One of the most prolific French recipes is of course Cassoulet. But when you are on a VLC diet you can’t have the real thing which is filled with fat. But you can have something that closely resembles it… at just 200 calories.

Ingredients (for 1)
* 130 grams of S&W’s “White Beans” in a can (80 calories)
* Half of a soya-based sausage, sliced (25 calories, found at Safeway’s vegan aisle)
* 56 grams of “Farmer John”’s fat-free smoked ham, cut in small pieces (50 calories)
* 35 grams of a sliced carrot (15 calories)
* 20 grams of a sliced green ball pepper (5 calories)
* 60 grams of ball-pepper tomato pasta sauce (25 calories, found at Trader Joe’s)
* salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Place all ingredients along with half a cup of water in a small pyrex dish and stir.
2. Preheat the oven at 400F. Bake until sauce is thickened. Serve hot.

Tip: If baking is too much of a hassle, you can choose to boil in a pan instead.

Here’s a hearty pasta-salad dish with lots of veggies. Again, measuring at 200 calories.

Ingredients (for 1)
* 30 grams of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest spaghetti or penne (95 calories)
* 30 grams of broccoli florets (10 calories)
* 35 grams of a sliced carrot (15 calories)
* 20 grams of a sliced green ball pepper (5 calories)
* 50 grams of thinly diced zucchini (10 calories)
* 1 diced tomato (20 calories)
* 20 grams of thinly sliced celery (5 calories)
* 90 grams of french green beans (20 calories)
* 30 grams of chick-peas (20 calories)
* a bit of lemon juice
* 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
* salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding the broccoli the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.
2. Place all the rest of the ingredients in a pan with half a cup of water and cook in low heat.
3. When done, remove from heat and add the pasta. Toss everything together in the pan and leave them to cool.
4. Place in the fridge. Serve cold.

Tip: If you prefer this dish hot, don’t add the lemon & vinegar and instead serve the hot ingredients on top of the warm pasta (instead of tossing everything together).

Here’s a tasty and easy-to-prepare recipe, at only 200 calories. Good source of fiber too!

Ingredients (for 1)
* 95 grams of S&W’s “Black Beans with 50% less sodium” (55 calories, can product)
* 90 grams of fat-free chicken breast, diced (100 calories)
* 50 grams of thinly diced zucchini (10 calories)
* 1/3 of a green ball pepper, diced in small pieces (10 calories)
* 1 small onion, chopped (5 calories)
* 4 tbspoons of salsa sauce (20 calories)
* salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Place all ingredients except the beans in a pan with half a cup of water. In low heat let the ingredients cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
2. One-two minutes before it’s all ready, put in the beans too and stir. Serve hot, immediately.

Tip: If you can’t find a low-calorie salsa sauce in your place, just use a normal-size tomato and chop it up.