Dishful Shrinking

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms & Red Onion

2014-03-25T20:11:00.000-05:00

Late last week I made a huge veggie haul at the grocery store. Vegetables are very low in calories, but also very filling, so it makes sense that they would make up a huge part of my diet. And, contrary to popular belief, they don't have to be boring!

Tonight I paired fresh green beans with mushrooms and red onion. I roasted them in the oven with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, and, let me tell you, the flavor combination did not disappoint! This recipe was extremely simple, and could easily serve 4 if you're serving it as a smaller side dish. But if you're like me and tend to go heavy on the veggies to save some calories, you will probably only get 2 servings out of this recipe. I ate half the pan tonight and plan on finishing it up tomorrow!

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms & Red Onion
dishfulshrinking.com
Servings: 2 • Weight Watcher Points+: 1 point plus
Calories: 126 • Fat: 5g • Carb: 17g • Fiber: 7g • Protein: 7g • Sugar: 5g

Ingrdeients:

12 ounces fresh green beans
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/4 red onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt, to taste
lemon pepper, to taste
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine green beans, mushrooms, red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and lemon pepper. Mix everything together, making sure to coat vegetables well.

Spread vegetable mixture evenly on baking sheet, keeping everything in a single layer if possible.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and toss veggies around a bit in the pan. Taste test to see if they're to your liking. If you like them a little more "done," return vegetables to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until desired crispness (I found 30 minutes to be perfect for my taste).

Enjoy!

Quick Margarita Chicken Bowl

2014-03-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

I'm a sucker for all foods Mexican. You say "cilantro," I say "bring it on!" My undying love for Hispanic herbs inspired me to create this Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing a while back, which is sure to rock your world. Most recently I was inspired by Hungry Girl's makeover of Chili's Margarita Chicken Fresh Mex Bowl. Yes, it's another recipe including lime and cilantro, but I can't ever get enough, y'all!

I think this would make a teriffic lunch, but tonight I made it for myself for dinner. My husband got his tonsils removed this week, so he's been on a steady diet of all things mushy. I passed on the ramen noodles, and I took the opportunity to experiment a little with Hungry Girl's recipe. I used chicken that was already grilled, which saved me a huge step. So instead of marinating the chicken as suggested in the recipe, I just used the marinade as a dressing! I ditched the brown rice and avocado to keep the calories low, and I tweaked the measurements slightly to make it easier to measure out and calculate for all you My Fitness Pal and Weight Watchers gals.

I really enjoyed this meal. It was filling and satisfying. A word of caution though, the jalapenos give it quite a kick, so adjust those accordingly. I'll definitely be making this again! Click below to get the full recipe.

Margarita Chicken Bowl
dishfulshrinking.com
Servings: 1 • Weight Watcher Points+: 7 points plus
Calories: 287 • Fat: 4g • Carb: 29g • Fiber: 5g • Protein: 35g • Sugar: 4g

Ingrdeients:

For the Chicken Bowl:

1/2 cup salad greens of your choice
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 Tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons canned corn
2 Tablespoons canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons jarred jalapenos slices, drained and chopped
3 ounces grilled chicken breast
3 tortilla chip, crushed

For the Margarita Dressing:

2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions:

In a small bowl combine lime juice, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and cilantro. Mix well, and allow to sit while you prepare the chicken bowl.

In a medium bowl, combine salad greens, tomatoes, red onion, corn, black beans, jalapeno, chicken, and tortilla chips.

Pour prepared dressing over the entire chicken bowl, and enjoy!

Light & Flavorful Weeknight Chili

2013-11-11T13:48:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite fall meals is a warm, savory bowl of chili... usually topped sour cream, cheese, chives, and a few crumbled chips... sometimes ladled over a roasted hot dog. My mom's homemade chili was a staple in the home I grew up in, and I still find it very comforting to this day. After starting Weight Watchers, I searched the internet for a similar but lighter version of the chili I grew up eating, and I finally found one that ~~I'm~~ the whole family is happy with--even my picky eater. This meal family-friendly, quick, and easy. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do.

Light and Flavorful Weeknight Chili

adapted slightly from weightwatchers.com

Ingredients:
1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of salt
2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups of beef broth
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
15 ounce can of kindey beans, drained and rinsed
Cooking Spray

Instructions:

Lightly coat a stock pot with cooking spray. Place ground beef, onion, celery, garlic, and jalapeno into a large stock pot and cook over medium heat until beef is browned. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and sugar. Stir to coat beef and vegetables with spices. Add tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, and kidney beans to the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving. Top with toppings of your choice (sour cream, cheese, chives, etc).

