Read an Excerpt
3 for Free
Easy All-Natural Recipes Under 350 Calories
By Lisa Lillien, Jack Pullan St. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2016 Hungry Girl, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-250-11305-4
CHAPTER 1
Three Easy Ways to Cook Spaghetti Squash
Choose your method, and then use the cooked spaghetti squash in the following recipe!
easiest IN A SLOW COOKER:
You'll Need: slow cooker, strainer
Prep: 10 minutes • Cook: 2½ hours
Place whole squash in a slow cooker with ½ cup water. Cover and cook on high for 2½ hours, or until squash is soft. Slice squash in half lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds.
fastest IN A MICROWAVE:
You'll Need: extra-large microwave-safe bowl, strainer
Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 20 minutes
1. Microwave squash for 6 minutes, or until soft enough to cut. Once cool enough to handle, halve lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds.
2. Place one half in an extra-large microwave-safe bowl, cut side down. Add ¼ cup water. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, or until soft. Repeat with remaining squash half.
classic IN THE OVEN:
You'll Need: large baking pan, strainer
Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 50 minutes
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Microwave squash for 6 minutes, or until soft enough to cut. Once cool enough to handle, halve lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds.
3. Fill a large baking pan with ½ inch water, and place squash halves in the pan, cut sides down. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes.
Once your squash is cooked ...
1. Use a fork to scrape out spaghetti squash strands. Place in a strainer to drain excess moisture. Thoroughly blot dry, removing as much moisture as possible.
2. If not eating immediately, let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate.
HG FYI:
A 4-pound squash yields about 5 cups cooked squash ... sometimes more!
Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
Gluten-Free
¼th of recipe (about 1 2/3 cups veggies with 3½ ounces chicken): 254 calories, 6.5g total fat (3g sat fat), 587mg sodium, 18.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 7.5g sugars, 31g protein
You'll Need: extra-large skillet, nonstick spray, large bowl
Prep: 20 minutes • Cook: 20 minutes
Plus prep and cook times for spaghetti squash if not made in advance.
1 pound raw boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, pounded to ½-inch thickness
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
6 cups roughly chopped spinach leaves
5 cups cooked spaghetti squash, drained of excess moisture
1½ cups chopped tomato
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Optional seasonings: additional salt and black pepper
1. Bring an extra-large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Season chicken with ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes per side, until cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board.
2. Remove skillet from heat; clean, if needed. Re-spray, and return to medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Add spaghetti squash, tomato, and basil. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook and stir until hot and well mixed, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer skillet contents to a large bowl. Sprinkle with feta.
4. Slice chicken, and serve over cheese-topped veggies.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
All About Cauliflower
Why cauliflower? It's the perfect swap for starchy carbs like rice, potatoes, and breadcrumbs. While there's nothing wrong with those foods, they're more calorie dense — often, they don't give you a lot of bang for your calorie buck. For example, one cup of cooked white rice has around 200 calories and 40g carbs, and it only has about 4g protein and almost no fiber. You could have TWO cups of cauliflower rice for about 60 calories, 13g carbs, 5g protein, and 6g fiber.
The average head of cauliflower yields about 6 cups of roughly chopped cauliflower. Want to save time? Buy pre-cut florets and give 'em a rough chop.
Cauliflower Rice 101
Turning cauliflower florets into rice is a piece of cake ...
A standard blender is all you need. Just pulse the cauliflower until reduced to rice-sized pieces. For recipes with more than 2 cups of cauliflower to blend, work in batches.
When making the rice in the blender, you may need to stop and stir occasionally in order to finish the job. Rearrange the cauliflower in the blender, and then resume blending.
Island Shrimp Cauliflower Rice Bowl
30 Minutes or Less Gluten-Free
Entire recipe: 327 calories, 4g total fat (0.5g sat fat), 896mg sodium, 38g carbs, 12.5g fiber, 15g sugars, 37.5g protein
You'll Need: small bowl, blender, large skillet, nonstick spray, medium-large bowl
Prep: 10 minutes • Cook: 10 minutes
Sauce
¼ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
½ ounce (about 1 tablespoon) mashed avocado
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Bowl
2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower
1 cup broccoli florets
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (about 8) raw large shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon chilli powder
¼cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup chopped mango
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until uniform.
2. Pulse cauliflower in a blender until reduced to rice-sized pieces.
3. Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add broccoli and ¼ cup water. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, or until broccoli is tender and water has evaporated.
4. Add cauliflower rice to the skillet. Cook and stir until hot and softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer contents to a medium-large bowl. Stir in salt, and cover to keep warm.
5. Remove skillet from heat; clean, if needed. Re-spray, and bring to medium heat. Add shrimp, and season with cumin and chili powder. Cook and stir for about 4 minutes, until cooked through.
6. Top veggies with shrimp, beans, mango, cilantro, and sauce.
MAKES 1 SERVING
Baking with Beans ... Need-to-Know Info
I nearly lost it the first time I made brownies with black beans ... They're unbelievably delicious. Since then, a slew of desserts using either black beans or chickpeas (garbanzo beans) have been created in the Hungry Girl kitchen. And they're ALL amazing! Here's the 411 ...
• These treats taste NOTHING like beans. All you'll taste is a rich, decadent dessert! Don't believe me? Try 'em and see.
• Keep cool! There's a reason these recipes say to let your treats cool completely. Doing so perfects the texture and makes them tastier and easier to slice.
• Cover up. Whether you store these in the fridge (our recommendation!) or on the counter, you'll want to cover 'em to keep them fresh.
• Chill out! These treats taste FANTASTIC chilled. They'll also stay fresh longer when stored in the fridge.
• They freeze and thaw perfectly. Yup. Bake up a batch, toss them in the freezer, and portion-controlled treats will be just a minute away. Here's how ...
To Freeze: Tightly wrap each cooled serving in plastic wrap. Place individually wrapped treats in a sealable container or bag, seal, and store in the freezer.
To Thaw: Unwrap a bar, and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave at 50 percent power for 45 seconds, or until it reaches your desired temperature. Alternatively, refrigerate overnight to thaw.
Clean & Hungry Brownies
Vegetarian
1/9th of pan (about 2½ inches by 2½ inches) 98 calories, 2.5g total fat (1.5g sat fat), 225mg sodium, 22g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 4g sugars, 4.5g protein
You'll Need: 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan, nonstick spray, food processor
Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 30 minutes • Cool: 1 hour
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin
¼cup (about 2 large) egg whites
¼ cup whole-wheat flour
¼ cup Truvia spoonable no-calorie sweetener (or another natural brand that's about twice as sweet as sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons mini (or chopped) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor. Puree until completely smooth and uniform.
3. Fold in 1 tablespoon chocolate chips.
4. Spread mixture into the baking pan, and smooth out the top.
5. Evenly top with remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, and lightly press into the batter.
6. Bake until a toothpick (or knife) inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
MAKES 9 SERVINGS
Sweetener Alternative
If using Stevia In The Raw bakers bag (or another no-calorie sweetener that's approximately as sweet as sugar), use ½ cup in this recipe.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from 3 for Free by Lisa Lillien, Jack Pullan. Copyright © 2016 Hungry Girl, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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