Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Halibut Wrap with Angus Top Sirloin and mixed veggies

Fat: 16
Carb: 49
Fiber: 17
Protein: 85
Calories: 646
Cost: $9.40
  • Halibut Wrap
    • 6oz Halibut
    • $6.50
  • Angus Sirloin
    • 5oz
    • $1.75
  • Mixed Veggies
    • 3 servings
    • $1.15
I picked up the Halibut without checking the price, not expecting it to be $16.00 per pound, but it was well worth it. That wrap was sooo good. The best item I have made maybe in forever, the halibut was the perfect choice. I used a great new flat bread that I just discovered from FlatOutBread, I used the light Italian Herb and it is the most tasty flatbread/tortilla I have ever had. Inside the wrap is nothing more than the halibut steak, some spinach, and a little tartar sauce. The combination was perfect. The steak looks a little small in that picture, but was just enough to add to this great meal, and on manager's special, the Angus was worth the upgrade.

I am definitely going to be trying some new things with the Flatout Flatbread. Any suggestions are welcome. Each wrap is 90 calories: 2.5g fat, 16g carbs, 9g fiber, and 9g protein; this is easy to work into a healthy meal.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Beef Tenderloin and Pollock fish with Lima beans and Baby Corn

Fat: 14
Carb: 23
Fiber: 7
Protein: 75
Calories: 530
Cost: $6.39
  • Beef Tenderloin
    • 6oz
    • $3.40
  • Pollock
    • 6oz
    • $1.00
  • Lima Beans and Baby Carrots
    • $1.99
For the price, I am not sure that Pollock fish can be beat. I seasoned it with some garlic and paprika and baked it, it was delicious. At only $2.66 a pound, 90% protein, 4% omega-3, and very low mercury as far as fish go - this just went up on the menu frequency. Tenderloins are always a great steak option, and I picked these up on managers special for $9.08/lb. Lima beans aren't my favorite for taste, but they have lots of minerals and I like variety in sides - and for that I mixed them with baby corn.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Beef Stir-fry and Swordfish

Fat: 18
Carb: 21
Fiber: 6
Protein: 83
Calories: 562
Cost: $5.15
  • Steak
    • 5oz
    • $1.20
  • Stir-Fry
    • 8oz
    • $1.20
  • Swordfish
    • 5.5oz
    • $2.75
This was a filling meal packed with protein. The only downfall was that I slightly overcooked the meat, choice top round - not the best cut to start with; by grilling it then putting it into the stir-fry too early. Not too bad though, and the stir-fry and fish were great

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Salmon Cakes, Beef Cakes, and Brussels Sprouts

Fat: 31
Carb: 31
Fiber: 10
Protein: 116
Calories: 876
Cost: $4.34
  • Salmon Cakes
    • 2 cakes
    • $1.29
  • Beef Cakes
    • 8oz
    • $2.38
  • Brussels Sprouts
    • 3 servings
    • $0.67
I never really call them "Beef Cakes" but since I cooked them with salmon cakes, I thought it was appropriate. I make bunless hamburgers quite a bit, and around here we just call them hamburgers. The buns don't add enough to the meal to be worth the calories they add. The salmon cakes are easy as can be to make: canned salmon meat, an egg, and a little flower; mixed into patties. They were pretty gooey, so I fried them on the stove for a few minutes then baked while I cooked the burgers.

This is about the perfect meal: cheap, very filling, easy to cook, high protein(over 50%), plenty of fiber, a good fat profile, and most importantly, very tasty. I mentioned the fat profile, one of the best aspects of this meal; due in large part to the salmon, and using omega-3 eggs. It has over 4,000mg of omega-3 with less than 1500mg omega-6. Both omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids, but typical American diets are very high in omega-6 compared to omega-3; up to a 20:1 ratio but typical recommendations are that the ratio should be in the neighborhood of 5:1. Fatty fish are one of the best ways to get a god dose of omega-3.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pork Loin Ribs, Breaded Shrimp, and Cheese Veggies

Fat: 58
Carb: 46
Fiber: 6
Protein: 101
Calories: 1134
Cost: $4.97
  • Pork Loin Ribs
    • 8oz
    • $0.97
  • Breaded Shrimp
    • 12 large shrimp
    • $2.50
  • Cheesy Vegetables
    • 12oz
    • $1.50
Pork: the other white meat? For me, taste puts it on the red side with beef(I'm not a big fan of chicken) and at 56% fat, it isn't as lean as you would normally associate with a white meat - wordplay and marketing? Perhaps! I will write about this soon.

That is actually my wife's plate, I passed on the shrimp. As good as they were yesterday, I didn't need the extra calories; but my wife knowing they were there, had to have them again. The cheese covered broccoli, carrots and cauliflower make a good low calorie filler, but because of the breaded shrimp, this meal was still a little on the high side as far as calories are concerned. But the price is right. The pork ribs were 33% off on Manager's Special, their wording for about to expire. But when you shop almost daily, these make great bargains.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Roasted Sausage and Pear, Breaded shrimp and Salad

Fat: 84
Carb: 95
Fiber: 18
Protein: 87
Calories: 1455
Cost: $9.45
  • Roasted Sausage and Pears
    • 1 pear
    • 1 large sausage
    • some onion
    • $4.50
  • Breaded Shrimp
    • 12 large shrimp
    • $2.50
  • Fat spinach salad
    • 2cups Spinach
    • 30g Walnuts
    • 1/2 Avocado
    • 40g Craisins
    • $2.45
Wow, what a calorie bomb. I probably should have done without the salad today, but I had all the ingredients sitting around waiting to be finished off from the other day. I got the recipe for the roasted sausage and pears from Cooking with Amy, and glad I gave it a try. It was delicious, and my wife loved it too. I didn't know what soaking the pears in vinegar would do, but wow, it was perfect. Thank you Amy.

The only bad news is that after the last few days, I am going to have to hold back on the calories and come up with some light meal to keep the pounds from creeping up on me. I am also going to try to go a little cheaper the rest of this week. But I am not going to sacrifice taste, you will see.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Wrap

Fat: 10
Carb: 58
Fiber: 4
Protein: 4
Calories: 338
Cost: next to nothing

I got this idea from a great food blog: MattBites(his picture is much more appetising than mine). Spread some chocolate frosting on a tortilla, cover in strawberries, and wrap! I also toasted the wrap to give it some crisp and to melt the frosting a little.

I am not a big desert person, but this was the perfect option; it tasted as good as you can imagine it would. My only mistake was making 4 of them for the 2 of us. It was good enough that I stuffed both of mine down - even after todays large dinner and some fruit afterwards, my wife had enough control to save one of hers for tomorrow. This is highly recommended next time you have a reason to celebrate.

Thank you for the idea Matt.