Healthy dinner recipes for weight management

Stuck in a dinner rut? Your entire family will love these delicious and healthy dinner recipes for weight management. Whether you are vegetarian or a meat-eater, these recipes are sure to become fast favorites – and your waistline will thank us.

Break out of your restaurant routine and save your waistline (and your wallet!) with these delicious and healthy dinner recipes for weight management.

5 Minute Asian-Inspired Soup

“This simple recipe can be adjusted by adding mushrooms, hot sauce, miso or sesame seeds,” says Michelle Pfennighaus, nutrition and wellness coach.

Ingredients

• 6 cups stock
• 1 lb. soft organic tofu, cubed
• 1 large head bok choy
• 6 Tbl. soy sauce, or to taste

Directions

1. Heat stock, add tofu and bok choy.
2. Keep over heat until bok choy begins to soften – this will happen quickly.
3. Add soy sauce and serve.

Mediterranean orange chicken

Makes 4 servings

Chocked full of nutrients such as folic acid, potassium and vitamin C, this unique and easy-to-prepare chicken recipe combines a bold palate of international flavors with orange juice, says Catalina McCormic of the Florida Department of Citrus.

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 pound skinless chicken breast, boned and trimmed
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for dusting chicken
• canola oil spray
• 1/4 cup minced shallots, or red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 2 tablespoons chopped capers
• 2 tablespoons chopped olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped raisins
• 3/4 cup 100% Florida orange juice*
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

*May substitute Florida orange juice from concentrate

Directions

1. Toast pine nuts in a 350 degree oven for 3-4 minutes until golden. Remove, cool and chop.
2. With a meat mallet, pound chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thick and season with salt and pepper.
3. Dust both sides in flour, and pat so flour stays on.
4. Heat sauté pan and coat with canola oil spray. Place chicken in hot sauté pan and spray uncooked side of chicken with canola oil in the pan. Sear chicken for one minute on both sides, and remove from pan.
5. In the same sauté pan, add shallots and sauté briefly. Add roasted red peppers, capers, olives and raisins and sauté briefly until shallots are translucent.
6. Deglaze pan with orange juice. Add chicken stock and lemon juice and reduce heat slightly when ingredients come to a boil.
7. Add chicken back to the pan to cook until completely cooked through, and sauce is slightly thickened.
8. Stir in salt, pepper and parsley.
9. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon of chopped toasted pine nuts.

Calories 250

Quick lasagna

Makes 12 servings

Who knew lasagna could also be figure-friendly? “You don’t precook the noodles in this recipe, so it is really fast to assemble,” says Brenda J. Ponichtera, dietitian and award-winning author of Quick & Healthy Recipes (published by Small Steps Press). “This can be put together the night before and refrigerated without baking. Plan to serve leftovers in a couple of days or freeze for later use.”

Ingredients

• 3 cups low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce (less than 4 grams fat per 4 ounces)*
• 3/4 pound uncooked lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated, reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix cottage cheese, parsley, and garlic.
3. Pour 1 cup of sauce in bottom of pan.
4. Layer in this order:
   4 noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, 1/2 mozzarella, 1 cup sauce, 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, 1/2 mozzarella, 1 cup sauce, 4 noodles, and the rest of the sauce.
5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
6. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Increase baking time by 15 minutes if it has been refrigerated.

*Or one jar (1 pound, 10 ounces) and water to equal 4 cups.

Calories 218

Source: Quick and Healthy Recipes

Chicken chili

Makes 6 cups
5 servings
Each serving 1-1/4 cups

“Chili lovers will enjoy this thick chili,” says Ponichtera. “It is so simple and tasty. Double this recipe and plan to freeze leftovers in small containers for lunch.”

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, not drained*
• 1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. Brown chicken in a saucepan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Note: One serving is an excellent source of fiber.
*Sodium is figured for no added salt.

Calories 236

Source: Quick & Healthy Recipes

More healthy eating tips

• Healthy breakfast recipes for weight management
• Healthy lunch recipes for weight management
• 10 Superfoods and how to squeeze them into your diet