Low Calorie Dinner

Both of us were just getting back home from Fourth of July weekend in NC, and tonight is the only night I'm cooking at home this week. So I wanted something quick. Cheap. And easy. Baked ziti fit the criteria well, but Mark has decided (as I was just informed) to go on a low-calorie diet to get back down to a "target" weight. (My "target weight" is anything greater than 135 and less than 160... What?! I like big targets; they're easier to hit!) He suggested chicken or fish--no heavy carbs--so baked ziti was a no-go.

I am not easily daunted by sudden challenges, but I knew this one was going to be tough, as I have never cooked for a specific diet before. (Not to mention I love, love, LOVE carbs.) So to the computer I went, and quickly found several low-calorie/low-carb recipes. Most recipes were chicken and fish (and vegetables...but man cannot survive on veggies alone), but I did find a handful of beef recipes that were in the 260-300 calories per serving range.

I decided to prepare a recipe I found on allrecipes.com called "Normal Chicken." Sounds kind of boring, I know, but with only three ingredients (chicken breasts, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce)--and 185 calories per serving--this recipe was more "simple" than normal. I did add a fourth ingredient--brown sugar--and the final meal was a far cry from normal. I would definitely put this dish in my Top Five All-Time Favorite Dinner Dishes. (That's an unofficial list I should actually consider maintaining. Maybe I'll refresh it every month or two, and see what meals get bumped out of the top five and which new meals make an appearance there for the first time. Even better, an award would be in order for the meal that maintains a top-five status the longest. Hmmmm...)

This is a baked dish, too, so it's one of those fix-it-and-forget-it type (FIAFI) dinners...my favorite! I prepared the rest of the meal in a rice cooker/steamer (white rice and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), so tally up another FIAFI for the chef!

With the rice, this meal was less than 500 calories; only chicken and veggies is about 250 calories. Not too shabby for a low-calorie/low-carb dinner. And who'd have thought diets could be so darn deeee-lish?