Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad with Dill


I know this is high in carbs because of the potatos but it looked WAY too good to not post!!!!!


Smoked salmon and potato salad with dill
Serves 2

2 cups baby potatoes
1/2 cup greek yogurt (I would recommend plain Chobani)
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh dill, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped
3/4 cups smoked salmon, torn into small pieces

Wash the potatoes, put them in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt dressing. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and season with salt a pepper. Stir in about half of the dill.
Strain the potatoes and let them sit for a while to cool down. Arrange potatoes and salmon on plates, sprinkle with the remaining dill and spring onion. Finally, spoon over the yogurt dressing and serve.
Thanks to Cook Your Dream for this recipe!




IngredientsCaloriesCarbsFatProtein
Baby Potatoes - Baby Potatoes, 10 potatoes1603604
Chobani - Greek Non-Fat Plain, 7.2 ounces1208022
Garlic - Raw - 1 Clove, 1 clove/4 grams4100
Lemon Juice - Fresh Squeezed, 0.25 fluid ounce2100
Spices - Dill weed, fresh, 1 cup sprigs4100
Onions - Spring or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw, 1 medium (4-1/8" long)5100
Fish - Salmon, chinook, smoked, (lox), regular, 200 g2340937

Totals per serving (serves 2)
Fat: 5 g
Calories:  265
Carbs: 24
Protein: 32

Monday, February 27, 2012

Cucumber Cups Stuff with Spicy Crab


  • 3 whole Long Cucumbers
  • ¼ cups Sour Cream
  • ¼ cups Cream Cheese
  • ¾ cups Canned Crab Meat, Excess Water Removed
  • 1 teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Brown Mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon Green Onion, Minced

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken



What You Need

4
small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/4
cup KRAFT Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
1
 tomato, finely chopped
1/2
cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4
cup chopped fresh basil

Make It

HEAT grill to medium heat.
COVER half the grill grate with sheet of heavy-duty foil. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.
PLACE chicken on uncovered side of grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.
TURN chicken over; place on foil. Top with tomato mixture. Grill, covered, grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

For the family: serve with your favorite steamed vegetable

Recipe is from Kraft


nutritional info per serving

Calories
200

Fat 7 g

Saturated Fat 2.5 g

Sugars 2 g

Protein 28 g

Carbs 3 g



Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach

For the family serve over spagetti with marinara and a side of garlic bread

Another great one from Skinny Taste!




Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla ParmigianaGina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 stuffed breast • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 194.7 • Fat: 7 g • Protein: 24.2 g • Carb: 7.2 g • Fiber: 1.5 g

  • 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
  • 6 tablespoons egg whites or egg beaters
  • 5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid
  • 6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
  • 6 oz part skim mozzarella (I used Polly-O)
  • olive oil non-stick spray (I use my Misto)
  • 1 cup pomodoro sauce or your favorite marinara sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp grated cheese in one bowl and 1/4 cup egg beaters or egg whites in another.
Shred or finely chop 1.5 oz of mozzarella cheese and combine with remaining grated cheese, spinach (make sure you squeeze it dry), 2 tbsp egg beaters, and ricotta cheese.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray with olive oil.

Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with sauce then cheese, bake additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted


Friday, February 24, 2012

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Melted Mozzerela




Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Melted Mozzarella
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • S Size: 1 cutlet, spinach, cheese • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 153.3 • Fat: 4.2 g • Protein: 24.5 g • Carb: 4.0 g • Fiber: 1.3 g Sugar: .7 g

  • 24 oz (3 large) chicken breasts sliced in half lengthwise to make 6 cutlets
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 10 oz frozen spinach, drained
  • 3 oz shredded part skim mozzarella
  • 1 roasted red pepper, sliced in strips
  • olive oil spray
For the family pair this with a spring salad or place on top of cooked spaghetti tossed with butter and garlic.

This recipe comes from Skinny Taste

Preheat oven to 400°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly spray a grill with oil (you could also use a George Foreman) or grill outside on a gas grill. Cook chicken on the grill until no longer pink, careful not to overcook or you'll have dry chicken.

Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan on medium heat. Add oil and garlic, sauté a few seconds, add spinach, salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes until heated through.

When chicken is done, lay on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment for easy clean-up. Divide spinach evenly between the 6 pieces and place on top. Top each with half oz mozzarella, then slices of roasted pepper and bake until melted, about 6-8 minutes.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

Today's recipe comes from Skinny Crock Pot

Minimum Slow Cooker Size: 5 quarts

Nutritional Data (8 servings)
...
NOTE: Data does not include optional ingredients.

