THM Friendly Dinners

Dinner is the only meal I truly "cook" each day.  I cook dinner 5-6 days a week. We usually have leftovers 1 night a week.  And we MIGHT go out to dinner once a month.  As I mentioned in my THM Lunch post, I try to make large portions for dinner so that we (mostly Jake) can eat leftovers for lunch the next day.  This isn't as important over the weekend when we're at home for lunch.  But Jake needs an easy option for lunch at work and most frozen meals or drive thru's make it hard to stay on plan.

When I first read the book, I was overwhelmed with the idea that everything had to change.  But it's NOT that drastic if you start with your OWN recipes.  You will find that you can tweak many of your current recipes to fit THM.  This makes it easy on you AND your family.  You don't go through a drastic overhaul of your typical foods, you just... rearrange them.  This is also helpful if you have a reluctant spouse.  It's a lot easier to convince your spouse to eat their normal foods with a slight adjustment than it is to create all new recipes.

So here's a list of my common dinner foods.  Some include recipes and some send you to a link from Pinterest.  But this should really get your wheels turning about how easy it is to cook "normal" foods the THM way.

(DISCLAIMER:  My meals aren't perfect.  So I never intentionally add Rye Bread or 1/2 apple, etc to make it a Crossover or S Helper.  I try to keep them leaning S or E and I let the Crossovers happen naturally at times)

Mexican (Can be an S, E, or Crossover but is very low carb friendly)

• Chicken Fajitas with Lime, Lettuce, and Salsa served with Tortilla Chips (E)
• Avoid Sour Cream, Cheese, or Guacamole unless you want it to be a Crossover
• Enchiladas with Ground Turkey or Lean Beef, Chili Beans, and Enchilada Sauce (E)
• Leave the Cheese off
• Tacos (Can be S or E based on the toppings you use)

Pasta Meals - I use Whole Wheat Pasta so that ALWAYS makes them an (E).  Avoid any (S) additions like cream sauce, butter, cheese, etc.  Parmesan Cheese is the exception since it is low fat, but don't overdo it.

• Spaghetti with Meat Sauce & Steamed Broccoli (E)
• Summertime Spaghetti - A Pampered Chef Recipe (E)
• See Picture at Right

Regular Foods - 

•  Chili (E) - Don't Add Cheese or Sour Cream

• Grilled Chicken / Pork / Lean Steak with Corn on the Cob, Lima Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, etc. (E)
• You could use a low fat butter for the Vegetables, or Truvia and Cinnamon for the Sweet Potatoes

• Fish with Tarter Sauce, Baked Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts and Steamed Broccoli (S)
• Butter and Olive Oil are fine here. 

• Vegetable Beef Soup & Cornbread (E)
• No White Potatoes in the Soup.
• I use regular Cornbread here because it's just not satisfying without it and the alternative recipes in the book are an (S).  So there wasn't an appropriate substitute.  At least I kept it an E :)

•  Sante Fe Soup & Tortilla Chips (E)
• This recipe is from my mom.  I switched to just 1 large can of Bush's Chili Beans and I dropped the can of Veg-All.  Just don't put cheese on the top.

• Chicken Tortilla Soup or White Chili (E)

•  Pot Roast with Carrots, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Onions, and Celery (E)
• I use Ranch, Italian, and Brown Gravy Seasonings depending on what I have on hand.  Add Salt, Pepper, and Water.  Cook in the Crock Pot for best results.

•   Chicken Salad made with Onion, Celery, Walnuts and Mayo (S) - No Grapes or Fruit
• Serve with Joseph's Pitas

Kielbasa Pasta with Spinach (E)

Ingredients:

1 lb Kielbasa Sausage (Turkey or Regular) Cut into Slices

1/4 Cup Chopped Green Pepper

1 Cup Chopped Onion

1 tsp. Minced Garlic

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

2 (14.5oz) Cans Stewed Tomates or Diced Tomatoes (or 1 Quart)

1 Box Whole Wheat Pasta

1 Box Frozen Chopped Spinach

Directions

1.       In a large Skillet, sauté the Kielbasa, Green Pepper, Onion, and Garlic in Olive Oil until the Sausage is lightly browned.

2.       Warm the Spinach in the Microwave until it is Thawed.  I like to season mine with a little Salt, Onion Seasoning, and Garlic while it thaws.

3.       Stir Tomatoes into the Skillet with the Kielbasa Mixture.  Add the Cooked Spinach.  Bring to a Simmer for 10 minutes.

4.       Meanwhile, cook the Pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

5.       Serve Pasta with Kielbasa Mixture.  Add a small amount of Parmesan Cheese if desired.

Pinterest Recipes

Chicken Stacks with Tortilla Chips (E)

• I like to add an Onion and Taco Seasoning to the Crock Pot also for additional flavor.

 Lasagna Soup (E)

•  I use a full Box of Pasta.  And Don't add the Cheese on top.

I hope this list of meals gives you ideas and the confidence that the THM lifestyle is very doable and sustainable.  There are SOOO many more recipes in the book.  I actually haven't even read the dinner section of the recipes (I'll get there... soon).  Please feel free to comment with additional meal ideas, links to Pinterest Recipes, etc.  We'd love to hear it!

So I've noticed that I usually eat an (S) Breakfast and an (E) Dinner... Interesting.