Pork Chops with Green Beans and Peppers

Medifast Lean and Green:  Pork

Serves 4

• 4 bone-in pork chops (5 oz each)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1/2 cup scallions, whites thinly sliced and green parts cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 jalapeno (optional), thinly slice
• 2 cups roasted yellow or red peppers

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe:  Pork Chops with Green Beans

1. Preheat oven to broil.
2. Roast pepper for about 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
3. Cut peppers into 1 inch squares.
4. Heat a large skillet over high. Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. 
5. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and swirl to coat. Add chops and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side, flipping once. Transfer chops to a serving platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest 5 minutes.
6. Wipe skillet clean and heat over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons oil, green beans and scallion whites.  Cook, stirring occasionally, scallions are soft and green beans are crisp-tender, 3 minutes. 
7. Season with salt and pepper. Add jalapeno (if using) and scallion greens and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. 
8. Add peppers and cook until warmed through.
9. Serve pork chopse which vegetables on top. 

Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes

Chicken with Tomatoes, Spinach and Capers

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
Serves 2

7 oz diced tomatoes in juice, drained
1/4 cup tbsp fresh parsley (1 tbsp if dry)
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon jarred capers, drained
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 cup fresh spinach

1. In a bowl, stir together tomatoes, parsley, 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, and capers. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper if desired.
2. Split chicken breasts in half horizontally. Cover with plastic wrap and pound lightly with a meat mallet.  If you don't have a meat mallet, use the bottom of the pan.  The goal is to flatten chicken so it would cook evenly
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken about 1-3 minutes per side making sure that it's cooked.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
4. Add spinach to the now empty skillet and; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through (stopping when leaves just about wilted). 
5. Top chicken with tomato mixture and serve with spinach.

Chicken Pinwheels

Chicken Pinwheels (or rolls -- I couldn't decide)

The recipe is for one serving but I actually cooked 4 of these for the whole family.  I called it pinwheels because I have kids -- kids like pinwheels. 

Make sure everything is cut thinly to make it easier to roll.  You'll need a sharp knife to cut the tomatoes cleanly .  As far as asparagus, I used 4 spears but the grocery sold this really thin asparagus so if you fee, you need less because you have the thicker kind, please use less.


You actually still have 1 more condiment left so drizzling it with more parmesan cheese halfway to baking it, is acceptable.  I chose to skip it and opted for a Laughing Cow Cheese.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
6 oz Boneless Chicken Breast
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tomato, cut in VERY thin slices.
4 asparagus spears

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees.
2. Cut the chicken across in half so you have a thinner chicken.  Put it between two saran wraps and pound it until you have less than half an inch and flat chicken.  Remember that you will be rolling it so make sure the chicken is not too thick.
3. Heat oil in medium-high heat.  Add garlic.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place on skillet to cook for about 2 minutes.  Just enough to lightly brown it.  Cook one side only.
5. Remove from skillet and spread parmesan cheese on top on the uncooked side.
6. Spread tomatoes and asparagus evenly.  Roll and place in baking pan.
7. Bake for about 12 minutes (or chicken is 170 degrees)
8. (optional) Cut crosswise to make pinwheels.

This is how it looks on the baking pan.  Just keep them
packed so they don't unroll.  

Is that a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese I see?  Why yes!
Tip:  Laughing Cow is so yummy inside the chicken.  Try
it if you're okay with the calories.

Not Quite Pasta (A Low-carb Pasta Substitute)

Spaghetti Squash (Pasta Substitute)

I've been on this diet for awhile now and I'm starting to miss pasta and rice a lot.  So, I think it's about time to experiment with some substitutes.  So I visited the squash and zucchini section of the produce section yesterday and I thought I'd start with spaghetti squash.

The result was delicious.  It's a bit sweeter than real pasta and in my opinion, more pleasant.  This is a bit different from my typical quick-to-fix meals.  But preparation only involved cutting the squash in half.  The rest is waiting for it to cook.  I topped my "pasta" with grilled chicken.  For sauce, I used whatever I can find that doesnt involve cooking -- lemon, butter and parmesan cheese.  Voila!  What a satisfying meal!  The only bad thing was I ate all of it in less than 15 minutes recommended by Medifast ... oh well ...

