Sweet Potato Fries!


I have been enjoying my baked zucchini fries lately, but I needed to break it up. I didn't want to get burnt out on them and I wanted to try something new. I have never really liked sweet potatoes much, but I have recently tried BBQ sweet potatoes and teriyaki sweet potatoes so when my boyfriend suggested we make sweet potato fries, I decided to give it a go!

Ingredients: 1 large Yam salt
pepper
Fat Free Butter Flavored cooking spray


Directions:
Cut into thin strips.
Spray baking sheet with ff butter spray, lay the fries out, spray them once more, and sprinkle salt and a little pepper on top.
Bake them at 400 degrees for about 20-30 mins, flipping then mid-way.


You want them to get just a little brown, a couple super thin ones might burn a tad, but I like then almost burnt. It's something about the sweet and salty combination that makes these addictive! We made them two nights in a row and I had to stop myself.
We ate these with fake grilled chicken (1.5 pts) on lite sourdough bread (1 pt) and a little mozzarella (1 pt)
One cup of yams is 2 pts, so I think our yam made 2 servings. So this is a 5.5 point meal!

Southern Comfort

After reading one of anna's entries, I decided it was time to get myself a GFG (George Foreman Grill). I don't cook meat too often, but I like the idea of being able to grill inside and I can even make veggies on the GFG.

So last night Robby bought us some lean tenderloin steaks. We christened the new grill and complimented our steaks with mock mashed potatoes and fake fried zucchini. I cut my steak almost in half to make it about 4 oz which was 3 points. It was plenty of beef for me. I altered my zucchini recipe a little so I'll update that.

Mock Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 tablespoon I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Light

1 tablespoon fat free sour cream

2-3 cloves of minced garlic (I like lots of garlic)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place chopped cauliflower in medium sized pot of boiling water. Let boil 6-8 minutes. Drain well. Place in bowl, add butter and sour cream. Mix with handheld blender/beaters or in regular blender. Add salt and pepper as you blend. After this, you might want to reheat them in the oven or microwave just a bit.

These were 2 points for the WHOLE DISH and we got 4 servings out of it. My boyfriend isn't a huge fan of cauliflower but loves mashed potatoes and he ate this stuff up! I would consider that successful.

Fake Fried Zucchini

I followed the same directions as the last entry I did on zucchini, but I only used half of the bag of shake n bake and 1/2 of a cup of Fiber One cereal I ran through the food processor. Added 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to this mix as well. Shake n Bake gives you bags to use for the coating and these do a much better job than rolling around the pieces in a bowl. I calculated both of these items together since the cereal has so much fiber and it came to 2 points total. Is this fair to do? I used 2 1/2 zucchinis for this and we got 2 extrememely large portions which we gobbled up. I have to say, it was not quite as good as when I use straight Shake n Bake, but it if makes one large serving for one point and stretches out the mix giving me extra fiber for the day, I'll probably stick to this in the future.

My goal was really to make a super low point meal of things I like. I would rather use more points when I go out to eat since I have less control.

So to be precise, I would say this meal was 4.5 points and incredibly satisfying and filling. As I try to get enough veggies in for the day, I'm learning which ones have zero points and trying to cook with those more and more.

Fake Fried Zucchini
A while back I was making Shake n Bake chicken (using Quorn fake chicken) and I had leftover mix. Instead of making my blackened okra, I coated the chopped okra in the seasoning mix and baked it. It turned out crunchy and DELISH! I am a huge fan of fried okra and honestly, I could stay away forever if I could eat my shake n bake. So after some failed zucchini coins using fish fry in the oven (my boyfriend's idea), I decided to try it with Shake n Bake and it turned out great. I've recently read a couple recipes for something similar using Fiber One cereal through a food processor. I'll add that to my mix tonight to bring the points down and stretch it out, but this is a great alternative. Here is my quick version

Ingredients:
2 small/medium zucchini's, sliced in sticks
1/2 packet of Shake n Bake of Kraft's Oven Fry (same points)
bowl of water

Directions:
Dip the zucchini slices in bowl of water
Coat them in seasoning (in a bag works best)
Place on non-stick pan
Spray with Butter or Garlic flavored fat free cooking spray, I go over the pan a couple times
If some slices look a little bare, you can sprinkle some extra mix on

Place in Oven on 400 degrees, 15 minutes, then flip and coat with more spray, another 15 minutes. I set my oven to Broil for the last 5 minutes to get them as crunchy as possible. They weren't , too salty, but they were still a little juicy on the inside and had such a good flavor. We got 3 decent sized servings from this so I would estimate 1.5 points. I wanted to eat all 3 servings!

