A Healthy Quick Dinner Recipe For Busy Families - Orange Chicken

It seems that our days are getting busier, and it's often hard to get a healthy and quick dinner recipe on the table at a reasonable time. Family dinners are an important part of the day and worth planning ahead to make sure there is a healthy quick dinner recipe available. Finding healthy recipes that are quick and easy can be a challenge, but with a little planning ahead cooking dinner can be a snap.

Plan a weeks worth of menus in advance and shop using a list. This will save you money on impulse items, and you will have a quick menu planned for every night of the week. When planning, be sure to take into account any regular weekly activities such as little league or dance lessons. Sometimes a crock pot meal or a cook ahead entrée is best for these nights.

Here is a healthy quick dinner recipe that is simple to prepare, then cooks quickly in only 15 minutes in the oven while you prepare a box of rice pilaf and green vegetable. This healthy quick dinner recipe will help solve tonight's dinner crisis and provide you with a winning entrée fit for a company meal. As a bonus, it can be halved or expanded to fit the number of servings needed and uses only one bowl and one baking dish, so cleanup is easy.

If you're a dark meat fan, you could also use chicken thighs and legs for this recipe, but you would need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.


Healthy Quick and Easy Orange Chicken Dinner 4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

pinch black pepper

1 cup orange juice

grated rind of 1 orange

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Arrange the chicken breasts in a 13x9x2" baking dish
3. Drizzle the chicken with the melted butter and sprinkle with paprika.
4. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken.
5. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until fork tender, basting occasionally with the pan juices.  
6. 
   

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a wild rice pilaf and green beans or a salad.

Diane Watkins is a traditional southern style cook. She enjoys cooking, teaching, and writing about good food and family at [http://easysoutherncooking.com]

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Use Tomato Juice Recipes To Add More Health Benefits

Just as tomatoes are an important addition to many food recipes, they are also an important addition to many vegetable juice recipes as well. This is not only because tomatoes are jam packed with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients such as the antioxidant lycopene, which is excellent in preventing cardiovascular problems and for eye health, but simply because tomatoes taste great. Tomatoes are highly versatile and available year round, either from other parts of the country or other parts of the world. your best option of course is right out of your garden, but not everyone has access to a garden.

The base for the popular vegetable juice drink V8 is tomatoes. If you enjoy the taste of V8 juice this can be a good place to start by creating your own V8 juice. Start with a couple of tomatoes, two stalks of celery, a half a dozen carrots. If this pleases your taste buds add other vegetables one at a time such as a green pepper, a beet, a cucumber, a cup of spinach, a cup of cabbage and even an onion, season with salt and pepper to taste. 
 If you need to sweeten it up a little, an apple will work fine placed into the mix. This vegetable juice will have the added benefit of being fresh, easily assimilated by the digestive tract and not lacking in vitamins and nutrients that are so easily destroyed by commercial processing ion order to give the product a long shelf life.

If you prefer your tomato juice straight, this is another option. Just add whatever seasonings you like such as salt, pepper or even hot sauce. The tomato pulp you remove from the juicer can also be used in other ways. For starters you can add a little bit to your tomato juice if you want more fiber. It can as well be used in recipes such as casseroles or sauces where you don't mind the crunchiness of the tomato seeds or chewiness of the skins, though in recipes if they are cooked log enough, they will soften up. another option is to make the pulp into a vegetable leather.

This works better with fruits, due to their sweeter taste and the stickier nature of the pulp which makes it adhere better into a solid mass. A simple method for a leather is just to place it in a wax paper lined pan and cook it in the oven on low for a few minutes until it feels dry to the touch or cook in the microwave in a wax paper lined plate for 1/2 minute low setting bursts until it feels dry. 

Roll it up and it will last a couple of days. You can sweeten it with honey before cooking if you desire. Some produce will work better than others. But it makes for a chewy between meal snack.


