Light & Delish: 400 Calories or less! Quick healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch or dinner

If you’re familiar with Delish magazine, the insert that’s included a few times a month in your local newspaper - Delish.com - be on the lookout for Light & Delish: 400 Calories or Less. It’s a special “bookazine” (a book-slash-magazine) now available on newsstands for $9.99 until December 13, 2010 that's filled with quick healthy recipes.

Light & Delish features healthy makeovers and low-calorie recipes for family-style classics, Italian dishes, Mexican classics, Asian buffet staples, and Bistro courses, and dessert. It also has healthy cooking tips, advice for eating smart when dining out, and a guide to wine and cheese, and a helpful directory that lists all the recipes alphabetically along with their nutritional information.

All of the 118 pages of Light & Delish are gorgeous! Be sure to grab extra copies for holiday gifts to give to that person on your list who's looking for healthy recipes that are quick to make.

Having spent my high school and college years in San Diego, I love Mexican food, but don’t like its high fat and calorie content. So I was impressed by Light & Delish’s Mexican Fiesta section that featured low calorie and healthy Mexican recipes, like Santa Fe Enchiladas that were only 241 calories per serving.

I’m looking forward to making the Mexicana Chicken cooked in parchment paper, but with all the venison steak in my freezer this recipe is the first I’ll try.

From Redbook

Total time 28 mins.

Makes 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. each ground cumin, ancho chile powder, dried oregano, and brown sugar
• 4 (8 oz.) boneless rib-eye steaks, 1-inch thick
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup diced onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce,seeded, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Combine 1 tsp. of the salt, cumin, ancho chile powder, oregano, and brown sugar; rub over steaks. Let marinate at room temperature while

   preparing outdoor grill or preheating grill pan.

2. Grill steaks 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, for medium-rare, 10 to 12 minutes for medium. Transfer steaks to a platter; cover loosely with

   foil while making salsa.

3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, chipotle, and lime juice. Cook, tossing mixture, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Transfer salsa to a bowl; toss with cilantro. Spoon over steaks.

• 385 calories
• 42 g protein
• 7 g carbohydrate
• 20 g total fat (6 g saturated)
• 2 g fiber
• 129 mg cholesterol
• 710 mg sodium

Weight Watchers POINTS = 9 (or approximately 1 POINT per ounce of beef)

• Serve this up with some lime slices on the side and a few warm corn tortillas. I won’t tell anyone if you decide to make a few carne asada style tacos out of this!
• To lower calories, fat and POINTS, try a leaner type of meat like buffalo or venison. (Bet you could make this with chicken breasts, too!) Or cut back your portion size and have a salad or steamed vegetables on the side.
• To save money, buy spices in the Hispanic section of your grocery store.

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Light & Delish magazine to facilitate this review. Photography courtesy of Delish.