Julia Lacy-Adele

Protein-Packed Family Favs

By Sue Mosebar with Recipes by Julia Lacy-Adele

Whew! School is back in full-swing. Which in our case also means all the extra-curricular activities have picked up too—from field trips to sports to music. Ah... the lazy days of summer are just a fading memory, and we're back to running from one thing to the next, picking up speed as we hurdle toward the holidays.

No wonder so many more people get sick at this time of the year. We've managed to dodge everything so far in our household. (Knock on wood.) But we're well aware of our increased exposure to all those little bugs. And then it's too easy to get burned out. After all, work doesn't slow down. If anything, it too seems to pick up at this time of year. Plus, we start missing out on our easily accessible source of the powerful immune booster Vitamin D—as our afternoons in the park and backyard become fewer and further between.

That's why nutrition is so vitally important. In my opinion, there's no greater foundation to a healthy family than healthy meals. But time doesn't always feel like it's on our side. So we've asked Julia, our favorite fitness chef, to take some of her favorite meals and adapt them for a busier schedule.

All of the meals have minimal prep time. That way, we can get dinner started and then focus on the kids while they cook. Plus, many can be started in a Crockpot, so we come home to a hot, tasty meal.

And you know what? Besides providing a tasty dinner as our day winds down, it also adds just a touch of sanity to our crazy schedules. And perhaps that's the biggest benefit of all.

So please, pull up a chair and dig into these wonderful meals. And then let us know—does your family enjoy them as much as ours? And even better, let us know your favorite recipes and tips and tools to keeping a saner household. (You can chime in on our Real Solutions Message Board and on Facebook.)

Cream of Tomato Soup with Cubed Chicken and Wild Rice

This is a delicious, protein-packed twist on the classic tomato soup. Fast and easy to prepare and so warming and comforting as the temperatures begin to dip.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
3 cups of chicken stock
3 cups of water
1 cup long grain wild rice
10 plum tomatoes (pureed in your food processor or blender)
4 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (with excess fat removed), cubed
1/2 cup fresh basil
Fat-free sour cream

Directions:

In a large, heavy pot, combine chicken stock, water, rice, pureed tomatoes, and cubed chicken (uncooked).

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce heat to a simmer.

Cook on low heat for one hour.

Before serving, dollop with sour cream and top with fresh basil.

Chicken and Black Bean Wraps

This recipe is hands on for the whole family at our house. Once the chicken is cooked, the family congregates in the kitchen to chop and mix up all the ingredients. (One "secret" to healthy family nutrition we've found is that kids often like foods they help prepare the best!)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 large skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove all excess fat), grilled and chopped
1/4 cup red onion (peeled and chopped fine)
1 15-oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 jalapeno peppers (remove seeds and sliced thin)
1 6-oz can yellow corn (drained)
Romaine lettuce (cleaned and shredded)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing
2 Tbs low-sodium taco seasoning
6 large whole-wheat wraps or soft whole-wheat tortillas

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium-high heat and cook chicken until golden brown and juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

Or

Prepare in oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Chop into small cubes.

Combine chicken, onion, beans, peppers, corn, and lettuce in a medium size bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, ranch dressing, and taco seasoning. Pour mixture into the bowl of chicken and mix until all is coated well with the dressing.

Fill wraps and roll like burritos and serve immediately.

Turkey Chili

I don't know about you, but as the weather gets colder, chili becomes one of the most popular dishes in our household. This one dish is pretty darn easy to throw together and makes the house smell heavenly as it cooks.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 Tbs light olive oil
2 cups onion (peeled and chopped)
1 medium red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
5 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
2 lbs lean ground turkey
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp coarse salt
Fat-free sour cream
2 green onions (cleaned and chopped)

Directions:

In a large heavy pot, combine onion, pepper, and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil over med-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until medium brown and onion is transparent.

At the same time, in a large skillet, brown ground turkey over medium-high heat.

When turkey is browned, add to the onion mixture (once it's fully cooked). Add broth, chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour.

Serve warm and topped with fat-free sour cream and chopped green onion.

Chicken and White Bean Chile

As I said, chili is popular around our household. This recipe is especially nice as we can put it all together in a Crockpot, head out for the afternoon/early evening, and arrive home to a delicious, hot, home-cooked meal.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time Crock-pot: 3 to 4 hours

Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (with all excess fat removed), cubed
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup white onion (peeled and diced)
3 jalapenos (seeded and diced)
1 Tbs light olive oil
2 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 16-oz can white (northern) beans
Fat-free sour cream
Fat-free cheddar cheese
1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped fine)
2 green onions (cleaned and chopped)

Directions:

Pour 1 Tbs light olive oil into a large, heavy skillet. Add chicken. Cook over med-high heat until golden brown.

In a large Crockpot, add all ingredients and cook on high for three to four hours or until desired consistency.

Serve warm, topped with fat-free sour cream, green onion, jalapenos, and fat-free cheddar cheese.

Lemon-Pesto Chicken

Delicious. Fast. Easy. Healthy. What more can we say?

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove all excess fat)
3 Tbs pesto sauce (your favorite brand or homemade if you have it)
3 large fresh lemons (juiced and seeds removed)
1 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp both course salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly your chicken.

In a large bowl, combine pesto, lemon, zest, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and coat well.

In a 9 x 11 baking dish, bake chicken at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until the juices of the meat run clear.

Serve with rice and steamed or roasted veggies.

Chicken Macaroni

What is it about kids and macaroni? This recipe remains popular with kids despite replacing the usual powdered cheese with healthy vegetables, lean protein, and tons of nutrition.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (all excess fat removed), chopped
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 can garbanzo beans (aka, chick peas)
2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles
1 small can tomato paste
1 lb baby spinach

Directions:

In a large, heavy pot, combine chicken, stock, water, 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 (about 15 minutes).

Add spinach and cook for three more minutes.

Serve warm.

Want more protein-packed, healthy (and fast) meal recipes from us? Visit www.realsolutionsmag.com/idealbb/forum.asp?forumID=14. Or, come share your family-favorite recipes with us!

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