Showing posts with label Weight Watchers Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight Watchers Recipes. Show all posts

5.14.2011

Saturday Night Fiesta

After a failed attempt to make it to the farmer's market due to the weather, a morning full of organizing closets (more on this later), and an afternoon of running errands, we decided to have a little at-home fiesta tonight to reward ourselves.  And yes, it is possible to have an at-home fiesta while on a diet and I will prove it to you!

First, you have to find an exceptionally delicious fajita recipe.  Of course, I didn't think to take pictures until after we had devoured our meal, so I'm stealing the picture from the website where I got the recipe.

{photo courtesy of Confections of a Foodie Bride}

When I saw this recipe I knew it would be a hit as we have become big fans of salsa verde and I was right - we both loved it!

Tomatillo Shrimp Fajitas

2 tsp canola oil
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
3 sliced onion rounds, 1/4-inch thick
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined uncooked shrimp, thawed if frozen
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (or your favorite green salsa)
Salt & Pepper
8 small tortillas1 cup shredded cheese
Small handful cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping just as the vegetables begin to  brown.  Add shrimp and garlic and stir-fry 4-5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.  Add salsa and cook for 1 minute.  Fill tortillas with shrimp mixture. Top with cheese, cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.

Since I'm on a diet, we decided to opt out of chips and salsa and Mexican rice and just have a salad as a side.  However, you can't have a fiesta without a margarita, right?!?! 




Cue the Skinny Girl Margarita, made famous by my girl Bethenny from Real Housewives of NYC and most recently Bethenny Ever After.  There are only 100 calories for a 4 ounce serving and it was amazing!  Even Brandon thought it was pretty tasty :)

Now, we are capping off our night by watching 127 Hours.  Oh my gosh!  I've been on pins and needles, wanted to throw up, can't take my eyes off the screen and everything in between.  The movie really is pretty amazing, but so hard to fathom that it is a true story.  Another reason for me to stick to things like blogging, cooking, and reality TV and not engage in adventurous activities!







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5.11.2011

Yummy Blueberry Muffins


As you know, I have been doing Weight Watchers for the past month.  What you may not know is that I love eating baked goods.  Especially cake/muffin/cookie-like baked goods.  So, I've made it my mission to find tasty recipes for the said baked goods that don't kill my diet, and I'm proud to say I've started to find a few that are too tasty not to share!

The first recipe I want to share is for some yummy blueberry muffins.  This recipe uses a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, which provides a lovely texture, and it calls for unsweetened applesauce and very little butter.  And the best thing about these muffins is that Brandon loved them, too!


Blueberry Muffins
Courtesy of Gina's Skinny Recipes

Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 muffin Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 147.3 • Fat: 2.7 g Protein: 2.7 g Carb: 28.5 g Fiber: 3.4 g Sugar: 12.3 g

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries (about 6.5 oz)
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

In a medium bowl, mix eggs, melted butter, vanilla and applesauce. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.  Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour batter into 12 lined muffin tins and bake at 325° for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes.
*The muffins may seem a little high in Points value if you were just thinking about it as just a muffin, but combined with a cup of low-fat or fat free yogurt and some fresh fruit, it makes a great breakfast for just six points (which is a typical meal for me). 




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4.27.2011

Easter Recipes

As I mentioned earlier this week, we made a few Weight Watchers recipes for our Easter dinner and they turned out great, so I thought I would share them here, too!

{Photo courtesy of weightwatchers.com}
This pie was hands-down delicious!!  Not too sweet, very fresh, and a perfect dessert to top off a heavy meal.  And, even the men in attendance thought it was tasty!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients
2 pound(s) strawberries, hulled, sliced
3/4 cup(s) sugar, granulated (I will reduce this next time)
1/2 cup(s) cranberry juice cocktail, or cranberry-strawberry juice
1/4 cup(s) cornstarch
6 oz Ready Crust 25% Less-Fat Graham Cracker Ready pie crust (I'm going to try making a crust out of reduced fat vanilla wafers the next time I make this recipe)
1 cup(s) fat-free vanilla yogurt, Greek-style
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Instructions
Combine 3 cups sliced strawberries, sugar and juice in a medium saucepan.

Mash berries in pan with a potato masher; stir in cornstarch and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until very thick, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat; let cool slightly and then stir in remaining sliced strawberries. Scrape into pie crust.

Let cool slightly; cover loosely with plastic lid from pie crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours (you can then freeze the pie for a little while if desired, to make it easier to slice).  I would recommend freezing the pie as ours was a little difficult to dish up.

To serve, in a medium bowl, stir together vanilla yogurt and lemon zest until blended (I also added a little vanilla extract to boost the flavor). Spread on top of pie, leaving a border around edges so strawberry filling shows. Slice reserved strawberries and use them to garnish pie. Slice pie into 10 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving (5 points as the recipe stands).