If you drink the fresh tomato juice before the meal it can help to curb your appetite to some degree. With other added vegetables in the mix it will be even more effective. The important thing to remember is to use the juice right away, the longer you wait to ingest it, the more vitamins and nutrients will be lost. You want to receive the full value of the high vitamin C as well as vitamin A and the B vitamins, the antioxidant lycopene and the trace minerals sodium, phosphorus and potassium.

Want to learn more about tomato juice recipes? Visit my website at http://www.juicingbenefitstips.com for helpful tips and information on creating the best juices for your needs.

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Diet Shake Recipes - Healthy and Delicious!

Diet shakes and diet shake recipes are so popular even televangelist Pat Robertson has one on the market. Expensive protein shake mixes line the shelves of supermarkets and health food stores.
Some of the recipes below require that you buy protein powder. You find it at local health food stores and smart shopping saves a lot of money. You don't have to dig all your money out of your pocket to create a great diet shake, just follow some of the easy recipes and watch the weight fall off.
Diet shake recipes with no protein powder.
Mocha Delight
Make a pot of extra strong coffee or dissolve 1 teaspoon of regular or decaffeinated coffee in 1/4 cup of hot water. Add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa and a teaspoon of artificial sweetener made from sugar. Put the coffee and cocoa mixture into a blender and add a cup of skim milk and four ice cubes. Turn it on for a refreshing pick me up shake.
This recipe contains just a few nutritional benefits but only contains 105 calories and is a great mid morning diet snack.
For those on the raw food diet the next delightful diet shake recipe is just right for you.
Orange Applenana Shake
Peal an orange and leave a little of the white part on the sections. This rather bitter tasting substance is high in valuable antioxidants. Use 1/2 the orange, remove the core from 2 green apples and chop it. Put the orange and apples into bender and add a ripe banana and one tablespoon of brewer's yeast.
Blend until it's smooth and garnish it with a slice of orange.
Use 12 ounces of the next diet shake to replace a meal.
This shake is less than 100 calories.
Chop one apple. Put it in the blender add a peeled orange and banana and a handful of blueberries or strawberries. Put in four ice cubes and a fresh-pitted peach. Add a half-teaspoon of toasted wheat germ and blend.
This wonderful shake is a great lunch or breakfast that provides a lot of additional nutrition to a diet.
Fudgalicious Peanut Butter Shake
Use one cup of any fat free, sugar free ice cream, add ¾ cup of low fat 1% milk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Whirl in the blender until it is totally mixed.
Use this as a filling substitute for a breakfast or lunch. Since it doesn't contain all the valuable nutrients, don't overuse it.
Great Diet Shake Recipes that Use Protein Powder
Try this unusual apple shake.
Mix one cored apple with 12 ounces of soymilk, 3 to 4 ice cubes and 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder. Toss in a tablespoon of almond meal and a tablespoon of wheat germ. Blend the mixture and enjoy.
Make a root beer float
Put a can of diet A&W root beer in the blender and add one and a half tablespoons of heavy cream, four ice cubes and two scoops of a vanilla protein powder. Blend the mixture and serve. This yummy drink takes off fat fast and helps build lean muscle mass.

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Diabetic Chicken Recipes - How To Make Them Healthy And Tasty

Are you a diabetic? Or you know someone who is suffering from diabetes? If yes, then you need to know some exciting ideas like diabetic chicken recipes for help. There is a perception that diabetic diet is always boring and tasteless, but it is not necessary always. You can make chicken recipes for diabetic patients without losing on the tastiness and health factor. Chicken is a lean protein and versatile in terms of preparations. There are plenty of delicious options that make healthy diabetic chicken recipes. Here you will learn about a few.

Baked Chicken - Using Leeks and Onion

You need some

• sliced onions,
• cloves,
• leek,
• olive oil,
• thyme leaves, and
• salt, apart from chicken to prepare this recipe.

How to cook

Put all the vegetable ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl and allow cooking until the vegetables get a coating. Marinate the chicken with spices like shallot, rosemary, mustard, pepper, and soy sauce. Place the chicken on vegetables and cook for some ten minutes. Now, use mustard glaze and brush it on the chicken pieces. Bake for some 45 minutes and you will get one of the best diabetic chicken recipes.

