1 is the Loneliest Number. So let us add the number 400.

I just love that song.

So, I have relocated to San Diego and am adjusting to living alone again.  It's always been a challenge for me to cook for 1 person so I decided to face that challenge and start a line of recipes for 1.  

In addition to this, my dear friend Brenda is an excellent inspiration as she loves food and is very pro health.  She has her own blog called eatwhatiwant.com where you can find a wealth of information to also inspire you.  Yes, it was Brenda that inspired me to make each of these recipes also be less than 400 calories each!  So please join me on this delicious health challenge!

To start, I decided to do a yummy Tilapia Veggie Salad for dinner.

Tilapia Veggie Salad | (385 Calories) 

Ingredients for 1 person: 

3/4 cup Brown Baby Bell Crimini Mushrooms (Diced)

3/4 cup Red Bell Pepper (Diced)

1/2 cup Sweet Onion (Diced)

1/4 of a Hass Avocado (sliced)

4oz Fresh Tilapia Fillet

1 Teaspoon All Purpose Greek Seasoning

1 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Italian Four Cheese Blend (shredded)

1 Cup Romaine (Chopped)

After you prep all your veggies, preheat a 10" Skillet over medium high heat.  While your skillet heats up, season your tilapia with the greek seasoning.  You want to evenly distribute 1 teaspoon of seasoning over the tilapia.  When the skillet is hot, toss in your onions with 1 tbsp water.  Stir them so that the water is absorbed by them.  It happens fairly quickly, so keep moving the onions around to avoid burning them.  Now place your tilapia in (seasoned side down).  Keep moving those onions!  Now drop in the bell pepper and mushrooms.  Stir them in but keep them on the side of the tilapia. 

Now you want to season the top side of the fish with your remaining seasoning.  The bottom side should be browned so flip the fish!  Does it look like below?

If not, turn it back over and let it brown (be careful not to burn it!)  If it does look like above, good job!  After about a minute of searing, you want to stir those veggies around again and lower the heat to just above medium.  Cover the skillet.  Wait 5 minutes.

While you are waiting, shred the lettuce into your bowl, add 1 tbsp of rice vinegar.

If you don't trust your timing, listen to this video 6 times.

All done!  Now place your tilapia on top of your salad, cover it with the veggies, avocado slices and sprinkle on your cheese!  

Good job on staying healthy you sexy beast. ;D

Baked Tilapia with Zucchini, Squash and Corn

Baked Tilapia with Zucchini, Squash and Corn:

For the Veggies:
3 Large Zucchini
3 Yellow Squash
1 - 11oz can Fiesta/Mexican Corn
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1 Minced Garlic Clove
Olive Oil

Dice the Veggies. On medium high heat add olive oil to a large deep saute pan. Add in the minced garlic and quickly toss in the veggies once it has turned a golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (to taste), continue tossing often to avoid burning. Lower the heat after about 8 minutes to medium low and let this finish while you prepare the fish. Keep an eye on it, when it's tender, turn the heat to low just to keep it warm.

For the Tilapia: 
11 Fillets of fresh tilapia
Olive Oil
4 tbsp butter
1 Lemon
1 Minced Garlic Clove
Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Because I was making this for 8 people, I had to use 2 baking dishes. If you have one large enough to fit all of the fillets with minimal overlap you can do that as well. First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the baking dish, lay out the tilapia so that there is minimal overlapping. Drizzle olive oil over the fish and brush it to coat the top and bottom of each fish. Squeeze half a lemon over a strainer (or strain before and add the juice from half a lemon) on each fish as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the garlic evenly over the fish. Using the 4 tbsp of butter, divide it across the fish as evenly as possible. You want it to cover all the fish when it melts. Then sprinkle the Greek seasoning over the fish evenly. Cover the dish with foil and place it in the oven for 25 minutes. Check it to make sure it is white and flaky. Serve on top of the veggies in a fancy baking dish and garnish with parsley and lemon slices. I used a bowl to capture the juice in the baking dish so that it could be spooned over the fish as desired.