MATT LAUER, co-host:
And this morning on
HEALTHIER LIVING TODAY
, quick and easy dinners whipped up with just five ingredients and a grand total of 500, that's 500
calories
, or less. And with the kids heading back to school, it's a very good thing for busy families who also want to watch their waistlines. Nutritionist and
Food Network
host
Robin Miller
is the author of "Robin Rescues Dinner." Hey,
Robin
. good morning.
Ms. ROBIN MILLER (Nutritionist):
Thank you. Good morning.
LAUER:
So the lazy days of summer are over, those relaxing barbecues in the back, unh-unh, parents now have to get kids fed nutritiously...
Ms. MILLER:
Right.
LAUER:
...and quickly...
Ms. MILLER:
Right.
LAUER:
...and this feeds right into it.
Ms. MILLER:
It feeds right -- everybody asks me, 'Oh, I love your five-ingredient recipes, I want to keep them healthy,' and, you know, as a nutritionist, that's what I do, and you don't have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition, just picking five key ingredients you can have what -- you can have fabulous meals every night of the week.
LAUER:
Reading the recipes last night, I have to be honest, especially on this first one, maybe on the second one as well, I was surprised you managed to keep these under 500
calories
...
Ms. MILLER:
Under.
LAUER:
...because the first one is lasagna rolls with herb
cheese
. And you're using a bunch of
cheese
here.
Ms. MILLER:
Yeah, you're using a lot of
cheese
, I know. Well, if you pick the right ingredients and you use them wisely, then you can use them and be well under 500
calories
. When I do the nutrition information...
LAUER:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. MILLER:
...for my recipes sometimes, I'm like, 'Wow, I got to add something.'
LAUER:
Just to boost it up. Right.
Ms. MILLER:
Because they come in -- yeah -- because they come in way low.
LAUER:
So you start with a basic lasagna noodle.
Ms. MILLER:
So lasagna noodles. They're already cooked. In this bowl I have the herbed
cheese
.
LAUER:
What exactly is herbed
cheese
?
Ms. MILLER:
So herb
cheese
is often -- it's a goat's milk or sheep's milk
cheese
that's got oregano, thyme. You can find them
all over the place
in the
cheese
section. You can also use like an herbed
cream cheese
.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. MILLER:
Or you can make your own with just regular
cream cheese
or
goat cheese
and add some fresh herbs, or dried herbs.
And I
've also mixed into that some
mozzarella cheese
because, you know, you want to have mozzarella for the gooeyness.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. MILLER:
And part-skim mozzarella is a great way to keep the, you know, the extra fat out.
LAUER:
So it's a little tough to spread, but you do it as evenly as you can.
Ms. MILLER:
Ah, it's not -- it's not that tough, I'm just, you know...
LAUER:
Appearance at this point is not really that important.
Ms. MILLER:
No, because you're going to roll it up.
LAUER:
Exactly.
Ms. MILLER:
But the -- because the appearance is important at the end. So you just roll this up like this.
LAUER:
Right.
Ms. MILLER:
And this is a fun presentation, too.
LAUER:
Perfect. How long would you bake it?
Ms. MILLER:
Put it -- put that right in there. We're going to put sauce and
Parmesan
over top.
Twenty-five
minutes, 375 degrees.
LAUER:
Five ingredients, 500
calories
.
Ms. MILLER:
And you've got a finished product right there. You've got room for green beans. Four hundred and eighty-eight
calories
,
Matt.
LAUER:
OK. Now this next one doesn't sound like 500
calories
either, this is...
Ms. MILLER:
No, bacon.
LAUER:
...bacon-wrapped
pork tenderloin
with pineapple.
Ms. MILLER:
All right. Now here's what you do, you take a
pork tenderloin
, super lean...
LAUER:
The other white meat
.
Ms. MILLER:
...super -- the other white -- super, super, super lean, so you have room to add bacon. You can also add ham, you could add prosciutto, something like that, for flavor. It's a nice smoky flavor on a super lean piece of meat. Season it -- I forgot to season it first but, you know, put salt and pepper.
LAUER:
Actually, the one thing good is that pork can dry out a little bit.
Ms. MILLER:
Exactly.
LAUER:
And so the fat from the bacon can maybe help that out.
Ms. MILLER:
That's right
, it keeps it nice and moist. You put it into a roasting pan once it's all fully wrapped, put some toothpicks in it if you need to. And what I love to do is, you know, pork has a natural affinity with fruit and fruit's so good for you, so you just throw that in the pan, roast that 25 minutes till...
LAUER:
I'm glad you said that, 25 minutes, because cooking time on pork is very important.
Ms. MILLER:
Very. Yeah. You want it to still be a little bit pink in the center, people don't realize that, they don't -- you know, they want to overcook it and a dry pork is not a good pork.
LAUER:
And the way you manage the five ingredients here is you keep the seasoning simple, it's basically just salt and pepper.
Ms. MILLER:
You get -- yeah, because so much flavor from the bacon, you really don't need anything else. And also, it's super satisfying because you're getting a little bit of fat, you're not, you know, you're not the food police here.
LAUER:
Exactly.
Ms. MILLER:
And then you have room for some rice on the side, some steamed broccoli and you still come in at 328
calories
, seven grams of fat.
LAUER:
So...
Ms. MILLER:
You can still have dessert and be five -- under 500
calories
.
LAUER:
So you've got the -- you've got few ingredients, 500
calories
, and most of the cooking time on both of these things very quick.
Ms. MILLER:
Under
30 minutes
.
LAUER:
And you can
put it in
the oven and forget it while you're doing something else with the kid.
Ms. MILLER:
Like homework.
LAUER:
Oh. Oh.
Robin
, thank you. Appreciate it.
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