The great thing about spaghetti squash is the low calorie.  1 cup is bout 42 calories only.  1 cup is a huge serving (see pic above)

Instructions:

Preheat oven 375 degrees

Cut Squash in half

Spray pan lightly with oil.  Place 2 halves face down.  Bake for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Just scoop out all the contents to get your "pasta"

Top with your favorite meat or use your favorite
pasta sauce

Pork Chops with Lemon and Parsley

Pork Chops

It's that time of the week when my refrigerator is empty and I've run out of veggies.  This is the perfect dish for that.  This is a very simple meal that takes about 25 minutes to cook.  The recipe is for two servings. When cutting up lemon zest, try to avoid the bitter white part of the lemon.  I find that using my peeler gives me better control.
 
Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 bone-in loin pork chops, (about 5 ozs each)

1. In a small bowl, combine lemon, parsley, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook in skillet until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
3. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and simmer gently until pork is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork chops to a platter or serving plates; Sprinkle with lemon-parsley mixture.
4. Serve.  

Lean & Green Requirements
less than 3 condiments
1 healthy fat serving
1 Lean Serving

Vietnamese Beef Salad (Bo Luc Lac)

Bo Luc Lac

Prepare for this delicious recipe.  This is our favorite.  I have to warn you though that the substitute Sweet Leaf I use instead of sugar doesnt measure up to actually using sugar but this is delicious nevertheless.  As the name suggests (in Vietnamese), this is shaken beef.  So the secret to cooking is not to use any utensils.  You simply lift up your skillet and shake the beef around making the beef more tender (the garlic also helps with this as it has the power to tenderize meat).  You will love the aroma released every time you do this.  

I used watercress in this recipe but any green mix will do.  I just tried watercress for variety because I always eat spinach arugula and lettuce.  but the watercress is actually a lot more work because I separate the leaves out of the stems which are very bitter. 

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
Beef Marinade
3-5 ozs rib-eye or New York Strip
1/8 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp sweet leaf
1/16 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic

Salad
1/4 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp sweet leaf
1/16 teaspoon black pepper
1 very thin onion slice (optional -- if added you would have a total of 4 condiment servings)
1/2 cup water cress (or any green mix)

Combine fish sauce, water, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper and marinate the beef. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and black pepper for the watercress salad. Stir well. Add the onions. Toss well. Add the watercress to the bowl but do not toss. Keep the salad in the refrigerator while preparing the beef.

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat until garlic sizzles at once. Add the beef and let it cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes. Shake the pan turning the beef to the other side. Add garlic and continue shaking until evenly browned and done to your liking. The key is shaking the beef. There is no need to use any utensils to sear the beef.

Toss the watercress to coat it with dressing and arrange on a serving platter. Scoop us the steak and pile it in the center of the watercress salad. Serve.

Lean and Green Guidelines
1 Lean
1 Healthy Fat Serving
1/2 Vegetable serving
3 Condiment servings

Steamed Tilapia with Spinach, Tomatoes and Capers

I grew up eating Tilapia.   This fish absorbs flavor very well.  My mom used to pick up some at the fish market when I was little.  They fry it there for her so that when she got home, dinner was ready.  We ate the fried tilapia with some fish sauce and tomatoes.  That to me was the taste of home.

Later, during my college years, I favored steamed tilapia over the fried version.  We would order it from the local chinese restaurant and it would be steamed with soy sauce and sesame oil and topped with shreds of green onion.  It tasted so good with rice or noodles.

However it was served, I was used to picking the tilapia from the tank and getting it cooked right away.  While I was shopping the other day, I found frozen tilapia.  I had my reservations because I was used to the fresh tilapia I grew up with but I went ahead and took it home with me.  Each one of them is individually wrapped and weighed 3 oz uncooked.

Medifast allows for 7 ozs of cooked tilapia so I cooked two of them at a time as you will notice in the picture above, it is quite a hefty serving.  

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
7 oz tilapia filets
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp juice of lemon
1 tbsp capers

1. On a skillet, boil the water and add chili pepper.
2. Once boiling, scatter the grape tomatoes.
3. Put the tilapia on top the tomatoes.  Lower heat and cover for about 3 minutes.
4. Add spinach on top of the tilapia and cover to continue steaming for another 3 minutes.
5. Move all of it to a platter.
6. Turn off heat and put butter on the skillet
7. Add lemon
8. Add capers and mix
9. Put the butter, lemon and capers mix on top of the your meal.
10. Serve.

Wikipedia says this about Tilapia:

Tilapia have very low levels of mercury as they are fast-growing and short-lived with a primarily vegetarian diet, and thus do not accumulate mercury found in prey.