Raspberry-Mustard Glazed Ham

Ingredients
1/2 cup(s) jam, raspberry, seedless
1/4 cup(s) Dijon Mustard, grainy-variety (with whole mustard seeds)
3/4 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
2 pound(s) cooked lean ham, smoked (we used a spiral ham)


Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a small baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil or coat with cooking spray.

To make glaze, in a small bowl, stir together jam, mustard, pepper and vinegar until blended; reserve half (about 1/3 cup) to serve with ham.

Score ham with a knife by making several crisscross cuts in top of ham about 1/8-inch deep each; place ham in prepared pan and brush with some glaze. Bake for 1 hour, brushing with glaze every 15 minutes. Thinly slice ham and serve with reserved glaze. Yields about 3 1/2 ounces ham and 1 tablespoon glaze per serving (5 points).


Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
8 large egg(s)
1/4 cup(s) celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup(s) carrot(s), shredded (I omitted)
2 Tbsp scallion(s), thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fat-free sour cream (I substituted Greek yogurt)
1 Tbsp light mayonnaise
2 tsp mustard, deli-style
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (I omitted this and didn't miss the flavor)
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground

Instructions
Place the eggs in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and cook at a bare simmer, 12 minutes. Rinse under cold water and, when cool enough to handle, remove the shells.

Halve the eggs lengthwise. Place 4 whole yolks in a medium bowl and discard the remaining yolks. Chop 4 of the egg white halves and add to the bowl; mash well with a fork. Add the celery, carrot, scallion, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper; blend with a fork.

Spoon the filling into the hollows of the remaining 12 halves of whites, mounding to fill. Place on a platter, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Serve cold. Yields 2 stuffed egg halves per serving (3 points)

 
As of this week, I've been doing WW for one whole month and have been PLEASANTLY surprised with the results.  I am about to hit my half-way mark and can't believe how easy it has been!  I'm definitely a believer now :)

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4.04.2011

March To-Do List #5

Start the new Weight Watchers online program after we return from our ski trip 
and stick to it for at least one month
 
In an effort to try and eat healthy, live a healthier life, etc. etc. I have started the Weight Watchers online program.  I've been on the program for exactly one week and have really only cheated once, and that was because we were at the lake.  Otherwise, I've done extremely well sticking to my points, practicing discipline and self-control and I've even worked out a couple of times.  It helps that I have a friend at work (where it is the hardest for me to not snack, etc.) who is doing the program with me.  We have been keeping each other motivated and have made plans to walk together at least one night a week.  
I have obviously had to revamp my recipe box to get this "diet" kick-started and I thought I'd share a couple of the tips I've learned, along with a few recipes.
 
The following are the tips that have helped me revamp recipes and transform my snacking habits:
  • Use non-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream or mayo (used in Caesar salad recipe below)
  • Eat as many fruits and veggies as my heart desires.  Grapes really can fill the craving for chocolate if you really put your mind to it ;)
  • Portions are key! I can still have most everything I want, I just need to eat less than half of what I did in the past.  
  • Pickles, while high in sodium, are 0 points and satisfy my cravings for salty and crunchy snacks.
  • Include veggies in anything possible.  For instance, this weekend my mom made sloppy joes for lunch and I added chopped green peppers to my sandwich.  I'm also going to try adding more veggies in my marinara sauce (because I can still eat spaghetti with whole wheat noodles, I will just eat less of it).
  • Lots of recipes call for low-fat cheese, but I haven't had much luck finding it at the grocery store so I either cut waaay back on the cheese or do not add the cheese at all.  For instance, I got a sub sandwich on the road on Friday and left off the cheese to save a few points.  Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE cheese so this one is pretty hard!
Here are a few recipes that I have enjoyed over the past week:

Chicken Caesar Pitas
(5 Points)

1/4 c. non-fat plain yogurt (I used the Greek variety)
2 T. light mayo
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 c. cooked chicken, shredded
Whole wheat pita pockets
Romain lettuce leaves

In a medium sized bowl, combine the first seven ingredients.  Add chicken and toss to coat.  Fill each pita with lettuce and one quarter of the chicken mixture. 

Veggie Dip
(4 pts for one serving - serves 12)

1 packet Lipton dry veggie soup mix
16 oz. fat free sour cream (if I make this again, I will use the non-fat Greek yogurt for a thicker, creamier dip - fat free sour cream is pretty runny)
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
10 oz. chopped frozen spinach
1/4 c. shredded carrot
8 oz. water chestnuts, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well mixed.  Chill until ready to serve.  Serve with cut up veggies, pretzel chips or other crackers for those not on a diet.  This dip was a big hit with my family when we were all together at the lake this past weekend.

*I also added a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce to give a little extra flavor. 

Now, if only I would have been as dedicated to the rest of the March To-Do list...




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