Makes approximately 7 heaping cups of chili at 5 Weight Watcher Points Plus per serving (1 heaping cup, not including toppings).

Enjoy!

6 {Weight Watcher Friendly} Hotel Room Snacks

2013-08-15T16:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Normally I would be sitting at home creating my menu plan and shopping list for the week, but this week I'm enjoying a little R & R at the beach with my family! Silas remembers his last visit to the beach, but little Liam was only 4 months last time we hit the sands of the gulf shores. Needless to say, he is soaking it all in and loving every minute!

So, of course, no cooking for me this week! Instead, we're enjoying ~~hot~~ lukewarm hotel breakfasts, quick sandwiches for lunch, and fun dinners out. But just like at home, we need a few fillers in between to keep our tummies happy. We have two little guys, so we have our fair share of fruit snacks and pudding cups lying around, but we've also got a stash of healthy snacks to keep us full without breaking the calorie bank. Here's what you'd find if our hotel ~~pantry~~ chest of drawers if you stopped by...

{1} Family Favorite :: Smartfood Popcorn (White Cheddar)

{2} Salty Fix :: Dry Roasted Edamame

{3} Fast & Fresh :: Assorted Fruit

{4} Hold Me Over :: Assorted Granola Bars

{5} Chocolate Fix :: Fiber One Brownies

{6} Mama's Must-Have :: Complimentary Coffee from the Hotel Lobby

Happy Snacking!

General Tso's Chicken

2013-08-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

If I'm not munching on Mexican food it's likely that you'll find me savoring a delicious Asian dish. Last week I tried a new Weight Watchers recipe for one of my favorite Asian dishes--General Tso's Chicken. I had my doubts about how this recipe would turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. It was super simple to prepare and the whole family loved it (well, except for my picky eater, of course). Sometimes when I try a new recipe, even though it turns out delicious, if it was too time-consuming or if it required hard-to-find ingredients, I don't put it on our regular dinner rotation. Neither was the case with this recipe. It was just my style--quick and easy-- and I will gladly add it to our regular dinner rotation!

General Tso's Chicken
(adapted from weightwatchers.com)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups cooked white rice

Instructions:

In a bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add chicken to skillet. Cook until chicken pieces are begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add sauce to the skillet and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

This recipe makes 4 serving. Enjoy about 1 cup of chicken with sauce and 1/2 cup of rice for 8 Weight Watchers points plus values.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with NuStevia™

2013-08-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

Nothing says summer like a tall glass of fresh, homemade lemonade. If you haven't made any yet this summer, now is the time to get on that! I haven't always been a fan of lemonade, but soon after I got married I discovered that my husband makes the perfect homemade lemonade. I was hooked.

We haven't always been so calorie conscious when it comes to our beverages, so for years we stirred cups of sugar into our homemade lemonade. I was hesitant to make the switch to a zero-calorie sweetener because I really don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Soon after I started Weight Watchers my Mom introduced me to a new zero-calorie sweetener that she had discovered at Whole Foods called NuStevia™, an all natural herbal sweetener. She told me it was the perfect addition to a glass of lemon water. She bought me a box, and I discovered that lemons and NuStevia™ are indeed a match made in heaven. We've since substituted NuStevia™ for sugar in our lemonade recipe. We also use it in our coffee, smoothies, oatmeal, and grapefruit-ade! Unlike other Stevia products, it's non-bitter and doesn't leave an unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth. We love it!

Now for the recipe...

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with NuStevia™

Ingredients

4 Medium Lemons (about 3/4 cup of juice)
12 packets of NuStevia™
6 Cups cold water

Instructions

Juice the lemons. I use a simple manual juicer. Combine the lemon juice, NuStevia™, and water in a pitcher and stir. Serve over crushed ice or add 1-2 cups of crushed ice to the pitcher before serving.

Optional: place a few lemon slices in the pitcher for a beautiful garnish and added lemon flavor.

Divided between 6 tall glasses, this lemonade is zero Weight Watcher points plus per glass.

iHerb.com is the cheapest place I've been able to get NuStevia™. It is also a wonderful place to pick up other quality herbal supplements and all natural products. They offer free 1-3 day shipping on all orders over $40, and, if you're a first time customer you can use the code NUJ843 and get $10 off your first order!! Browse through the health links page while you're there. There's a lot to learn! And don't forget to add some NuStevia™ to your cart so you can make some tasty, fresh-squeezed lemonade! You won't be disappointed!

P.S. Before starting any herbal supplements, it's always important to check with your physician!

Butternut Squash Fries

2013-07-25T13:57:00.000-05:00

Meet my little friend, Mr. Butternut. He's been helping me to overcome my french fry addiction by offering me a healthy alternative. I highly recommend his services.

