Tag: Portion Control

  • Honey-Teriyaki Green Beans with Craisins and Pecans

    Honey-Teriyaki Green Beans with Craisins and Pecans

    These Honey-Teriyaki Green Beans with Craisins and Pecans turn an ordinary bag of frozen green beans into a colorful, flavorful dish. The teriyaki sauce and honey add a touch of sweetness, while the Craisins bring a little tang. Toasted pecans add a delicious crunch.

    This recipe is easy to prepare with simple ingredients and everyday measuring spoons. It starts with a 12-ounce bag of Great Value frozen green beans, so there’s no need to measure out part of a larger package.

    Serve these green beans alongside your favorite main dish, or enjoy a larger portion as a light meal. With our adjustable serving calculator, you can divide the recipe into 1 to 6 servings and see how each portion fits into your daily calorie goals.

    Visit our Calorie Crusaders Recipes page for more delicious ideas.

    Honey-Teriyaki Green Beans with Craisins and Pecans

    Total batch calories490
    Calories per serving163

    Slide from 1 to 6 servings. Ingredient amounts stay the same; nutrition per serving changes.

    Ingredients

    • 12 oz Great Value frozen green beans
    • 3 tablespoons Ocean Spray Original Craisins (dried cranberries)
    • 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
    • 3 tablespoons finely diced onion
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons Great Value teriyaki sauce
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • 1–2 tablespoons water, only if needed

    Instructions

    1. Toast the pecans. Add pecans to a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir for 2–3 minutes until fragrant; remove and set aside.
    2. Cook the onion. Add olive oil to the skillet and sauté onion for about 3 minutes.
    3. Cook the green beans. Add frozen green beans. Cook for about 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and most moisture has evaporated. Add a little water only if needed.
    4. Add flavor. Stir in teriyaki sauce, Craisins, and honey. Cook about 2 minutes more.
    5. Finish. Fold in toasted pecans just before serving.

    Estimated Nutrition

    NutrientWhole batchPer serving
    Calories490 kcal163 kcal
    Total fat26 g8.7 g
    Carbohydrates65 g21.7 g
    Total sugars31 g10.3 g
    Protein10 g3.3 g
    Sodium1330 mg443 mg

    Nutrition values are preliminary estimates based on typical ingredients and may differ from actual product labels, especially sodium and sugars. Calculated per-serving values are rounded. Water adds no calories.

    Calorie Crusaders Tip

    A side dish doesn’t always have to stay on the side!

    Sometimes a flavorful vegetable dish is just what you’re in the mood for. These Honey-Teriyaki Green Beans with Craisins and Pecans can be enjoyed as a traditional side dish or as the main attraction.

    Our serving calculator makes it easy to decide how much you want. Slide it to 3 for a generous side dish, or all the way down to 1 if you plan to enjoy the entire batch.

    Just remember that green beans, Craisins, and pecans provide relatively little protein. If you’re making this your meal, consider adding a protein-rich food to help make it more nutritionally balanced.

    The goal isn’t to give up foods you enjoy. It’s to make them fit your day!

    Curious about the sugar in honey, dried cranberries, and sauces? Read our Added Sugar resource to learn how added sugars fit into your daily nutrition goals.

  • One Big Chocolate Chip Cookie

    One Big Chocolate Chip Cookie

    One Cookie, No Temptation

    One of the things I love about this single serve chocolate chip cookie recipe is that it makes just one cookie. I don’t have to worry about a whole batch sitting in the pantry, calling my name every time I walk through the kitchen!

    And I can still enjoy a warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie without giving up on my weight loss goals. The portion slider makes it easy to adjust the recipe to fit my calorie budget.

    There’s even a little bonus for Peaches. Since the recipe only calls for one tablespoon of whisked egg, she gets the leftover egg, cooked of course!

    Snacks and Treats

    Calorie Crusaders Tip

    Enjoy your homemade cookie, count it, and move on. No cookie jar calling your name!

  • Basic White Bread Recipe for Bread Machine

    Basic White Bread Recipe for Bread Machine

    This basic white bread recipe is one of those recipes that is good to have on hand. I make it in my bread machine, so there is very little work involved. Just add the ingredients, turn on the machine, and forget about it for about three and a half hours!

    I use this bread on its own, but it is also a basic recipe that I use as the starting point for other recipes. Instead of buying bread flour, I use regular all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. It costs less, and I have found that it works just as well.

    Breads and Desserts

    Basic White Bread 🍞

    Homemade white bread from the bread machine. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or thick slices of French toast!

    81012 1416
    Total Loaf Calories
    —
    kcal
    Calories Per Slice
    —
    kcal

    Loaf size: 2 pounds
    Yield: 12 slices
    Serving size: 1 slice

    Ingredients

    • 1½ cups room-temperature water
    • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
    • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    • 1½ teaspoons salt
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
    • 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
    • 4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

    Instructions

    1. Place all the ingredients into the bread-machine pan in the order listed.
    2. Place the bread pan into the bread maker.
    3. Select the Basic White program.
    4. Select the 2-pound loaf size.
    5. I prefer the medium crust setting.
    6. Start the bread maker and forget about it for about three and a half hours!
    7. When the bread is finished, carefully remove the loaf from the pan.
    8. Place it on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

    Calorie Crusaders Tip: Slice the cooled loaf into approximately equal pieces. Adjust the slider to match the number of slices you cut. Thicker slices have more calories, while thinner slices have fewer.

    Nutrition Information

    Serving size: 1 slice
    Slices per loaf: 12

    Nutrition information is estimated from standard ingredient values. Actual values vary depending on ingredient brands, measurements, and slice thickness. The calculations assume equal-sized slices.

    Carol’s Bread-Making Tip

    Bread flour works perfectly well in this recipe, but I prefer to use all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. All-purpose flour is usually cheaper, and adding the vital gluten gives the dough some of the extra gluten strength you would normally get from bread flour. It works very well for me.

    Try it with: This homemade white bread is perfect for our French Onion Soup. A thick slice holds up beautifully under the broth and melted cheese.

    Calorie Crusaders Tip

    Let the loaf cool completely before slicing it. Besides making the bread easier to slice, cooling gives the inside of the loaf time to finish setting. Then you can cut fairly even slices, which also makes it easier to estimate the calories in each serving.

    Nutrition information for homemade recipes is an estimate. Exact values can vary depending on the brands of ingredients used and the number and thickness of slices.