Let’s face it – everyone is just so very busy now-a-days. We run from here to there and back again, and multi-task like never before. With all that we have to handle on a daily basis, it can be extremely difficult to worry about eating a healthy balanced diet. Meal plans and diets fail for thousands of people because it is too hard to stick to that kind of regimen when you have too much to do, and too little time to get it all done. My goal is to present you with meal options that are fast and easy to prepare, that use regular ingredients that most people have on hand, and most importantly – that are healthy for you and your family. I have included the nutrition information for all of the recipes, so you know exactly what you are getting out of each meal. There is no reason that eating healthy should ADD to your stress level! If making delicious, nutritious meals is as easy as stopping by the fast-food joint, or calling to order take-out – then more people would be able to fit it into their daily lifestyle.
I am a firm believer in balance and moderation. I refuse to eliminate an entire food group from my life, or to deny myself dessert when I want it. Food should be about enjoyment; you should never feel guilty about an occasional indulgence!! This belief has allowed me to go from an unhealthy 226 pounds to a happy and healthy 120 pounds ~ and to maintain that weight for over eight years now. I have learned that there is always a way to fit your favorite foods into your life. I hope that you will try some of these “slimmed-down” versions of some popular foods, and that mealtime can once again become an enjoyable event at your home rather than another “chore” on your to-do list.
Thank You for visiting our site.
31 responses so far ↓
1 woodzealot // Jun 21, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I heard that the first person to post a comment on this site wins 42 banana pancakes… cool deal… thanks!
2 Crystal // Sep 15, 2007 at 9:12 am
I don’t have an exact recipe that I would like done light, but I’m sure you can imagine a cinnamon bun! I would love to have a muffin that tastes like a cinnamon bun for breakfast… how about it?
3 KC // Sep 15, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Hi,
I’m glad I encountered your website! I’m a fellow ‘light’ cooker due to stomach conditions. I’m looking for a lemon-ricotta muffin recipe; I got one from a bakery that was really lemony with a bit of ricotta filling that was out of this world… but cannot find a recipe done light anywhere. Could you help?
4 Shannon // Sep 16, 2007 at 9:24 am
KC -
I will have it posted for you on Tuesday!
Thank you for the request!
-Shannon
5 Julia // Sep 18, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I’m so glad I found your blog. Have you published any cookbooks? If not, you honestly should.
Thanks so much for the website!
6 Karen // Sep 19, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Someone told me about this at weight watchers, thanks!
7 Deborah // Sep 19, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I also heard about your site through Weight Watchers and I can’t wait to try the recipes. They look great! I’ve noticed that you sometimes call for whole wheat pastry flour. Is that different than just whole wheat flour?
8 Thecpa // Sep 19, 2007 at 7:43 pm
You can place my order in advance for your cookbook “Muffins” by Cooking Done Light.
9 Shannon // Sep 19, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Deborah,
I have had quite a few questions about this recently, so I do plan on addressing it in a post over the next few days. In the meantime, I gave a brief answer to this question in the Grilled Vegetable Tart post.
Thanks so much for visiting the site – I’m glad you like it!!
-Shannon
10 Bre // Sep 19, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Hi!
I am in love with your recipes. I have made a few of them now, and as a girl on WW, they are just what I am looking for. I was wondering if you could do a rhubarb cake recipe. My grandmother used to make it for me as a kid every fall but it was loaded with butter, and not exactly “healthy eating” friendly.
Thank-you!
11 Rebecca // Sep 21, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Shannon just wondering how you figure your nutritional info? Your recipes look really good. I want to try some just because you present them so well.
12 Shannon // Sep 21, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Rebecca,
I hope this answers your question:
http://cookingdonelight.com/blog/2007/07/20/crunching-the-numbers/
-Shannon
13 Claire // Sep 27, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I just found your site and want to make SO MUCH of what is on here. Thanks for the recipes. I’ll definitely be returning and trying some of your creations.
14 Carrie // Oct 1, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I would request a ton of different things if I thought it were fair to you… but I will keep it to one thing at a time. My husband’s birthday is coming up and he loves chocolate. I would love to do a cake or other decadent chocolate dessert for him. Any ideas?
Carrie
p.s. I have made a tofu chocolate mousse that is good (can be a bit gritty from the tofu.) How about a lava cake?
15 Kate // Oct 24, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I am way too excited about this website. I cannot wait to try the carrot cake. I know that there must be so many requests right now for different holiday treats, but I have a recipe request that is “fally,” just not very holiday. Down the street from me, there is a farmer’s market that sells these wonderful, mountainous whole wheat oatmeal scones (cinnomin raison, cinnomin chip, blueblue…). They are advertized as “low fat and low sugar”. I AM OBSESSED WITH THEM. They are like eating a mixture of a cupcake and a cookie… they could be classified as “cake cookies”. I am just unsure as to how low fat and low sugar they are. I want to duplicate them and make sure they are healthy. I know this was a long post, but could you help me out?
16 Jessica // Oct 30, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Hi Shannon,
I was wondering if you could do a light apple pie recipe. With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s something that I would love to add to the menu I’m planning (your pumpkin pie is already on my list!). Thanks so much in advance.
~Jessica
17 Rebecca // Oct 31, 2007 at 1:44 am
Now that you have outdone yourself with the general tsao’s request I have two foods that I simply cannot find good “light” recipes for…and they are…
1. light bread (as in around 45 cal per slice..just plain ol’ sandwich bread–so basically I’m just looking to make something similar to the generic light breads at the supermarket or Arnold’s bakery light my own personal favorite!)
