Healthy Meal: Ribs, Mixed Vegetables, and a Salad
Healthy Leftover Idea: Rib Quesadilla
I love ribs! It would be a shame if they were not allowed to be included in the meal repertoire once in a while. If you are a fan of ribs, here's an easy way to do just that. As long as you maintain an appropriate portion size like described below you will end up with a meal under 400 calories with ribs included!
This idea started out when I stumbled across a pack of Tony Roma's ribs on sale at my local supermarket for only $5. The nutritional guide on the back advised me of the three portions within totaling 330 calories per serving but I was going to improve that a bit before dishing out the food.
Instead of three portions from this rather large-sized rack of ribs, I divided the entire package into 4 equal portions which in turn brought the calorie amount down per serving to only 247 each. Much better!
Add to the meal a cup of mixed vegetables, no butter, for only 50 calories along with a salad no croutons with fat-free Italian dressing for another 75 calories, water to drink, and you now have a meal that only weighs in at around 375 calories!
*Remember, drink lots of water (or other 0 calorie beverage you prefer) with your meal and you will get full with that amount of food. Take it from a guy who used to regularly eat a super sized fast food meal of a double bacon cheeseburger, XL fries, and two XL sodas in order to get full. Now, I get full with this portion meal.
To top it off, if there are any leftovers that you will hopefully avoid eating you have the option to pack a lunch portion of the same meal away in a handy plastic travel container, or you can make a fantastic tasting rib/cheese melt also known as a Rib Quesadilla (or Rib-sadilla) and presto, an easy, great tasting 300 calorie lunch you will definitely look forward to enjoying the following day.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to temperature per the package of ribs you purchase. In this case the Tony Roma's ribs required 400 degrees for 14-17 minutes.
2. I prefer to line the pan with foil which helps with cleanup afterwards. Simply crumple and toss/recycle - no having to scrub the baked on sauce.
3. Boil water for the mixed vegetables and add seasonings if desired such as a dash of salt and garlic powder.
4. Wash/cut salad greens along with the toppings you prefer such as tomatoes, carrots, shredded mozzarella cheese.
5. When the ribs are finished cooking, carefully remove from the oven and use a sharp knife to cut the rack of ribs up into 4 equal portions.
6. Serve appropriate portion sizes along with water and enjoy your under 400 calorie meal!
<em>Leftover Meal Idea</em>: If there are ribs leftover and you want to make the great tasting rib-sadillas, you will need to pull/scrape meat from the bones and cut up into small pieces. Use one whole wheat low-calorie wrap and place onto a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Evenly spread a 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese along with the diced up rib meat. If you want to add lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, now is the time to do so. When you see the cheese beginning to melt, use a spatula to carefully fold half of the rib-sadilla onto itself. Allow to cook for another 3-5 minutes per side until lightly brown. Cut in half and store in your lunch/travel container
Healthy Leftover Idea: Rib Quesadilla
I love ribs! It would be a shame if they were not allowed to be included in the meal repertoire once in a while. If you are a fan of ribs, here's an easy way to do just that. As long as you maintain an appropriate portion size like described below you will end up with a meal under 400 calories with ribs included!
This idea started out when I stumbled across a pack of Tony Roma's ribs on sale at my local supermarket for only $5. The nutritional guide on the back advised me of the three portions within totaling 330 calories per serving but I was going to improve that a bit before dishing out the food.
Instead of three portions from this rather large-sized rack of ribs, I divided the entire package into 4 equal portions which in turn brought the calorie amount down per serving to only 247 each. Much better!
Add to the meal a cup of mixed vegetables, no butter, for only 50 calories along with a salad no croutons with fat-free Italian dressing for another 75 calories, water to drink, and you now have a meal that only weighs in at around 375 calories!
*Remember, drink lots of water (or other 0 calorie beverage you prefer) with your meal and you will get full with that amount of food. Take it from a guy who used to regularly eat a super sized fast food meal of a double bacon cheeseburger, XL fries, and two XL sodas in order to get full. Now, I get full with this portion meal.
To top it off, if there are any leftovers that you will hopefully avoid eating you have the option to pack a lunch portion of the same meal away in a handy plastic travel container, or you can make a fantastic tasting rib/cheese melt also known as a Rib Quesadilla (or Rib-sadilla) and presto, an easy, great tasting 300 calorie lunch you will definitely look forward to enjoying the following day.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to temperature per the package of ribs you purchase. In this case the Tony Roma's ribs required 400 degrees for 14-17 minutes.
2. I prefer to line the pan with foil which helps with cleanup afterwards. Simply crumple and toss/recycle - no having to scrub the baked on sauce.
3. Boil water for the mixed vegetables and add seasonings if desired such as a dash of salt and garlic powder.
4. Wash/cut salad greens along with the toppings you prefer such as tomatoes, carrots, shredded mozzarella cheese.
5. When the ribs are finished cooking, carefully remove from the oven and use a sharp knife to cut the rack of ribs up into 4 equal portions.
6. Serve appropriate portion sizes along with water and enjoy your under 400 calorie meal!
<em>Leftover Meal Idea</em>: If there are ribs leftover and you want to make the great tasting rib-sadillas, you will need to pull/scrape meat from the bones and cut up into small pieces. Use one whole wheat low-calorie wrap and place onto a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Evenly spread a 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese along with the diced up rib meat. If you want to add lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, now is the time to do so. When you see the cheese beginning to melt, use a spatula to carefully fold half of the rib-sadilla onto itself. Allow to cook for another 3-5 minutes per side until lightly brown. Cut in half and store in your lunch/travel container
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