I LOVE french fries. As in, I could skip the burger and just eat the fries. They are the ultimate comfort food, but unfortunately, the ultimate fatty food. When I started Weight Watchers back in 2012, I came across Hungry Girl's french fry alternative, and gave it a test drive. To me they fall somewhere in between the french fry and the sweet potato fry, but unlike french fries and sweet potato fries, these butternut babies are ZERO Weight Watcher points plus values! Score! Almost a year later, and I'm still relying on this simple recipe to curb the fry craving.

You start out by slicing the ends off of your butternut squash and peeling it with a vegetable peeler.

Oh yeah, and now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Next you slice it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds from the round bottom half.

From there you can cut it up into French fry shapes/spears however you please. I usually cut each half right when the neck meets the round bottom and go from there.

Once your squash is cut into french fry shapes, lay the fries out on a paper towel and sprinkle them lightly with salt. This part is pretty cool. The salt will slowly pull the moisture out of the squash fries, and they'll start to look like they're sweating. I leave mine for about 5-10 minutes. Once they're worked up a good sweat, blot them dry with another paper towel to remove the moisture.

Skipping this important step will lead to soggy fries, so no shortcuts!

Now it's time to bake them! To bake mine, I take a wire cooling rack, spray it with non-stick cooking spray, and lay it inside a cookie sheet. This helps the fries to breath better and to cook more evenly, which leads to crispier fries. If you don't have a cooling rack, just spray the cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and lay them directly on the cookie sheet. No bigs.

Bake the fries for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Fries are done when they start to brown on the edges and get crispy.

Serve them with your condiment of choice and enjoy!

{shared with Homegrown & Healthy's Mostly Homemade Mondays}

Lemony Low Calorie Hummus with Garlic & Cumin

2013-07-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I'm a chips and dip kinda girl. When the smoothness of a dip meets the crunchiness of a chip, my mouth just can't resist. Consequently, it's very easy for me to overindulge when chips and dips are at my fingertips, so I've refrained from buying them for quite some time. Last week, I welcomed guacamole back into the fridge, and this week I'm welcoming hummus! Normally, I buy Sabra hummus, but it's 2 Weight Watcher points plus values for only 2 tablespoons, which isn't worth it to me. The recipe I'm about to share with you is only 1 Weight Watcher points plus value for 1/4 cup! Can we say, "score"?! And I think you'll be very happy with the flavors. I over-salted my first batch, so be careful with the salt. Other than that, I thought the flavor combination was delicious for this low calorie treat.

In case you're unfamiliar with the main ingredient in hummus, let me introduce you to the garbanzo bean. (When the word "garbanzo" comes out of my mouth, it triggers visions of Gonzo from the Muppet Babies in my head. But I digress. Now back to the bean.)

Garbanzo beans are also called chickpeas. Like other beans and lentils, they are very high in fiber and also a great source of protein and iron. And they're cheap, so you get lots of bang for you buck. I used canned garbanzo beans for this recipe, but you could also buy the dried variety (which would increase your preparation time greatly because you would need to soak and cook them first). In my opinion, canned works just fine!

And now for the recipe...

Lemony Low Calorie Hummus with Garlic & Cumin

(adapted from Not Done Yet blog)

Ingredients

2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups of cooked beans if using the dried variety)
3-5 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste for garlic (I used 5)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until all ingredients are fully integrated and the hummus is a smooth, thick texture. I started by pulsing the mixture several times, scraping the sides and stirring the mixture every few pulses. After pulsing for a while, I let the food processor run for about 1-2 minutes to get the mixture nice and smooth. Pour prepared hummus into a bowl and serve with pita chips, pretzel sticks, or your favorite veggies. Enjoy!

This recipe makes approximately 3 cups of hummus or 12 {1/4-cup} servings. Each serving is 1 Weight Watcher points plus value.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

2013-07-01T13:23:00.000-05:00


Quick & Healthy Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing {Recipe Below}

A couple of week ago, I had a delicious taco salad for lunch. I tried a new recipe for a Creamy Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing to pour over the taco salad. I'm a cilantro-lover so I thought it was the perfect touch to the salad. It's low-calorie, and only 1 Weight Watcher point plus for 1/4 of the recipe, which equals to a little under 1/4 cup per serving.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

1/3 cup light sour cream (not fat free!)

1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt (Fage 2% would be a good choice!)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (curious how I chop my herbs?), loosely packed

2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and combine until smooth! Best served over taco salad. Enjoy!

Shared with Louisiana Bride's Meal Pinning Monday, I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday, and Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday.