Autumn Stew of Chicken

This is one of the healthiest diabetic chicken recipes. You need parsnips, carrots, and apples to prepare this item. Ingredients include

• virgin olive oil;
• chopped onion, parsnips, carrots and rosemary;
• ground pepper;
• cider vinegar; and
• salt.

How to cook

Take Dutch oven and heat with two tablespoons of oil. Now, add chicken and cook for a few minutes and then add all the other ingredients and put the oven on a steamer heat. Put some vinegar and stir for a few minutes and the dish is ready. This is an incredibly healthy and also diabetic chicken recipes easy preparation.

Spinach and Chicken Soup

This is an Italian menu and healthy for diabetic patients. You need some skinless and boneless chicken breast, canned beans and baby spinach. Get some basil presto to get that herbal flavor. Other ingredients include

• garlic,
• clove,
• carrot,
• olive oil,
• basil leaves,
• parmesan cheese, and
• ground pepper.

How to cook

Heat 2 teaspoon of oil on a big saucepan and add chicken and carrot. After three to four minutes, add garlic and stir for five minutes. Add the vegetables and scrape down basil and parmesan. Stir and use pepper for seasoning. This is tasty and one of the easiest diabetic chicken recipes in terms of preparation.

Now you have learned about some of the interesting ideas of diabetic chicken recipes. One of the most essential things that you should know is that such a recipe should not include skin of chicken. Chicken skin includes carbs, which is one of the biggest enemies of diabetics. It is better that you consult your dietician to learn about the best recipes, as the professionals will be able to guide what exactly you should include or avoid.

Controlling blood sugar levels is an art. If you want to be an expert in it, you should know the full details of Diabetes Food List

Murali is the author of this article. This article can be used for reprint on your website provided all the links in the article should be complete and active.

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Make a Simple Diet Interesting Through Healthy Recipes

Meal preparation is a bit exciting, cool and mind blowing chore. But there's nothing compared to knowing what recipe captures dieters' taste, consequently giving them shocking drop in weight. There are various diet and recipe available everywhere, one could find through patient and resourceful searching.

Lots of healthy and weight losing recipes everywhere and to reach the needs of most dieters, here are some flavorful, savory and mouth-watering recipes.

Kimchi Diet and Recipe

Kimchi is a famous Korean dish which is often referred to fermented Napa cabbage stuffed with various spices and pastes like garlic, red paste mixture, chili, and fish sauce and is stocked in a thick huge pot, fermented in the sun and is set aside for several months for savory result.

Not only Koreans are hooked up with this savory and peppery recipe. In fact, even Westerners like to order kimchi in Asian and Korean themed restaurants. But how kimchi consider a great weight losing diet? Kimchi is found to be effective prevention to obesity, unbelievably dropping pound and pounds of fats. The credit goes to its ingredients. Kimchi has complete natural and organic ingredients such as cabbage and spices known to have antioxidants and a great immune system booster. Napa cabbage which is mostly the ingredient in cabbage kimchi is very low in calories, making it an ideal ingredient to whatever diet.

Kimchi is also easy to prepare. Despite of its long preparation, this Asian dish can be devoured even without undergoing the process of fermentation, but of course it taste best when fermented. Usually, the fermentation process takes 2 to 3 days. So for those planning to have kimchi included in their diet, here are the simple steps in preparing it.

For Cabbage Kimchi:

1. Wash the Napa cabbage then slice it into four parts and in lengthwise. Take out the sagged cabbage leaves and rinse it in a large dish full of water to thoroughly wash out the dirt and unnecessary substance. Leave it soaked and sterilized for about 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Take out the leaves and squeeze as much water out of it and chop the cabbage into one inch square piece and put it in a clean, dry and large dish.

