Meals for Week of January 16, 2012

I decided to go with the January healthy eating trend this week and provide you with a variety of low fat, low calorie and nutrient packed recipes.  I suppose I try to always do that, but this week I have more than a few that fall into that category.  I like that I'm finding more and more recipes like these that are naturally low calorie with not so much use of processed low fat or low calorie ingredients.
I also wanted to share this handy chart for making recipe substitutions that can help make something healthier.

Healthy Recipes:  A Guide to Ingredient Substitutions

This week I have several recipes that include cannellini beans as an ingredient.  They are basically a white kidney bean frequently used in Italian cooking. Like many beans they are low fat, high in fiber and protein. Contain minerals and B vitamins.  Give one of these recipes a try this week!

Meals for the Week of January 16, 2012  

Beef Stew with Noodles- The key to this recipe is the meat is cut into small pieces which allows it to cook quicker.  Stew meat you find in the store will be cut in larger cubes and would need more cooking time to get tender, so cut them into smaller pieces.

Quesadilla Pie- Great way to use leftovers, and actually perfect for leftovers from tacos.  Serve with salad for an easy meal.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia- Very easy and just lightly pan fried in a little oil, you could serve this with salsa and black beans as suggested in the recipe or with salad and roasted vegetables.  You could even make smaller pieces of fish and use it for fish tacos.

Paprika Shrimp Green Bean Saute- Shrimp are always so quick and easy to fix on a weeknight. 

Japanese Mums Chicken- Funny name, when you see the recipe, there is a story behind the name. This is a chicken that has a soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and garlic glaze.  It sort of reminds me of Filipino adobo.
 
Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork- This is a two step process so it’s not exactly the kind of thing you can just cook in the crock pot while you’re not home, but you could do it on a weekend and then it’s ready for you to eat during the week. 

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta- Meatless, super easy to whip up pasta with a creamy avocado sauce.  There’s actually no cream, it’s just the avocado that creates a creamy sauce. 

White Chicken Chili- A healthy and filling chili using white kidney beans (aka Cannellini beans) and chicken. 

Homemade Spinach Manicotti- This is something you can make on a weekend and re-heat leftovers.  It takes a little extra time to prepare each element, but it’s well worth it. 

Chicken with Green Curry Sauce- If you are interested in trying to make your own Indian food, this is a super easy recipe to start with.  You may already have some of the ingredients on hand, the garam masala is not too hard to find these days. 

Cannellini Beans with Wilted Greens- Good side dish with plenty of healthy greens and protein rich cannellini beans.  You can simplify the recipe with canned beans that don’t need the overnight soaking.  Spinach or any other green like kale or collard can be used too.