Asian Citrus Tilapia

 I made this for dinner tonight and boy oh boy, it was so tasty. When I added the fish to the hot skillet the smell was just insane. It reminded the hubby and me of those buffalo mustard pretzel chunks. Yum! I served this up alongside sauteed spinach and a few slices of roma tomato with a small drizzle of balsamic. Feel free to use another white fish if you don't have tilapia on hand or available!

Low Cal Chili with Nopales

  This chili totally hit the spot! It was so lean but super filling. I really wish I would have added a dash of hot sauce when I ate it because that would be so yummy and make it even more filling. I'll definitely do that for lunch tomorrow. I use nopales instead of bell peppers. It's only 42 calories for 3 cups, only 3 carbs once you subtract the fiber, 3 grams sugar, and 3.3 grams protein. It's truly a wonder food, and living so close to the border I can always find nopales at the grocery store. These are also delicious in enchiladas, breakfast burritos, or even raw in green smoothies!

Under 200 calories: Steak & Broccoli

 It's amazing how much food you can enjoy for such a small amount of calories. Round beef is relatively low on calories (166 for 3.5 ounces, or 100 grams) and cooks up in literally no time at all. The best way to add flavor and juiciness is using a nice dry rub, while it's cooking you can add a little 99% fat free chicken broth to keep it moist. I used the browned bits left behind in the pan and combined those with chicken broth to deglaze the pan, then I threw in my steamed broccoli and a little S&P just to add a bit of flavor to the veggie. 

This whole meal was 179 calories.

Shrimp Ceviche

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 This is one of my all time favorite ways to eat fish and shrimp. Ceviche is a raw dish that uses the acid from the lemon and limes to "cook" the fish. It will cure pretty quickly, but I like to let it sit in the fridge overnight for lunch the next day just because it's less fuss. Growing up close to the border I've had a lot of ceviche in my life. My best friend from high schools mom made this for every family party, and there were a lot of parties! =P Originally from Peru, I'm not sure if my version is legit or not. All I know is it's delicious!

Low Calorie Strawberry Crisp

I bought a carton of strawberries and decided to make a quick and low calorie dessert for myself! You don't need many ingredients, it's totally delicious, and get this: only 94 calories plus a whole serving of fruit! (depending on size of berry! if you did a quarter cup of berries plus the topping it's about 98 calories)

Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

  You can never have too much chicken, right? This week I made a roast chicken over a bed of root vegetables. I must say, it was fantastic. You know your dinner is good when your husband loudly "mmmms" with every bite, then sits in silence with his eyes closed to appreciate it.

I thought it was very creepy sweet. I'm sure I've had parsnips and rutabagas at some point in my life (right, mom?) but I swear this felt like a first time experience. I could not believe the excellent flavor coming from these bland looking veggies. It was like a radish, a cabbage, and a potato made a love child. And that love child is pure awesomeness. 

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

  A few months ago I won a giveaway for cookies and a cookbook from Tate's Bake Shop. Little did I know this would be the most beneficial cookbook I would own for baking. Kathleen King's recipes are simple and easy to follow. I don't need a fancy Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make these treats, my plain old electric beaters work just fine. I had made these muffins right after I received the book, but I only had enough banana and chocolate chips to make a half batch (6 muffins). I had 2 large and very ripe bananas sitting in my fridge the other day and remembered this recipe. We've been snacking on delicious muffins since, and I froze five and put them in individual baggies that can be nuked for a quick morning breakfast.

Simple Roast Chicken

I'll be completely honest with you guys, I had never roasted a chicken in my life before Wednesday. I felt clueless the entire time and probably texted my mom 20 times just to be sure I was doing everything right. I remember my moms Thanksgiving turkey a few years back, it was the best she had ever made and it was while I was still eating vegetarian/vegan. Oddly enough, trying that turkey was what got me back into eating meat again.

Beef Fajitas

I can't recall cooking beef lately, the last time I remember buying any was for those meatballs I made in June. I purchased some flank steak a while back but ended up freezing it because I had other things I wanted to cook first, or not have to cook like salads.

Simple Coconut Lime Salmon

I absolutely love salmon, but I seem to always cook it the same way. Olive oil, salt, pepper, and cook it in a frying pan or broil it. I wanted to be a little fancier this time and serve it up with some herb butter asparagus I bought as well as some rice, because I couldn't even think about eating another freaking salad the day I made this.

This dish was easy for me to make because I had fresh limes, a can of coconut milk, and shredded coconut. I definitely recommend fresh limes for this dish so you can use the zest!