3. Sprinkle appropriate amount of salt and toss each coat piece until it is evenly lathered with salt.

4. Soak the cabbage kimchi for twelve more hours in the fridge and leave it hibernated for 2 to 3 days.

5. While waiting for the marinated Napa cabbage to ferment, prepare the spices for kimchi stuffing. Rinse green onions and chop them up into thin lengthwise strips, peel cleaned and crushed garlic, grate the peeled ginger and shred the peeled and cleaned carrot into thin strips. Mix all ingredients and stuff the fermented cabbage with these spices.

To add more facts about this renowned Korean recipe, pickled kimchi allows lactic acid to break in the food, letting the bad bacteria fighter lactobacillus kimchii form. Experts prove that lactic acid improves endurance, promotes healthy and appropriate metabolic functioning, and regulates proper digestion. As kimchi has various natural and organic ingredients, this also improves blood circulation and consequently producing fat antioxidants that play big role in losing weight. Kimchi is one of the many diet solutions proven effective and a great choice for those looking for ultimate diet plan.

Although he's a newbie in article writing, Jigo Emmanuel Antonio makes great articles worth to read. He is currently into freelance virtual assistant venture. He can work full time and as long as his employer needs his skills. He does basic web designing, article writing, transcribing, researching, video editing, audio editing, and a bit of flash animation.

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Health Benefits of Quinoa and Some Quick Recipe Ideas

Quinoa Nutrition

It is high in fiber and protein and low in fat. It is one the few sources of complete of protein making it a popular food for healthy vegetarians. It is full of minerals and vitamins and best of all unlike most other grains, it is completely gluten-free.

Although it is a seed, it is often referred to as a grain. It has a nutty flavor and the texture is somewhat fluffy and a little soft. It is extremely versatile making it adaptable in many recipes. A whole cup of quinoa is quick to make taking only 15 minutes. I do recommend as in other grains and seeds that you soak the quinoa overnight. By soaking grains and seeds, your body is able to digest better and efficiently.

Quinoa recipes

Basic recipe requires cooking it with two parts water and one part quinoa. Combine water and quinoa in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. You can substitute chicken or vegetable stock for water. One way to know when the quinoa is done is when all the grains have a transparent color to it. It is cooked very similar to how you cook rice. this is a basic way of cooking quinoa and from here you can create some yummy recipes.

The most common type of quinoa is beige, cream color but there are also red and black variety available. Quinoa is quite reasonable is price so I do recommend buying organic.

It can be turned into a hot breakfast cereal with cooking it as mentioned above and adding thinly sliced apples or raisins, milk or a little cream with some brown sugar.

Saute some diced carrots, garlic, green onions, celery, and sweet red pepper in a pan. Add salt, pepper, oregano, and any other of your preferred spices to taste. When the vegetables have been cooked for about 5 minutes, add the cooked quinoa. You can add some olive oil or a little bit of butter. Enjoy as a complete meal or as a side dish.

You can make a great stir fry recipe. Use Sesame oil or tea tree oil as that is a great oil to use for oriental cooking and flavor. Add oil to a pan and saute with garlic, grated ginger, green onions, snow peas, broccoli, bok choy, and any other vegetables you want to throw in there from your refrigerator. Add soy or tamari, and chilli sauce. Tamari is basically soy sauce without the gluten so I prefer to buy that over the traditional soy sauce. You can also add steamed shrimp or chicken to this. Pour over quinoa and enjoy.

You can substitute half of your all-purpose flour for quinoa flour in your baking and instantly make your baked goodies healthier. You can also use this substitution technique for making waffles, flatbreads, and even oven baked chips.

You can pretty much substitute quinoa with any other grain especially rice. Because of its high content of protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins, it is a superfood that should be part of your diet.

Jaya Patel has a health and wellness online store. She is a blogger for all things healthy and non-toxic. She is dedicated to empowering others to achieve holistic health for them and their families through their food choices, cleaning products and personal care products. Examples of topics she writes about are home remedies for various ailments, super foods that pack the most nutritional punch, natural and alternative therapies, non-toxic and truly natural products for your home, skin and hair.

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