We enjoyed the zucchini with 1/2 cup of cilantro lime rice and 1 grilled fake chicken breast (seasoned with lemon pepper, a touch of fat free italian dressing, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper)

So the entire meal was a total of 5.5 points!

Spinach & Black Bean Quesadillas
So I found this recipe on Roni's WW Page, and wanted to try it myself. I was able to lower the points a little so that these tortillas, with a tablespoon of fat free sour cream and plenty of salsa is 3 pts total! Once I bought the ingredients, I ate this several nights in a week, making it a quick, easy, and low-point meal. When I come home at night, I'm not in the mood for a frozen dinner. I usually only like to eat those at work since they are easy and cheap.
Ingredients:
Handful of fresh spinach leaves
Chopped grilled onion or fresh green onion
Low fat or fat free refried Beans ( I only use about 1/6th of the can)
2 fat free La Tortilla Factory tortillas check it out
1 oz 2% cheddar cheese, shredded
Fat Free cooking spray (garlic or butter flavored)

Spread tortillas with black beans, add toppings, cook in skillet on medium to low heat (to prevent tortillas from burning before the cheese melts), about 2-3 minutes for each side. Let cool, cut, and eat with a side of fat free sour cream (I do one tablespoon) and salsa.

Anna's Guest Entry


Eggsellent!

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring or a time consuming process. I found an easy, delicious and low value point recipe on the WW website I prepared for dinner the other night. Luckily for me I had most of the ingredients in my fridge.

Here is the recipe for the Chicken Fried Rice straight from WW:

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown rice
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup carrot(s)
2 medium garlic clove(s)
1/2 cup frozen green peas
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 sprays cooking spray

Being the iconoclast that I am, I didn’t follow the instructions verbatim. Being creative in the kitchen is what cooking from the heart & soul is all about, right?

I used a medium frying pan and coated the pan with two sprays of Original Pam cooking spray. In went the egg whites. Scramble the egg whites for a few minutes; which are all it takes to cook the egg whites all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside for later. Next I added the finally chopped garlic and scallions. Sauté until soft – about five minutes then throw in the peas, carrots and chicken breasts. I seasoned the chicken breasts with a little salt and a decent amount of pepper and cut into bit sized pieces. Cook and stir until the chicken is fully cooked then add the brown rice. Stir a little bit more then sprinkle the soy sauce in and stir again. Voila! Dinner in less than 30 minutes.

I added a couple of drops of Sriracha for added kick and it did nothing to increase the value points.

Chicken Fried Rice = 1 cup serving 3 points

Since I am cooking for one, I had plenty of leftovers. I found this interesting recipe from (where else?!?) WW for a fried rice breakfast omelet.... which I prepared and enjoyed this morning. The recipe is really simple. However, true to form, I didn’t follow the recipe on the WW website. I modified it to fit my daily points intake. Here is the recipe for my version:

Ingredients:

1 egg = 2 points
¾ cup egg whites = 0 points
½ cup chicken fried rice = 1.5 points
2 sprays cooking spray
salt and pepper

In a bowl, add egg and egg white then whisk.

Coat pan with two sprays of cooking spray then add the chicken fried rice. Cook until fried rice is heated. Then add the egg mixture and allow the eggs to sit for a minute until the egg mixture is solid:


Once firm, flip the eggs carefully to cook on the other side. The whole process will take less than 10 minutes.



I added a couple of slices of mango and some strawberries for garnish and the serving sizes are so small, it was 0 points. So the entire dish is a hearty and filling 3.5 points. Bon Apetit!

Relaunch

It's been quite some time since I posted last. I fell off the wagon a bit. I gained a few pounds, stopped keeping track and stopped being really good about buying weight watcher friendly groceries. BUT, I'm back! I've lost a few pounds in the last few weeks of gettin back in the swing and picked up my old (good) habits again slowly. Thankfully, I purchased an electronic weight watchers calculator last fall and that has been a savior while shopping. I'll post some photos of new recipes and favorite foods this weekend.

