 I really love Ellie Krieger from the show on Food Network called "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger". She has lots of amazing low fat and healthy recipes, many of which I can eat without altering them at all! I saw her make Oven Fried Chicken on one of her shows and thought it looked delicious. When I read the reviews online, everyone raves about it, and now I can too!
The recipe was delicious and easy to make. I loved the crusty outside and moist inside. The flavorings are really good and I think this chicken would also be amazing as chicken tenders with a honey mustard dipping sauce. Next time I may try adding a little bit more Dijon mustard because I love that flavor. I made some changes to the original recipe, I used Fat Free Saltines instead of Whole Wheat Saltines and I only used white meat chicken on the bone instead of boneless chicken breast. I served it with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, but something green would definitely have been awesome too. The recipes for the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes can be found in the links above! Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Combine the crackers and corn cereal crumbs, sesame seeds, cayenne, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Reserve. In a large bowl, combine egg whites, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and salt. Add the chicken pieces and coat thoroughly with the yogurt mixture. One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the cracker mixture, packing crumbs onto chicken. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife.
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 Mashed potatoes are just a staple for some meals. For example, what's Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes? Or meat loaf? Or fried chicken? Of course, since I can't have butter, cream, etc. I have had to find an alternate way to enjoy my mashed potatoes. Once when I was checking out Martha Sterwart's "Light and Healthy" section of her recipes, I discovered her recipe for Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I love this side dish! I have also made more traditional mashed potatoes with the "milky" flavoring, but I haven't perfected that recipe just yet so I'll wait to post it for now :).
Ingredients:
Bring a pot of water to simmer/boil. While the water is heating, peel and cut all of the potatoes into 1 and 1/2 inch chunks. Place the potatoes in the water with 2 and a 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Boil the potatoes until a knife can be inserted into a potato chunk and the potato falls off the knife easily. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and set aside. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan. Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic is browned and soft. Make sure to stir constantly to keep it from burning. Set the garlic oil aside. Once the potatoes are cooked and drained, add the reserved potato water and smash them with an eggbeater, potato smasher, food mill, etc until the potatoes are smooth. After that, add the garlic and oil and stir some more. Add salt and pepper to taste and also the parsley. Enjoy!  Macaroni and Cheese is one of the best comfort foods, hands down! I hadn't had it for many years because I couldn't find a decent fat free cheese that melted well or tasted good, but once I did, I make it whenever I am craving something cheesy for lunch or as a side for dinner. I absolutely love this simple dish!
*If you can, buy Bordens Fat Free American Cheese Slices, this is the BEST. Other fat free cheeses work fine (like Kraft) but Bordens definitely makes a huge difference in the taste.* Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil the macaroni according to package directions. In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, combine the cornstarch, salt, dry mustard, and pepper. Stir well so there aren't clumps and everything is incorporated. Stir in the skim milk until it's smooth. Then, stir in the olive oil. Continue to stir constantly, and bring the mixture to a boil for one minute. Turn the heat down to low and remove the pot from the heat. Mix in 10 of the cheese slices and stir well until all the clumps are gone and you have a cheese sauce. If necessary, put the pot back on the low heat in order to make this job easier (be careful not to burn the sauce). Strain the elbows and add them to the cheese mixture. Mix well so that the cheese sauce is coating the noodles evenly. Spray a two quart casserole dish with Pam. Pour the macaroni and cheese in the dish. Break up the remaining two cheese slices into strips/pieces and scatter on top of the macaroni. Bake the dish for 20 to 25 minutes or until it's hot and bubbly and the edges are browned. Enjoy!  We eat leftovers pretty much every single day, so eating them in a new way is always a great thing! The day after we make Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs (link to recipe above) we almost always make meatball subs. This is a quick and easy meal and it really makes our leftovers taste like something different. Enjoy :).