Pizza Stuffed Peppers

2013-05-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

Although my garden peppers are not ripe for the picking yet, I'm test driving some unconventional ways to use them. The following recipe was adapted from Hungry Girl.

I ate these delicious pizza stuffed peppers for lunch today and found them to be very satisfying!

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers

(any color will do)

1 cup of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup of onion, chopped

1 cup of lean ground beef, *seasoned*

(I used leftover seasoned ground beef that I had used to make hamburgers the night before)

3/4 cup of pizza sauce

(I used store-bought)

1/2 cup of low fat shredded cheese

(I used 2% Mexican blend)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.

Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and stems.

Place bell peppers cut side up into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until slightly softened.

In the meantime, spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray and satuee the onions and mushrooms on medium high heat until the onions are translucent. Set them aside when they're done.

Brown the seasoned ground beef in the same skillet. Drain the fat once the meat is browned.

Add pizza sauce to browned ground beef and combine.

When the peppers are done, remove them from the oven and blot them to remove moisture. Fill each pepper half with 1/4 of the beef & pizza sauce mixture, followed by 1/4 of the mushroom & onion mixture.

Sprinkle shredded cheese over all of the pepper halves and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can enjoy 2 (TWO!) pizza stuffed pepper halves for a total of 7 points plus values!

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Cucumber Cups

2013-05-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but think about our little garden over the past week while we were away. We hadn't recruited anybody to water it so I wasn't quite sure how things would look upon our return. Much to our surprise, among the thirsty leaves, I spotted our first little harvest!

I wanted to put our veggies to good use right away so as not to let them go to waste. It appears that we'll have an ample supply of fresh cucumbers this summer, so I wanted to try something aside from the conventional cucumber and tomato salad. After a little Google research and a little inventory of my fridge contents, I decided on these beautiful little cucumber cups- Mediterranean style!

First up, I chose the right cucumber for the job and gave him a little wash. Then I chopped the ends off of the little fellow and used a vegetable peeler to trim his skin in a pretty little pattern. (There's really no other reason to trim the skin except to make it pretty, but I like a little aesthetic appeal to my food.)

Next up, I sliced him into about 1/2 inch pieces.

Then I used a melon baller to scoop out the seeds, creating a little cup in the center.

My little cucumber cups lined up all nice and pretty, waiting to be filled.

Time to fill them with all sorts of yummy goodness.

I filled 6 cucumber cups using:

6 teaspoons of roasted red pepper hummus (2 pp)

12 kalamata olive halves (1pp)

6 cherry tomato halves (0 pp)

.5 ounces of feta cheese (1 pp)

Each cup got 1 teaspoon of hummus, 2 kalamata halves, 1 cherry tomato half, and a small topping of feta cheese. Sprinkle them with a little salt to taste if you like.

I ate these for dinner one night this week, and it only cost me 4 Weight Watchers points Plus values for all 6 cups!

I had a few Melba toasts on the side because I didn't have any pita chips, but next time I'll be more prepared.

Enjoy!

Drying, Chopping, & Storing Fresh Parsley

2013-05-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I shared a very useful method for preserving parsley by freezing it in "logs". I've since used some of my frozen parsley, and I'm very happy with the turnout. The frozen parsley had a nice strong flavor that added a pleasant kick to my Crowd-Pleasing Italian Meat Sauce.

I also wanted to try an alternative method for preserving herbs, which is drying them.

Drying herbs takes a significantly longer amount of time to get from start to finish if you're using the traditional air-drying method, which is what I used. (The other option would be to quick-dry the herbs in the oven. I haven't braved that territory yet.)

I used the 'ole "hang your parsley bunch by the string on the kitchen blinds" method. They added a a touch of style to our kitchen for a couple of weeks.

The first step to preserving any herb is, of course, cleaning the herbs to rid them of any dirt or bugs that have taken up residence on the aromatic leaves. You can see how I clean my herbs here. After cleaning and blotting dry with a paper towel, parsley should be hung upside down. I gathered my stalks into a loose bundle and tied the ends with a plastic hair tie before hanging.

It's also important that the parsley hangs in a mostly humidity-free environment so that it doesn't get moldy.

It's takes about 2-3 weeks for the parsley to dry out completely. Properly dried parsley leaves will appear shriveled and crumbly to the touch.

Once your parsley is dried, it's time to get to work.

Use a pair of scissors to trim the leaves off of the stems. You could just as easily pull them off with your fingers.

Once the leaves are removed, place them into an air-tight jar, like a mason jar. You have two options here: (1) store the leaves whole and chop them right before cooking or (2) chop them now and save yourself a step later. The benefit of storing the leaves whole is that you will get more flavor our of the leaves by chopping them right before use.

