Cooking Healthy Dinner Recipes - Lemon Poached Chicken & Potato Salad

Many people feel that dinner is one of the important meals in the day. Most of the people in the metropolitan cities pursue a very hectic lifestyle. This hectic lifestyle devoid them from maintaining a proper routine for daily breakfast and lunch. It is the most enjoyable meal for some people. You can relax after a hectic day at work and enjoy your dinner with your family in complete peace. On the other hand there are many people that come home and prepare the dinner themselves. It can turn out to be a pretty tedious task. It would be a real blessing if one gets hand on some recipes that are not so time consuming and healthy alike. There are many ways that can make cooking dinner recipes fun, quick, healthy and easy. 

One must consider it as a time to be involved with the family and kids. There are a number of recipes that even kids can contribute with. These recipes can help you strike a chord between fun, cooking, health and taste. Get the kids involved in helping prepare the meal. They can do things like washing and tearing up vegetables and measuring out ingredients. One must add proper dash of fruits and vegetables to the dinner meals. Vegetables and fruits are often regarded as one of the healthiest ingredients while preparing a dinner meals. These fruits and vegetables are easy on stomach and easily digestible. It also helps in providing a sweet and tangy punch to the meal. Try to chop the essential fruits and vegetables days prior to store it in the fridge. You can store them in containers in fridge and use them as per your needs. This would work wonders for the working class people that cook dinner after reaching home drenched in tiredness. Let us discuss a not so time consuming dinner recipe which is tasty and healthy alike. You can involve the kids too in preparation of it.

Lemon Poached Chicken & Potato Salad

Ingredients

4 small chicken breast fillets, trimmed

1 lemon, rind removed (see hint), juiced

750g kipfler or pink fir potatoes, scrubbed

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

150g baby green beans, trimmed, halved

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into thirds crossways

1 tablespoon dill leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Method

Place chicken in a large, deep frying pan with lemon rind. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Cool slightly. Slice across the grain.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Using tongs, transfer to a chopping board. Stand for 10 minutes or until still warm but cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Place in a large bowl.

Using a fork, whisk oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice and salt and pepper in a jug. Drizzle three-quarters of the dressing over potato. Stir gently to coat.

Place beans and asparagus in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stand for 3 minutes. Drain. Add to potato with chicken, dill and chives. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Toss gently to combine. Season with pepper. Serve.

Hint: Use a potato peeler to remove the rind from a lemon, avoiding the white pith which can make the poaching liquid taste bitter.

This recipe would take 20 mins for preparation & 30 mins to cook.

There are many websites and video channels online that provide many such healthy dinner recipes and cooking tips. India Food Network is one such website which you can refer to learn these easy to cook instant healthy recipes. It also provides many nutritional tips and ingredients list for cooking fanatics. Visit the India Food Network website for more information.

Healthy Recipes to keep you Fit – Chicken and Peach Salad

Preparing food the old fashioned way—at home in your own kitchen—doesn’t have to be time consuming or complicated. With some simple guidelines, you can create quick, delicious meals the whole family will enjoy. Many people feel too busy to take 15 minutes for breakfast every day. But this vital first meal of the day gets your metabolism going and gives you energy. People who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. Breakfast can be quick, easy, and nutritious. If you have a busy schedule, lunch can often be a rushed meal—a takeout eaten at your desk or a quick bite in a diner or restaurant. But with a little planning, it’s easy to prepare a nutritious and tasty lunch yourself. Things like sandwiches or leftovers from a previous dinner can make quick, easy, and healthy lunchtime meals. You must strike a perfect balance in the ingredients that make a pivotal part of your breakfast and lunch recipes. Most of the people nowadays lead a hectic lifestyle. This makes it very hard for them to maintain proper balance in their early morning breakfast and lunch routine. There are many recipes that you can consume to maintain proper balance between enjoying tasty food and eating healthy. Let us discuss one such recipe which is not much time consuming in preparation. Along with that it also helps you to strike a chord between taste and health.

Chicken and Peach Salad

Ingredients:

    7 green onions

    1/4 cup soy sauce

    2 tablespoons red wine

    1 tablespoon honey

    1 tablespoon brown sugar

    1 garlic clove, crushed

    1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    4 small chicken breast fillets, trimmed

    120g mixed lettuce leaves

    30g snow pea sprouts, trimmed

    1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced

    415g can peach slices in natural juice (see note), drained

    1/2 cup pistachio kernels

    1 avocado

Dressing

    1 teaspoon sesame oil

    1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

    1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce

    2cm piece ginger, peeled, grated

Method

Thinly slice 3 onions. Combine soy sauce, red wine, honey, sugar, garlic, cinnamon and sliced onions in a large, shallow ceramic dish. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight, if time permits.

Make dressing: Place oils, sweet chili sauce and ginger in a screw-top jar. Secure lid and shake until well combined. Set aside until ready to serve.

Preheat a barbecue grill on medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil and stand for 5 minutes. Slice.

Thinly slice remaining onions. Combine onions, lettuce, snow pea sprouts, cucumber, peaches and pistachio kernels in a large bowl. Peel, quarter and thinly slice avocado. Add to salad. Pour over dressing and gently toss. Spoon salad onto plates. Top with chicken and serve.

           

There are many internet sites and channels that provide an array of recipes to make your off day subtle. India Food Network is one such website which is very well known for different types of recipes both vegetarian and no vegetarian. It also provides many health tips and recipe short cuts to make cooking a fun filled hobby. Visit the India Food Network website to check out more.

