5 Healthy Dinner Recipes That Can Help You Lose Weight

Diet , Healthy Recipes , Recipes , Weight Loss   

They’re All Under 500 Calories

If one of your goals is to cook more (and healthier) at home to stick to your weight-loss efforts, you'll want to set yourself up for success. A key part of that is making sure you've got an arsenal of new healthy dinner recipes to whip up, that are *also* delicious.

It can feel damn near torturous to put together something nutritious and flavorful after a long day of work. But once you have a meal-planning playbook, your dinner game is going to improve. Also, you won't be tempted to order takeout if you already have a yummy, weight loss-friendly meal prepped and ready to go.

It can be hard to find meals that meet all of those needs and are also lower in calories to help you stay in a calorie deficit (aka eating less calories than you're burning) to meet your weight loss goals. Luckily, these 5 healthy dinner recipes for weight loss each have 500 calories or less, and will leave you satisfied enough to stave off cravings until breakfast. You can even create a healthy, weight-loss meal plan for the week by picking out seven of these recipes. Eating healthy after 5 p.m. just got so much easier.

1. Slow Cooker Seafood Ramen

Ingredients:

• 64 oz broth (seafood, vegetable, or chicken
• 4–6 oz ramen
• 1 lb seafood
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup kale, chopped
• 1/2 lb tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients except the seafood, kale and ramen to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
2. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or low for 4-6 hours.
3. Add seafood, kale & ramen and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes.

Per Serving: 250 calories, 2.7 g fat (0.3 g sat), 29.5 g protein, 27 g carb, 2588.3 mg sodium, 3.9 g sugars, 1.7 g fiber

Recipe courtesy of Fit Slow Cooker Queen.

2. Turkey Carrot Mushroom Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. carrots finely julienned
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 c. mushrooms finely chopped
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp rice wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 30 dumpling wrappers

Directions:

1. Put carrots in a microwavable bowl and cover with water. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes depending on how finely shredded the carrots are. Drain and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cooked carrots, turkey, mushrooms, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, onion powder, salt and cornstarch. Stir together until well combined.
3. Spoon a well rounded teaspoon of filling onto a dumpling wrapper. Seal filling with wrapper. Wrap remaining dumplings.
4. Bring water to boil in the bottom of the steamer pot. Place dumplings in a parchment paper lined steamer. Steam 15 minutes until cooked through.

Per serving: 48 calories, 1 g fat (0 g sat), 3 g protein, 4 g carb, 87 mg sodium

Recipe courtesy of Jeanette’s Healthy Living.

3. Slow Grilled Chinese Char Siu Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. organic brown sugar
• 1/4 c. raw honey
• 1/4 c. organic ketchup
• 1/4 c. gluten-free soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp beet powder
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp gluten-free hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Cooking oil spray

Directions:

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, beet powder, vinegar, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, salt and pepper.
2. Add chicken and toss well, coating all the pieces well; cover and refrigerate for two days to marinate.
3. Heat grill; spray cooking oil on grates; grill chicken until cooked through, about 10 minutes per side.

Per serving: 328 calories, 8 g fat (2 g sat), 38 g protein, 25 g carb, 845 mg sodium, 24 g sugars, 1 g fiber

Recipe courtesy of Jeanette’s Healthy Living.

4. Creamy Kabocha Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1 small kabocha squash
• 1 head of garlic
• 1/3 cauliflower, cut into large florets
• 1/2 medium onion (roughly chopped)
• 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
• 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
• 1/4 c. roasted red peppers, drained
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• Optional: A pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 to 3 c. vegetable broth (or as needed)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 to 3/4 c. fresh basil (unpacked), sliced
• 2 lb gluten-free spaghetti noodles (or pasta of your choice)

Directions:

1. Soak the cashews in water overnight. If you do not have time to, you can also bring a small pot of water to a boil, remove it from heat and add in the cashews. Allow them to soak until you blend the sauce together (which will be about 1 hour).
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F and position the rack to the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Wash and dry the kabocha squash, place it (whole) on the baking sheet and into the oven for 18-20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool until the squash is easy to handle. If the stem of it is protruding, use a knife to carefully remove it. Slice the squash in half vertically, then scoop out the seeds and fiber using a spoon. Slice the squash into 1-inch wedges, trying to keep the slices uniform for even cooking. Place 6 or 7 the slices of the cooked squash (roughly 1 1/2 cups) onto your lined baking sheet. The remaining kabocha squash can be cooked on an additional baking sheet with the same baking time and directions below. It can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
3. Using your hands, remove loose skin from the outside of the head of garlic. With a sharp knife, cut 1/4“-inch off the top of the garlic, or enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place the garlic head (cut side down) onto the baking sheet along with the cauliflower florets, onions, celery, and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place back into the oven for 40 minutes, flipping/mixing halfway through.
4. 10 minutes before the vegetables are done, prepare the pasta.
5. Once you have removed the baking sheet from the oven, allow the veggies to cool until easily handled and then use a knife to carefully remove the skin from the kabocha and add it into a high speed blender. You can discard this or snack on it as you continue cooking. Using you hands, squeeze the soften garlic cloves out of the head and into the blender, along with the soaked cashews (drained), the remaining vegetables on the baking sheet, the roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, 2 cups of vegetable broth plus salt and pepper as desired. Blend until smooth, adding as much of the additional 1 cup of vegetable broth as needed to thin out the sauce. Adjust seasonings to taste and then add in the sliced basil. Pulse the basil in until well combined (do not blend it as it will turn the sauce a weird color).
6. Drain the pasta, add it back into the pot and pour over the sauce. Mix until well combined.
7. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan, basil and black pepper. Enjoy!

Per serving: 501 calories, 5.9 g fat (0 g sat), 17.8 g protein, 93.4 g carb, 56.3 mg sodium, 5.8 g sugars

Recipe courtesy of Sweet Simple Vegan.

5. Loaded Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1.25 lb cauliflower head, cut into florets
• 6 green onion, chopped into the green and white parts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 tsp ranch seasoning Mix, optional
• 3/4 c. organic heavy whipping cream
• 2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 slices sugar-free bacon, crumbled
• Olive oil for roasting the cauliflower
• Dollops of sour cream, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the cauliflower with ~2 Tbsp of olive oil then add it to a baking sheet. Roast the cauliflower on a baking sheet for 25 minutes. The cauliflower will get tender and some parts will brown up.
3. While the cauliflower is roasting, make the cheese sauce: Add butter, the white parts of the green onions, and the garlic cloves to a skillet on medium heat. Sauté until the onions are translucent (~3 minutes).
4. Add heavy cream, cream cheese, salt, ranch seasoning (if you’re using it), and pepper to the skillet with the onions, garlic and butter. Turn the heat to medium low and continue to cook until the cream cheese is melted. Stir in 1.5 cups of the cheddar cheese to finish the cheese sauce.
5. Mix the cheese sauce and the roasted cauliflower, then add it to a baking dish. Top it with the remaining cheddar cheese and roast for an additional 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
6. Top the baked cauliflower, with some dollops of sour cream, the green parts of the green onions, and the crumbled bacon.

Per serving: 315 calories, 28 g fat (17 g sat), 11 g protein, 5 g carb, 587 mg sodium, 2 g sugars, 1 g fiber

Recipe courtesy of Dr. Davinah’s Eats.

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