As usual, the holidays have wreaked havoc on my eating habits. Alas, I officially started back on WW this week and thought I'd share a couple of the recipes that have helped get me through the week. It's freezing here in FL (it actually snowed in Daytona Beach last night... unbelievable), which makes me want to eat potatoes and baked goods, but these dinners have helped to keep me on track and the leftovers have made fabulous lunches (both recipes are core, too!).
Turkey Chili
*You can make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the turkey and using three cans of beans. Just start by sauteeing the onion and pepper.
1.5 lbs ground turkey breast (make sure it's turkey breast, not just ground turkey)
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 T garlic powder
2 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper (or more, if you like a lot of heat)
1 large can tomato puree (not sauce, which has a lot of added salt)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1/2 to 1 T sugar (or splenda if you're on core)
1 T apple cider vinegar
Salt, to taste
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (optional)
Whole wheat elbow macaroni
Brown turkey over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add onion, green pepper, and a pinch of salt and cook until vegetables are soft and translucent. Add all seasonings and combine thoroughly. Add tomato puree, tomatoes, and water and bring everything to a light boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add vinegar and check for seasoning. Season with salt to taste and add sugar gradually if the tomatoes taste too acidic. Add the beans and corn and heat through. Serve over macaroni (boiled separately). You could cook the macaroni in the chili if you want, but I find that this makes the chili a little too thick and the portions are easier to control if you make the pasta separately. As an alternative, you could serve the chili over brown rice.
Points per serving (1 cup chili with 1/2 cup pasta): 5
Pasta E Fagioli
1 lb turkey or chicken italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
A pinch of red chile flakes
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
(Any other veggies in your fridge that need to be used up - I added mushrooms, zucchini, and kale, but green beans, peas, summer squash, or even broccoli would be fine)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 box reduced sodium chicken stock
2 T italian seasoning (a mixture of oregano, basil, and rosemary)
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Salt to taste
Whole wheat pasta (penne or fusilli would be good)
Remove sausage from casing and brown over medium high heat until cooked through. Add chili flakes, a big pinch of salt, italian seasoning, onion, garlic, and all other veggies except tomatoes and beans and cook until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 30 minutes or longer, if desired (alternatively, you could throw the browned meat and veggies in a slow cooker with the stock and tomatoes and simmer it all day). Add beans and check for seasoning. Add more salt, if needed. Serve over pasta (same story here with cooking the pasta separately).
Points per serving (1 cup soup over 1/2 cup pasta): 4
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Turkey panini
I found this recipe in an old issue of Shape and modified it to make it a little more WW-friendly. It turned out to be a really yummy and satisfying lunch.
1 Thomas' Lite Whole Grain english muffin
3 slices Oscar Meyer honey smoked deli turkey
1 T shredded asiago cheese
1 tsp red pepper and basil preserves (you can find these in the grocery in the same section as regular fruit preserves)
Assemble sandwich and cook on panini grill, if you want. I didn't feel like digging the panini grill out of the cabinet for one sandwich, so I cooked it in a skillet on the stove with another skillet on top of the sandwich and a can of tomatoes on top of that to weigh everything down. Serve with salad greens tossed with fat free vinaigrette (I like to whisk basalmic vinegar together with some dijon mustard and lemon juice).
Total: 3 pts
1 Thomas' Lite Whole Grain english muffin
3 slices Oscar Meyer honey smoked deli turkey
1 T shredded asiago cheese
1 tsp red pepper and basil preserves (you can find these in the grocery in the same section as regular fruit preserves)
Assemble sandwich and cook on panini grill, if you want. I didn't feel like digging the panini grill out of the cabinet for one sandwich, so I cooked it in a skillet on the stove with another skillet on top of the sandwich and a can of tomatoes on top of that to weigh everything down. Serve with salad greens tossed with fat free vinaigrette (I like to whisk basalmic vinegar together with some dijon mustard and lemon juice).
Total: 3 pts
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
3-point Smoothie and Dessert
Banana Berry Smoothie
I used to think that restaurant smoothies were super healthy, until I realized how many excess calories they typically have (a regular banana berry smoothie at Jamba Juice is 8 points -- not terrible, but I don't want to spend that much on a snack) . I decided to make a banana berry smoothie at home today for an afternoon snack. It was delicious, super filling, and only 3 points.
