American-Style Diet Meal Planners

When it comes to the American Style menus - we end up with a smorgesborg of tantalizing flavors! Many contain inflections of our ancestors who came to America from all corners of the globe.

Basic, American Style meals tend to embrace the healthy Food Pyramid - typically containing grains, vegetables, proteins, dairy and a fruity-concocted dessert entree - all of which are naturally low in calories in their basic states.

Most calories are added to American Diet in the form of fat: butter, margarine, cooking oils, visible fat on proteins, full-blown dairy products such as cream cheese and most varieties of cheese. Therefore, in Diet Bites' American-Style Diet Meal Planners, we'll keep a lid on for flavor while blocking as many fat calories as possible. And an added perk for dieters is that they won't spend all day in the kitchen or at the market searching for strange ingredients OR a plethora of ingredients, because our low calorie diet recipes are simple to prepare.

Five American-Style Diet & Low Calorie Recipes created in the humble Diet Bites kitchen.

#1 American-Style Diet Meal Planner - Merry Men's Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes

No one cooks meatloaf better that mama - unless it's those Merry Men who live in the forest. With so much time on their hands, they sure can cook up some tasty offerings - including this American-Style Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Diet Menu.

Ingredients for Merry Men's Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes, a Low Calorie Recipe for Dieters

Directions for Preparing Merry Men's Meatloaf, a Low Calorie Recipe for Dieters

Using clean hands (be sure to remove rings/jewelry) mix together the first four ingredients. Shape into a loaf and place into a non-stick baking pan of your choice. Top with a layer of ketchup. Add a few of the onion and bell pepper rings. Bake at 400° in a preheated oven until done. The top of the meatloaf should caramelize while cooking.

Cook the potato chunks in water until tender. Drain. Using mixer, add remaining ingredients - adding as much milk as desired to suit personal consistency.

Enjoy this hearty, low calorie American-Style Diet Meal Planner with green beans and your choice of bread.

This simple chili simply hits the spot on those cold winter days. Grab a stack of crackers and 1/4 cup of low fat mozzarella cheese + your favorite store-brand chili sauce to add, if desired.

Drain all the beans and rinse well. Drain the hominy, also. Using a deep, non-stick pot, add the olive oil. When oil heats, add the peppers, onions and garlic. When onions clarify, add the beans. When mixture heats, add the spices, stirring well - then add the sauce and tomato paste. Serve over a bed of rice or noodles, if desired - or add the fixins' recommended above.

Purchase 1 pound of your favorite shrimp (unbreaded) - frozen or fresh, then prepare shrimp as you would for cooking. For frozen shrimp, after thawing, I prefer a good rinse under cool water, then a thorough drain. Next, add thawed shrimp to a pan sprayed with cooking spray (or you can use a bit of your favorite oil if desired).

Shrimp will cook quickly. Just before removing from the heat, sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning and stir shrimp so that all get a light coating of seasoning. After removing from heat, add 1/4 cup of whipped margarine and gently stir the shrimp until all are lightly coated with the margarine. Enjoy with a chunk of your favorite bread, a serving of whole grain rice and a serving of orange, green or yellow vegetables.

Chicken and Dumplings is a recipe that has the potential to blow off the roof when it comes to calorie content. Because the dumplings are a marriage of shortening and flour, the wedding kiss is fully loaded. We by-pass the calories by opting for prepared biscuit dough, and in the process we also by-pass a bunch of time that we would have spent inside our humble kitchen. Simple cooking equals deep-pocket rewards! In addition, we use the chicken legs which add a lot of flavor to the dumplings for few calories.

Ingredients for Chicken & Dumplings, a Low Calorie Recipe for Dieters

3 raw chicken legs (keep the skins attached for now) + 2 quarts of water + large, deep, non-stick cooking pot
1 can of biscuit dough found in the dairy section at your local market - use biscuits lowest in calories; we opted for 50-calorie biscuits
low fat milk (amount will depend upon personal desired consistency of the chicken and dumplings)
2 Tablespoons of whipped margarine
Salt & Pepper to suit personal taste
1/4 cup of chopped onions, dried parsley (optional)
All-Purpose Flour (for rolling out the biscuit dough)
Chicken bullion (if needed for extra chickeny flavor)

As the chicken legs cook with the chopped onions, roll out the biscuits using the flour to coat them so they don't stick to your rolling pin. Roll them until they reach a thin state, then stack on a plate. Cut the stack into 4 sections (in half, then in half again). Remove the chicken from the pot when it's done, then add bullion if needed. After bullion dissolves, carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling water, one at a time - and in different areas of the pot to prevent clumping. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook until dumplings are tender. Add the margarine, then the milk - until the dumplings reach desired consistency. Add parsley if desired, as well as salt and pepper. Enjoy with a serving of English Peas.

One of our most simple, low calorie recipes ever! Simply coat the fresh (or thawed) salmon in a thin layer of lemon pepper seasoning, then place into a preheated 400° oven and cook until salmon is done. It should reach a flaky consistency - which signals that it's time to take it out and enjoy with a chunk of your favorite bread, a serving of low calorie slaw, and a beautiful, baked orange yam with a tab of margarine.

The American-Style Diet Meal Planners