Deen - Bobby Deens Everyday Eats: 120 All-New Recipes, All Under 350 Calories, All Under 30 Minutes

BY BOBBY DEEN AND MELISSA CLARK

From Mamas Table to Mine

BY JAMIE AND BOBBY DEEN AND MELISSA CLARK

The Deen Bros. Get Fired Up

The Deen Bros. Take It Easy

The Deen Bros. Cookbook: Recipes from the Road

The Deen Bros.: Yall Come Eat

A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original

Copyright 2014 by Bobby Deen Enterprises LLC

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

B ALLANTINE and the H OUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Photography by Ben Fink Photography

ISBN 978-0-8041-7716-0
eBook ISBN 978-0-8041-7717-7

www.ballantinebooks.com

v3.1

This book is dedicated to my beautiful new bride.
Claudia, you make every day that much more wonderful.
I feel so blessed to be sharing my life with you.
I just know its going to be an amazing journey.

W E ALL HAVE THAT ONE WELL-LOVED COOKBOOK thats dog-eared and generously splattered with who-knows-how-many food stains. Its the one that gets us through dinner prep most nights of the week. Well, you might want to move that one to the side to make room for this one. Youre going to want to keep this cookbook at the ready because these pages contain pretty much everything youll need for fast, delicious, healthy weeknight eating throughout the year.

Lets face it: Our schedules are overstuffed. Unfortunately, far too often our bellies are as well. Somehow, getting dinner on the table quickly has become synonymous with unhealthy eating. I say its time to break that connection. We may not be able to de-clutter our busy lives, but we sure do have the power to dial down the fat and calories were eatingas long as the alternative is just as easy and delicious.

Who among us doesnt love a home-cooked meal? Im talking fresh, filling, satisfying food made by you or someone you love. Now that Im a married man, its so nice to have someone to share my weeknight meals with at home. Claudia and I trade off who does the cooking and who does the washing up. Suddenly I find myself looking forward to weeknight dinners like never before.

A tasty weeknight meal for me these days might mean quick comfort foods such as , a dish that highlights how wonderful this protein-packed ingredient is when you layer it with a full-flavored sauce. Its a perfect entre for a Meatless Monday.

I think its fair to say that when it comes to food, I want it all. Apart from fast, easy, and healthy, it also has to be delicious and decadent tasting. If I cant fit indulgent dishes on my menu such as , it just wont work out for me. If Im going to eat right, it simply cant feel like deprivation. In recipes like these, I sub out the more fat- and calorie-laden ingredients and find healthier alternatives. In the Cubano, I use lean tenderloin instead of fatty pork shoulder, and in my velvety mousse I turn to light whipped topping as opposed to heavy cream.

To stock up for dinners throughout the week, I do my food shopping over the weekend. I make sure the kitchen is filled with good, fresh ingredients Claudia and I both love, and with healthy pantry staples that are the building blocks for simple yet great-tasting meals. With fresh fish and produce in the house, I can put together a satisfying main course salad like at the end of this book. It contains a handy guide to the items youll need to construct a healthy pantry, fridge, and freezer.

Each recipe in this book has fewer than 350 calories and can be prepared in less than thirty minutes. This emphasis on speedy home cooking is really great for the body. I find that having the right ingredients in the house and easy recipes at my fingertips makes me more likely to cook something myself rather than stop for takeout on the way home. And because being prepared is the key, Ive designed a set of daily menus for you to use throughout the week, as well as descriptions of semi-homemade meals that can be pulled together in mere minutes. These under-1,500-calorie menus and instant pantry meals can be found following the recipe chapters at the end of this book.

It seems that more and more people are finding ways to make their lifestyle a healthier one. Why, Ive seen it happen in my own family. When Mama, Michael, and Jamie started getting fit and dropping weight, I knew things were really changing. Collectively, weve lost over 180 pounds in the last few years. Thats a whole person! Ive also been lucky to have as my best friend a man who set me on that path over ten years ago. Sam Carter helped it all click into place for me back then when he told me, I cant guarantee you quantity of life, but if you stick with the exercise, I can guarantee you quality of life. Those are words to live by.

I invest time in the gym, so why wouldnt I pay close attention to what I eat? Because I work so hard on the physical side, I dont want to blow it all on the food I put in my body. The meals youll find in this book consist of the staples of any healthy dietfresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains. You can get all the ingredients at any supermarket. The recipes contain no tricks, just good straightforward techniques that make cooking after a long day of work a no-fuss affair. In the end, it comes down to this: If you keep it simple and load up your meals with great flavor, maintaining a balanced diet will start to feel like no big deal. Until the results start to show. Then, just as I did, youll realize just how big a deal this healthy eating thing really is, in the most awesome way.

I AM A BIG SALAD EATER. And by that I mean, I like em on the larger side. I cant tell you how many weeknights I get home from work and find myself craving a hearty salad for dinner. Sometimes I like my salad on the side, but more often than not, I fix one thats satisfying enough to serve as my main meal. That means adding some favorite proteins and healthy starches to help fill me up.

I dont eat salads just because theyre good for me. I choose to eat them because they are delicious and the options are limitless. First off, theres the endless array of salad greens out there on the supermarket shelves. I can choose earthy spinach one day, spicy arugula the next, and crunchy romaine on the third day to keep things interesting. I dress the leaves up with all sorts of goodies: meats, cheeses, fish, veggies, you name it. Take my , for instance. Its got tuna, olives, and potatoes all nestled among peppery baby arugula leaves. Now if that isnt a meal, I dont know what is.