Dinner/ Exercise/ Fitness

Dinner in a Flash!

Its very rare that I’m sitting reading a cookbook and I just randomly have all the ingredients necessary to make a meal that I haven’t planned out. Well, that’s what happened tonight! I was making my grocery list for next week and paging through one of my favorites, Dana Jacobi’s “12 Best Foods Cookbook” and saw I have everything I need on hand to make the Tuna, Broccoli and White Bean Skillet Dinner! And it turned out really good! The whole dinner only took me about 15 minutes to put together, and talk about health! The ingredients were tuna, broccoli, beans, olive oil and sundried tomatoes! I feel great after eating this because I know my body loved it! I also made couscous to go alongside it and had a 4 ounce glass of red wine. I would recommend this as a fast, cheap and tasty weeknight meal and it is one I will def. make again!

I went to the gym this afternoon and did some quick cardio, lunges and squats. I don’t work my legs out often since I’m a runner so I think tomorrow my butt might be a tad sore!  After my workout I had a great snack combo—1/2 cup cottage cheese with raspberry jam and 8 kashi crackers.

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This dinner (including wine) was about 472 calories.

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Snack= 177 calories

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  • Beth
    January 24, 2008 at 11:50 pm

    Oooh, if it’s not too time consuming could you post the full recipe – or just indicate generally how you threw it together? Looks awesome.

  • jenna
    January 24, 2008 at 11:55 pm

    Check it out in the recipes section! 🙂

  • arimcg
    January 25, 2008 at 12:19 am

    mmm…I love couscous. Actually I love sun dried tomatoes and broccoli in couscous. I probably would’ve mixed it all together!

  • Susan
    January 25, 2008 at 12:26 am

    Jenna,

    That little cup you are eating your cottage cheese in is adorable? What is it/where do you buy it?

    Also, do you have a pot brand/type that you recommend for something such as oatmeal? Thanks!

  • jenna
    January 25, 2008 at 12:47 am

    Susan,

    All my cute kitchen stuff is from the store anthropologie. I used to work there, hence getting a hefty discount! Its still my favorite store ever! For pots and pans…honestly, just buy a few from target if you arent willing to make the huge investment right now. Pots can be very very pricey and I’m slowly (one pot at a time on occasions such as christmas and birthdays) building my collection. Oh….how I already have my wedding registry picked out at William-Sonoma for when that day should come….hehe 🙂

  • Christie
    January 25, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Jenna,

    After making the recipe and tasting the ingredients together can you suggest anything to sub for the sundried tomatoes?

    Great recipe to have on hand to throw together in a pinch, I love those staple meals that still make you feel like your having a good dinner!-

  • Sana
    January 25, 2008 at 1:03 am

    Hi,

    This is my first time posting here…love the blog! have been following it daily for about 2 weeks now after someone mentioned it on the eatlikeme blog. I haven’t tried any of your recipes yet (they look delicious) but def. intrigued by this one and wanted to try it out this weekend. Quick question though…I’m vegetarian and was wondering if you would recommend tofu in place of the tuna in this recipe or another protein source? I was thinking of just making it with beans and broccoli but not sure if that would be all that filling. Thanks!

  • jenna
    January 25, 2008 at 1:26 am

    Christie,

    Kalamata olives might be a nice touch instead…I might try that next time. Or, just leave out the tomatoes all together!

    Sana,

    You could def. sub tofu for the tuna here. I would just cut the tofu into tiny little cubes and pan sear it first on a nonstick skillet until its golden, then add like you would the tuna. I can’t say for sure how good this would taste because I havent tried it but it could def. be done and might be tasty for a change! I do love tofu! If not, you could leave out the tofu and just have the beans..beans are an excellent protein source and when combined with fibrous broccoli it would still be filling. Perhaps add cooked brown rice instead of the tuna? That would be a tasty, nutritionally balanced dinner with a different flavor profile.

  • Evie
    January 25, 2008 at 2:37 am

    Is that whole wheat couscous or just regular?

  • jenna
    January 25, 2008 at 2:45 am

    Just regular..Ive never seen the whole wheat kind before but I want to try it!

  • Dana Jacobi
    January 25, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    Delighted that you like the Tuna, Broccoli and White Bean recipe from my 12 Best Foods Cookbook. When a fellow food lover praises a dish, that is the best compliment.

    Looking at the sensible snack you eat after working out, you clearly are health-conscious. However, your tip mentions eating more pasta as the way to avoid getting hungry an hour after eating. That hunger is a classic symptom of blood sugar spiking then crashing, creating a vicious circle that drives people to ultimately gain weight and develop type 2 diabetes if it goes on for a long time. Put another way, healthy foods may not always be good, depending on how and when they are eaten.

    Eating more protein and smart fats like nuts, in this pasta meal should will stop the hunger more effectively than eating more pasta and prevent insulin resistance. For example, eating an ounce of walnuts or almonds 20 minutes before you eat the pasta may help. (If you try it, I’d love to hear whether you feel it helps.)

    About the recipe from my book, glad you shared it. When posting copyrighted material, in future I hope the source will be given with the recipes as well as here in your blog. As you can appreciate, an author spends lots of time developing recipes and writing a cookbook. This at least lets people using the recipe know its origin.

    The commitment you are making to do what you love is terrific. Love reading about how you juggle everything.

    Dana Jacobi

    Congratulations on becoming a

  • jenna
    January 25, 2008 at 5:34 pm

    Dana,

    WOW! Thank you for reading! I have tried so many of the recipes in your book and love them all!! Thank you for also reminding me to put in the recipe that is from your cookbook. I usually write than in the post itself (where I found the recipe) but sometimes I forget when I’m sharing the actual recipe with others. Also, sometimes I modify a few things (I didn’t do this last night though), but I always mention in the post itself the cookbook I used. Thanks again—I am actually planning to make another recipe from the cookbook next week! As hopefully a future cookbook writer myself, I of course understand you deserve all the credit and from now on will always put that in the recipe!

    Have a great day!