Easy Recipes

This is a takeoff of a cranberry bake recipe from Southern Living. This is homey, tasty, and not too sweet. Just a little cranberry twang but plenty of sweetness in the apples.

When I was a kid this was served at very special meals. My mother made hers plain. I had no idea how incredibly fabulous this meat could taste until I started adding the meat rub!

Many people think the Thanksgiving turkey dinner is the most intimidating meal to make. It's not. Here's some rules to follow.

I love a steak while I am on Plan ZReduction. I have pretty much perfected my technique using a cast iron skillet but learned this method by asking a French restaurant how they did theirs.

Chris, VP Anger Management, loves his food spicy. He invented this sauce to go on sandwiches.

For those of you old enough to remember the Jello product that formed 3 layers you’ll know exactly what this tastes like and actually includes REAL raspberries!

This is a combination of a few recipes I found. Love the fact that these are low carb and tasty!

This dish can be as easy as 3 ingredients and 3 minutes! I am going to describe a pre-cooked version of the shrimp dish and one you cook yourself. I am also going to give you spice mix options.

This recipe can be made in a pinch when you take advantage of the pre-cut produce in the grocery store. That way if you are cooking for just yourself you don’t buy a lot of ingredients that will go to waste. It’s a little more expensive by the pound, but it’s cheaper overall not to have the leftovers if you aren’t going to get to them in time to eat them before they spoil. 

This is a decadent side dish. When I serve it, people at the table often ask me why this tastes so unique, so we play “guess the secret ingredient”…. Answer is the nutmeg. This dish goes well at dinner parties and holiday celebrations. It makes a perfect side dish for your upcoming holiday dinner.

These sweet and spicy nuts are perfect for snacking, make a great salad topper or adding a special something to your favorite desserts.

Fennel has a distinct flavor, but when it's roasted, the flavor mellows. If you like fennel, this recipe is great, and it's very easy to make.  

Cabbage is one of the foods that's unlimited on ZReduction, so it's the perfect food to nosh on when you're hungry between meals. Dieter Brenda sent us this versatile cabbage recipe, and it's scrumptious. Eat it with dinner, or as a snack. Or, add a sliced onion and use it as a substitution for noodles that’s healthy and delicious. Or, try adding chicken broth and your favorite seasoning to turn this a brothy side or a simple soup.

Dieter Debbie has mastered air fried veggies on ZReduction, and shared this with the Plan Z Facebook group. It's simple, and delicious and can be ready in a jiffy. We're posting it here for everyone to enjoy. Thank you, Debbie!

I found a recipe very similar to this one about 15 years in an old Southern cookbook. I have made a few changes to “Zola-fy” it. This goes over BIG at any party, and it's so simple!

In addition to being crunchy, satisfying and delicious, pumpkin seeds are a nutritious snack. You can buy shelled pumpkin seeds in the grocery store (also know as pepitas), but when pumpkin season rolls around, you can buy a fresh pumpkin, scrape out the seeds, and toast the whole seeds yourself. YUM! 

I discovered cinnamon water in Costa Rica. Try adding pear slices – it makes a wonderful summer treat.

At first you’d think chimichangas would be high carb. The good news is they have low carb tortillas at the grocery store that taste the same as the traditional. Look for the low carb versions.

We have to thank Dieter Claire for inventing this recipe. She modified the fruit parfait recipe and developed a strawberry "ice cream" recipe and this recipe with frozen mandarin oranges. She says, “it’s like an orange creamsicle.” YUM!

Smash burgers are all the rage. Step into a brew pub and you’ll likely find a smash burger on the food menu.

These are NOT the huge, 8oz burgers we’ve been fed in the past. These are a thinner burger that’s usually six ounces or even less. You can always make your burger with two patties and bring it back to huge but more popular is to just make your burger with one patty.

Dieter Claire invented this recipe by modifying the fruit parfait recipe and adding extra frozen strawberries. She says, "it's as close to ice cream as you can get." We agree.

A delicious recipe submitted by Dieter Claire. Does this take longer than sautéing in a pan? Well yes, but the chicken that comes out is soooooo tender it's worth the time. We completely agree, Claire, thanks for sharing!

