Shannon, hostess of WFMW at Rocks in My Dryer, suggested that since so many were talking about needing to lose weight or make healthier eating choices, we should do a themed WFMW today sharing our tips on healthy (low-fat, low-calorie, low-sugar) recipes.

I didn’t really think I had anything. I don’t think a lot of what I make is excessively high-calorie, but it’s not really low-calorie either. There’s baked chicken or fish — toss in the oven with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and minced onion and a little margarine — but to me that’s kind of blah. OK for every now and then but nothing to get really excited about. I think that’s one thing that makes the dieting seem so depressing to me — having to eat like that all the time. So I am really looking forward to reading and gleaning from the other recipes and tips posted today.

I did happen to think of a couple of side dishes I make that would work for this theme.

Vegetable Medley

1 1/2 c. fresh broccoli cut into small pieces
1 1/2 c. fresh cauliflower cut into small pieces
1 1/2 c. baby carrots, sliced
1 T minced onion
1/2 c. water
1 T. instant chicken bouillon

Mix all ingredients. Microwave on high 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave another 3 minutes. Stir. Adjust cooking time according to how well-cooked you like your vegetables. We like our between crisp and mushy.

This is really an adjustable recipe. I don’t measure it out like that, but I was trying to give some kind of idea of amounts and proportions. You can use any kind of vegetables in any amounts that you like. I imagine it would work fine with frozen vegetables, though you’d have a longer cooking time, of course. For a really quick side dish, I’ve even poured a can of Veg-All into a bowl, added a little minced onion and instant chicken bouillon, and microwaved.

Fruit and Yogurt Salad

I have a dear friend who is a whiz at just throwing together really tasty and simple things, and once at her house she mixed some fruit, some vanilla yogurt, and sprinkled it with granola, and it was wonderful. A few months ago at a baby shower brunch I was asked to bring some kind of fruit dish, and made this. A couple of ladies really liked it and asked for the recipe. I told them it was basically any fruit + yogurt sprinkled with granola, but they wanted specifics. So this is the combination I made that day.

1 can tropical fruit, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can pineapple bits, drained
2 bananas, sliced
1 small container low-fat vanilla yogurt
Granola or granola cereal

Mix all ingredients except granola and refrigerate. Sprinkle granola on top just before serving.

You could use fresh fruits, of course. My husband has somehow developed an allergy to most fresh fruits, but can tolerate canned or cooked, so that’s mostly what we have on hand. And most canned ones come in a “lite” version packed in juice or water rather than syrup, and that’s what we use.

Also on this theme, a few days ago I posted a link my son sent me called “What Does 200 Calories Look Like?” (though I did wonder if that should be “do” rather than “does.” But it has a page full of pictures of how much of different kinds of foods add up to 200 calories. It’s an eye-opener.

I’m off to Shannon’s for more great healthy eating tips!