I wanted to save myself a step later, so I chopped my parsley before storing.

I've discovered that the fastest and easiest way to chop fresh or dried herbs is by putting a handful of them at a time into the bottom of a glass and using a pair of clean scissors to snip away the leaves until they are minced in appearance.

Once your leaves are all chopped, place them in an air-tight container and store them in a cool, dry place. Dried parsley will maintain it's flavor for over a year if stored properly.

Happy Drying,

Preserving Fresh Parsley

2013-04-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

I'm discovering quickly that fresh herbs can quickly overtake a garden.

And being quite inexperienced in the fine art of gardening, I've had to do plenty of research to figure out a way to prevent my beloved parsley from going to waste.

My options seemed to be either freezing of drying

I experimented with the former and have been very pleased with the results.

Here's a very simple way to preserve fresh parsley.

1. Snip off several stalks of parsley with a pair of scissors, starting from the outside of the plant and working your way in. Cut the stalks close to the ground (about 2 inches).

2. Gather the fresh parsley by the stalks and swish it around in a bowl of clean water to remove all dirt. You may need to use your fingers to remove caked-on dirt from some of the leaves.

(My parsley was pretty dirty!)

3. Separate the stalks and lay them out as flat as possible onto paper towels to let them dry. I let my parsley stalks sit out overnight to make sure they were completely dry.

4. Once the parsley is dry, snip the leaves from the stems with a pair of scissors.

5. Place the parsley leaves into a small plastic baggie, tightly packing them to form a log shape at the bottom of the bag (see picture below).

6. Tightly roll the parsley "log" toward the top of the bag, releasing air as you go. The log should be firm. You'd be surprised how much parsley can fit into such a small space!

7. Seal the plastic baggie and secure it with rubber bands on both ends. Label it so that you can identify it when you're ready to use it. I plan to freeze my cilantro this way to, and I definitely don't want to mistake the two!

8. When you're ready to use the parsley, simply remove the frozen "log" from the baggie and slice it according to your need (see picture below). It doesn't take a big slice to yield an ample amount of parsley. The rest of the parsley can be put back into the baggie and then into the freezer for future use.

(It's very easy to cut into.)

9. Chop parsley to your liking and use it in a delicious recipe!

Enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie Milkshake

2013-02-14T14:47:00.000-06:00

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I'd share a little dessert that's big on flavor but small on calories. Let's face it, there aren't many of those around. And even fewer worth writing about. But I think you'll be happy with this little gem. This recipe for Banana Cream Pie Milkshake makes one serving, so double the ingredients if you're sharing it with your Valentine today!

Banana Cream Pie Milkshake

(adapted from Eat What You Love cookbook.)

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup low-fat milk
1 rounded tablespoon sugar-free instant banana cream pudding mix
1/3 cup light, no sugar added ice cream (Blue Bell makes a delicious version)
2/3 cup crushed ice
2 tablespoons light whipped topping (optional)
1 tablespoon crushed graham cracker crumbs (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Place milk, instant pudding mix, and ice cream in a blender and blend until well-mixed. Add ice and continue to blend until the consistency is thick and creamy.

Pour into your glass of choice and top with whipped topping and graham crackers.

Enjoy!

Weight Watchers Points Pus (without whipped topping and graham crackers): 4
Weight Watchers Points Plus (with whipped topping and graham crackers): 5

Hope you all are having a Happy Valentine's Day!

Clean Eating White Bean and Vegetable Soup

2013-01-24T15:52:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd share a recipe that I've made twice this week! It was a little experiment I called "kitchen sink" vegetable soup because I put everything but the kitchen sink in it! After making it the first time around my husband pronounced it the best soup he had ever eaten and requested that I make it again. The second time around I carefully measured ingredients so that I could turn in into an actual recipe. It was just as good the second time around.

Clean Eating White Bean and Vegetable Soup

1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
4 tablespoons minced garlic
8 cups (2- 2 lb. cartons) vegetable broth
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup corn
2 (15.5 ounce) cans great northern beans, undrained
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, diced (washed and unpeeled)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried sweet basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)

Spray a large stock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Saute the carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened (about 5 minutes). Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmered, covered, for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Serve hot.

Makes 15 one cup servings at 3points plus values per serving.

Crowd-Pleasing Italian Meat Sauce

2013-01-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we hosted a gathering for all of our church leaders last week. I have very little experience cooking for large groups so I was a little nervous going in. I decided to serve pasta and Italian meat sauce because it goes a long way, it's cheap, and it is really easy to prepare. It also goes well with simple sides like salad, garlic bread, and a veggie. I adapted a recipe I found online, and it turned out to be a great success. This recipe feeds 30-40 adults. As far as pasta noodles, 4-5 pounds should be enough. If preparing this sauce for my family, I divide everything by 4, and it turns out just as delicious. We usually have leftovers, but, in my humble opinion, spaghetti sauce leftovers are even better the next day!