Be High on Nutrition: Add Fruits to your Diet

Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then kind of observe fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary technique—eating is applicable when you’re most active and it gives your digestive system a long break each day. These smart eating techniques also help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided. Fruits and vegetables are regarded to lay foundation levels of a healthy diet. They are very low in calories and absolutely high in essential nutrients. These fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. One must try and consume a huge number of fruits and vegetables every day. Every meal should contain ample amount of these fruits. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day. These are some of nutritional foods that should certainly be part of your food plate.

Figs

When you think of potassium-rich produce, figs probably do not hit the high note, but you may be baffled to learn that six fresh figs have 891 mg of the blood pressure-lowering mineral. Figs help constitute almost 20% of your daily need and it is almost double the nutrition that you may find what in one large banana. In a recent 5-year study from the Netherlands, high-potassium diets were linked with lower rates of death from all causes in healthy adults age 55 and older. Figs are one of the best options that contain calcium, with nearly as much per serving (six figs) as 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. You can try figs in various methods and recipes. For e.g. chopping it and adding to yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, or green salads. Figs can also be used as a savory snack to have a bite every now and then.

Blueberries

Blueberries may very well be the most apt nutritious food jam-packed with antioxidants. Tangy-sweet wild blueberries (which are smaller than their cultivated cousins) contain the high quantity of absorbable antioxidants. Research shows a diet rich in blueberries can help with memory loss, prevent urinary tract infections, and help get rid of eyestrain. Add up to 1/2 cup of blueberries to your diet a day for maximum health benefits, recommends Ronald Prior, PhD, adjunct professor of food science at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. This alone provides just about double the amount of antioxidants most Americans get in 1 day.

Asian Pears

One large Asian pear has a whopping 10 g of cholesterol-lowering fiber, about 40% of your daily need. People who ate the most fiber had the lowest total and LDL cholesterol levels, according to a recent study of Baltimore adults. The same researchers found that people who ate the most fiber also weighed the least and had the lowest body mass index and waist circumference. Serve by dicing it into a salad of Boston lettuce, crumbled goat cheese, walnuts, and mandarin oranges. Or make it a dessert: Add peeled and cored pears to a saucepan with 1 cup white wine, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, and enough water to cover the pears. Cover and simmer 40 minutes or until pears are soft.

Apples

One of the healthiest fruits you should be eating is one you probably already are: the apple. The Iowa Women’s Health Study, which has been investigating the health habits of 34,000 women for nearly 20 years, named apples as one of only three foods (along with pears and red wine) that are most effective at reducing the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women. Other massive studies have found the fruit to lower risk of lung cancer and type 2 diabetes—and even help women lose weight. In fact, one of the only things that could make an apple unhealthy is mixing it with sugar, flour, and butter and stuffing it into a mile-high pie. Instead, have one as an afternoon snack with a tablespoon of peanut butter, or add slices to sandwiches or salads.

These fruits can be easily blended into a wide range of recipes. These fruits will help fulfill your basic nutritional needs and yet provide you with yummy recipes and desserts. There are many websites and video channels online that provide many such healthy recipes and cooking tips. India Food Network is one such website which you can refer to learn these easy to cook instant healthy recipes. It also provides many nutritional tips and ingredients list for cooking fanatics. Visit the India Food Network website for more information. 

Calcium helps in Making Bones Stronger: Calcium Rich Recipes

Calcium is often regarded as one of the most essential components for a healthy body and living. It is one of the key nutrients to keep the body strong and healthy. It is essential for many different reasons; it also acts as a building block for stronger bones in men and women alike. This is the reason your mom must be doting on you since a tender age to consume more milk. Milk is known to contain high quantities of calcium. A person and his bones benefit a lot from having calcium rich food included in their diet. It limits the foods that deplete your body’s calcium stores, and helps you get your daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and K—nutrients that help calcium do its job. 

There are many products that are rich in calcium. Dairy products are the top notch products for proper intake of calcium. Dairy products are very rich in calcium and can be easily digested. It provides calcium in such form that it can be easily absorbed by the body. Various dairy products include Milk, Yoghurt and cheese. Other foods high on calcium are vegetables and fruits. The various green vegetables are very high in calcium components. Try turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, green beans, asparagus, and crimini mushrooms. Another rich source of calcium is the beans. Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, or baked beans are regarded as rich sources of calcium. Let us discuss couple of calcium rich recipes that won't fail to satisfy your taste buds too.

Broccoli-stuffed Pasta

6 ounces (18-20) jumbo pasta shells

1 16-ounce bag frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1 pound low-fat cottage cheese

8 ounces (2 cups) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon grated onion

½ teaspoon pepper

2 cloves crushed garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 15 ½ ounce jars marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain. Combine broccoli, cottage cheese, 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, pepper and garlic.  Fill shells with cheese-broccoli mixture.  Spoon enough marinara sauce into bottom of 9-by-13-inch baking pan to cover the bottom.  Arrange shells in single layer; spoon remaining sauce over shells.  Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top.  Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes, until heated thoroughly.

Serving: 6

Calories per serving: 437

Calcium per serving: 493 mg

Old-Fashioned Hot Cocoa

5 Tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups water

4 ½ cups whole milk

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

½ teaspoon mint extract (optional)

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a 2-quart saucepan.  Add water.  Boil and stir constantly.  Boil and stir for 2 minutes.  Stir in liquid milk and then slowly add dry milk, stirring continuously.  Heat thoroughly but do not boil.  Stir in extract, if desired.  Just before serving, beat with a hand beater until foamy.

Servings: 6, 1 cup each

Calories per serving: 202

Calcium per serving: 365 mg