Christmas is just around the corner. I put together 500 calories Christmas dinner recipes to celebrate my first Christmas with my www.iCook500calories.com. (This is my baby!) I like something romantic (how about wine sauce?), colorful (nice green and red salad) and warm (rich soup). Does it sound good? I hope everybody will have a very Merry Christmas!
Chicken with Red Wine Sauce Set Meal 499 Calories
Main – Chicken with Red Wine Sauce
Side 1 – Avocado Salad with Wasabi Dressing
Side 2 – Boiled Cabbage with Ponzu
Soup – Tomato Vegetable Soup
Steamed White Rice with Green Peas
All recipes are made for 2 servings. This printable recipe box will allow you to change the serving size to adjust the recipe.
Main: Chicken with Red Wine Sauce 189 calories
A glass of red wine is good for your diet! The merit of having a glass of red wine is to make you relaxed and enjoy eating meals. You will slow down the pace of eating and feel satisfied. According to a research by Oregon State University, ellagic acid contained in dark-colored grapes will boost burning fat. Unfortunately, we do not drink red wine. But we love the red wine sauce. Go ahead and pair your favorite red wine with the meal. Kampai ! (Cheers! in Japanese.)
- 200 g chicken thigh 100 g each
- salt & pepper
- 80 g carrot
- 2 teaspoon flour
- 10 g raisin
- 40 ml orange juice
- 40 ml red wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon oil
- Salt and pepper chicken and leave it for 10 to 30 minutes.
- Cut carrot and boil or steam. Set aside for garnish.
- Make sauce by combining raisins, red wine, orange juice and soy sauce.
- Coat chicken with flour on both sides.
- Add oil in pan and place chicken skin side down. Turn on heat.
- Cook chicken with medium high heat until both sides become brown.
- Reduce heat and add the sauce in pan.
- Cook chicken in sauce for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Place chicken in plate and pour the sauce from pan. Add carrot next to chicken as garnish.
Side 1: Avocado Salad with Wasabi Dressing 91 calories
Avocadoes are loved by Japanese people. Slice them and dip into wasabi soy sauce, it taste like eating oily tuna (That’s what they say). What? Really? Maybe? (That’s what I think). Avocado is high in fat and calories, but it is a super food. It is rich in fiber. It prevents from absorbing sugar and fat into your body. It promotes healthy digestion and burning fat. As long as you do not exceed calories in total when you eat your regular meal, it is an ideal ingredient. In fact avocadoes are registered as the world’s most nutritious fruit by Guinness Book of World Records!
- Cut broccoli and tomatoes into bite size. Cut avocado into cubes.
- Lightly boil broccoli.
- Combine dashi, soy sauce, olive oil and wasabi in bowl.
- Add broccoli, tomato and avocado into the bowl. Mix gently.
Side 2: Boiled Cabbage with Ponzu 24 calories
Ponzu is a Japanese everyday condiment. It will make your vegetable and meats tasty in a simple way without adding many calories. I spotted ponzu in an Asian section at my local grocery store. Hopefully you will find them too. But you may prefer making it at home (I’m ahead of you!). Combine soy sauce (3 tablespoon), rice vinegar (3 tablespoon), dashi (2 teaspoon) and lemon juice (1 teaspoon). Lime juice also works. Enjoy this low calorie dressing!
- 80 g cabbage
- 80 g bean sprouts
- 1 tablespoon ponzu Japanese citrus soy sauce
- 2 g bonito flakes katsuo-bushi
- Cut cabbage into large chunks.
- Boil water in pan. Add cabbage first and then bean sprouts later. Cook for a few minutes. Drain water.
- Add ponzu in bowl.
- Mix vegetable and ponzu in bowl. Sprinkle bonito flakes to complete.
Soup: Tomato Vegetable Soup 30 calories
This is another tweak of vegetable soup. Today we add canned tomato. It will add rich sweet and sour flavor to the vegetable soup. Tomato contains lycopene that is powerful antioxidant. It cleans blood so that it flows smoothly and promotes the metabolism. Japanese people are crazy about the benefit of lycopene. If you go to a grocery store in Japan, a whole aisle is stocked with tomato juice! People who do not like to drink tomato juice, like us, let’s use canned tomato for cooking. Canned tomatoes contain 2 or 3 times more lycopene than fresh tomatoes.
- 20 g carrot
- 20 g onion
- 60 g napa cabbage
- 20 g corn canned or frozen
- 40 g canned tomato diced
- 230 ml chicken broth or water and chicken base
- salt & pepper
- Cut carrot and onion into small chunks. Cut napa cabbage into large chunks.
- Place carrot, onion and chicken broth in pan. Cook until the vegetable becomes tender.
- Add corn, napa cabbage and canned tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Steamed White Rice with Green Peas 165 calories
I wanted to dress up my steamed white rice for Christmas. I placed cooked green peas over steamed white rice. It looks like snow on a Christmas tree. We are dreaming about white Christmas in Southern California!