Food Court Lunch

My husband was off work yesterday, so we took our 4-year-old and went to the mall to exchange a couple things.  At lunch time, we decided to head over to the food court....not my first choice, but the hubs had his heart set on bourbon chicken from Cajun Cafe {the real stuff!}.  It was incredibly hard for me to turn down those juicy, delicious chunks of melt in your mouth chicken, but I was really excited to discover that you can now order a salad there.  The base of the salad is simple....lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and red onions.  Then you choose what meat you want on top. I resisted the bourbon chicken {which I'm sure has plenty of sugar in the sauce} and went for a more basic blackened chicken.  It wasn't greasy or saucy - just delicious and full of flavor.  I also ordered my dressing on the side and ended up using barely any of it.

How great does that look?!  I don't know what the calorie count was, but I'm pretty sure it was better for me than the bourbon chicken with two sides of grease-laden veggies.  The food court is looking better and better these days!

Greek Veggie Salad

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a salad without lettuce.  Is that weird?  For some reason, when I make myself a "lettuce-less" salad, it's almost always Greek....how can you not love feta? Today, I just chopped up whatever veggies I had and added fat-free Italian dressing, reduced fat feta and some fresh ground pepper.  Yum!

{80 calories, 2g fat, 9g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g protein}

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

1/4 cup chopped carrots

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1 tbsp fat-free zesty Italian dressing

2 tbsp reduced fat feta 

fresh ground pepper

Mix it all together for a great snack or a light lunch.

Light Lunch

Lunch is probably my LEAST favorite meal of the day.  I'm not a big fan of leftovers or sandwiches, but I don't want a hassle either.  I just want something quick and easy.  I know it's bad, but I usually don't even sit down for lunch {or breakfast for that matter}.  As a mom of young kids, there's always something to do or someone to help....sitting is overrated anyway, right?  This is what I had for lunch today {two of them}....

Ingredients:

Lettuce leaf 

3 slices oven-roasted chicken lunch meat

3 slices cucumber {halved}

1 cherry tomato {quartered}

1 tsp. dijon mustard

Fresh ground pepper 

{2 wraps: 80 calories, 1g fat, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, 10g protein}

There you have it....fast, easy, healthy AND can be eaten standing up.  Perfect!

*Note: For a more substantial meal, add a slice of cheese and a piece of fruit.

Spinach & Warm Veggie Salad

When it comes to salads, there's just something I love about warm veggies paired with crisp greens.  The other day, I came up with this easy lunch salad and it really hit the spot.

{164 calories, 3g fat, 19g carbs, 8g fiber, 18g protein}

Ingredients:

2 cups baby spinach
1 cup chopped zucchini
5 large mushrooms, chopped
1 single-serve container of low-fat cottage cheese {I used Breakstone's Live Active}
1 tsp {approx.} Salad Supreme seasoning

Saute the veggies in a non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper {or seasoning of choice}.  Serve over spinach and top with cottage cheese.  Sprinkle with salad supreme.

Eggs for Lunch

I really like eggs, but I rarely make them for breakfast.  It just feels like a lot of work that early in the morning.  I'm more of a grab-and-go, dump-it-in-a-bowl kinda girl.  I do, however, really enjoy making eggs for lunch and dinner.  For some reason, what seems like a lot of work at breakfast seems like a piece of cake later in the day.  I especially love eggs for lunch when it's cold and dreary outside....it just feels good to sit down to a warm meal.  Here are a couple of my recent combinations....

I saute the veggies a little first and then add the eggs.  I've been using Egg Beaters, but you could use regular eggs or 1 egg and 1 egg white.  It's fun to experiment with different seasonings too.  I've been really liking Adobo {found in the Mexican food aisle} but you can never go wrong with good old salt and pepper.

1/2 cup Egg Beaters, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 cup sliced mushrooms

{100 calories, 0g fat, 6g carbs, 3g fiber, 15g protein}

1/2 cup Egg Beaters, 2 cups baby spinach, 1/2 diced red bell pepper 

{95 calories, 0g fat, 9g carbs, 3g fiber, 15g protein}

This would be a very light meal or snack.  To add a little more substance, try adding a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a piece of whole-grain toast.

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...

It's....SUPER HUMMUS???

Not my best intro, I know.  I guess that's what I get for living with four superhero-fanatic boys.  I found this while browsing the health food/organic section of Kroger the other day.  Twice the protein and half the fat....what's not to like?  In my experience, nothing!  It made for a great afternoon snack paired with half a red pepper and 2 large celery stalks.

{80 calories, 3g fat, 6g protein, 10g carbs, 4g fiber}