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 174 Total Fat: 6g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 42mg Sodium: 165g Total Carbohydrate: 15g Dietary Fiber : 5g Sugars: 3g Protein: 8g

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey breast (about 93% lean)
1 small yellow onion (diced)
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
___________________________
Combine the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Cook in a skillet on medium-low heat, breaking up turkey into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink.
___________________________
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans with liquid, organic
1 (15 oz) can black beans with liquid, organic
1 (14.5 oz) natural diced tomatoes (no salt)
1 (6 oz) can natural tomato paste
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp cayenne red pepper
1-1/2 cups water

Directions

Add cooked meat and all other above ingredients to slow cooker, cook on low 4 to 6 hours, stir occasionally. Add additional water if too much liquid is absorbed.

Tip: Turkey will need some fat so it's best to buy between 90% - 93% lean. The recipe is this photo was made with 93% lean and was very tasty!

Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Chicken and Avocado Salad -- Perfect for those on mushee stage!





For the family: Serve on 7 grain bread with a slice of cheese (mmm.. pepper jack would be my cheese of choice). You could also add a slice of tomato to the sandwich (or add diced tomato to the mixture).

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups cooked, diced chicken 

1 avocado, peeled, diced, and tossed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1/4 cup chopped onion 

1/2 cup Hellmann's Light mayonnaise dressing (if you aren't a huge mayo fan I would start with 1/4 cup and go from there)

1/2 to 1 teaspoons pepper 

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves


DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients and chill.

*If you are on mushees, put ingredients in food processor before eating

Thanks to Cookin Lean for this recipe

Lets Get Fancy-- Seared Scallops Over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto

This is my first fancy dish post since starting this blog so if you try it PLEASE let me know how it comes out!!!!

This recipe comes from TasteBook.

Note: There is not nutritional info with this recipe. It was too difficult to try to enter the recipe into the calculator. However, on TasteBook's website it says 3/4 cup of the rice mixture has 302 calories, so for VSGers its going to be best that you focus on eating your serving of scallops, then spinach, then rice.

Enjoy!




ingredients

Parmesan Risotto
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 4 cups fat free chicken stock
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat chicken stock in a small pot. In a medium size heavy sauce pan, add butter on medium-low heat. Add shallots, sauté about 1 minute. Add rice mixing well until well coated and transluscent, about 2 minutes. Add wine, salt and pepper and mix well until it is absorbed into the rice. Ladle 1 cup stock into rice and mix until all stock is absorbed, add another ladle, and continue adding and stirring until all broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and parsley, mix well.


Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach
  • 16 oz (about 12-14) sea scallops
  • salt and fresh pepper
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 10 oz baby spinach, washed

Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium size pan on a high flame. When pan is hot, melt 1 tsp butter and place half of the scallops in the pan. Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust. Turn over and cook about another minute or 2, until the center is slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side) and the bottom is seared. Be careful not to overcook. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate.
Add addition tsp butter and cook remaining scallops.
Add olive oil to the pan and sauté shallots, add spinach, salt and pepper. Toss until spinach wilts.

Serve spinach over risotto topped with scallops.

Grilled Zuccini Pizza

Good afternoon my fellow VSGers. I hope all is well on this lovely Saturday afternoon. My son has discovered that the Wii his step dad and I bought him is actually pretty fun so he has been distracted which has allowed me to have time to actually get some house cleaning done and of course look up more yummy recipes!

This recipes comes from Kaylns Kitchen. It's very yummy and the best part is there is NO CRUST, so that helps out with the amount of carbs and sugars greatly. You don't necessarily have to use pepperoni either. You can always make it a veggie "pizza" and load it up with onion, mushrooms, green peppers, etc. Of course if you do use pepperoni, I would recommend using the turkey pepperoni!







This is an 8" Round Zuccini Ball



Grill Zuccini

Top with about 1 teaspoon of pizza sauce and your favorite pizza toppings



Broil in oven until cheese is golden brown


Nutrional Facts for the following ingrediants:
1 Zuccini Slice
2 Tbsp Kraft Part Skim Mozzerella Cheese
4 Hormel Turkey Pepperoni

Calories: 90
Fat: 3.4 g
Carbs: 7.8 g
Protein: 7.8 g
Sugars: 3.0 g

note: the nutritional calculator I use didn't have chef boyardee pizza sauce on the list of available ingrediants so the 1tsp isn't calculated into the nutritional facts.  Sorry!

Eggs In A Cup

Mmmm.. Breakfast!

I can't remember where I found this recipe exactly. I have already posted it on the OH board once but if you missed it, here it is again. I believe I found it while searching Pinterest one day. My husband calls that website my "second marriage" its so addicting! haha!

We will call these..

Eggs in a cup ... easy enough right?

Place a slice of ham in a muffin cup and crack a fresh egg on top of the ham

Bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.

You could get creative and scramble the egg with some onion, mushrooms, green peppers, spinach, or your other favorite egg mixers before putting them into the muffin pan.

When they are done you could also top with salsa or your favorite cheese.

I think for kids or guests this would be a fun way for everyone to make their eggs how they want them without having to cook multiple batches of eggs, instead have them make their own then bake all at once!

ENJOY!

