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Quick and easy weight loss recipes for a healthy diet, by Trevy Thomas

Apple tape measure. Photo: Rob Owen-WahlLosing weight is not fun, at least not as fun as gaining, but it’s that time of year when we all start thinking about being healthy and trim.  Rather than get sucked into one of those TV diets where you have to pay a company and eat bad frozen food in order to lose weight (absurd, really), try a healthier, cheaper approach by making easy, healthy food at home.  Shave a few calories here and there, and by summer, you’ll be proud to look down.  Here is a collection of our leanest, healthiest recipes for a variety of meals. 

Recipes for Weight Loss

Appetizers:
Radish & Arugula Salad
Roasted Tomatoes
Fresh Homemade Salsa
Spicy Shrimp

Breakfast:
Cranberry Breakfast Bread

Lunch:
Vegetarian Chicken Salad
Marinated Roasted Pepper Salad
Peach & Tomato Salad
Sushi Salad
Creamy Vegetable Soup

Dinner:
Easy Minestrone with Pesto Toast
Acorn Squash Bowls with Wild Rice
Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Beef Stew Recipe
Turkey Breast for One
Grilled Marlikn with Freekeh
Chicken Pepper Stirfry
Mediterranean Fish

Dessert:
Banana Ice Cream

This is just a sampling of many low-calorie, healthy recipes here at Home Cooks that are a perfect match for your weight-loss efforts.  If you’re in the mood for something specific, check the Recipe Index.  And if you can’t find it there, post a comment below and we’ll see what we can come up with for you.  Almost as good as having your own personal chef.

I am very proud to announce the arrival of two new Home Cooks to our blog.  Heather Forsyth, a life long friend, will be posting new recipes every Monday, and Helen Kenney, a life long sister, will be posting on Wednesdays.  They are both wonderful cooks with lots of experience, and they each bring their own unique talent and flavor to the site.   Be sure to check in every week to see what they've got cooking!

Mini review: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for
Entertaining

Most of us probably have one of these slow cooker appliances
in the kitchen. Whether it deserves
countertop display or is shoved in the twice-yearly cabinet depends on how much
use you've been able to make of it. I
love slow cookers, but also have a big complaint about them: the food is
awfully homey. Not in a good way. Brilliant concept; mediocre execution. In comes a cookbook writer who has her days
free to invent ingenious recipes for the crockpot that are good enough for
entertaining. Say no more. If it's good enough for entertaining, chances
are it's good enough for me on a regular weeknight. I received this cookbook recently, and the
recipes look delicious. There is not a
ketchup bottle or cream of mushroom soup can in sight. Finally, a domestic machine we can be proud
of. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker
Recipes for Entertaining. 

Salad
spinners have been around a long time. I
hadn't used mine in a while, but just recently rediscovered it. What an ingenious invention. The worst part of making a salad, at least if
you're lazy, is washing and drying the lettuce. I was a big fan of salad bags for this reason, but lately I've noticed
that the lettuce is often brown and doesn't last very long. Not to mention, the bags are about three
times the price of a head of lettuce. So
I pulled my salad spinner out, easily washed and dried the lettuce in it, and
then discovered a clever new trick. Once
the lettuce is dry, you can dump it in the big outer bowl and make your salad
right in it. No extra bowl
required. In fact, I think you could put
all your salad ingredients in with the lettuce and wash everything at once. Now if only I could get up out of my chair to
go make it.