Authors: David Zinczenko
373
CALORIES
10
G FAT
3
G SAT. FAT
477
MG SODIUM
5
G FIBER
*
Not only is whipped cream cheese easier to spread, it’s also less calorie dense than the stuff that comes in a block.
8 MINUTE MEAL!
Using yogurt and cottage cheese to make these pancakes does two things: It brings extra protein to the breakfast table, and it helps produce the lightest, moistest pancakes you’ve ever tasted. And once you try this simple blueberry compote, you’ll never go back to lackluster syrup again.
4
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
2 cups frozen wild blueberries
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt (such as Fage 2%)
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese or ricotta
3 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup white whole-wheat flour (we like King Arthur’s)
*
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Mix the blueberries, water, and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the blueberries begin to break apart.
Whisk together the yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Add the flour to the yogurt mixture and stir just until blended.
Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-low heat. Coat with nonstick cooking spray and add the batter in large spoonfuls (about ¼ cup each). Flip the pancakes when the tops begin to bubble, 3 to 5 minutes, and cook the second side until browned. Serve with the warm blueberries.
315
CALORIES
6
G FAT
2
G SAT. FAT
497
MG SODIUM
7
G FIBER
*
These can be just as easily made with white flour; you’ll just sacrifice a few grams of fiber.
NUTRITIONAL UPGRADE
Most supermarket syrups are junk, made almost entirely from high-fructose corn syrup and chemical additives designed to approximate a maple flavor. But real maple syrup can be prohibitively expensive. Solution? Fruit compote. Take a bag of frozen fruit (blueberries, strawberries, or mixed berries), dump into a saucepan with ½ cup water and ¼ cup sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the fruit is warm and the mixture has thickened.
T
he midday meal is the one most of us toss off—it’s whatever’s in the fridge, or whatever we can scrounge up at the local deli or fast food joint. But lunch is your best opportunity to really pack plenty of nutrition into your day. And for many 8-Hour dieters, it will be the break-fast meal. Make the most of it. Skip the salad bar, save your money, and try these instead.
8 MINUTE MEAL!
Quiche is the ultimate culinary chameleon, not just because you can tweak different flavor combinations endlessly, but because it’s as good for breakfast as it is for dinner. Let’s split the difference and call it a stellar workday lunch, especially if flanked by a light side salad.
3
POWER FOODS
6
SERVINGS
1 frozen pie shell
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ bunch spinach
2 oz smoked ham, cut into ¼-inch cubes
½ cup grated Swiss cheese, such as Gruyère
4 large eggs
¾ cup 1% milk
¼ cup half and half
½ tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375°F. When hot, place the pie shell on the middle rack and cook until lightly toasted, but not brown, about 8 minutes.
While the oven heats and the shell cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds, then add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is fully wilted. In a large mixing bowl, combine with the ham, cheese, eggs, milk, half and half, and spinach, squeezing the spinach thoroughly beforehand to purge any excess water. Season with salt and a pinch of nutmeg.
Pour the egg mixture into the warm pastry shell. Bake in the oven until the quiche has browned lightly on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes.
282
CALORIES
18
G FAT
7
G SAT. FAT
467
MG SODIUM
1
G FIBER
This is fusion cuisine at its finest: a salad made with Asian ingredients popularized by an Austrian chef (Wolfgang Puck) cooking in a California restaurant (Spago in Beverly Hills). Thankfully its nutrient profile is as diverse as its roots, making for one powerful way to stave off midday hunger.
5
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
1 head napa cabbage
½ head red cabbage
½ Tbsp sugar
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken (freshly roasted or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
1
⁄
3
cup store-bought Asian-style vinaigrette (we like Annie’s Organic Asian Sesame Vinaigrette)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Salt and black pepper to taste
Slice the cabbages in half lengthwise and remove the cores. Slice them into thin strips. Toss with the sugar in a large bowl.
If the chicken is cold, toss with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette and heat in a microwave at 50 percent power. Add to the cabbage, along with the cilantro, oranges, almonds, and the remaining vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
242
CALORIES
6
G FAT
1
G SAT. FAT
387
MG SODIUM
5
G FIBER
8 MINUTE MEAL!
As good as this combination is in salad form, you could just as easily combine these ingredients on toasted whole-grain bread or stuff them inside a pita for a killer handheld lunch.
5
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
12 oz sliced roast turkey
12 cups arugula (1 prewashed bag)
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
¼ cup favorite vinaigrette (we like Marie’s Balsamic Vinaigrette)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Combine the turkey, arugula, cranberries, avocado, goat cheese, walnuts, vinaigrette, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, using your hands or two forks to fully incorporate the dressing.