Relaunch

It's been quite some time since I posted last. I fell off the wagon a bit. I gained a few pounds, stopped keeping track and stopped being really good about buying weight watcher friendly groceries. BUT, I'm back! I've lost a few pounds in the last few weeks of gettin back in the swing and picked up my old (good) habits again slowly. Thankfully, I purchased an electronic weight watchers calculator last fall and that has been a savior while shopping. I'll post some photos of new recipes and favorite foods this weekend. In the meantime, check out this great ww blog

King Ranch Chicken Casserole (vegetarian)
This was a casserole I used to LOVE, and haven't had it in years. I tried my best ot make a low far version and it turned out to be wonderful, but there were some lower fat foods I couldn't find at my local Kroger that would have lowered the points more. There is always next time.
Ingredients:
4 quorn naked cutlets, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 tbsp. butter ( I just used ff olive oil spray)
1 tsp. chili powder (I used taco seasoning)
Dash garlic salt
1 can cream of chicken soup or 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used the 98% fat free)
1 can (10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, drained and crushed
1/2 lb. Cheddar cheese, grated (I used low fat smart balance)
12 corn/flour tortillas, cut into strips (I used low fat mission)
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Saute onion in ff olive oil spray. Combine taco seasoning, garlic salt, soups, 1/3 can of warm water and Rotel. Line 1/2 or tortilla strips in a large casserole; top with 1/2 chicen,1/2 soup mixture,1/2 onion and cilantro, then 1/2 cheese. Repeat layers. Cook covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. (You can also use flour tortillas instead of corn.)
Let stand for 5 mins becuase it comes out a little soupy when it's super fresh.
This came to 6.5 points if the dish makes 4 servings and 10 points if the dish makes 6. I think I got 6 hearty portions from But next time I will use 1/2 fat free cheese and the SUPER low fat tortillas to reduce the points even more.

The next day I took a scoop of leftovers and put it on the skillet with an egg for a mexi style omelet, mmmmmm good!

CHILI CHEESEDOG CASSEROLE
GUEST ENTRY BY CARRIE MURPHY

good afternoon hungry yet healthy readers.
this is a quick & delicious meal. this is great for those of you that
have kids, or are just a kid at heart that loves them some CHILIDOGZ!

i made this dish vegetarian.

the recipe calls for
8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
1 can of chili
2 tablespoons of mustard
2 cups of cheese
1/4 cup red onion (chopped)

what i used
8 veggiedogs
6 hotdog buns
1 can of veggie chili
almost 3 tablespoons of mustard
1 cup of kroger brand
casserole shredded cheese
1/4 cup onion (chopped)


preheat oven to 425
first you spray a casserole pan w/ kroger brand pam
tear up the hot dog buns and place in the bottom of the pan.
cut up the dogs into bite size pieces & scatter over buns. pour the
chili over the buns & dogs, sprinkle the chopped red onion all over,
then spread the mustard over everything. top off w/ the shredded
cheese & bake for 30 minutes.
Made about 12 sections and each section was 3 pts. We ate 2 sections each and filled us up!

i add dill relish to mine.

delicious!

Vegetarian Sheperd's Pie

For those who love (fake) meat and potatoes, this is a good meal for cold days when you want some comfort food. I buy Colman's of Norwich Sheperd's Pie Seasoning packet that is in the British section of my local Kroger. They have the recipe on back but I pretty much know it from memory, this recipe is close.
Ingredients
1 lb. fake ground beef
1 1/2 pound potatos- mashed (might want to add some milk and salt)
2-4 carrots, diced
1 onion diced
cup peas (optional)
1 cup cold water
1 package colman's
Brown the onions and fake beef in skillet, add carrots and water and seasoning and simmer- 5-7 mins maybe. Transfer mince mix
to casserole dish. Spread mashed taters on top. Bake 30 mins at 400, or till top is a golden color.
The recipe is on the mix so go by that but this is close. If you can't find the seasoning packet, you can use a meatloaf sesaoning packet and it comes pretty close.

