Protein meal ideas

[steffie]

I am in need of some ideas for my lunch (protein meal). I would appreciate any suggestions from anyone. I have been doing some fish, (mainly salmon and chicken) with vegetables or salad. I need a little more variety. I do my smoothie in the morning and usually have a bean soup for dinner. Any ideas? I don't want to get in a rut.
Thanks so much.
Steffie

[niki]

hi steffi......there are so many things you can do.....i marinate boneless chicken breasts in tamari sauce or the marinade i posted as "the best marinade on the planet"for a couple of days and then forman grill them...or you could barbeque them....you can cook split chicken breasts in crushed tomatoes in an italian sauce...or i do the same thing with cubes of beef like a stew...you could add mushrooms or any other vegetables....once in a  while i make pork and buy boneless pork and make it with saurkraut..you can always make an omelet with allowable cheese....i make fish on the forman grill with chef paul's seafood magic...i love that on fish(i got that idea on the boards)....when i find mushrooms on sale,i always buy a couple of boxes and make tilpia with mushrooms and onions(i posted that...but it's SO easy)...it takes 15 minutes to make....you can try cooking with soybeans,the only bean that is a complete protein....
  there's so much you can do..................niki

[steffie]

Thanks Niki for all the wonderful hints. You are so sweet to reply to everyones concerns,questions, etc.
Steffie

[Queenie]

Steffie - I've been eating soup.  Mary's wonderful Pizza Soup is so filling that I don't need anything else - of course, I've been eating a huge bowl!!

Tonight I made chili and I'll have that for the rest of the week at lunch.  Yum!

Carolyn

[niki]

you're very welcome...i hope it gave you a couple of ideas.....niki

[Gammamel]

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm fascinated by Roger's recipe near the beginning of the book for burgers -- the one that combines lean ground beef with ground chicken or turkey and mashed beans.  I've always hated ground chicken or turkey, but it makes sense that when combined with beef it will take on the flavor of the beef. I do love chicken, just not ground. I hope to try that recipe this weekend, maybe put the burgers on the grill.

[steffie]

Hi Gammamel,
    I made the burgers with the mashed beans in them, and I have to admit, that I didn't like them. I truly love beans, but the meat seems too soft and mushy to me. I guess I have some problems with texture and food. I am going to make some other turkey burgers that I found a recipe for. They have chopped apple and no breadcrumbs in them. Thanks for the suggestion.
Steffie

[jeandolleen]

Hi Steffie, I made the recipe on page 151 in LDL.  I did chop up about 3 mushrooms in it.  I always make extra and freeze them so that I have some on hand at all times.  I cooked mine on the grill in the house and top them with the barbecue sauce posted and I thought that they were pretty good.  Jean 

[niki]

hey you guys,i posted a recipe for meatballs using ground roasted chickpea flour as the filler.....richard ground soynuts and got a flour that he used to dredge fish with and said it came out great...so i changed the recipes i posted saying you could use ground roasted chickpeas OR soynuts...the roasted chick peas are NOT the ones that you make soup with...they're roasted like the soynuts and are a snack...there's a recipe on the boards to make them,but here in new york where there are a lot of greeks(i think indians eat them also), they're plentiful....
  you could try making them with soynuts and let me know how they are...because the chickpeas and soynuts are not as salty as breadcrumbs,you need to add a lot more salt than when you use breadcrumbs..........
  here's another way my daughter used to make burgers on the grill..she used to mix chopped green pepper in them and she used to love them...in fact she ONLY made those with ground turkey...........
 you know what?.....where there's a will,there's a way......experiment..adapt your old favorite recipes to ldl...........and enjoy this satisfying and wonderful way of eating................niki      

[steffie]

Thanks Niki. You truly are a blessing to me, to respond to my concerns and questions. I will try grinding some of my soynuts. God bless.
Steffie

[steffie]

Thanks for all the suggestions I have been getting! Jean I just looked up the burger recipe. They sound great. All of these ideas helped. I tend to run quite a bit of my day. I make a quick dash home and eat my lunch. I like to have quick things in the freezer I can pull out. God bless you all.
Steffie

[niki]

hi steffi.......you know what else i started doing?...when i made the greek meatballs,i used meat that hadn't been frozen and i made a lot and froze some...i made oven fried chicken and used chicken that had never been frozen so i froze a bag of those...so on any given day,i can make some fast soup and take some out of the freezer and have an easy,fast meal.....i have salmon and tiapia frozen in the freezer too...i could take that out an hour before i'm going to make it and put it fast on the forman grill with a little seafood magic and have another fast meal........hope this was helpful...................sincerely,niki     

[Gammamel]

Niki -- Your posting brings up a question.  You said you use meat that hasn't been frozen and then freeze the meatballs.  I've always heard that you should not re-freeze meet that's already been frozen and thawed.  My mother, however, did it all the time.  Is this true or is it a wive's tale?  I try to avoid it (just to be on the safe side), but I do thaw meat, cook it in a recipe and then freeze it again.  I'm fairly certain it's okay to refreeze it once it's been cooked.

Mel

[niki]

you know what?.....i've done it...but,the only time has been when i've made something that i'm not able to eat in a reasonable time and it's freeze it or give it to the dog....without even reading about why it's not a good practice,i would say it's because there's a higher bacteria count from freezing,defrosting,cooking, freezing,eating...but i've never had a problem when i've done it(but i don't advise it, especially with young children or people with compromised immune systems).................niki         

[LisaH]

Steffie:  I thought I would share one more recipe with you.  I make a lemon chicken that my whole family loves.  I take chicken breasts (with all fat removed) and put them in a skillet with a little olive oil.  I squeeze lots of fresh lemon juice on both sides.  I then sprinkle lots of lemon pepper on both sides.  I cook until done (no pink).  It is really good and super easy.

[steffie]

Thanks for the chicken idea, LisaH. It sounds great! I will try it this week. I have gotten some great ideas and done much better having things prepared this week. I appreciate everyones loving suggestions and ideas. I made Niki's tilpia with mushrooms and onions and it was so good! God bless you all!
Steffie

[niki]

hey steffie...i'm glad you tried it...see how easy it is?...and it's good...i made that up(unless i unconsciously got the idea from somewhere)...i mainly have always eaten fish when i was dieting ...so now, i look all the time to make it more palatable..........thank you........niki

[PattyCakes]

The possibilities are almost endless Steffie. Because of the variety, this is something I can do for life. When I started, I followed the two week plan in the book to get a good feel for the new lifestyle. You might look over that as well as the recipe's to get some more ideas. I use a LOT of ground meat, always half of very lean beef and half of 97% turkey.

Patty