324
CALORIES
17
G FAT
4
G SAT. FAT
306
MG SODIUM
4
G FIBER
8 MINUTE MEAL!
This dish uses ripe avocados as an edible salad bowl. The creaminess of the avocado means you don’t need to drown your tuna in mayonnaise to make it tasty. For that matter, you don’t even need to use tuna: leftover chicken, hard-boiled eggs, or lump crab meat would all work beautifully here.
4
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
2 cans (5 oz) tuna, drained
½ cup diced, seeded, and peeled cucumber
¼ cup minced red onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
4 small ripe Hass avocados, halved and pitted
Combine the tuna, cucumber, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, soy sauce, mayonnaise, sugar, sesame seeds, and lime juice in a mixing bowl. Stir gently to combine. Lightly salt the flesh of the avocados, then divide the tuna mixture among the eight halves, spooning it directly into the bowls created by removing the pits.
340
CALORIES
24
G FAT
4
G SAT. FAT
556
MG SODIUM
10
G FIBER
8 MINUTE MEAL!
The Greeks, true masters of the Mediterranean diet, know a thing or two about creating meals that are both intensely flavorful and insanely nutritious. Exhibit A below. This salad would be just as good made with canned tuna, chopped hard-boiled egg, or no main protein at all.
5
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
½ (14 to 16 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
¾ cup crumbled feta
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
Combine the chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, onion, beans, and feta in a large salad bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar and oregano with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking to combine. Toss the dressing with the salad. You can serve now, but it’s best to let this one sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, which gives all the ingredients a chance to get friendly.
355
CALORIES
22
G FAT
7
G SAT. FAT
570
MG SODIUM
5
G FIBER
8 MINUTE MEAL!
An ode to the great lobster rolls of the Maine coastline, which are as simple to make as they are satisfying to devour. This version, though, substitutes shrimp for lobster, cutting the price dramatically but maintaining the same sweet, ocean flavor.
3
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
1 lb cooked shrimp
2 stalks celery, diced
½ small red onion, minced
2 Tbsp minced chives
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp hot sauce (we like sriracha)
Salt to taste
4 whole-wheat hot dog buns
Chopped chives (optional)
Mix the shrimp, celery, onion, chives, mayo, lemon juice, hot sauce, and salt together in a bowl, stirring to incorporate carefully.
Heat a cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the hot dog buns and toast until the sides are nicely browned.
Divide the shrimp mixture among the rolls. Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.
289
CALORIES
9
G FAT
1.5
G SAT. FAT
631
MG SODIUM
4
G FIBER
Chicken salad routinely ranks as one of the worst sandwiches you can order at a deli because it is nothing but an excuse to lay on the mayo. This version cuts back on the gloppy stuff, but ratchets up flavor with sweet raisins, crunchy celery and vegetables, and a bit of curry to add an exotic touch and a boatload of antioxidants.
6
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
3 Tbsp golden raisins
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
½ onion, diced
1 carrot, shredded
½ tsp curry powder
¼ cup olive-oil mayonnaise
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 large lettuce leaves (romaine, iceberg, or anything else)
8 slices whole-grain bread or English muffin halves, toasted
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
Cover the raisins with hot water and soak for at least 10 minutes (the warm water will help the raisins plump up); drain and place in a large bowl. Add the chicken, celery, onion, carrot, curry powder, and mayonnaise. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.
Place the lettuce leaves on top of four bread slices, then top with tomatoes, chicken salad, and the remaining bread.
414
CALORIES
11
G FAT
2
G SAT. FAT
688
MG SODIUM
7
G FIBER
8 MINUTE MEAL!
When it comes to making great sandwiches, it’s the little things that matter most. Here, that little thing is a simple horseradish sauce, the kind you might serve over a roast at the dinner table. Combined with sharp Cheddar and peppery arugula, it’s enough to turn a standard weekday sandwich into something heroic.
5
POWER FOODS
4
SERVINGS
2 Tbsp olive oil mayo
2 Tbsp plain Greek-style yogurt (such as Fage 2%)
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cups arugula
8 slices multigrain bread, lightly toasted
Salt to taste
1 large tomato, sliced
½ red onion, very thinly sliced
1 lb deli roast beef
4 slices sharp Cheddar cheese
Combine the mayo, yogurt, horseradish, garlic, and mustard in a mixing bowl.
Divide the arugula among four pieces of bread. Top with tomato (seasoned with a pinch of salt), sliced onion, roast beef, and cheese. Spread the top pieces of bread with a thick layer of the sauce to complete the sandwich.