**Pay attention to the ounces in this recipe. The can sizes may not be what you're used to buying.

Crowd-Pleasing Italian Meat Sauce

Ingredients

4 pounds ground beef

4 large onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato paste

1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce

3 cups water

2 cans (4-1/4 ounces each) chopped ripe olives, drained

2 cans (4 ounces each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons dried basil

3 tablespoons salt

4 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons pepper

Directions

Cook 2 pounds of beef, 2 onions, and 2 cloves of garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add the cooked meat mixture to a large stock pot and cover to keep warm. Repeat the process with the rest of the beef, onion, and garlic. Once all the ground meat is cooked down with the onion and garlic, add the rest of the ingredients to the large stock pot. Simmer over a low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Serve over pasta.

Ingredients (minus the ground meat)

Browning ground meat to add to the stock pot.

When I say large stock pot, I mean large.

Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Orange Salad + Reader Q & A

2013-01-14T16:20:00.000-06:00

Hey friends! It's good to back after a busy weekend! I won't be posting my complete food logs for the next week because our church is participating in a corporate partial fast, which we do annually at the beginning of each year. Basically, we're denying our physical appetites in order to deepen our appetite for God. John piper echos our reasons for doing so, "Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence is this path of pleasant pain called fasting... If we don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great... If we are full of what the world offers, then perhaps a fast might express, or even increase, our soul's appetite for God."

So you'll only be getting snippets this week, but I hope to be back next week with more complete food logs!


This is a salad I made over the weekend. I adapted it using this recipe. It was 6 PPV. I really loved the flavored tuna, but it was really expensive so I think I'll just season my own from now on!

Today I wanted to share a couple of really good questions that I've gotten from readers recently about Weight Watchers. I think these questions are probably really popular with people interested in the program so I thought it would be helpful to share my answers with others who may be interested. (P.S. If you have any questions, please Facebook message me (https://www.facebook.com/bcelestin), and I'll be happy to answer! They may be featured on the blog, but I'll never disclose your personal identity!)

So with no further adieu...

Q: Do you find it's [Weight Watchers] easy? How do you deal with making food from "scratch" and having to have all the ingredients out and adding it all to the tracker? I did it before, but for some reason I found it extremely hard to track those pestering point.

A: I have to admit when I first started Weight Watchers, it took a little getting used to. We pretty much ate the same things over and over again for a while until I felt more comfortable venturing out. The weight watchers phone app allows me to save my favorites so that I don't have to look things up all the time. If you don't have the app, you can keep a little notepad in the kitchen to write down all of the regular foods you eat and their point values. It's like a cheat sheet!

As far as cooking from scratch, I don't find that Weight Watchers makes me cook any more from scratch than I was already doing. We try not to eat a lot of processed food, but we also don't eat elaborate meals. We also don't eat a lot of casseroles, which are probably harder to calculate. Also, I've found lots of recipes online that have the points already calculated.

Our typical dinners include:
**Baked fish with a side of rice and veggies
**Tacos or Fajitas (these are our favorite tacos: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/12/slow-cooker-chicken-black-bean-tacos.html)
**Slow Cooker Lasagna with a side salad (I use the weight watchers recipe: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=135321)
**Red Beans or White Beans and Rice, which is pretty easy to calculate)
**Hamburgers (http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=115221) on a low calorie bun with a side of chips
**Pulled chicken sandwiches (http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1284) with ranch roasted potatoes (http://www.laaloosh.com/2011/01/24/ranch-roasted-red-potatoes-recipe/)

**Asian Chicken (http://www.bethcelestin.com/2011/10/asian-chicken-recipe.html), Easy Fried Rice (http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=182921), & Veggies

Q: I am so glad you are blogging you Weight Watchers food log! I am just beginning to try to follow Weight Watchers, but can't afford to join right now so I'm a little lost. I only get 26 points a day and have yet to eat less than 29! I usually have a serving of fruit a few times a day to...my coffee cup is a struggle and so is breakfast because we eat big breakfasts. Any tips? I'm not much of a fan of diet foods with artificial stuff.