Tilapia is a low total fat, low saturated fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate and low sodium protein source. It is also an excellent source of phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12 and potassium.

Many articles I've read on the web describe Tilapia as a very nutritious seafood.  However, please be aware of the following study as well:

ScienceDaily (July 10, 2008) — Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Before Medifast, this was my favorite dish to make.  The creamy sauce has an opulence reminiscent of meals at five-star restaurants.  It's light.  It's delicious.  Not to mention, it takes 10 minutes to make.  

It's important to make the chicken juicy and this is typically difficult to do with boneless chicken breasts.  So, before cooking try to pound the chicken so it will be even in thickness.   Then, cook in medium-high heat.  Do not overcook.  An inside temperature of 170 degrees is sufficient.

For side dish, try steamed asparagus. 

The ingredients are too small  to measure since I made the recipe good for one.  Cook for another person and just double the ingredients to make it easier.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe 6 oz  boneless chicken
1/16 tsp salt	Condiment #1 (1/8 of recommended)
1/16 tsp pepper	Condiment #1 (1/8 of recommended)
1/2 tbsp olive oil	Healthy fat serving
1/16 cup water
1-1/2 tsp cream substitute	Condiment #1 (3/4 of recommended)
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard	Condiment #2 (1/2 of recommended)
1/8 tbsp tarragon	Condiment #2 (1/8 of recommended)

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  
2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add chicken .  Cook until inside temperature reads 170 degrees about 10 minutes
3. Transfer to a plate when done.
4. Adjust heat to medium.  Pour water, half and half, mustard and tarragon into hot skillet.  Whisk until thickened.
5. Pour sauce over chicken.
6. Serve with vegetables like asparagus.

Beef stir-fry with Asparagus

We are at the tail end of Asparagus season I believe which explains why it's everywhere nowadays.  I picked up some when I saw it on sale at Sprouts today.  They had such a beautiful, huge display that it made me want to buy some.  Besides, my fastest dinner nowadays always involves frozen salmon and we all know asparagus is the perfect side dish to salmon.

But today, I wanted to have some beef because I haven't shared any beef recipes yet. 

For those cooking for your entire family, serve this with rice for those not in the Medifast plan.

To those with aversion to asparagus, you can try cauliflower or brocolli florets instead.

This recipe meets the less than 3 condiments recommended by Medifast.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 lb boneless beef such as flank steak, tri-tip or sirloin thinly sliced	(1/4 lb is only 4 oz.  Remember that you are allowed up to 5 ozs.  so feel free to add a bit more)
1 tsp fish sauce	Condiment #1 - 1/3
1 tsp water
1 tsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)	Condiment #2
1/6 tsp black pepper	Condiment #1 - 1/3
1/4 tsp sweet leaf	Condiment #1 - 1/8
1/2 cup asparagus	Green (1 serving)
1 tsp olive oil	Healthy Fat (1 serving)
1 tsp chopped garlic	Condiment #3
1 tsp water
1 tsp thinly sliced green onions	Condiment #1 1/24

In a medium bowl, combine the beef with 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp water, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp black pepper and sweet leaf.  Toss and mix well.   Allow to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Trim the asparagus by cutting off 1/3 of the flat end.  Then cut the rest diagonally into 2-inch lengths.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat.   Do not allow to heat up so much that smoke is starting to form.  Add garlic, toss well adn then scatter the beef in the pan.  Cook briefly on one side then toss once to sear the other side.  Add the asparagus and toss well.  Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce, 2-1/2 tbsp of water and the green onion.  Cook, tossing once or twice while the aparagus is shiny and tender but not soft. 

Serve.

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Mustard Sauce

It's summer and it's time to grill!  This dish is very fast to make.

For condiments, we are allowed 1/2 tsp of mustard seed and 1 tbsp of mustard.  I just combined these two and if you're more lenient, just use pre-made whole grain dijon mustard for better taste.   My brand recommendation is at the bottom of this page.  It's only 10 calories in 1 tsp.  Before I was OP, I used twice the amount of mustard and mustard seed.  It did taste better but the portion below is my recommendation now.  Stay OP!!!