Vietnamese Sammich, or Banh Mi
I was craving a vietnamese sammich, but wanted to try it on my own. So, I went to the grocery store and bought:
1 French Roll (this was actually a bollio, but for 20 cents, wutevz)
cilantro
cucumbers
shredded carrots
Quorn Naked Cutlets
I had low fat mayo at home (usually have ff nayonaise though), hoison sauce, one onion, Paul Newman's Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing, and soy sauce

First, I marinated the chicken (cut in half) and shredded carrots for about 15 mins in couple tablespoons of the sesame ginger dressing and soy sauce.
I cooked the chicken and a handful of onion on the skillet with some of the marinade and set the carrots aside to drain a little. While that cooked, I chopped the cucumber and cilantro. I took my lil baguette untoated but most places serve it toasted, and spread some mayo. Then I added all the veggies and chicken, cilantro, and put a little hoison on top. I usually get either tofu or bbq pork, but for an at-home healthy version, I'll try the fake chicken again. They also usually put fresh jalapeno on the sammich, but I'm a wuss so I left it off.

Just a little bit...
I have been busy with life and haute tuna so I haven't had much time to cook. I will be back for a little while after this week or next. I miss this blog. I miss cooking and taking photos of my dishes. So, in the meantime I thought I'd share some low-point foods that I've been munching on. CRUMPETS! GLORIOUS CRUMPETS! I'm a big fan of english muffins, but I found these at a Kroger on the other side of town and had to try them. The brand I got was Farm Country, but they are not online. They are kinda spongey and moist on the inside even when toasted. ZERO FAT. I calculated it and they are one point a piece. Great for breakfast or with coffee/tea. I'm hooked. Guess I'm going to have to go back to that Kroger. Here is a place you can buy them online, but they've got to be in a british aisle near you. Otherwise, find em here
I toast them till they are golden on top and put some ff spray butter. MMMMMM, delish!

Lean Cuisine Skillets Chicken Dish

I tried out the new Lean Cuisine skillets bag the other night. It's a bag with frozen pasta, sauce and veggies that serves 3 and is 15 points total! It was SO easy to prepare. I added a teaspoon of oregano, a tablespoon of spicy brown mustard, some ff vegtable cooking spray, about 10 sprays of ff margarine spray, some satl, pepper, and about 1/4 cup of sliced red oinios. This turned out way better than I expected and very flavorful. Had mine with a slice of 40 calorie light sourdough bread and ate more than 1/3 of the dish. I'd say this plate is about 8 points but it filled me up! I'm definately going to try more of these.

Asian Chicken Stiry Fry

I have decided to finally try cooking with frozen veggies. I went to the store and bought a bag containing broccoli, carrots, snow peas, water chesnuts and some noodles, a bag of chopped carrots, and a bag of chopped broccoli. I put on 3 quron cutlets in the skillet with a teaspoon of minced garlic, ff vegetable cooking spray, one copped green bell pepper (for robby only) and some chopped white onions. Added at least 1/2 cup from each bag of frozen veggies, a tablespoon of light soy sauce, a tablespoon of black bean garlic sauce, a tablespoon of hoison, and a tablespoon of plum sauce. It took a little over 10 minutes to cook and in the meantime I cooked some medium grain rice. This plate is about 1/4 of the skillet and 1/2 cup of rice. The points value for the plate is probably 5 points. SOOOO good! I ate all the leftovers!
*Note* Roadie (pictured above) provided supervision for this dish

LEFTOVERS!!!
I used the leftover chicken breast I had from last night's "lemon garlic roast chicken" and put it in a wheat pita pocket with 3/4 a serving of ff Lays on the side. MMMMMMM! So good and only 4 points for the entire plate! I need to do this more often with pita pockets.

Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken
I got this from the ww "Take-Out Tonight" book again. The recipe is way more complicated so I'm going to try my best to tell you how I did it. This recipe is using fake chicken so it doesn't have to be cooked long. If you want the recipe straight from the cook for chicken, I can type that up- just comment.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
4 quorn naked cutlets, thawed
1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
1/8 cup water

1. Preheat Oven to 425
2. Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the pil, the garlic, oregano, margoram, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspooon of the pepper in a large bowl. Add the quorn, tossing well to coat and let sit 20 mins, turning occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, combine the potatoes, remaining 1/2 tablespoon of ooil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, 1/8 cup water and 1/4 cup lemon juice in a casserole dish. Put in oven to roast for 15 mins. Add the chicken to the oven, maybe swapping racks and cook both for another 15 mins (check after 10). You may want to spray the potatoes with non-stick veg oil spray throughout and turn the chicken halfway through.
I served this with 1/4 cup chipotle style rice (i pt) and 1 "Whole Wheat Salad Pocket" (1 pt) with a lil ff margarine spary. Since I used fake chicken instead and the recipe was 6 pts for the chicke, I estimate the whole plate to be 6 pts with the fake chicken. It had a really nice tangy flavor and was in the greek section but could pass for italian.