1 carton vanilla Activia Light (the nonfat kind)
5-6 frozen strawberries
1/2 slightly overripe banana, fresh or frozen
1 T homemade raspberry puree (Thaw a bag of frozen raspberries, puree them in the blender with a little Splenda and lemon juice, and pass them through a mesh strainer to get the seeds out. Freeze in ice cube trays and use as needed. You could use regular frozen or fresh raspberries instead, but I can't stand having raspberry seeds in my smoothies.)
1/2 cup skim milk
Throw everything in the blender and puree. Add ice until it's as thick as you would like it.
Total: 3 points
Key Lime Pie Tarts
I had a super intense craving for key lime pie after Martha Stewart made one on her show this morning but unfortunately, regular key lime pie is definitely not lowfat by any stretch of the imagination. Most key lime pie recipes call for sweetened condensed milk and a lot of egg yolks, but my mom actually has a no-bake recipe that uses just sweetened condensed milk and cool whip. This recipe is a variation of my mom's, but I decided to make tarts instead of a whole pie for portion control, and I also froze the tarts. If you make these, try to resist eating the entire bowl of filling before you get it into the freezer. :)
1 14-oz can of fat free sweetened condensed milk (try drizzling this on fresh peaches, it's unbelievably good)
1 8-oz container of fat free cool whip
zest of 2 limes, plus juice of 3 limes (key limes would obviously be better, but I couldn't find any fresh ones at the store. You can buy bottled key lime juice if you want, but I didn't feel like dealing with that)
graham cracker crumbs
cooking spray
Combine sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and lime zest and juice. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray (a silicon pan would work best, but you could use a metal pan and just loosen the tarts with a knife around the outside after you freeze them). Put a very thin layer of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of each hole, about a teaspoon or less. If you use any more than that, the excess won't stick to the filling. Spoon the filling evenly into the muffin pan and freeze for at least 4 hours. Serve with a drizzle of melted chocolate and more fat free cool whip, if you want (I know lime and chocolate sounds weird, but it's delicious).
Makes 12 tarts
Total: 3 points per tart (without chocolate or extra cool whip).
If you want a thicker crust and don't mind using a small amount of butter (since you're saving calories by using fat free ingredients elsewhere), you could combine about a cup of the graham cracker crumbs with 2 T melted butter or margarine, divide it among the holes in the muffin pan, pack it down firmly, and bake it at 350 for about 8 minutes. If you do this, make sure you let the muffin pan cool completely before adding the filling.
I used to think that restaurant smoothies were super healthy, until I realized how many excess calories they typically have (a regular banana berry smoothie at Jamba Juice is 8 points -- not terrible, but I don't want to spend that much on a snack) . I decided to make a banana berry smoothie at home today for an afternoon snack. It was delicious, super filling, and only 3 points.
1 carton vanilla Activia Light (the nonfat kind)
5-6 frozen strawberries
1/2 slightly overripe banana, fresh or frozen
1 T homemade raspberry puree (Thaw a bag of frozen raspberries, puree them in the blender with a little Splenda and lemon juice, and pass them through a mesh strainer to get the seeds out. Freeze in ice cube trays and use as needed. You could use regular frozen or fresh raspberries instead, but I can't stand having raspberry seeds in my smoothies.)
1/2 cup skim milk
Throw everything in the blender and puree. Add ice until it's as thick as you would like it.
Total: 3 points
Key Lime Pie Tarts
I had a super intense craving for key lime pie after Martha Stewart made one on her show this morning but unfortunately, regular key lime pie is definitely not lowfat by any stretch of the imagination. Most key lime pie recipes call for sweetened condensed milk and a lot of egg yolks, but my mom actually has a no-bake recipe that uses just sweetened condensed milk and cool whip. This recipe is a variation of my mom's, but I decided to make tarts instead of a whole pie for portion control, and I also froze the tarts. If you make these, try to resist eating the entire bowl of filling before you get it into the freezer. :)
1 14-oz can of fat free sweetened condensed milk (try drizzling this on fresh peaches, it's unbelievably good)
1 8-oz container of fat free cool whip
zest of 2 limes, plus juice of 3 limes (key limes would obviously be better, but I couldn't find any fresh ones at the store. You can buy bottled key lime juice if you want, but I didn't feel like dealing with that)
graham cracker crumbs
cooking spray
Combine sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and lime zest and juice. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray (a silicon pan would work best, but you could use a metal pan and just loosen the tarts with a knife around the outside after you freeze them). Put a very thin layer of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of each hole, about a teaspoon or less. If you use any more than that, the excess won't stick to the filling. Spoon the filling evenly into the muffin pan and freeze for at least 4 hours. Serve with a drizzle of melted chocolate and more fat free cool whip, if you want (I know lime and chocolate sounds weird, but it's delicious).
