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Nachos, Beans & Cornbread
Tortillas & Beans

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Beans are a good source of protein and dietary fiber and hold impressive satiety powers....

Want to be less hungry while dieting and wait longer between meals before you are pressed by hunger pains to eat?

Then look for foods that are good sources of fiber and protein - like beans, lentils and many commercial cereals.

On that note, here are a few of our favorite recipes using beans as a main ingredient.

Bean & Cheese Nachos Recipe Ingredients & How to Prepare

Purchase 1 container of Fritoe Bean Dip at the market. Spread onto fresh tortilla chips - about 1/2 teaspoon on each chip.

Place a slice of pickled jalapeno pepper on top of the bean dip. You can top the nacho with Tostitos Queso or shredded low fat cheese. Or, you can simply use reduced fat cheese, cutting into four small squares and using one square per nacho.

nacho recipeThe queso is a bit more zippy but it compliments the bean dip very well. Also, the queso is reasonable in caloric content - about 45 per generous serving size of 2 Tablespoons.

Once the chips are loaded with the ingredients, transfer them to the oven and bake until the cheese melts - or until the queso is hot and bubbly.

Remove and serve with light, fat reduced whip cream. A side of Mexican rice will add whole grain goodness to the meal. Enjoy 1/2 cup and up to 300 calories worth of the nachos. Also enjoy a side salad of finely-chopped lettuce, tomato and cilantro.

To calculate the caloric content, check the ingredients. The chips generally contain about 10 calories each. Let's allow 100 calories for the chips. Let's also plan to enjoy 40 calories worth of the sour cream with our nachos.

The bean dip contains 40 calories per two Tablespoons - so let's enjoy 80 calories worth. Let's allow another 150 calories for the peppers, the salad and the cheese. With 100 calories for the 1/2 cup of rice, the total calories for 10 nachos, the salad - and the Mexican rice equal about 470. And that's a lot of food.

Tortillas & Beans, a Quick and Easy Recipe, Ingredients & Prep Notes

If you're looking for foods that go together very quickly, try this recipe. You'll need one can of pinto or black beans.

Drain the liquid and add your favorite salsa to the beans. Heat thoroughly on the stove top. Add 1 slice of reduced fat cheese. Colby-Jack is a great choice and it melts well. Serve the beans with either steamed corn or flour tortillas.

Kick the Beans & Cornbread Recipe Ingredients & Preparation Notes

This recipe is ultra easy and can be prepared in a flash. Grab a can of your favorite canned beans. While beans are heating, grab a corn kit packet and prepare according to package instructions.  

In a non-stick skillet, cook cornbread using cooking spray. Enjoy 1 corn cake with a serving of beans. Use Parkay butter spray (no calories) for corn cake.

Cornbread generally contains 160 calories per serving and the beans, about 120 per 1/2 cup serving. To put some heat in the beans, add chili powder and chopped jalapeno peppers.

Beans & Cornbread Diet Meal

One of my favorites!! Way back when I was a tiny tot, I remember my mother cooking a pot of beans every week. She would always make a chocolate cake for dessert when she made beans.

And we always had milk for dinner - no matter what was on the table. I must admit that tacos didn't go well with milk - but back to the beans.

On the weeks when money wasn't tight, my mom would purchase round steak and pound it out before she fried it into steak fingers to go along with the beans.

Although fried foods are considered taboo for the dieter, when enjoyed in moderation they too can have a place in the diet. Just not every day and the steak fingers did compliment the beans very well.

As to the beans, they contain a lot of fiber and that means that the tummy will feel full for a long time.

diet cornbread, beans recipeSimply purchase your favorite variety of beans and one packet of your favorite cornbread mix. In less than twenty minutes, you'll have a dynamite meal! Perhaps there will be a few fireworks later as well, but that's the trade-off when dealing with healthy foods.

Rinsing the beans will help rid some of the sodium content. Great sides include shredded cheese for the beans, peppers and sliced onion.

As to the brand - use your favorites. Many of the store brands are quite good, too - so if you haven't experimented with those, it could be fun.

And don't forget about canned black-eyed peas, or chick peas. Delicious any day of the week for lunch or dinner.

Beans contain about 110 calories per 1/2 cup serving for most varieties; check the packages for calories contained in your cornbread.

Need another bean recipe for your weight loss plan? This one is so easy and tasty.

Spring Garden Green Beans Recipe Ingredients

Ingredients for this low calorie, low fat recipe are:

2 cups of green beans (snap beans) fresh from the garden or market shelf
1 strip of raw bacon
water, salt and cracked pepper

How to Prepare Spring Garden Green Beans

Cover fresh green beans with about one inch of water. Boil at medium heat with the strip of bacon until beans are tender. Salt and pepper to suit personal taste. Serve with corn sticks. Serves 1 for about 100 calories.

Natural Foods Plate Menu

Become reacquainted with Mother Nature by filling a small plate with some of the following natural treasures: Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, golden raisins, dark raisins, dried cranberries, frozen grapes, fresh strawberries, reduced-fat cheese and yogurt for dipping.

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