It's going to be tremendously difficult to lose weight if you continue to have "bad" food around the house. With the time crunch most of us live in daily, the allure of convenience foods is almost irresistible. This week, we'll talk about quick dinners, and I'll give you my recipe for a soup that will keep for a week in the fridge and satisfy just about any craving you might have.

I don't want to get on any bad sides out there, but one of the things that's wrong with how we grocery shop, by and large, is that we try to only do so every two weeks, or even once a month for the chronically organized. By nature, most foods that are packaged to last that long are not exactly diet-friendly. Granted, canned and frozen vegetables are fine, but when it comes to mealtime, you're going to want some meat, and that prepackaged meatloaf or frozen lasagna will torpedo your weight-loss plans in nothing flat.

Like to shop for those huge family packs of chicken, pork or beef? That's very economical, to be sure, but how many nights have those healthy boneless, skinless chicken breasts sat in the dark freezer while you ordered pizza because you forgot to get them out to thaw?

Don't fib. I'm in the food business and I did it at LEAST once a week. We're human. We forget, and that fat monkey climbs right back on our backs and starts grabbing cheeseburgers with both grubby little paws.

Odds are, there's a grocery store on your way home from work. Try an experiment tomorrow. Stop on your way home and buy these things: one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a bag of ready-made salad, your choice of fat-free or low-fat salad dressing, a bottle of McCormick's Herb Chicken seasoning blend, a small bottle of olive oil, and your choice of Uncle Ben's rice blend side dishes. (NOTE: these are not paid product endorsements, I'm just trying to name things you'll find in any grocery store.)

How long did that take you? Maybe 10 or 15 minutes? If it took longer, you haven't been to the grocery store NEARLY often enough. Learn the floor plan a little better and you'll be in and out in no time.

What did it cost you? At its most expensive, that pound of chicken should cost you $5. Add $2 or so for the salad, another $7 for the seasoning blend, dressing and oil (which will last for MANY meals), and $2 for the rice. Total outlay: about $16.

Bear in mind that the NEXT time you make this meal, your grocery cost will be $9 or less, since you'll have the seasoning, dressing and oil on-hand.

I daresay a takeout pizza, provided you tip the pizza guy (which you'd bloody well BETTER, they work hard), would cost you at least as much.

And you'll make dinner in less than the time it takes to order and receive the pizza.

First: put the rice on to cook. Omit the butter, if any is called for in the instructions. I've tried them all without the added fat and they're delicious.

Next: Sprinkle the chicken liberally with the seasoning blend and let it sit while you heat a nonstick skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil in it over medium heat. Put the chicken in the pan and brown well on both sides, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Cook approximately 5 minutes or until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit. Allow to rest on a plate, covered with foil, until the rice is done.

Serve with salad. Enjoy!

Start to finish: 35 minutes maximum.

That's a VERY simple dinner. And no doubt it would get boring as heck if you ate it every night. However, once you get in the mindset of quick-cooking meats, you'll be surprised what you can come up with. The simple combination of spices, meat and a nonstick skillet can yield hundreds of different meals. To cut the fat and calories even more, use a cooking spray such as Pam instead of the olive oil. However, olive oil has some health benefits that to me counter any small amount of fat you get from it.

I'm going to give you my secret recipe for beef-vegetable soup this week, too. This will give you a chance to REALLY explore the produce department at the grocery store.

Note: Feel free to change the mix of vegetables to suit your taste and the season. That's how I came up with this recipe in the first place! It began life as the famous Weight Watchers "Zero-Point soup," but I found that recipe to be a little bland for my palate. A dozen batches later, here you have it:

As this is a soup, it's important to keep all your pieces spoon-size. If you're unsure, just get a soup spoon out of your drawer and use it for comparison. Also, the stocks I prefer are the ones sold in the waxed cardboard containers, either Swanson, Pacific Organics or Kitchen Basics.

Beef-Vegetable Soup

1 large yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 leeks, diced, including green tops
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 bunch celery, diced
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 bag shredded cabbage (cole slaw mix will be fine)
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut spoon-size
1 pound lean stew meat, diced
2 qts. fat-free beef stock
2 qts. mushroom stock (or 2 more qts. beef stock, if you can't lay hands on the mushroom stock)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 can tomato paste (4 ounces)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Spray the inside of a large stock pot with cooking spray. Add oil and heat over medium heat.

Add beef and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add garlic, onion, leeks, celery, bell pepper and carrot. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until carrots begin to become tender and vegetables are aromatic.

Add beans, cabbage, parsley, salt, pepper and stocks. Bring to a boil and add tomato paste.

Simmer 45 minutes. Cool in ice bath and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Makes 16-20 one-cup servings.

This makes a fantastic lunch, dinner, or munchie-buster. It's got just enough beef to let you know you've eaten something, but the star is the vegetables.

Got a triumph or struggle to share? A topic you'd like to see covered? Just want to vent? Drop me a line anytime!