Tuna Casserole

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day with no rain, 75 degree weather, so no comfort food needed here. I wanted something easy, light and delicious, especially since I was having dinner alone tonight.

Tuna casserole it is!

It's so easy to make this with WAAAY too many calories by adding too much cheese or mayo and milk. So skip all of that. I aimed for an easier method that would contain the calories by using a mixture that premeasures my calories. Cream of something soups!

Achieved a perfect creaminess, added veggies, and had enough room to have seconds. YUM!

Ingredients

12 oz noodles (I actually used a little less as I was combining the leftover noodles from other dishes. I had elbow macaroni and rotini/spiral pasta. Both enriched with nutrients.)

2 cans tuna fish (packed in water, not oil. Oil adds too many calories and makes the fish too fishy tasting.)

2 small cans of peas and carrots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup (Actually if you want to skip this and do two cans of mushroom soup, you can cut some unnecessary calories without skimping on taste.)

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package.

3. Meanwhile, heat up the cans of condensed soup. Season a bit with salt and pepper. Be careful not to bring to a boil, but just simmer at a low heat while the noodles boil.

4. When the soups begin to bubble, add the peas and carrots and the tuna fish. Stir together.

5. After the noodles finish, drain, rinse, and return to the pot.

6. Add the soup and tuna fish mixture and stir completely.

7. Put the noodle mixture into a glass baking dish and put in the oven. (If you're not worried about calories and want the taste to be a bit richer, you can add cheese on top at this point.)

8. Bake for 30 minutes.

9. Serves 8. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information (8 servings)

Calories: 170

Total Fat: 4.4g

Saturated Fat: 1.2g

Cholesterol: 28mg

Sodium: 623mg

Total Carbs: 19.2g

Dietary Fiber: 2.0g

Sugars: 0.5g

Protein: 13.6g

Vitamin A: 39%

Vitamin C: 4%

Calcium: 2%

Iron: 8%

Healthy Chicken Parmesan

Well, I haven't cooked an original meal in quite a few days. There have been a lot of meals out, scrounging for food, unoriginal salads with added protein, and other excuses not to cook. Today though, was rainy and just begging for a good comfort meal.

I don't know about you, but Italian food just screams comfort food to me. Something about the warm richness, the interplay between cheese and red sauce, it just does something for me. So when I came across this really easy and healthy recipe, I decided to try it out. It's not quite as rich as many chicken parm recipes, but that's probably because it is really straightforward and is so low cal. Try it, because it's surprisingly delicious and filling.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken (about three breasts each cut in half)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

2/3 cup parmesan cheese, divided

1tsp flour

basil

oregano

rosemary

salt

pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. In a shallow baking dish, place chicken breasts in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper followed by a mixture of 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and flour.

3. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they start just getting browned on the top.

4. While the chicken is cooking, mix the tomatoes and herbs in a saucepan. Heat to a boil and then simmer on low heat until slightly reduced. I mixed the herbs until I got a taste I liked. The recipe called for garlic, too, but the garlic I had went bad, so I skipped it.

5. Remove chicken from oven and pour the sauce over it. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Reduce the temperature to 360, and then bake for about 15 more minutes.

6. Serve with veggies of your choice. Also, help yourself to two servings if you're hungry. There's plenty of wiggle room with these!

Nutritional Info (Makes 6 Servings)

Calories: 116

Total Fat: 1.0 g

Cholesterol: 43 mg

Sodium: 83 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 5.5g

Dietary Fiber 2.2g

Sugars: 3.3g

Protein: 17.3g

Vitamin A: 9%

Vitamin C: 9%

Calcium: 1%

Iron: 3%