2. doughnuts (baked obviously…) I would like to try and replicate a chocolate glazed munchkin/doughnut like at Dunkin Donuts but all the “glaze” recipes seem to be for more of a frosting than a translucent glaze..hmm..I’ll be playing around with this as well
18 Mary Ann // Oct 31, 2007 at 8:47 am
Shannon, I just wanted to say your website is WONDERFUL! I just found it this morning and wanted to thank you for sharing. I’ve just gotten done looking through the bakery section and am thrilled. Thank you!
19 Shannah Brown // Nov 2, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I would love to know if you can work your magic with this dish, somehow I don’t think heavy cream is healthy:
Shrimp Linguine
4 to 6 people
INGREDIENTS
• 2 pounds fresh, ripe plum tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• A small pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt
• 1 pound linguine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound medium shrimp
DIRECTIONS
1. Place a pot for the pasta with at least 4 quarts of water over high heat.
2. Peel the tomatoes with a vegetable peeler using a back-and-forth sawing motion, remove the seeds and cut into 1/2″ dice.
3. Chop the garlic and put it in a 12″-14″ skillet or sauté pan with the olive oil. Place the skillet over medium high heat. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle (the garlic flavor should be very mild here, so do not let it color), add the diced tomatoes and the pinch of crushed red pepper. Continue to cook until most of the water the tomatoes release evaporates. Remove from the heat.
4. While the tomatoes are cooking, peel the shrimp, devein them if necessary, and cut them into pieces about 1/2″ long.
5. When the tomatoes are done and the water for the pasta has come to a boil, add about 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and put in the linguine, stirring until all the strands are submerged.
6. Return the skillet with the tomatoes to medium high heat, add the cream and let it cook until it has reduced by about half. Put in the shrimp pieces, season with salt and cook until they have turned pink, which should only take about 2-3 minutes, and remove the pan from the heat.
7. When the pasta is done, drain it well, toss it with the sauce and serve at once.
20 Colleen // Nov 4, 2007 at 12:53 am
Thanks, this is a great site.
I do have one question – which country are you in? Just want to make sure that I am using the right measuring spoons. Here in Oz 1 tablespoon = 4 teaspooons, I know this differs elsewhere.
21 Shannon // Nov 5, 2007 at 8:35 am
Colleen –
I am in the US, more specifically, New Jersey. In the US, 3 teaspoons is equivalent to 1 tablespoon.
22 Shannon // Nov 6, 2007 at 11:05 am
Shannah –
I would reduce the olive oil to 1/2 tablespoon and use cooking spray or a little vegetable broth to sautee the dish. Also, I would replace the heavy cream with fat free half and half, and reduce the amount to 1/3 cup.
23 Min // Apr 16, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Hi Shannon,
I was wondering if you could post some easy and tasty salad dressing recipes? I really hate the way that the ones in the bottles at the store coat my tongue with that weird film feeling, and the mixes seem really high calorie/fat.
Thanks!
24 Lauren // Aug 5, 2008 at 11:34 am
LOVE LOVE LOVE this sitee!!
can you suggest anything like a lowcalorie apple crumble or something because i love them!!
also, cheesecakes and sconess.
i know you have some up but any extra would be greatly appreciated!!
25 Rebecca // Oct 11, 2009 at 8:18 am
Dear Shannon: What a blessing to have stumbled upon your site this morning!! I am about to try a Dark Choc Zucchini cake recipe w/whole wheat flour – I think I’ll use the WW pastry flour instead – going to put the batter into a sheet that contains 12 indiv small bundt cake molds…I’ll let u know how they turn out. So proud of your weight loss and keeping it off!! I just started my journey – have 90 pounds to lose to get to 125 – but I WILL do it!! thanks for the encouragement!! All my best!
26 J // Oct 27, 2009 at 7:37 pm
This is my new favorite website! I found your chocolate chip muffin recipe in a google search, went home and just cooked it. I am so impressed! I know that your food will taste wonderful and be healthy. This is a difficult combo to come by. Please don’t ever stop updating this site. I will be going through all your recipes to try them. Thank you so much!!!
27 J // Oct 27, 2009 at 7:42 pm
I just wanted to add that you really should hav a cook book. I search recipes all the time and I am truly impressed by your wonderful, creative recipes. Many blessings on you and your hobby.
28 azzah // Dec 28, 2009 at 12:28 am
shannon,
i absolutely love ur recipes, i have a serious sweet tooth, and very bad luck with low fat sweets but your recipes are just amazing! i cant even tell that they are low fat. But i have had the greatest craving for snickerdoodles, i love the cinnamon sugar flavor, but with all those fat and calories they’re (almost) not worth it. I would love it if you could post up a recipe for low fat snickerdoodles!
-azzah, thank you soo much!!
29 carolina // Apr 20, 2010 at 10:13 pm
i’m son glad to have found this site!!! it has some amazing recipies that i’m dying to try! i kind of have this muffin craze rigth now and i would really really love to see a muffin or cupcake recipie using pineapple..
thanks and congrats on the great site!!
30 Fi // May 29, 2010 at 3:20 am
Oh no! Where have you gone!?! I miss your wonderful recipes!!
31 Dallas // Jun 8, 2010 at 9:49 am
I just found this website and LOVE IT. I was wondering if you have any recipes for a lighter version of banana chocoloate chip bread or muffin?
Leave a Comment