20 Healthy 500-Calorie Dinners for High Blood Pressure
Regardless of whether or not you count calories during the day, experts have found that eating a dinner that is around 500 calories can help you lose weight, which in turn can help ward off things like high-blood pressure. We pulled together some of our favorite 500-calorie dinner recipes that also help better manage high-blood pressure. Each dish has at least 20% of your daily potassium needs per serving, while slashing saturated fats and sodium, to promote a healthy blood pressure and ultimately a healthy heart. From delicious tacos to easy slow-cooker favorites, these delicious dinners will help you meet your nutritional goals without sacrificing flavor.
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Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo
Sun-dried tomatoes and Romano cheese pack a flavorful punch along with the tantalizing aroma of fresh marjoram in this rustic Italian-inspired dish. Serve with sautéed fresh spinach or steamed broccolini. Source: EatingWell Magazine, March/April 2008
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Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew
This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad. Source: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2019
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Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing
Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one! Source: EatingWell.com, October 2017
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Pressure-Cooker Buddha Bowl
Whip up this healthy vegetarian grain bowl with ease in your Instant Pot. Pressure-cooking the sweet potato is faster and yields the perfect texture. A drizzle of homemade spicy dressing takes this easy dinner to the next level. Source: EatingWell.com, June 2017
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Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl
This chipotle-flavored burrito bowl recipe is even better than takeout and just as fast. Loading it with vegetables and using quinoa in place of rice adds nutrition for a healthy dinner. Source: EatingWell Magazine, July/August 2016
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Instant Pot Goulash
Your Instant Pot (or other multicooker) cuts hours off the cooking time of this Hungarian beef stew recipe. This Instant Pot goulash, a saucy dish flavored with caraway and smoked paprika, is served over whole-wheat egg noodles that cook while your multicooker works its magic. It's comfort food at its best! Source: EatingWell.com, December 2019
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Turkish Seared Tuna with Bulgur & Chickpea Salad
This healthy tuna recipe combines many of Turkey's most beloved foods and flavors--fresh fish, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs and chickpeas. Cooking for two? Flake the two leftover tuna steaks and mix them into the remaining bulgur salad, then serve over lettuce for lunch the next day. Source: Diabetic Living Magazine, Fall 2019
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Chicken & Cucumber Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
We love the crunch from sliced cucumber and jicama in these savory chicken lettuce wraps. Serve with the simple peanut sauce for an easy dinner recipe that will impress kids and adults alike. Source: Diabetic Living Magazine, Summer 2019
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Crispy Oven-Fried Fish Tacos
Fish tacos make a satisfying meal the entire family will love. Many restaurant versions are deep-fried, but our technique includes coating the fish in a seasoned whole-grain breading and spritzing it lightly with cooking spray before baking on a rack until golden brown. The result is a crispy exterior with moist and flaky fish inside. Source: EatingWell.com, July 2018
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Ratatouille with White Beans & Polenta
Tons of lightly cooked vegetables combine with white beans in this hearty vegetarian dinner recipe. It can also be served over bread, like bruschetta. Source: EatingWell Magazine, November/December 2016
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Chickpea & Quinoa Buddha Bowl
It seems Buddha bowls have as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and there is no wrong way to build one! But we prefer to keep things classic and simple with hummus, quinoa, avocado and loads of veggies! Source: EatingWell.com, August 2017
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Salmon with Roasted Vegetables & Quinoa
This healthy salmon recipe has everything you want for a complete meal: omega-3-rich salmon, protein-packed quinoa and lots of vegetables. Drizzled with a maple-lemon dressing, this healthy quinoa dinner also makes a delicious next-day lunch. Source: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2015
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Orange-&-Pistachio Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Sweet orange marmalade and salty pistachios make a delicious crust for lean pork tenderloin in this healthy dinner recipe. Easy to make, this pork recipe is also very versatile. Other jams, such as fig, raspberry or apricot, and other nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts or pecans are great for the crust too. Source: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2015
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Marsala
This slow-cooker chicken Marsala recipe gets its full flavor from plenty of mushrooms and fragrant shallots. Whole-wheat pasta soaks up the rich sauce. Round it out with a simple green salad for a comforting healthy dinner. Source: EatingWell.com, December 2019
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Soy-Marinated Flank Steak with Soba Noodles
Flank steak takes on savory Asian flavors with this quick steak marinade recipe. We like buckwheat soba noodles for their nutty flavor but any noodle, such as rice noodles or spaghetti, works well too. Source: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2015
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Chicken Mole Tacos
This easy slow-cooker chicken recipe with mole poblano gets plenty of complex flavor from anchos (dried poblanos). Beer is an unconventional ingredient, but makes a nice bittersweet companion for the chiles. For more ways to serve this healthy mole, try these ideas: leave the chicken on the bone and serve with the sauce over brown rice; serve the shredded chicken on buns with creamy coleslaw; or stir vegetables and a can of rinsed beans into the saucy shredded chicken to make chili. Source: EatingWell Magazine, May/June 2016
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Salmon Couscous Salad
This healthy and easy salad is designed to be made with precooked or leftover salmon. To quickly cook salmon, lightly brush with olive oil, then roast in a 450 degrees F oven until the fish is opaque and firm, 8 to 12 minutes. Source: Diabetic Living Magazine, Spring 2019
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Chicken & Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto
Homemade pesto may seem daunting, but in this quick pasta recipe you can make a simple sauce in minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil. You can substitute frozen green beans and cauliflower for fresh; in Step 4, cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions before tossing with the pasta and pesto. Source: Diabetic Living Magazine, Spring 2019
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Chicken Kebabs with Warm Cabbage-Apple Slaw
Serve these easy grilled chicken kebabs with apple and cabbage slaw and potatoes for a healthy dinner that's great for summer cookouts. Leave yourself enough time to marinate the chicken for up to three hours in the simple orange-ginger marinade before threading it onto skewers and putting them on the grill. Source: What to Eat with Diabetes 2019
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Slow-Cooker Turkey Stroganoff
A split turkey breast is a terrific cut to use in this healthy slow-cooker recipe for turkey stroganoff because it stays moist. Here turkey breast is cooked in the crock pot with lots of mushrooms and carrots, then pulled off the bone, chopped and stirred back into a creamy sauce. If you can't find a split turkey breast, try this recipe with bone-in chicken breasts. Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles, on mashed potatoes or even thick slices of toasted whole-grain country bread. Source: EatingWell Magazine, March/April 2013
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