A: I lost all my weight eating 29 points per day. Weight Watchers changed the point system a few months ago, but I stuck with 29 because I was successful with that number and felt hungry eating less. Plus you get 49 weekly points that you can use however you want. I always used most of mine, and still lost! Some people add 7 points to each day, and some people save the 49 for special occasions. It's totally up to you. As far as breakfast, you can save some calories by choosing lower calorie breads and butters. Nature's Own makes a wheat bread that's only 1 point/slice (http://www.naturesownbread.com/products/ReducedCalorieBreads/40CalorieWheatBread/) . Also, Land O' Lakes makes a light whipped butter (http://www.landolakes.com/Products/Custom/15116.aspx) that's only 1 point per tablespoon. When I buy things like this, I strictly use them for Kevin and I's meals. I buy the regular butter and heartier breads for the boys. Eggs are two points per egg, but you can get 4 egg whites for only 1 point. You can either put whites in with your whole egg or mix in plenty veggies with your whole egg. It helps to fill you without many points. I use NuStevia (https://nunaturals.com/product/122) in my coffee. I order it in bulk from iherb.com because I get good deals and coupons from them. It's a zero point sweetener. It's PERFECT for lemon water as well- no aftertaste with the lemon water. There's a slight aftertaste with the coffee, but it doesn't take long to get used to. Almost any flavored creamer will be 2 point for 2 Tablespoons. I use those sometimes, but if I want a lower-point cup, I use 2 Tablespoons of evaporated milk (the regular whole kind- not low fat) for 1 point. Or even better 2 Tablespoons of whole milk for zero points! You can buy the small little bottles of whole milk and use it just for coffee. We also like turkey bacon. You can get 3 slices for 2 points. Other grab-and-go breakfast ideas are a banana with peanut butter or a granola bar. We hardly ever eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast because we prefer an eggs-and-toast-type breakfast. I hope this helps!

And I hope it helps you to!

Weight Watchers Update + Pepperoni and Veggie Pizza Recip

2012-01-15T19:08:00.000-06:00

Although I haven't updated regarding my Weight Watchers progress lately, I am still following the program, seeing great results, and loving it. I'm .6 pounds away from losing a total of 20 pounds! On December 8th I actually reached my weight loss goal, so now I'm following a maintenance plan. If I can maintain for 6 weeks, I'll become a lifetime member (translation: all the same awesome tools and resources for free! Now that's motivation!)

I've learned so much along my journey, but one thing I know, I don't like spending hours in the kitchen. A few facts about my cooking style:

I don't like recipes that have a 5-mile long list of ingredients.
I don't like to buy a fancy ingredient that I only use once.
I like very simple and quick cooking techniques.
I'm always looking for shortcuts to lessen my time in the kitchen.

I think most Moms probably have the same cooking style, right? Haha. So with that said, I want to begin sharing some of the meals we eat around here. My ulterior motive is that I want all of my recipes and recipe ~~shortcuts~~ variations to be online so that I can easily access them!

So with no further adieu, first up: Pepperoni & Veggie Pizza! Comfort Food, people! Here's the preparation in pictures. The full recipe is at the end of this post.

Start with Martha White's thin and crispy pizza crust. Prepare according to package directions (translation: add water and stir)

Spread the dough, and have the toddler poke holes in it before it goes into the oven for the 5-minute-pre-bake. Seriously, the directions say to poke holes in the dough.

While the pizza is pre-baking, chop up the veggie toppings (in this case, just bell peppers... the mushrooms were already sliced). Have the toddler put the veggies in the pan for you. Saute the veggies for about 5 minutes in a tiny bit of olive oil.

Measure out or count your pepperoni slices. It's all about portion control!

Spread the sauce on the pre-baked crust. I use the Wal-Mart brand of sauce.

Second comes the pepperoni...

Third comes the spinach leaves... (from the bag)

Fourth comes the sauteed bell peppers and mushrooms.

Fifth comes the cheeses (mozzarella and Parmesan)...

Put the pizza back into the oven and bake according to package directions (about 10 minutes).

Enjoy the finished product!

{Pepperoni & Veggie Pizza}
4 Points Plus Values per slice
Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Packet of Martha White Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust Mix
1/2 Cup of Store Bought Pizza Sauce
Turkey Pepperoni (about 25 slices)
1 Cup of Spinach Leaves
2 Bell Peppers (whatever color you like)

8 oz of Sliced Mushrooms

1/2 Cup of Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

2 T. Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil Spray

Prepare the pizza crust according to package directions. While the crust is pre-baking (about 5 minutes), chop up and saute the bell peppers and mushrooms. Take the crust out of the oven and add toppings (pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, spinach, bell pepper and mushroom mixture, and cheeses). Bake again according to package directions (about 10 minutes).