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the spaghetti and meatballs from the night before in the microwave until hot. While the meatballs are heating, slice the loaf of bread in 6 inch or 12 inch pieces, or however large you want each sub be. Then, slice each piece in half lengthwise. Put as many heated meatballs in the sub that can fit. Spoon some spaghetti sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle with oregano, and then top with some fat free mozzarella cheese. Spoon some more sauce on top if you like. Put the subs on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted. Serve with some leftover spaghetti on the side. Yummy and filing!  Bagel Sandwiches or "Sangwiches", as we like to call them, are my husband and I's favorite breakfast. When you have fresh bagels, this is the best! Plus, it's pretty easy to make. The "sausage" patties are very delicious and I have served this sandwich to people who hate vegetarian substitutes and they actually loved it. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
When you make this breakfast, you have to do three things at once, so it may take some practice to get it right and have everything hot and ready at once. First, start toasting the bagel or bread. Then, put the sausage patty in the microwave and begin cooking it (this comes out much better than cooking it on the stove). Make sure the patty is hot and fresh and not sitting out too long waiting for the egg to cook or bagel to toast, it will harden and be a bit inedible. Once the bagel and sausage patty are starting to toast/cook, begin cooking the eggs. I like to use one whole egg and one egg white so that the egg is bigger and you don't add more fat by adding a second yolk. Cook the egg over-easy, making sure not to break the yolk. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the egg. After the egg is cooked, the bagel is toasted, and the "sausage" patty is ready, put them all together and cut the sandwich in half. Yum! *This little sandwich is also delicious with all egg whites and a wheat bagel or wheat toast.  I love Mexican food, but usually don't love the way it makes me feel afterwards. Since I have been on the Swank diet, I have altered regular Mexican dishes to be low fat and they make me feel GREAT afterwards! They taste amazing too. Turkey Tacos are one of my favorite meals and it is extremely easy. I made this meal in less than 30 minutes today. Also, I used an organic taco dinner kit and these are the only ones I recommend for you to use. Regular taco kits have fattening ingredients and/or very unhealthy ingredients such as MSG, hydrogenated oils, palm or coconut oil. You can find an organic taco dinner kit at Whole Foods, sometimes Publix Greenwise, or your neighborhood organic food store. :) Ingredients: - Garden of Eatin! Yellow Corn Taco Dinner Kit - 1 package of Extra Lean Ground Turkey (I like Jenny-O) - 1 TSP of vegetable oil (I like Mazola) - 1 package taco seasoning (comes with kit) - 3/4 cup of water For the toppings (make sure to have some extra for taco salad leftovers): - Non-fat/Low-fat plain yogurt - Kraft Fat Free Cheddar Cheese - Onions, chopped - Tomatoes, chopped - Lettuce, shredded (I usually buy a head of lettuce so I can make taco salad the next day) - Fat Free Refried Beans (I like Old El Paso) - Taco Sauce/Hot Sauce if you like Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your toppings. Chop the onions and tomatoes and set them aside. Put the refried beans in a small pot on low until heated through, stirring occasionally. Gather the cheese and yogurt and also set aside. Once the toppings are ready, put the vegetable oil in the pain and brown the turkey over medium heat until the turkey turns from pink to white. Make sure to break the turkey into tiny pieces. Once the turkey is cooked and ground up, add 3/4 cup of water and the taco seasoning. Mix well until everything is combined and all the meat is coated with the seasoning. Simmer the meat for 5 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (since there is barely any fat in this dish, this will happen quickly). While the meat is simmering, place the taco shells on a baking sheet and bake them for 5 minutes. After the taco shells and meat are ready, set your table and prepare your tacos! This meal is also amazing the next day in a taco salad - mmmm! Enjoy this extremely tasty and easy dish!  Here is the taco salad the next day. Leftovers can be so delicious!