Spray some balsamic vinegar to your veggies to marry the flavors.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 tbsp (dijon) mustard

1 tsp olive oil

5 oz pork

salt and pepper

1. Combine mustard seed and dijon mustard.  Mix thoroughly.
2. Season pork with salt and pepper
3. Heat grill to medium and lightly oil the grates
4. Place pork on the grill.  Cover; Turn when grill marks are visible; Cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle.
5. Brush with mustard/mustard seed
6. Serve with your favorite grilled veggies.

Cilantro Thai Chicken

Servings: 1

When I found out I can have up to 1 cup of cilantro for condiment, I was excited.  I love cilantro.  I love the smell and the flavor.

If you are cooking for the entire family, please adjust the ingredients.  What I will list below is good for 1 person.  Just multiply each ingredient by however many people will eat.

This recipe uses approx 2-1/2 condiment servings and still meets the < 3 recommended by medifast.

Ingredients:

1 tsp minced garlic Condiment #1

3/4 tbsp cilantro (stems included are fine) Condiment #2 -- 1/16 allowed by medifast

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper Condiment #2 - 1/2 allowed by medifast

1 tsp tamari sauce* (or soy sauce)  Condiment #3

1/8 tbsp fish sauce Condiment #2 - 1/8 allowed by Medifast

pinch of salt (optional) **

1 tbsp water

3/4 lb chicken (drumsticks or wings)***

*  I use Tamari Sauce because it tastes just like soy sauce but wheat-free but soy sauce works even better.

** This would taste better with salt if using a low-sodium tamari/soy sauce, but I choose to skip it.  Salt is just not good when you're on a diet :-)

*** Up to 5oz of dark meat (cooked weight) is allowed.  When weighing, do not include the bones.

Instructions:

Chop cilantro and garlic very finely.  In a medium bowl or a tupperware, add the cilantro and garlic, ground pepper, tamari sauce, fish sauce and water.  If you are making for more than one person, I recommend just throwing all the ingredients, except the chicken in a food processsor or blender and grind to a fine, fairly smooth paste adding more water as necessary to grind evenly.

Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat everything well.  Cover and allow to marinate for at least an hour or even overnight

Preheat oven to 450F.  I use a toaster oven occassionally depending on how many I'm cooking.  If you are using a toaster oven, preheat oven at 425F or set to Broil.  After heated for about 3 minutes, place the chicken  in the oven turning occasionally to brown and cook pieces evenly until cooked through.

Cooking for the Entire Family:

Serve this with rice and cucumbers for members of the family not on Medifast and if available, use a sweet chili sauce that can usually be purchased pre-made at grocery stores.

Vietnamese Cauliflower with Garlic and Pepper

This cauliflower is good with soups, rice or by itself but to stick with L&G, I grilled pork instead.  I usually serve it with rice for my husband and kids.

The picture shows 3 oz. I always underestimate how big the serving we're allowed to have is ... so just add more for 5 oz of pork. I used all my condiments for the cauliflower so I had none left for the pork. But after grilling, I sprinkled some of the liquid from my cauliflower and it added good flavor to the pork.  Also, ignore the parsley ... that's just garnish to make it look pretty ... I like my food looking pretty ;-)

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
1 tsp Olive Oil Healthy Fat Serving
1 tsp Minced Garlic Condiment #1
1 cup Cauliflower 2 Green Servings
1/4 Tbsp Fish Sauce Condiment #2 -- 1/4 allowed for fish sauce
1 packet Sweet Leaf Sweetener that is 0 carbs, 0 calories and 0 glycemic index -- get it! :-)
1 tbsp Water
1/4 tsp Black Pepper Condiment #2 - 1/2 allowed for pepper
1/2 tbsp Cilantro Condiment #2 - we're allowed up to 1 cup so this is a very small portion.

1. Grill the pork and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a bit of garlic sizzles at once, and then add the garlic. Toss well.
3. Add the cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute, and then toss well, exposing the other sides to the hot pan.
4. Mix the fish sauce, water, sweet leaf and pepper in a bowl
5. Add to the cauliflower and cook, tossing often until the cauliflower is tender but still pleasantly crunchy, about 1 minute.
6. Stir in the cilantro, toss once more and transfer to a serving plate deep enough to hold the sauce.

I do "try" to avoid sugar when I cook for me and my family. One of the substitues I absolutely love is Sweet Leaf. It has a very good taste minus the calories.

I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup for my children. What I found is that most fish sauces include this ingredient. Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce is one of the few I've seen that does not use HFCS. 

Both are available in available local health grocery stores my favorites of which are Mother's Market, Wholefoods and Sprouts.