Chinese Please!

This past week has been Spring Break for my kids. Friday night Grandma took the three oldest to stay over. Mr. Peepers and The Littlest Princess stayed home for, as Grandma reminds me, they don't sleep through the night. (Note The Littlest Princess asleep in teh background).

Date nights are few and far between but this was a perfect opportunity for an at-home date night and I like themes so it was to be CHINESE night! Grabbed some paper lanterns for $3 from Walmart and hung them over my table (It's a small town, those were my only color options) and set about preparing some of our favorite "fast" food.

Crazy Cuizine Chicken Potstickers: 240 calories for EIGHT. Super tasty and a great portion size for the calories. These are pre-cooked so just heat & eat.

 

 

 

Tai Pei Chicken Egg Rolls- 120 calories for one. Considering most fast-food restaurant egg rolls can top 200-300 calories, these are a bargain. Just bake & serve

 

 

Finally, prepared salad mix. This pic isn't exactly what we had but I couldn't find the appropriate picture. Ours was a cabbage Asian salad mix. First thing to do- ditch those fried won ton skins and the included dressing.

 

 

This is a much more reasonable dressing option and one of my favorites. Only 50 calories for 2 Tablespoons

 

 

 

I dumped the entire bag of mix in a bowl. Then cut up 4 oz. (raw weight) of chicken and sauteed it with some non-stick spray just until it was just golden brown and cooked through then tossed it with a pinch of ginger and 1 tbsp of the Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame dressing. I added the chicken to our salad mix and topped it off with some sliced green onions and 1/2 c. LaChoy Chow Mein Noodles for some crunch (Fewer calories than those fried won ton strips). This will make approximately 4 1-cup servings. Top each serving with an additional 1 tbsp dressing. If you are going to have leftovers of your salad, I recommend topping your individual portions with 1/8c. chow mein noodles instead of adding the entire 1/2 c. to your salad as they will lose their crunch in the fridge overnight.

 

 

 

1 Egg Roll       120 Calories

4 Pot Stickers   120 Calories

 1 c. salad mix   15 Calories

1/8 c. Chow Mein Noodles 32 Calories

1 1/4 Tbsp Dressing 32 calories

 (this accounts for the salad topping & that mixed with the chicken)

1 oz. Sauteed Chicken Breast 31 calories

1 Fortune Cookie 35 calories (not pictured)

 

Total : 385 calories

 

You can have "Fast" food. This was almost as quick as the local drive through and much healthier as well as more tasty. To top of our date night, we watched "Tangled" and then released Wish Lanterns. Date night - and even Chinese Food- can be fun and healthy!

Breakfast Tacos

 

Breakfast Tacos & Home Fries 317 Calories

 

 

2 Extra Thin Corn Tortillas (I use Misson Brand 40 cal each)

1 Large Egg

1 Tbsp Chopped Green Onion

1 Tbsp Chopped Yellow Onion

1 Slice 98-99% Fat Free Ham, chopped (Bar S Brand 40 cal/ slice)

2 Tbsp Tillamook Shredded Cheddar
Salt & Pepper to Taste
1-2 Tbsp Salsa (Optional- this will increase your calorie count)

65 Grams Leftover Oven Fries

Non-Stick Spray

 

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Spray both tortillas with non-stick spray and lay over oven rack to create taco shape. Bake 6-8 minutes or until desired crispiness.

Spray skillet with non-stick spray and scramble egg with ham & yellow onion. Add egg mixture to taco shells and top each with 1 tbsp cheese and 1/2 tbsp green onion. Add salt, pepper or salsa to taste.

Cut oven fries into cubes and coat with non-stick spray. Sautee in skillet until outside is crispy and golden brown.



BBQ Pulled Pork & Oven Fries

 

BBQ Pulled Pork & Oven Fries 364 Calories

 

 

3-4 Lb Lean Boneless Pork Loin

1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
1 C. Water
1 Tbsp BBQ Sauce (50 calories/2 Tbsp or less)

 

Rub pork with spices and place in pressure cooker or slow cooker. Top with diced onion.

Add water to cooker. For slow cooker- cook on low 8-10 hours.

Pressure Cooker- 15 lbs pressure for 65-70 Minutes, let pressure release naturally

Remove pork from cooker and allow to cool slightly then shred with two forks. Return to liquid in cooker to keep moist. Serve Pork with BBQ Sauce.

 

6 medium potatoes (approx 100 g weight)

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp dried parsley

non-stick spray

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice potatoes into wedges and microwave several minutes (I just used the baked potato setting on mine) Remove and let cool. Place all potatoes in bowl and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle remaining seasonings on top and toss to coat. Spray 11x17 sheet pan with non-stick spray and place single layer of potatoes on pan. Roast in oven about 10-15 minutes, turn potatoes and roast additional 10-15 minutes until golden on both sides

 

Serving Suggestion: 3 oz pork with 1 Tbsp BBQ Sauce = 234 calories
100 g of wedges = 100 calories

To help control calories, measure sauce for each pork portion instead of dumping a whole bottle in your cooker