 "The joy I see in my family's faces when I've placed a delicious dinner on the table can't be beat." Fast, Fun Recipes for Faster Fat Loss
By Julia Lacy-Adele
I admit it... I LOVE to cook. There are few things as enjoyable to me as spending some quality time in the kitchen, chopping, dicing, mixing, and "slaving" over the stove. I find it both relaxing and soothing. And the joy I see in my family's faces when I've placed a delicious dinner on the table can't be beat.
But as much as I love cooking, I'm also a busy mother of three very lively little girls. I have a demanding job, and I also enjoy an active social life with my husband. All that adds up and decreases the time I can spend in the kitchen.
Add the holidays on top of it, and sometimes it feels like a whirlwind. A wonderful, exciting, and stimulating whirlwind, but a chaotic one all the same. I'm sure you can relate.
Fortunately, in my years of cooking, I've created some simple, easy, and fun recipes that I can literally throw together in minutes, so I have more time to play with the girls before we sit down together for the meal. Here are a few of our favorites. I hope you find them as delicious as we do. Enjoy!
 Grilled Chicken with Mango Chutney
 Mango chutney adds color and flavor to the usual grilled chicken breast. Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove excess fat)
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup green onion (cleaned and minced)
1/2 cup white wine or cooking wine
3 tablespoons shredded coconut
Fresh ground pepper
Directions:
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Butterfly chicken (with a very sharp knife, slice breast down the middle).
- In a medium size bowl, combine curry, green onion, wine, shredded coconut, and pepper. Add chicken.
- Grill chicken for 20 to 30 minutes or until meat is golden brown and juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
Mango chutney ingredients:
1 jar mangos (drained and diced)
1/4 cup green onions (cleaned and chopped)
1 small tomato (seeded and chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve over chicken.
I think this recipe goes well with a green salad and whole-wheat pita bread.
Number of Servings: 4
Per serving:
Calories: 327
Fat: 7
Carbohydrates: 10
Protein: 56
Pesto Burgers
 Pesto is a surprising and flavorful addition to grilled burgers. Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 small red onion (peeled and diced fine)
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon pesto sauce concentrate (sold in a tube)—or any brand of your choice
1 egg
4 whole-wheat pitas
Directions:
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients until mixture is well blended.
- Prepare meat patties.
- Grill over medium-high heat for 10 minutes per side or until juice runs clear from burger.
Serve with a simple tomato and onion salad if you like, and you're done!
Number of Servings: 4
Per serving:
Calories: 398
Fat: 14
Carbohydrates: 40
Protein: 28
Hot & Spicy Brown Sugar Salmon
 Salmon can be a better-than-restaurant quality dinner—without a lot of fuss. Preparation time: 10
Cooking time: 25
Ingredients:
2 salmon steaks (rinse and pat dry)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste
1 tablespoon filtered water
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Tear two large pieces of aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place salmon in aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, chili paste, water, salt, and pepper.
- Baste salmon with a basting brush. (Use all of the brown sugar mixture and continue basting throughout the cooking time).
- Cook salmon for 25 minutes until pink in color and opaque.
Serve with your favorite rice dish and some steamed veggies for a better-than-restaurant quality dinner.
Number of Servings: 4
Per serving:
Calories: 293
Fat: 13
Carbohydrates: 4
Protein: 40
Macaroni & Chicken
 The addition of chopped chicken adds both flavor and a great source of protein to pasta dishes. Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove all excess fat), chopped
6 cups chicken stock (I like to make my own and store it in the freezer—email "editors at realsolutionsmag dot com" with "chicken stock recipe" in the subject line if you'd like a copy of my recipe)
2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles
1 four-ounces can tomato paste
1 lb baby spinach
1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
Directions:
- In a large, heavy pot, combine stock, chicken, and garbanzo beans. Bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat for five minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Add macaroni noodles and tomato paste. Cook until macaroni is tender when pierced with a fork.
- Add spinach and cook for three minutes.
Serve warm with a nice green salad for a fast, healthy, and very tasty meal!
Number of Servings: 4
Per serving:
Calories: 653
Fat: 9
Carbohydrates: 89
Protein: 54
The next time you're looking for some time-saving recipes, I hope you'll give one of these a try and then let me know how you, and your family, enjoy it. Just jump on our Message Board at RealSolutionsMag.com and let me know what you think!
Editor's Note: For more suggestions from Julia on how to streamline your cooking for fast, delicious, healthy meals, click here. And to find 24 more fabulous, healthy recipes, check out the The Lean System Success Plan!
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