Part of what helped me get back on track this winter was a visit to my best friend T. She’s been having tremendous success on WW after the birth of her 2nd child and was a much-needed inspiration. She got me tracking again, and shared an awesome new recipe. It’s direct from the WW site and is a great alternative to traditional, boring mashed potatoes called Garlic Mashed Root Vegetables.
Mine didn’t come out quite as good as hers even with an extra 1/4 cup of fat free sour cream so I have to go back and find out her secret touch. But they were still very tasty and a much more nutritious alternative to the all-potato version. And at only 2 PTS+ for a giant serving, it’s winner in my book!
This weekend’s 4th of July festivities included some of the best food I’ve eaten in a long time. One of the menu items was a delicious bean & corn salad made by my friend L. It’s one of those things you throw together without a real “recipe” but I’ve tried to recreate it as best I can. Here’s the basic gist (feel free to tweak the vinaigrette to taste):
Salad:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can no-salt added corn kernels, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced (organic if you can)
1/2 small red onion, diced
Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (use the good stuff, it’s worth it!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp mustard (she used Gulden’s, I used dijon b/c it’s what I had)
Large pinch of “herbs du provence”
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the veggies in a big bowl, mix the dressing separately. Pour it all together, let chill, and eat. Yum! Mine made 5 servings of 1 cup each, whci come out to 5 PTS+. I’m trying it for lunch today to see how filling it is. I may end up using it as a side dish instead, but the beans do pack alot of protein and fiber so who knows. Regardless, it’s colorful, easy, all natural, and so tasty on a hot summer day.
The theme of this week’s WW meeting was variety – how changing up what you eat can help keep you on program. It was perfect timing because I was just thinking that I needed to add some new things to my own menu. One thing I was particularly struggling with, though, on the new PTS+ plan was what to pair with a sandwich and veggies/fruit for lunch. Don’t ask me why, but for me that kind of meal has to have 3 parts and I was having a hard time finding a side that was low in PTS+. I asked at my meeting, and members suggested I try Popchips.
Now, this is the kind of junk food that I try to stay away from on general principle, but lately I’ve been having trouble finding anything that appeals to me so if these help me feel better about eating a regular lunch I’ll go with it for now.
I bought two varieties at Stop & Shop last night (they’re in the natural foods section) – cheddar and sour cream & onion. One ounce is a serving, and will cost you 3 PTS+. It’s actually a rather large serving and when I tried some as a snack last night they were quite good. Reminiscent of Glenny’s soy crisps but without the strange texture those have.
There are 3 servings per bag, and to save myself from the temptation of having them in the house throughout the week I have already pre-packaged them into single serving ziploc baggies.
So if you’re looking for something salty and crunchy without very many PTS+, I say give these a try. Not something you want to make a staple but good for an occasional snack.
I had forgotten about the recipe below, but it’s a perfect summer side dish. I had some english cucumber to use up so I made this tonight and it was delish! I highly recommend it.
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Couscous-and-Cucumber-Salad-With-Buttermilk-Dill-Dressing-123944
According to the Recipe Builder it is 3 PTS per serving when split into 6 servings. The only things I did differently were fat free buttermilk instead of low-fat, and 2 tsp dried dill weed instead of fresh dill. But you really can’t tell the difference. You could add more veggies or different veggies if you want. Just be sure that if you use any veggies with PTS you factor those in.
(This is also a unique dish to bring to a barbeque or other summer party – a nice change from the typical pasta or potato salad. So I listed this under “entertaining” too.)
This week I went shopping at Whole Foods, looking for quick but healthy and natural/clean eating options. I came across a pre-packaged Quinoa Salad by Good Neighbors Foods that has only 20 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of fiber per serving. A serving size is 2 Tbsp (really?!) and the entire container contains 8 servings, so the total is 160/8/16. That’s just 3 PTS, and I can tell you the portion is HUGE if you eat the whole thing. I just had it as a ready-made side dish for dinner and it was both delicious and filling. And the best part is that the ingredient list does not contain a single word I don’t recognize! Quinoa, red pepper, green pepper, dried cranberries, lemon juice, canola/extra virgin oil blend, parsley, garlic, mint, spice, sea salt – that’s it.
I had tried this company’s Chickpea Salad once before and it was equally delicious, but turned out to be much higher in PTS. I am trying to work quinoa into my regular rotation and this is a great start. I might even try to replicate the recipe on my own to start using up that box of it I bought back on Passover!
I recently discovered the joy of roasting veggies instead of boiling or steaming them, and I swear I don’t know how I ever lived without it.
