I've had some clients today asking me about simple recipes.  Lots of people are stuck for  dinner ideas.

Here are a few of my favourite dinners, some of these are barbeque recipes, so fire up your grill!!

Grilled Chicken Breasts
This is one of my favourite meals, I could eat it every day - but my family probably would be sick of it!  I tend to buy a lot of the family-sized packages of the skinless boneless chicken breasts when they go on sale, then freeze them.  Each week, I take a package out of the freezer and marinate them.  Then my hubby grills them all up.  We then put them in a large ziploc bag in the fridge.  We use them through the week for things like chicken wraps, a quick dinner if we don't have time to cook, chop them up and add them on a nice salad,etc.

To marinate your chicken breasts, here are a few of my favourite ways...
- combine a few tablespoons of olive oil with two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- olive oil and rosemary
- olive oil and lemon juice
- balsamic tomato pesto (I use the President's Choice brand)
- regular green pesto (again President's Choice)
- I used to use low-fat italian salad dressing which worked too

Remember that one Canada's Food Guide serving of protein is equal to 2.5 ounces or one-half cup.  Depending on the size of your chicken breast, this could be one-third to one-half of a chicken breast.

Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is low in fat, tender and tasty.  It's also very easy to prepare and inexpensive.  I buy lots when they are on sale, and freeze them. 
I like to baste a little "Memories of Kobe" (yes, President's Choice again!)  sauce on my pork tenderloin before baking for about 30 minutes at 375 F.  Also, a snap to grill.  Easy and delicious!

Shrimp
I love shrimp.  It's also low in fat, and easy to prepare.  And, if you can get it on sale, inexpensive.  I usually buy the raw kind that you peel yourself.  It thaws out in just a couple of hours, or you can run it under cool water to speed up the process.  I lay mine in a flat layer in a shallow baking dish.  In a little bowl, I wisk together 3 tbsp of olive oil, about a quarter cup of white wine, and a teaspoon of chopped garlic (that I keep in the fridge).  Add a tiny pinch of sea salt.  If you have a little parmesan cheese, you could sprinkle some on.  I then use a silicone basting brush to spread this mixture equally over the shrimp.  It then goes into the oven at about 375 F until it turns pink (about 8-10 minutes).  You can serve this over brown rice, or over whole-wheat pasta that has been tossed in a bit of olive oil and pesto (if you like pesto).  Or, it makes a great appetizer all on it's own!

Burgers
On a nice summer's day, there's nothing more satisflying that a delicious, juicy burger!  Usually, if you are calorie-conscious, you may feel guilty indulging.  Now, there's no need to feel guilty!  President's Choice has come out with a fantastic burger that is tasty and fairly low in calories.  It's their Blue Menu Black Angus Burger.  Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

Don't be fooled into buying the Blue Menu "Burger First" Buns which are very thin, leading you to believe that they are lower in calories.  They have about the same caloric content as most other buns!  Get yourself a nice multi-grain bun to go with your healthy burger, top it off with lots of freshly sliced tomato and romaine lettuce, some onion, and enjoy!

Salmon
I love salmon!  I usually eat it at least once, if not twice per week.  In the winter, I usually cook salmon in the oven with sliced lemon, a little pinch of sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper.  Now that it's barbeque season, we prefer to barbeque it.  We place it on a large sheet of tin foil, and prepare it as I mentioned above.  Or, it is delicious with the President's Choice Balsamic Tomato Pesto or the PC regular green pesto.  Just spread the pesto on the salmon, use the excess tin foil to fold over the salmon like a little parcel, and grill until cooked.  You will know when it's fully cooked when the salmon is the same colour all the way through.  Enjoy!  

Eggs
If you're stuck for an idea for dinner, forgot to take your meat out of the freezer, or just don't have time to prepare any of the above, eggs are a great option.  Make yourself a quick omelette with a couple of eggs, toss in a few veggies and you're good to go!  If you take a few minutes once a week to hard boil a dozen eggs, they make a great topping on a salad.  Or, an egg sandwich.  Or, a snack.  They're perfect in your lunchpail!  Sometimes I chop up my hardboiled eggs and toss them with about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Then I sprinke seasoning on them.  Depending in my mood, it may be a mediterranean seasoning, a little ground cayenne pepper, or some curry powder.  The olive oil helps the seasonings stick to the eggs and makes it a little less boring,

The Canada's Food Guide suggests that two eggs equal one serving of protein.  If you are watching your calories, consider using four egg whites with only one of the yolks.

Pizza
These days, when ordering pizza, feel free to customize your pizza!  For example, when I order pizza for our family, I order a regular pepperoni pizza for my kids (who don't need to watch calories - lucky them!).  But for my husband and myself, I order a "very thin crust pizza, with only half the cheese and triple mushrooms".  Now, this may sound gross and disgusting, but it's actually very good!  Half the cheese is still a fair amount of cheese.  And I actually prefer the thin crust, since it gets a little crispier, and that's how I like it.  If I wanted, I could go a step further, and get a multigrain or whole wheat crust.  But, for now, I'm sticking with the normal crust.  Note:  When ordering pizza, skip the dip!!  It really doesn't need to be dipped...

Salads
I always have the large containers of President's Choice Organic Baby Spinach and Mesclun Mix or Mixed Greens with Herbs in the fridge, ready to go.  It just makes having a salad with dinner so much easier.  Sometimes I'll throw in some grape tomatoes and a little goat's milk cheese.  Other times, I'll add raspberries or strawberries with a few walnuts into the salad.  I also love chickpeas or beans in a salad.  Chopped, hard boiled eggs go really well on a spinach salad.  Or you can toss some shrimp or chicken into the salad, to make it more of a meal.  I tend to make the same homemade salad dressing all the time, see one of my previous posts for the recipe.  It goes well with every salad!

I love grilled veggies!  You could try slicing zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, red/green/yellow peppers, portabella mushrooms - those are just a few!  Just brush with a little olive oil and garlic.  Invest in some salt-free seasoning, ie.  Mrs. Dash.  It adds delicious flavour to grilled veggies. 

Another thing that is delicious grilled is pineapple.  Grilling brings out the sweetness of the pineapple and somehow changes the flavour.

Side Dishes
Certain things can be made in advance to save you time and effort at dinner time.  For example, brown rice can be cooked and kept in an airtight container in your fridge for about 5 days.  So, if you plan to make rice, make a double batch and use what's left over a few days later in a completely different dinner.  To add a little different twist to your rice, try cooking in other fluids besides plain water.  Some examples are:
- low sodium chicken broth
- low sodium tomato juice
- coconut milk (add in curry powder to taste)
- butternut squash soup (you will need to add extra water)

Same goes with whole wheat pasta.  Make a double batch, store what you don't use in the fridge for up to 5 days.  Just toss it with a minimal amount of olive oil before refrigerating, and it will help to keep it from drying out.  Or, you could reheat it in a frying pan with a little low-sodium chicken broth or water, which would eliminate any dryness.  For variety, consider making couscous.  Keep in mind that one serving of pasta, rice or couscous = one half cup, according to the Canada's Food Guide.

What's your go-to healthy summer dinner?   I would love to hear your ideas!

Happy Cooking!
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