Makes 12 tarts
Total: 3 points per tart (without chocolate or extra cool whip).
If you want a thicker crust and don't mind using a small amount of butter (since you're saving calories by using fat free ingredients elsewhere), you could combine about a cup of the graham cracker crumbs with 2 T melted butter or margarine, divide it among the holes in the muffin pan, pack it down firmly, and bake it at 350 for about 8 minutes. If you do this, make sure you let the muffin pan cool completely before adding the filling.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Nice twist on grilled chicken breast
Tonight's dinner was grilled chicken breasts with grilled zucchini and roasted new potatoes (only a couple of potatoes for me). I tried a new marinade for the chicken, which turned out really well (even though our gas ran out halfway through grilling, so we had to finish them on the grill pan inside). The original recipe called for a ton of olive oil (3/4 cup!), which I substituted with a little more lemon juice and some dijon mustard.
Lemon-dijon chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, split in half cross and lengthwise to make two thinner fillets
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced + zest of said lemon
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (use 1 tsp dried in a pinch)
kosher salt (a large pinch) and freshly ground black pepper (eyeball it)
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Dump marinade and chicken into a 1-gallon ziploc bag and stash in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, turning the bag over after 3 hours. Remove chicken from bag (there should be some marinade left in the bag; if not, wipe some of the excess off the chicken) and grill over medium high heat for about 7 minutes on each side. Makes 4 servings.
Total: 3 points per serving
Roasted new potatoes
8 medium new potatoes (sometimes sold as "baby red potatoes"), quartered
SMALL amount of olive oil, about 1 tsp; just enough to toss with potatoes so they don't stick
salt and pepper, eyeball it
Fresh rosemary, chopped finely (optional)
Toss everything together and spread the potatoes in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; turn potatoes over and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until soft in the middle and slightly browned on the outside. Makes 4 servings.
Total: 2 points per serving; more if you use a lot of olive oil.
Lemon-dijon chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, split in half cross and lengthwise to make two thinner fillets
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced + zest of said lemon
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (use 1 tsp dried in a pinch)
kosher salt (a large pinch) and freshly ground black pepper (eyeball it)
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Dump marinade and chicken into a 1-gallon ziploc bag and stash in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, turning the bag over after 3 hours. Remove chicken from bag (there should be some marinade left in the bag; if not, wipe some of the excess off the chicken) and grill over medium high heat for about 7 minutes on each side. Makes 4 servings.
Total: 3 points per serving
Roasted new potatoes
8 medium new potatoes (sometimes sold as "baby red potatoes"), quartered
SMALL amount of olive oil, about 1 tsp; just enough to toss with potatoes so they don't stick
salt and pepper, eyeball it
Fresh rosemary, chopped finely (optional)
Toss everything together and spread the potatoes in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; turn potatoes over and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until soft in the middle and slightly browned on the outside. Makes 4 servings.
Total: 2 points per serving; more if you use a lot of olive oil.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Perfect Summer Dinner + Dessert
Dinner tonight was burgers (real hamburgers for my hubby, *tweaked* burger for me). This meal has been tricky to WW-ize, but I figured out a way to make a veggie burger with lots of extras VERY low in points.
1 Vegan Boca Burger (the flame grilled kind is especially good)
1 Thomas' Light Whole Grain English Muffin, toasted
1/4 cup onions, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, sauteed together in cooking spray (the mushrooms will cook down quite a bit)
1 slice Kraft Deli Select 2% milk swiss cheese
On the side, grilled zucchini and a big garden salad with fresh basil and 2 T reduced calorie ranch dressing
Total: 5 points (unless you like to use a ridiculous amount of ketchup, which will add additional points)
Dessert was one of my summer faves, grilled pineapple with vanilla ice cream. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture and posting it; this dessert was gorgeous and tasted even better.
