simply place cottage cheese (or yogurt) in a small bowl. Top with fruit and sprinkle with wheat germ.

Per serving (with cottage cheese, pineapple): 247 calories; 3 g fat ( 2 g sat , 0 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 20 g protein; 3 g fiber; 632 mg sodium; 479 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (28% daily value), Calcium (33% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

2. Neapolitan Meatballs

Oh my goodness! These meatballs are incredible! Who knew that weight loss could taste so good?

8 servings, 2-3 meatballs each

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bulgur (see ingredient note)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

8 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

4 cups diced plum tomatoes, (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 cups cubed whole-wheat country bread

1 large egg

1 large egg white, and additional pepper to taste. Serve the meatballs with the sauce.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ingredient note: Bulgur is made by parboiling, drying and coarsely grinding or cracking wheat berries. It simply needs a quick soak in hot water for most uses. Look for it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets, near other grains, or online at kalustyans.com, lebaneseproducts.com.

Per serving: 283 calories; 11 g fat ( 4 g sat , 4 g mono ); 73 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 23 g protein; 5 g fiber; 687 mg sodium; 271 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (60% daily value), Vitamin A (30% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

3. Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup

Did you know that cabbage actually burns more calories in digestion than it is nutritionally worth? You can eat an entire helping of cabbage and be better off than when you started! I love that! Here is a wonderful cabbage soup recipe for you.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound lean (90% or leaner) ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 1/2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed, chopped
1 medium Golden Delicious or other sweet-tart cooking apple, unpeeled, diced
6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1 15-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Hungarian sweet
3 cups coarsely chopped Savoy, or green cabbage
1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef, caraway seeds and thyme and cook, stirring and breaking up the beef with a spoon, until it is mostly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in pepper-onion mix and apple; cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Stir in broth, tomatoes, honey and paprika and adjust the heat so the mixture boils gently. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in cabbage and cook just until barely tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with vinegar to taste, salt and pepper.

Per serving: 250 calories; 10 g fat ( 3 g sat , 5 g mono ); 54 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 20 g protein; 4 g fiber; 705 mg sodium; 717 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (45% daily value), Vitamin A (30% dv), Iron & Potassium (20% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

4. Grilled Salmon

Fish is healthy for you, and salmon is so good. My husband absolutely loves it! But this is more his specialty, since he doesn't allow me to grill. (He claims he is better...) So I allow him to have his ego and I enjoy the night off from cooking! This is a great dish for those nights at the grill.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole wild salmon fillet (also called a «side of salmon,» about 1 1/2 pounds; see Tips)
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat grill to medium.
Mash minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt on a cutting board with the side of a chef’s knife or a spoon until a paste forms. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in oil.

Check the salmon for pin bones and remove if necessary (see tips). Measure out a piece of heavy-duty foil (or use a double layer of regular foil) large enough for the salmon fillet. Coat the foil with cooking spray. Place the salmon skin-side down on the foil and spread the garlic mixture all over it. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup basil. Overlap tomato slices on top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Transfer the salmon on the foil to the grill. Grill until the fish flakes easily, 10 to 12 minutes. Use two large spatulas to slide the salmon from the foil to a serving platter. Serve the salmon sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup basil.

Per serving: 248 calories; 10 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 80 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 35 g protein; 1 g fiber; 367 mg sodium; 799 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium (23% daily value), Vitamin A (22% dv), Vitamin C (18% dv), Magnesium (15% dv)

Carbohydrate Servings: 0

5. Avocodo Salad

Avocado is a great food, when eaten in moderation. It is full of good nutrients like potassium, calcium and fiber and other vitamins. Enjoy both its heathy benefits and the delicious taste with this great salad!

Ingredients:

2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced

1sweet onion, chopped

1green bell pepper, chopped

1 large ripe tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 lime, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine avocados, onion, bell pepper, tomato, cilantro and lime juice. Gently toss until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Coconut Banana Almond Smoothie

Almond milk is delish and good for you! Plus, it adds a bit more flavor to this already lovely smoothie. The greatest thing I love about smoothies is that you can add just about anything you like to them!

Cocoa Banana Almond Smoothie
Makes three 8 oz. servings (103 calories per serving)

Ingredients:

5 Cups Ice
5 Cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 very ripe bananas (if your bananas aren’t very ripe with lots of brown on the peel, you may need to add some sugar to get your desired sweetness)
2 tbsp cocoa powder (feel free to add more if you like it more chocolatey!)

Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend to your desired consistency. Pour into 8 oz. glasses or jars and enjoy!

7. Chocolate-Zucchini Snack Cake

Chocolate with veggies? Oh yes! Here is a great way to squeeze in some veggies while still enjoying that chocolate fix that we all need! The best of both worlds, yes?

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs plus 2 egg whites

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups shredded zucchini

2 6 ounce containers low-fat vanilla yogurt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment; grease the parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and egg whites at medium-high speed until pale in color, about 3 minutes; whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the zucchini. Stir in the flour mixture and 1 container yogurt alternately in 2 batches. Transfer to the prepared pan.

Bake until springy to the touch and a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs, about 35 minutes; let cool slightly. Serve warm with the remaining yogurt.

Tip: A hit of espresso powder deepens the chocolaty taste without adding more calories, and heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil maximizes moistness. Also, a tangy yogurt topping makes the cake taste sweeter and replaces sugary frosting.

Weight loss recipes are good to have, even if you aren't really on a diet. They are good, healthy recipes and we could all use a little extra healthy cooking in our life! Do you have a favorite weight loss or healthy recipe? Maybe a favorite web site you like to find recipes on? I would love to read your comments!

Sources: eatingwell.com, eatingwell.com, eatingwell.com, eatingwell.com, allrecipes.com, offbeatandinspired.com, and rachaelraymag.com