Shrimp cocktail is a simple snack on ZReduction. If you plan to eat it regularly, you might want to consider making your own cocktail sauce. It's quick, easy and delicious.

This soup is a staple at Chinese restaurants. It is filling, delicate and delicious. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients in most restaurant egg drop soup recipes is MSG. The recipe below is an MSG-free version of the traditional classic, so it won't taste exactly the same, but we think it's just as delicious.

Another Happy Healthy Holidays classic. This is so easy it almost feels like cheating.

A spicy and refreshing salsa can jazz up any dish. Dieter Lois shared this recipe for her ZReduction-friendly salsa verde. She whipped up a batch to put over her eggs, but this would be good on just about anything.

Calling all Bragg’s lovers. This is yet another reason why we love Bragg’s so much!

A no sugar variation of my caramelized pears recipe. Still very yummy!

Chris’s cousins sent us a HUGE box of fruit as his get well wish. There are only two of us, so in order to use the fruit I have had to get creative! Oh, my, these are yummy!

This recipe was submitted by Plan Z coach, Pearl. She loves kale and makes this recipe often.

This is my favorite, simple way to cook salmon. If you want to jazz it up you can also make my tzatziki sauce. Yum.

Most folks think of chicken wings as being a guy thing and even a sport fan thing but anyone can love this dip! I served it as a breakfast buffet item and it was hands down the dish that got the most comments and compliments. I think it was because it was so unexpected. The comments came from men and women alike but I must admit the guys were the ones who went gaga over this.

A traditional Waldorf salad has grapes or raisins and lots of walnuts -- but it doesn’t have to. This one worked great as a side dish. Be sure to cut your fruit portion for this meal in half.

This simple Italian Soup is packed with flavor and convenience. It travels well and heats in the microwave too. Leftovers are a BIG YUM.

This looks like a lot of ingredients, but you’ll see it’s sort of a dump and cook recipe. Not difficult at all. If you love making Asian food you probably have many of these ingredients in the house. 

This looks like a lot of ingredients, but you’ll see it’s sort of a dump and cook recipe. Not difficult at all. If you love making Asian food you probably have many of these ingredients in the house. 

My favorite technique for cooking low-fat burgers is to quickly sear the burger and finish it by roasting it in the oven. Here’s the recipe for seared burgers that are then oven-roasted.

This will go well with beef burgers or even ground chicken breast burgers or grilled chicken breasts; even a steak.

Traditional orange juice is not allowed on Plan Z because when you remove all the pulp (the fiber) what's left is a whole bunch of sugar. But, if you have a magic bullet or a high-powered blender, you can enjoy a liquefied, blended orange - as long as you blend the whole orange and don't strain the pulp.

I am a huge fan of English shortbread. When I traveled a lot in England on business, the hotel usually left a package or two by the coffee maker. I used to make that my little breakfast while I worked at the desk.

A delicious sauce to pair with your favorite dessert.

This award-winning chili recipe won best Verde Chili by the International Chili Society in 2018. "Texas Chuck," the creator of this awesome recipe, made this chili using Mild Bills Spices (in case you're trying to get his authentic flavor).

Tuna salad on top of a salad? Let's do it!

Dieter Sarah eats tuna salad to help her lose weight on ZReduction. This is her "magic" recipe.

This delicious recipe was submitted by dieter Nicole. She served it with pork chops and roasted tomatoes. Thanks, Nicole for the inspired dish!

If you don’t use liquor in your cooking you can leave that out. You can also flavor them with stevia flavorings. You could have coconut, vanilla or other flavors.

Since leafy greens are unlimited you can double (or triple) the amount of greens used in this recipe if you want to make it stretch.

When you are in the ZReduction portion of Plan Z you will not be eating the skin of the chicken or any of the dark meat. Breast meat only.

This is a SUPERFAST soup to get a meal on the table in record time. This should only take you about 20 minutes.

No need to salt them. No need to season them. They will be delicious and have PLENTY of flavor.