Hungry Girl Recipes that ROCK!

For those of you who have not yet discovered Hungry Girl, you're missing out.  Hungry Girl, otherwise known as Lisa Lillien, is a food-obsessed, health-conscious best-selling cookbook author and founder of hungrygirl.com. Hungry Girl is all about finding delicious guilt-free versions of the foods we all love.  Through her daily emails, Food Network show and cookbooks, Lisa shows us some great swaps and recipes that we can easily work into our diets in a sustainable way.

Since discovering Hungry Girl, I have dabbled with a number of her recipes - from breakfast to dessert to cocktails and more.  While some recipes leave me wanting more, others have me doing back flips.  And some simply require a little trial and error to get right.

Today, I'd like to share my current Hungry Girl obsessions -- dishes that I turn to on a regular basis that even my family enjoys (my ultimate goal)!

HG's Cheesy Beefy Supreme Wrap

Ingredients:

1 La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Low-Carb/Low-Fat Tortilla, Large (sometimes labeled Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber)

1/2 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like Boca Ground Burger or Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles)

1/2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/2 wedge The Laughing Cow cheese, Light Original Swiss

1 tbsp. fat-free sour cream

1 tsp. taco seasoning mix

1/2 tsp. taco sauce

Directions:

Place frozen soy crumbles, Laughing Cow cheese and taco seasoning mix in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 45 - 60 seconds. Remove, add taco sauce, and mix well. Lay tortilla out on a large microwave-safe plate, and then warm it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Place the soy crumble mixture in the center of the tortilla. Next, cover the mixture with the shredded cheese. Place the tortilla, open-faced, in the microwave for about 40 seconds (until shredded cheese has melted slightly). Remove plate from the microwave, and place sour cream on top of the melty cheese layer. Then, wrap the tortilla up by first folding in the sides and then rolling it up from the bottom. With the seam side down on the plate, heat the wrap in the microwave for another 30 seconds.

What I love most about this meal is that it tastes really fattening (in a good way).  But with 267 calories and 6 grams of fat, this delicious protein-packed, fiber-rich Taco Bell swap gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me! 

HG's Exploding Chicken Taquito

Ingredients:

1 can (10 oz) 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained and flaked

1/2 cup salsa

8 small (6 inch) yellow corn tortillas

1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp dry taco seasoning mix

Optional: additional salsa and/or fat free sour cream for dipping

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.  Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable. Set aside.Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid. Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine. This is your filling. Set aside.

Place one tortilla flat on a clean dry surface (keep the rest between the paper towels), and spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto the tortilla. Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube. Secure with toothpicks, if needed, and place seam side down on greesed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.  

Bake in the oven until crispy, 14 - 16 minutes. (Don't worry if they crack and "explode" a little!) 

My family went nuts for this and it couldn't have been easier to make.    

Faux Fried (Baked) Onion Rings or Zucchini 

Hungry Girl discovered an extremely nutritious way to "faux fry" anything from fish, to chicken to onion rings and zucchini -- using FiberOne cereal.  While I love the idea behind this healthy swap, this one took some tweaking.  Because FiberOne was originally intended as a cereal, it is naturally sweet, which typically breadcrumbs are not.  So, my goal was to authenticate this extremely healthy swap as a tasty breading.  Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:  

1 cup FiberOne cereal

1/2 cup seasoned Panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp fat free milk 
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute

1 medium sized zucchini, sliced; or 1 whole onion, sliced to form rings 

Directions:  

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine all dry ingredients in a food processor and blend until breadcrumb consistency.  In a medium bowl, beat egg with milk. Dip vegetables in egg mixture then coat with breadcrumbs.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.

Packed with fiber and protein, this healthy alternative to its fried counterpart is delicious -- and very easy to make! 

These are just a few of my go-to Hungry Girl recipes.  Stay tuned as I continue to experiment with more.

Want more healthy eating ideas and strategies, download How to Eat Healthy Without Noticing: A Non-Dieter's Guide to Eating Better on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or via your iBooks app.