It’s been one of those weeks and it’s not over yet. It’s only Wednesday. If there was bad news to be delivered, it arrived on my doorstep. A software crash at work, $700 plus to fix it, one day of lost business data, customer shipping errors, my assistant is off sick and so on and so on. So cooking has been about the last thing I want to do.

But, since eating is necessary to sustain my get-up and go, I had to get up and go to the kitchen to make meals. Today’s lunch took 5 minutes to prepare and another 5 minutes to shovel into my mouth. All 200 calories of it.

A lightly toasted thin bagel slathered with honey mustard, three slices of ultra thin sliced deli ham (Hillshire brand, 99% fat-free) and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. I popped it in the microwave until the cheese melted, added mixed greens and I was good to go. Oh yah, let’s not forget the three large strawberries on the side.

For quick and easy, it was actually a pretty good sandwich that was filling and low in calories. Make this an open face sandwich and you will cut 65 calories. Add a tomato slice in place of the top layer of bread.

It’s been a mad house around here since the holidays. Just getting the Christmas decorations put away has taken nearly a month. As for cooking, there’s been very little of it. I have relied upon take-out dinners and soup lunches. Since today is Valentine’s Day, I am renewing my love affair with Blimpy Girl meals and focusing on getting back into my normal eating groove. The holiday grazing has come to an end.

This out-of-the-bun hot dog was today’s lunch. Make a lengthwise slit in a turkey dog (98% fat-free), fill the slit area with small chunks of Velvetta cheese (1/2 ounce) and top with diced onion. Microwave the dog until cheese melts. Plate cooked hot dog and garnish with sweet relish and mustard. It’s a 100 calorie hot dog.

If you can’t eat a hot dog without fries, try these oven-baked red skin fries. Here’s how:

• 4 red skin potatoes (don’t bother peeling)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a broiler pan with a wire rack to keep air circulating around the potatoes while they bake.

Wash and cut the potatoes into wedges. Mix the oil/seasoning to a large bowl and thoroughly coat the potatoes. Layer the wedges on the wire rack (single layer) and bake in oven for 10 minutes. Flip the potatoes and cook an additional 8 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

The above recipe serves four. Calories per serving are in the neighborhood of 170. Potatoes are a “filler” food. The carbs help your tummy fill full which means you eat less.Say bye-bye to the ketchup. If you can’t live without a dipping sauce, use low-fat ranch.

The final verdict: An under 300 calories meal with a serving of the baked fries.

Summer is winding down here in Michigan and the excess from the vegetable garden is mounting. Tomatoes, cukes, peppers, squash and greens garnish every available counter space in the kitchen. Finding a purpose for these garden goodies (before they spoil) has become the primary focus of Blimpy Girl’s meal planning.

Red peppers are one of my favorites from the garden, especially when roasted. Stuffing them with avocado, tomato, garlic, onion and chopped spinach is a yummy variation and cleared some of the garden clutter from the kitchen. 

Top the stuffed peppers with your choice of low-fat cheese. I happened to use mozzarella. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. I added sliced yellow squash to the roasting pan which paired perfectly with the peppers.

Smash a slightly over ripe avocado, add diced tomato-onion-garlic (or you can use garlic powder), chopped spinach (or you can substitute with basil, or add both). Salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake.

Each pepper half makes one side serving. Serve with grilled chicken breast or beef tenderloin, even pasta is a main course option. So, let’s talk calories. This filling side dish is just under 100 calories per pepper half.

The best part is the addition of the avocado provides vitamins/minerals we often fail to incorporate into our diet… like copper, magnesium and vitamin B6.

Lately, I’ve been extremely busy at work and play. My “play” time has involved preparations for an upcoming wedding on Saturday. My gift to the bride-to-be is decorating the reception tables. It’s been fun, but sadly I’ve had little time to prepare a lunch. I’ve been digging into the Cheez-it box and all kinds of other high-calorie snacks and my scale was bearing witness to this naughtiness.

The bathroom scale is my constant companion. My morning weigh-in helps me keep my weight in check. I knew I had to find some easy-to-make lunch meals to prevent my pantry binging.  

This tea sandwich took about 5 minutes. It was filling, yummy, nutritious and definitely better than snack foods.

Ingredients

• Avocado slices
• Tomato slices
• Alfalfa sprouts
• Baby spinach leaves
• Spreadable cream cheese (low-fat, if available)
• 2 bread slices
• Seedless cucumber slices

How To

Spread cream cheese onto each bread slice. Layer the spinach, alfalfa sprouts, avocado and tomato slices on one of the bread slices. Place second bread slice on top of the last sandwich layer.

Note: For a crustless sandwich, trim off the bread crust

Cut the sandwich diagonally into halves or thirds. Place a several cucumber slices on top of each tea sandwich and serve.