Ideas to make this meal even quicker:

Buy pre-chopped Bell Peppers.
Skip sauteing the peppers and mushrooms. Instead, just throw them on the pizza raw. They'll soften a little during baking.
Vary your veggie toppings depending on what you have on hand (tomatoes, onions, banana peppers, etc.)
Serve with a simple bagged salad and some light dressing for a complete meal.
Skip the veggies all together for a plain pepperoni and cheese pizza. (The Weight Watchers points don't change.)
For a single serve pizza, use Flatout Light Flatbread or Hungry Girl Foldit Flatbread and follow a simple recipe like this one.

Happy Eating!

One Pot Beefy Cabbage Creation

2011-10-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

After a disappointing .2 lb. weight loss last week, I'm happy to report that I lost 1.6 lbs. this week! I was a little nervous to step on the scale, but pleasantly surprised once I did. I blame last week on "woman issues" because I really didn't do anything different. So crazy how a woman's body works, huh? Regardless, I know I need to start adding exercise into the mix. I haven't started doing any activity yet. I'm just to ~~lazy~~ tired. So, all in all, a very successful week!

I wanted to share another recipe tonight. It's my Mom's creation. She's the queen of throwing things together and creating deliciousness. She doesn't have an official name for this dish so I made one up (hehe). At first glance, you may not seem tempted to try this, but, trust me, once you make it, you wont regret it! It's so yummy! And SoooooooooOOOoo easy!

One Pot Beefy Cabbage Creation

Ingredients

1 Pound of Lean Ground Beef

1 Head of Cabbage

1 Cup of Shredded Carrots (I use the food processor to "shred" mine)

2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes

1 Tablespoon of Season All

Directions

Toss ground meat into a large pot and let it start browning (about medium-high heat). Chop up cabbage. Throw into pot. Stir. Shred carrots. Throw into pot. Stir. Open cans of diced tomatoes. Throw into pot. Stir. Toss in 1 Tablespoon of Season All. Stir. Cover the pot and let everything cook down for about 30-45 minutes on medium heat. Stir every now and again just to make sure nothing sticks. Clean up any messes from all that tossing and throwing *wink* Serve alone or over rice.

Makes about 7-8, 1-Cup servings.

2 Points Plus Values per cup.

Enjoy!

I'm in a New Relationship...

2011-09-14T16:08:00.000-05:00

...with FOOD! Two pregnancies over the course of three years has definitely taken it's toll on my body. It was time to make a change. And not just for the purpose of losing weight, but even more importantly for my health's sake. I know most Mom's would agree having small children can be physically draining. And it's hard to maintain lasting stamina when you're grabbing a bag of chips here and a coke there. I had gotten into the terrible habit of snacking throughout the day instead of eating healthy meals. And my body was paying the consequences. No matter how much coffee I pumped into my body, I still felt tired and weak all the time.

Now don't get me wrong, the fact that I have some cute pants in my closet that I can't button is also part of the motivation to make a change. It's no secret that I have more than a couple of pounds to shed to get back into those.

Can I just mention here that I hate the word diet? It's like anytime someone mentions the "D" word I wanna run to the nearest bag of chips and devour the whole thing. Maybe it's my personality or maybe it's just human nature, but if you tell me I can't, that's what I want. Lord, have mercy!

So a few of my friends have been on the Weight Watchers diet, and I've seen some great results. And what I kept hearing was, "You can eat whatever you want, you just have to watch your portions." Ok. Nothing is off-limits. Sounds doable, right? So last Thursday Kevin agreed to keep the boys so that I could try out a local Weight Watchers meeting. And can I tell ya'? I absolutely loved it. The speaker was so motivational and encouraging. I left the meeting all pumped up and ready to start. Do I realize this excitement may not last forever? Yes, I do. But week 1 has been great! Haha!

I'm blogging about this in part to possibly inspire others, but for the most part to keep myself accountable. It's my goal to write about my progress in the weeks to come, but no promises about how often those posts will be. Did I mention I have 2 small children?

Anyway, so far so good. This week has mostly been a learning week. I spent way too much time at the grocery store yesterday with my calculator figuring out points, but it was (and will be) well-worth it. (Thanks, Mom, for watching the babes!)

And just to show you that eating healthy doesn't have to be boring, here are some of our dinners this past week:

1. Delish Turkey Burgers

2. Yummy Asian style meal:

One thing that I'm really lovin' about Weight Watchers is that I can do everything from my phone (track points, calculate points, find recipes, etc.). It makes it so easy for me. Instead of having to write everything down or keep track of numerous calculators and guides and books, I just have to pull out my phone and everything is there. I would definitely say that it's "Mom-friendly."

So, anyway, food and I are in a new relationship, and I'm already reaping the benefits! Hoping the relationship lasts!