 Dear Starbucks,
Thank you so much for your delicious holiday drinks, such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yesterday, I had my very first Grande, Nonfat, No Whip, Extra Foam, Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was the most delicious dessert in a cup that I have ever had. Two words come to mind, "nom nom". The best part is, your drink is so magnificent, that it actually is just as scrumdiliumptious in the non-fat version. Thank you again Starbucks, I can't wait until winter comes and we can enjoy more special moments like these together. Sincerely, Michi  Turkey Chili is one of my quick 30 minute meals that I make on weeknights. It's so easy to make and incredibly tasty and low fat. Enjoy :)
Chili Ingredients:
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Brown the turkey until it is no longer pink, but white. Make sure you break up the turkey so its in tiny pieces. This may take some work, but you want the turkey to be as ground up as possible! Then, using some cooking shears, cut the whole tomatoes in pieces inside the can. Cut them into bite size pieces, but leave them a little chunky. Pour the two cans of tomatoes with the juices inside the pot with the turkey. Then, drain the kidney beans and pour them inside the pot as well. After that, add the two Chili seasoning packets. Stir the pot well to incorporate everything and bring it to a boil. After it boils for a bit, turn down the heat, put a lid on the pot, and let it simmer for at least 20 to 30 minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the tastier it gets! Once the chili is done cooking, top it with some chopped onions, some fat free cheese, and a dollop of fat free/low fat plain yogurt. If you want to add some guilt to the dish, put some fritos on top for a little crunch. :) This meal is even better the next day, so make sure you make enough for leftovers!  Cheesey Italian dishes are another thing that I miss while being on this diet. Whenever I start to REALLY crave something, that seems to be when I make up the best recipes! This recipe is so delicious and it's really hard to imagine that it is actually low fat and pretty darn healthy. I have served it to people that are against low fat eating and they actually had no idea that I cut major fattening ingredients and loved it anyway. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook rigatoni, drain, set aside. Do not salt the pasta, there is already enough salt in the dish. Using a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil, brown the turkey. In case you have never cooked with turkey, turkey doesn't really brown. Instead, it turns white and is no longer pink. Break up all the pieces of the turkey so that is it the consistency of ground beef. Once the turkey is cooked, add the cottage cheese and one package of the Mozzarella cheese. Stir very well until the cheese is completely blended with the turkey. Then, add the parsley, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir well again so that all the flavors are incorporated. Add one and a half of the jars of tomato sauce to the mixture. Stir well again. Add the cooked rigatoni and guess what, stir some more! Spoon the mixture into a 13x9 baking dish (I like to use my largest corning ware). Spread the remaining half jar of sauce over the mixture. Then sprinkle the entire second bag of Mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly (fat free cheese doesn't get that bubbly, but it will get soft).  Okay so one of the things I miss most is cream based dishes, like Beef Stroganoff. Once I craved it so much, that I went on a rampage to the grocery store and decided to make up a diet-friendly recipe myself. I think I have finally perfected this recipe, but please feel free to tweak it (in non-fattening ways) and leave suggestions!
Ingredients:
Remove ALL visible fat from the meat with a knife (Do not be surprised if you end up having only half of the meat left). Cut the remaning meat into thin strips, about 1/3 inch by 2 inches long. Cook the egg noodles according to the package directions; drain and return to the pan to keep warm. In a large frying pan over medium high head, heat the olive oil. Add steak strips and saute quickly until browned. Transfer the cooked pieces onto a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Reduce heat to low, add onion and garlic, saute until soft and the onions are translucent. Stir in the mushroom soup, mushrooms, tarragon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Simmer until mushrooms are cooked. Remove the pan from the heat (but keep the heat on low) and add the yogurt, and milk and stir until everything is combined well. Put the pot back on the stove and taste the sauce to see if it needs anything. Add onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Add a little bit more skim milk if the sauce is too thick. Add the steak strips, stir again to combine and heat up the steak, and serve on a bed of egg noodles. Enjoy! |  AuthorMy name is Michelle Bolooki and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in June 2002. I have been on the Swank MS Diet since April of 2005. I have created this blog in order to share some delicious and healthy low fat recipes that I have come across the last few years. Enjoy! CategoriesAll |
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