Mustard Crusted Tilapia, Potato Salad, and Grilled Asparagus Salad

I told you yesterday, I really love spinach lately. I'm all about it. Typically I don't make such involved dinners, because I work all day and I'm tired all night and frankly, who has the time?

When you look at this dish you probably think it's involved and time consuming, because hey, it's three freaking parts! But you know what? This was actually one of the quickest meals I've made. It was also one of the lowest calorie dishes. Take a guess. How many calories do you think this entire meal has in it?

Well, if you guessed 358 calories you were right. Yes, that's right. This entire meal, the potato salad (WITH MAYO - but obviously this depends on WHAT mayo you use!), the spinach salad, and the fish has less calories than most one-piece meals I make.

To save time I boiled the potatoes and put them in the refrigerator as soon as I got home from work. Then I changed my clothes, sat on the couch, and watched some TV for a half hour. Then I made the rest of the meal in less than a half hour.

Also, my normal potato salad recipe usually has both hard boiled egg and celery in it. This version is missing both of those ingredients because I was out of celery and if I included the egg, my cholesterol would have been too high for the day. So here is my simplified (perhaps too simple?) potato salad.

Mustard Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients

2 tilapia fillets

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp shredded Parmesan

enough bread crumbs to create a crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven the 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Combine the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano, and Parmesan in a small dish. Smear the tilapia fillets with the mustard combination.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake for 5 more minutes.

* serves 2

CALORIES: 107 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 58 milligrams
FAT: 1 grams
SODIUM: 147 milligrams

Potato Salad

Ingredients

1/2 lb red potatoes, diced

1 1/2 oz sweet pickles, cubed

1/4 tsp mustard

1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

1/8 tsp sugar

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and pour into a big bowl. Place in the refrigerator until cold.

2. Stir the pickles, mustard, mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and pepper in with the potatoes.

* serves 2

CALORIES: 140 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 3 milligrams
FAT: 3 grams
SODIUM: 181 milligrams

Grilled Asparagus Salad

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

6 asparagus spears, cut into inch-long pieces

3 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Combine lemon juice and olive oil on a plate. Roll the asparagus around in the liquid.

2. Grill the asparagus for 5 minutes, coating with the lemon and oil mixture.

3. In a large bowl combine the spinach, Parmesan cheese, the remaining lemon and olive oil, and the asparagus. Toss to combine.

* serves 3

CALORIES: 111 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 1 milligrams
FAT: 10 grams
SODIUM: 54 milligrams