By Jan Jackson –
Got 10 minutes to fix your self something cheap, quick and healthy? Let’s add tasty, filling and low in calories. One Pan Annie knows how to do it.
I realize you can’t look on the side of a turnip and see how many calories it has but with a smart phone and a little digital food scale you can home right in on it. Take a look at this 280-calorie lunch (that took eight minutes to prepare and cook) and on your way home, pick something up in the fresh food section of your neighborhood grocery store.
Ingredients
- One pork chop = 160 calories
- One small yellow skinned potato (I don’t peel yellow skinned potatoes) = 78 calories
- One big handful of broccoli florets (I buy them that way) = 23 calories
How to do it
Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a cast iron skillet (mine is 12-inches in diameter with a lid). Turn the skillet on high. As soon as it gets hot, add the pork chop, potato slices and broccoli and turn the heat down to four (or a little below medium). Lightly salt and pepper and put a lid on the skillet (you can buy cast iron skillets with lids). Let that cook for three or four minutes, remove the lid, turn the food over with a spatula and replace the lid. Cook for another three or four minutes (just make sure the meat and vegetables are done the way you like them). Turn the heat off and leave it sit while you get out your plate and silverware.
Measure fresh food calories
If you think you need to buy processed food in boxes and bags to find out the amount of calories you are eating, forget it. One Pan Annie uses a little food scale (not expensive) and searches the calorie content by weight on the Internet. My favorite cast iron skillet comes with the lid. With these two tools you can eat like country in the city and do it cheap, fast and healthy. Bon Appetit
Photos by Jan Jackson for upcoming One Pan Annie Cooks for One cookbook. Suggested read: The Story of One Pan Annie
