Quick Healthy Recipes That Taste Great

While a crash diet may provide you with results quickly, you are likely to gain the weight you lose back...plus more. Why? Because these diets are so restrictive that people eventually cave and really confuse their metabolism. As the metabolism tries to adjust, it holds onto fat.

The best way to counter this potential problem is to make small dietary changes that become lifestyle changes; for instance, moving from regular soda to diet and white bread to wheat. The unfortunate problem with this process is that the foods often don't taste as good. In addition, it's hard, with a busy schedule, to find the time to make foods that taste great and are still healthy. Luckily, after much trial and error, I've found some quick snacks/meals that are super easy to make, are healthy, and taste great.

Yogurt parfaits taste great. However, fruit goes bad so quickly it's hard to make them fresh. Also, granola has a surprisingly high amount of fat and calories. Try this recipe to resolve someof these concerns:

1. Take a large container of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt (which is much healthier than regular yogurt, as it is packed with protein), and pour one cup into a container.

2. Add half a cup or so of frozen fruit (strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries work best)

3. Let the fruit thaw for an hour or so (I usually take it with me to work and it's ready by the time I want breakfast).

4. Mix in a small package of low-fat granola (around 1/4 of a cup) and enjoy this tasty treat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Calories are around 300, at the most.

**an extra recipe: take the vanilla yogurt and swirl in some frozen fruit. Let it freeze overnight, and it tastes as great as a bowl of strawberry ice cream!

 I love Panera's cinnamon crunch bagels. But they're packed with around 450 calories!! So, I've come up with a substitute that, believe it or not, is almost as good.

1. Toast a Lender's 100-calorie bagel, or similar. It's best to get wheat.

2. Spray on any brand of spray butter that's 0 calories.

3. Mix together Splenda (granulated, please!) and cinnamon in a bowl, and sprinkle on top of the buttered bagel while it's hot.

This bagel will come in at around 120 calories, much less than my Panera favorite. So, eat two! You'll still be coming in under Panera's whopping 400 calorie bagel.

1. Boil a package of wheat noodles.

2. At the same time, cook a package of ground turkey in a pan with some chopped onions. Ground turkey has less fat that ground beef, and you will not notice the difference.

3. Pour in a bottle of pre-made spaghetti sauce. When shopping, look for a sauce that is low in calories and sugar.

4. Combine the cooked noodles with your meaty spaghetti sauce, and enjoy your slightly healthier version of this classic dish.

*hint: add some red chili flakes for some extra spice, which will also give your metabolism a little boost.

1. Buy a pre-made rotisserie chicken from Publix, Wal-mart, etc.

2. Buy and rinse some sweet potatoes. Quarter them.

3. Put the potatoes in a bowl and mix them around in some of your handy no-calorie butter spray and add a little cinnamon.

4. Roast the potatoes in a 350 degree oven until tender. Serve the rotisserie chicken with the potatoes.

1.  Cook one box of wild rice according the the package directions.

2. Sautee a cup of diced onions in your spray butter.

3. Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl: wild rice, the onions, 2/3 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (buy it already cooked from the store!), 1 small can green beens, 1 small can water chestnuts, two 10-oz cans of low-sodium, reduced fat cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup.

4. Add all ingredients after being mixed well into a pan and cook in the oven for 35 minutes.

*The whole family will love this dish. I took out mayonnaise and sour cream entirely, two fattening ingredients that are typically added to this type of dish. Make sure the cream soup you get is low(ish) in calories, and be sure to get low-fat cheese.

 1. Peel and slice 5 apples.

2. Mix the apples in a bowl with 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons Splenda (granulated), and a tablespoon of butter (use real butter for this one). Spread out the apples in a pan.

3. Mix together a cup and a half of regular oats, with a tablespoon of spray butter, Splenda brown sugar, Splenda granulated sugar, and just a pinch of regular sugar to help the mixture caramelize in the oven.

4.  Sprinkle this mixture on top of the apples and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Add a scoop of frozen vanilla greek yogurt for an extra tasty treat!!

Hopefully this gives you an idea of how to enjoy the delicious indulgences you are typically afraid to go near for fear of all the calories. Small substitutions in ingredients really can make a huge difference.