I just made roasted green beans and they were amazing (and I’m not a veggie person, so if I loved them you KNOW they’re good!). All I did was take a large fistfull of fresh green beans, trimmed the ends and tossed them in a ziploc baggie with 1 tsp of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. I roasted (a.k.a. baked) them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes and voila! They were great.
I was reading comments on a similar recipe online and someone said “these cured my craving for french fries”. I thought she was nuts, but when I tasted them I thought “wow, these do kinda taste like french fries!” So if you are a sucker for fries try these as a healthier substitute.
And these also help you get in 1 veggie and 1 oil, so a double whammy on the Good Health Guidelines.
I was invited to attend Easter brunch at a friend’s house this morning, and was told to bring a veggie. I know asparagus is a traditional dish for Easter but I’d never made it before, so I bought some and hoped for the best! In the same trip I picked up a copy of a new (to me) food magazine someone recently recommended – Everyday Food (a Martha Stewart publication).
In the magazine was a recipe for roasted asparagus with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Being Passover I couldn’t do the breadcrumbs, but I thought I could just leave those off and follow the rest of the instructions. It seemed easier than trying to steam the asparagus, which intimidates even some of the good cooks I know. I went with the roasting, and it turned out great. Here’s what I did:
0) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
1) Cut the bottoms off of 1.5 lb worth of asparagus stalks.
2) Using a peeler, peel the bottoms so they’re not as thick.
3) Place the asparagus in a single layer on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish.
4) Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil evenly over the asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5) Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese evenly over the veggies, too.
6) Roast at 425 for 20 – 25 minutes, until the asparagus is tender.
It really couldn’t have been easier, and the people at brunch seemed to like it. Split into 6 servings, it’s 1 PT per serving. The evoo also helps count toward your daily servings of oil on the Good Health Guidelines.
I know we’re coming to the end of fresh asparagus season, but if you get another good bunch or two I recommend this preparation. Thanks, Martha!
I popped into the grocery store for a few work-week essentials and happened to notice that Green Giant boxed veggies were on sale this week. For some reason I stopped to see what they had, and discovered several pre-made frozen combinations that sounded tasty and practical. One that particularly caught my eye was the “Garden Vegetable Medley” which is snap peas, red peppers, and potatoes in a light sauce. I like the fact that its a starch and a veggie all in one.
Expecting to see a high calorie count, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only 50 calories per serving! There are 2.28 servings in a box (“about 2″ is always wrong) which comes out to just 2 PTS for the entire box! it is more than enough to fill the entire dinner plate next to a 4 oz serving of chicken or pork, and is very tasty. In fact I grabbed it and a serving of pulled chicken for lunch as I ran out the door this morning because I was running late, and I’m glad I did!
At $1.29 per box on sale this was definitely a bargain. And with only 280 mg of sodium it’s a nice alternative to a complete frozen dinner for lunch on days when time is short.
I generally stay away from convenience foods that are labeled with the latest gimmick phrases, like chocolate chip cookies “made with whole grains” (give me a break – it’s still a cookie!). But I had a coupon for Green Giant’s new boxed frozen veggies and decided to try two different varieties – “Healthy Vision” and “Healthy Weight”.
I was not a huge fan of the “Healthy Vision” flavor, but tried the “Healthy Weight” blend and it was delish!
It steams in its own pouch in about 4 minutes so it’s easy for a quick weeknight dinner, or to take to work. And with black beans, edamame, snap peas, and carrots it’s very filling. The butter sauce was yummy, too.
It claims to make 2 servings, but it’s small enough that I can see eating it all myself in one sitting (it’s about 1 cup, tops). According to the nutrition information it’s 1 PT per serving (90/2.5/5) or 3 PTS for both servings in the bag(180/5/10).
The beans make it very filling, and with some chicken breast meat mixed in would make a great light meal.
I attended a potluck this weekend and someone brought this spaghetti squash dish:
http://carascravings.blogspot.com/2009/10/spaghetti-squash-with-spinach-raisins.html
which is a recipe created by another friend of ours. It was delicious!
The recipe says it makes 2 servings per, but she made it in a casserole dish that was more than 2 servings. As is it’s 9 PTS per serving (using her nutrition info. The WW recipe builder says 8 PTS). But if you make it into 4 servings, say as a side dish, it’s only 4 PTS per serving.
You could also reduce the PTS by using fewer nuts. That is 5 of the 17 total PTS in the recipe. If you crush them the walnut pieces – and flavor – will be more distributed through the dish without needing to use as many. You could also consider reducing the oil a little – 1 Tbsp = 3.5 PTS. Not sure how that would impact the cooking, but it’s something to consider.
