A 5 minute Lunch Idea and Under 500 Calorie Dinner!

So I was a slacker last night. I didn't prepare a lunch a head of time, so I knew I needed to come up with something quick and healthy. I went grocery shopping this weekend so buying a $7-10 salad for lunch is not an option since I've got a ton of food at home. So this morning after I got home from my work out I give myself about 30 minutes to prepare and eat breakfast before I need to hit the shower and get ready for my work day...so that only gave me about 5 minutes to throw something together for lunch out of what I had lying around.

So grabbing things hastily here's what I came up with: Cod fillet with spinach and squash.

Here's what you need:

*Frozen single wrapped fillet of cod (4-5oz)
*Lemon
*Your favorite spice or a seafood spice
*Olive oil
*Ziploc medium sized steamer bag for the microwave (hopefully you have access at your job!)

*Frozen veges (cook in a separate container unless you want your veges to taste like fish)

So all I had to do was throw the filled of cod in the steamer bag, cut a lemon in half add one slice to the bag and squeeze in some of the juice, drizzle a little bit of olive oil, throw in some seasoning and shake...viola you've got a marinade going til lunch hour.



Then I grabbed some frozen vegetables I had lying around and placed them in a separate container.

For a healthy carb to go with my lunch I already had some of my winter squash quinoa salad left over so I have a well rounded meal of a protein/vege/healthy carb. If you don't have a left over lying around a slice of wheat bread or maybe even consider a half of a sweet potato (easy to cook in the microwave as well).

Nutrition information for this lunch:
*40z Cod Fillet: 119 Calories
*Yellow Squash and Zucchini: 2 cup serving = 25 calories. I didn't have that much left in my freezer so my serving is probably only 1 cup...but seriously you can fill your plate up with these veges so you don't go hungry and not do damage to your diet.
*Spinach:1 cup = 7 calories!!
*Quinoa Salad: one serving = 293 calories (following the recipe I have)

Totals: 444 Calories (and it's going to be one filling nutritious meal!)

If you decide to try this meal with a sweet potato on the side, a 4oz. portion is only 103 calories...so that's an even healthier option. All nutrition information for this meal is from calorieking.com.

On to dinner!

So I have left over butternut squash from the other day that needs to get eaten up! And when I was looking for soup recipes for the last post I found this delish sounding recipe for a hearty dinner

Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Butternut Squash
from cookinglight.com

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces chicken and about 3/4 cup vegetables) TSP Note: Obviously if you have a big family to feed prepare a larger bird and more veges so there's more to go around...but 3oz is a proper portion size for a serving of chicken.



2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 (3 1/2-pound) roasting chicken
Cooking spray
12 ounces red potatoes, cut into wedges
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sage in a small bowl. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Rub garlic mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack in broiler pan.

3. Combine potatoes, squash, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetable mixture around chicken. Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until a thermometer inserted into meaty part of thigh registers 165. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

Nutrition Information:
CALORIES 399 ; FAT 12.1g (sat 5g,mono 3.2g,poly 1.7g); CHOLESTEROL 147mg; CALCIUM 77mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.9g; SODIUM 791mg; PROTEIN 43.8g; FIBER 3.4g; IRON 3.5mg

So I must make this tonight or tomorrow. Tonight might need to whip up something quick again though. I have a dentist appointment...I'm getting my last set of wires for my braces which means I'm reaching the home stretch...which means I'm one step closer to not resembling a teenager and being carded all the time.