For my "mushees" phase VSGers you will have to wait until you are cleared for all foods for this recipe unless you doctor allows eggs during mushees phase.




Nutritional Facts for 1 slice of Oscar Mayer ham and 1 large egg

Calories: 81.5
Fat: 5.1 g
Carbs: 0.3 g
Protein: 8.5 g

Friday, February 17, 2012

Chicken Scallopini


This dish comes from Eat Yourself Skinny. Her blog is awesome!

For the family pair this chicken dish with some wild rice and your choice of veggie! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
1/2 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp. capers
1 Tbsp. light butter

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin.  Brush chicken with lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Dredge chicken in breadcrumbs.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to pan; cook about 3 minutes on each side or until chicken is done.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add broth and wine to pan, and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in capers and butter.
Nutritional Facts:



Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 chicken breast with sauce
Calories: 206
Fat: 4.6 g
Carbs: 7.7 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 29.2 g
Old Points: 4.4 pts
Points+: 5 pts

Mexican Style Meatloaf Muffins




Ingredients

1lb ground turkey burger
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 egg
12 saltine crackers (finely crushed)
1 ½ cups Kraft 2% Mexican Four Cheese shredded
1 cup Pace Picante chunkysalsa

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Mix first 4 ingredients with 1 cup of cheese ½ cup salsa
PRESS into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray
Use back of spoon to make indention in center of each
Place muffin pan on foil covered baking sheet
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until meat loaves are done
Top with remaining salsa and cheese; bake 3 minutes or until cheese is melted

Nutritional Facts:
Serving Size: 1 muffin

Calories: 132
Fat: 6.8 g
Sodium: 120 mg
Carbs: 3.9 g
Sugars: 1.35 g
Protein: 12 g

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos

Good Evening Everyone!

I first want to start by saying THANK YOU to my OH family for giving me the support to get this started, the blog had 130 views in about 6 hours which I find VERY exciting.

I came across this recipe on Skinny Taste for Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos. This is very VSG friendly and family friendly! VSGers should opt out of the tortilla part when enjoying this dish with their family! If you are on mushees I would recommend making it then putting it in a food processer before eating. Enjoy!!!!

Note: I am not sure if the fat content in the nutrition facts includes the avocado or not.



Cilantro Lime Tilapia TacosSkinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 tacos • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 319 • Fat: 12 g • Protein: 26.5 g • Carb: 33.7 g (This includes the tortilla) • Fiber: 9.7 g • Sugar: 3.6 g Sodium: 76.2 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb tilapia fillets, rinsed and pat dried
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (seeds removed for less heat)
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 5-inch white corn tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory Fiber & Flax)
  • 1 medium haas avocado, sliced
  • lime wedges and cilantro for garnish
Directions:

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic. Mix well
Place tilapia on the skillet and cook until the flesh starts to flake
 Add jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice.
Sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up the fish with the spoon to get everything mixed well;
season to taste with salt and pepper.


Non Fat versus Regular and Guacamole Deviled Eggs


Lets first start this blog off by talking about the difference between fat free food products and regular food products. Take note to the picture above and see that yes, the fat free labeled product stands by its advertisement and contains no fat in a single serving and also contains 70 less calories than the regular product.
However, the easiest way to break down the negatives of the fat free product are by a list...
  1. There are 65 MORE mg of sodium in the fat free cream cheese
  2. There are 3-4 MORE grams of sugar in the fat free cream cheese
  3. There are 3 MORE carbohydrates in the fat free cream cheese
  4. And lastly, LOOK at the ingredients on the fat free cream cheese. There are too many to count while on the regular there are 5 ingredients. Now it may be just me but I think the fat free cream cheese looks more like Dr. Jykle and Mr. Hides basement science experiment than food! 


This is why I use whole foods in my cooking other than a couple of ingredients such as skim milk. I will always mention on the ingredients list if I use a reduced fat food.

Now I'm also not saying you should go out and eat EVERYTHING that is fatty but the truth is, your body NEEDS fat. It helps absorb essential vitamins, it helps balance hormones (especially in women), creates a protective cushion for your organs, and helps build brain cells.

There are plenty of healthy fats in the world such as fats from avocados, cold water fish, and olive oil.

Todays recipe comes from Marks Daily Apple. Its high in GOOD fats from 1/2 of an avocado and high in protein from 2 boiled eggs.

For those of you on "mushees" stage, you can make this and eat just the mixture that goes into the eggs and give the white outside to a family member. 



GuacaomoleDevils



Ingredients:
§         2 hard boiled eggs
§         1/2 avocado
§         1 teaspoon hot sauce (or more to taste)
§         1/2 teaspoon lime juice
§         salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
Peel and halve the eggs and spoon their yolks into a small bowl.

Mash the yolks with the avocado, hot sauce and lime juice; add salt and pepper to taste.
Refill egg white halves with yolk mixture, and enjoy!

mixingredients