Eggplant Parmesan Hero
I got this one from my ww "Take-Out Tonight" book. It's been my bible lately.
Makes 4 servings- 7 points each
Ingredients:
1 (1 pound) eggplant, unpeeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (can use low fat kind)
1 cup marinara sauce, warm
1/4 cup shredded- part skim mozzarella cheese
4 italian hard rolls

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray nonstick baking sheet w/ nonstick spary, set aside
2. Lightly beat the egg and milk in shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan on a sheet of wax paper (I didn't have wax paper so I used foil). Dip eggplant in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs, and arrange in one layer on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the eggplant with non-stick spray. Bake eggplant until softened and lightly browned, about 25 mins.
3. Divide eggplant into 4 portions on the baking sheet. Overlap each group so they are no longer than the dimensions of each roll. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon of mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 2 mins.
4. Transfer each eggplant portion to the bottom of each roll; top each with 1/4 cup of the sauce. Replace top of rolls and serve at once.

I peeled these by accident first. I also added some salt n pepper at the end for extra kick that I think they needed. You can add some to the bread crumb mixture befcore you coat them.

Diana's Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts
We had ww at my house, but Diana cooked. She got the recipe from the weight watchers “Take-Out Tonight” book which is AWESOME. Everything in there looks fabulous. Here's the recipe.
Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts
From weight watchers “Take-Out Tonight”

Makes 4 Servings, 6 pts per serving (with chicken)

Ingredients:
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips (we used quorn naked cutlets)
3 tblspns hoison sauce
2 tblspns cornstarch
½ cup low- sodium chicken broth (can use vegetable broth)
2 tblspns rice vinegar
2 tblspns sugar (can use splenda)
2 tspns chili-garlic sauce (cut in half if you can’t have the spice)
1 tblspn canola oil
1 tblspn minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced on a diagonal
¼ cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Combine the chicken, 1 tblspn of the hoison sauce, and 1 tblspn of the cornstarch in a medium bowl; toss well to coat and set aside. Combine the remaining 2 tblspns of hoison sauce, 1 tblspn of cornstarch, the broth, vinegar, sugar, and chili-garlic sauce in a small bowl, set aside.
Heat a non-stick wok or a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Swirl in the oil, then add the chicken. Stir-fry until almost cooked though, 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic; stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the bell pepper, carrots, and peanuts; stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the hoison sauce mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens and the chicken is cooked though, about 1 minute.
We substituted the chicken with quorn naked cutlets and had ours with ½ cup of jasmine rice- It probably still came out to 6 points for the entire plate!

Snack Favorite of the Week!
I just discovered that Nabisco makes fat free fig Newton bars in lil snack packs that come 12 to a box. Hello convenience! Each pack is 2 points as opposed the the non ff packs featured here which are 3.5 points. I also found a site which sells a TWENTY FOUR pack for 11 bux!!! These are great for a snack or dessert and being individually wrapped should keep you from eating too many. It amazes me how many choices we have at the grocery store these days. I think my friend Ryan will be reviewing the smart ones breakfast sandwich next week. Mantry.

Pizza and Game Nite





My high school friends (who are still my adult friends), came over last night for pizza and games. We made pizza on pita bread or as carrie calls it, pitza. I forgot to use her recipe. I bought wheat pitas (2 pts), spread some regular ole pizza sauce on it (1/8 cup) because I could not for the life of me find any Healthy Choice ff sauce (.5 pts.), sprinkled some italian seasoning and pepper, added 2.5 oz of smart balance mozerella cheese (5 pts), and topped it with onions, mushrooms, and some more itialian seasoning. I cooked it on 350 for 6 mins and then broil for another 6 mins to get the cheese a lil golden. They turned out really great! Perfect size, crust was great, mmmm. I added a side salad of spinach, cucumber, olives, mushrooms, msall amount of diced onions and grape tomatoes. I finally tried the wishbone spray vinegarette salad dressing and it was AMAZING! Not too much vinegar, just tart enough, and being able to spray it on allows for full but not over-coverage. Everyone loved it. So the total points for the meal is 8. I might use less cheese next time or do half mozerella and half ff feta. Despite the stack of games, we only got to play Truth or Date Jenga and that didn't even last too long.