3 thick slices pineapple (about 1 cup total)
3/4 cup Edy's Double Churned lowfat, no sugar added vanilla bean ice cream
2 T toasted coconut (I mixed 1.5 T in with the ice cream in advance, a la Coldstone, and popped the ice cream back in the freezer for another hour or so, then sprinkled the remaining coconut on top to serve)
1 T melted semi-sweet chocolate chips (drizzled on top of the ice cream)
Total: 6.5 points (On the high side, I know, but I saved earlier in the day so that I could have this tonight. You could omit the chocolate and save 2 points if you want)
1 Vegan Boca Burger (the flame grilled kind is especially good)
1 Thomas' Light Whole Grain English Muffin, toasted
1/4 cup onions, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, sauteed together in cooking spray (the mushrooms will cook down quite a bit)
1 slice Kraft Deli Select 2% milk swiss cheese
On the side, grilled zucchini and a big garden salad with fresh basil and 2 T reduced calorie ranch dressing
Total: 5 points (unless you like to use a ridiculous amount of ketchup, which will add additional points)
Dessert was one of my summer faves, grilled pineapple with vanilla ice cream. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture and posting it; this dessert was gorgeous and tasted even better.
3 thick slices pineapple (about 1 cup total)
3/4 cup Edy's Double Churned lowfat, no sugar added vanilla bean ice cream
2 T toasted coconut (I mixed 1.5 T in with the ice cream in advance, a la Coldstone, and popped the ice cream back in the freezer for another hour or so, then sprinkled the remaining coconut on top to serve)
1 T melted semi-sweet chocolate chips (drizzled on top of the ice cream)
Total: 6.5 points (On the high side, I know, but I saved earlier in the day so that I could have this tonight. You could omit the chocolate and save 2 points if you want)
First post!
I have to admit, I'm in a little bit of a rut as far as breakfast goes. I usually am so out of it in the morning that I find it best to put myself on autopilot in the kitchen. Here's what a typical breakfast looks like for me:
2 egg whites, scrambled with veggies
1 slice Food For Life Ezekiel bread, toasted, with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
Fruit of some sort - peaches are especially good right now
Coffee with Splenda and 2 T Land O' Lakes fat free half and half
Total: 2.5 points (or less, depending on what type of fruit I have - a peach is 1 point, but strawberries are 0 points for 1 cup)
I guess I've fallen into a rut with my lunches lately as well (I usually have 1/2 of a turkey sandwich and yogurt). So today, I made the following salad for lunch. It's about half a point more than I usually eat for lunch, but I'll gain that back in my snack later.
2 cups fresh spinach
1/3 roasted red bell pepper (I'll save the other 2/3 for sandwiches, etc later this weekend)
1 canned artichoke heart, chopped
1 T goat cheese crumbles
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
Whole wheat pita chips (I cut a whole wheat pita into 12 chips and baked them at 400 degrees until slightly browned and crispy, about 5 minutes)
Total: 3 points
2 egg whites, scrambled with veggies
1 slice Food For Life Ezekiel bread, toasted, with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
Fruit of some sort - peaches are especially good right now
Coffee with Splenda and 2 T Land O' Lakes fat free half and half
Total: 2.5 points (or less, depending on what type of fruit I have - a peach is 1 point, but strawberries are 0 points for 1 cup)
I guess I've fallen into a rut with my lunches lately as well (I usually have 1/2 of a turkey sandwich and yogurt). So today, I made the following salad for lunch. It's about half a point more than I usually eat for lunch, but I'll gain that back in my snack later.
2 cups fresh spinach
1/3 roasted red bell pepper (I'll save the other 2/3 for sandwiches, etc later this weekend)
1 canned artichoke heart, chopped
1 T goat cheese crumbles
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
Whole wheat pita chips (I cut a whole wheat pita into 12 chips and baked them at 400 degrees until slightly browned and crispy, about 5 minutes)
Total: 3 points
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