Well, I had my first weigh-in at WW today and it went VERY well!! I was quite surprised to see the number she wrote down; I know I’ve worked hard but wow, yay!! I know most, if not all, was water weight, but whatever, I’m keeping my “win.” That said, I guess it’s time to start planning my 2nd week … even though my WW weeks are Thursday-Wednesday, I still plan Monday through Sunday. Tonight we’ll be celebrating my loss with turkey burgers and healthified mac n chz (with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mixed in), tomorrow we’re having Swedish meatballs over whole wheat egg noodles with green beans and Saturday is ricotta gnocchi in a brown butter sage sauce over baby spinach.
The Super Bowl really doesn’t mean much in my world; my team’s not playing in it so it might as well be any other day. This year, we’ll be out of town for the Super Bowl visiting my new (perfect) little niece Miss Mallory. Buuuuut since the Super Bowl is here in Dallas (technically Arlington) this year, I’ve decided to do a SB inspired menu. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday will be the start of our (almost) weeklong SB inspired menu: WW version of chili cheese dogs (turkey dogs, turkey chili and reduced fat cheese in wheat rolls). The rest of the week pretty much follows suit, I’ve healthified up some traditional tailgate foods and/or foods I’d normally serve if we were having a Super Bowl watching party:
Monday – BBQ baked chicken fingers with oven fries (mixed red/sweet potato fries)
Tuesday – tomato and basil flatbread pizzas
Wednesday – turkey tacos
Thursday – straying from the theme and serving up a healthified chicken & dumplings with LOTS of veggies added; it’s more like a chicken veggie stew with dumplings on top
Then we’re off to Portland, OR to smooch and love on Miss Mallory and enjoy a nice visit with my brother/sister-in-law!!!! I’m going to tell myself that I will be good and not over indulge on my wee-mini-vaca but well, I won’t be angry with myself if my week 3 weigh-in isn’t as successful because at least I will have had fun. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, that’s two weeks away … back to tonight; here is my mac n chz recipe, most recently updated to fit my points allowance:
Healthilicious Mac n Chz
8 servings; 6 PP
12 oz uncooked whole grain pasta (macaroni, penne, anything you want)
½ bag of frozen veggie mix
½ cup light sour cream
1 ½ cup fat-free half-and-half
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt & Pepper
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp panko (optional)
- Boil water and add pasta and frozen veggies; cook until pasta is done, drain then stir in the sour cream while it’s still hot
- Whisk together the half & half, mustard, garlic and salt & pepper in a small saucepan and bring up to almost simmering over medium heat; reduce to low and add the shredded cheddar while continuing to stir until cheese is melty (note: low-fat cheese doesn’t melt as well so make sure you keep stirring so it doesn’t form a big blob in the middle; also, it’s ok if it doesn’t melt all the way since you’re going to bake it)
- Pour the cheddar sauce over the pasta and mix well; pour into casserole dish
(if cooking ahead and freezing, you would cover and freeze the dish in this state then defrost and follow final direction)
- Top with panko and bake for 30-40min at 350
Enjoy!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
always prepared!
Call me retentive, but I like to have everything planned and at least partially completed well in advance to ensure proper execution and to leave little room for failure. I know that on a weekend day, it is very easy for the day to get away from me and for me to skip the gym so I like to get up early and exercise first thing before I start my day (then subsequently sleep half of it away, but that’s a different story). Enter Dan. It all started this morning, I set the alarm to get up and head over to Grapevine to walk/run 8miles. First, the dogs were against me and wouldn’t let me out of bed; then Dan promised he wouldn’t let me sleep past 10am so that I could still make it to BodyPump at the gym if I’d just turn the tv off and fall back asleep already. Around 11/1130ish, some annoying roofer/salesman came a ringing and stirred the dogs into a barking frenzy which finally awakened me. I swear Dan would’ve let me sleep past noon had that man not rang our bell. I immediately gave up on my morning exercise plan and hope to go this afternoon/evening before dinner.
After the requisite trip to Dunkin Donuts for my coffee, I sat down and planned out our week ensuring we are both within our daily point targets. Side note: I figured out Dan’s points so I don’t starve him as I go through this; he lost almost 30lbs just eating what I was eating over the past few months and I don’t think he can spare another pound. Yes, that was – three effing zero – three times my goal, without trying, while I lost and regained the same 4lbs each month … DISLIKE! Back to my point, I’ve written out my plan for all meals and most snacks for the coming week, cross referenced my list against what I already have in the fridge/freezer and pantry and am about to run to the store to pick up the fresh veggies and other random items.
I’m going to make an egg & bacon casserole for each morning’s breakfasts (add fresh fruit & toast for Dan), lunches will be a mix between leftovers and soups for me (sandwiches, baked chips, fruit and something dessertish for Dan), dinners will be fresh, new and fabulous each night so I don’t get any complaints from the peanut gallery, err um, I mean Dan. One thing I’ve learned is that if I don’t have a good variety of dinners planned and goshforbid Dan has to eat the same thing twice within a 30-day cycle, he will sabotage me with pizza and/or cheeseburgers (or worse, Bueno). We will both have low-fat, low-cal, pro-biotic yogurt for our morning snacks but our afternoon snacks have yet to be nailed down; it’ll depend on what I find at the store that looks good (suggestions welcome!). Dan will also get a serving of dried fruit and nuts each day … seriously, he gets SO many more points than me each day and it is entirely unfair!!
Eggs & Bacon Casserole / Southwestern Style!
8 servings / 4 pointsplus
6 eggs
1 cup Southwestern Egg Beaters
¼ cup skim milk
3 slices whole grain sandwich bread
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 cup Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar)
Salt & Pepper (optional)
Olive oil cooking spray
- Spray casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray
- Break bread into bite-sized pieces & layer over bottom of casserole dish
- Top bread with bacon and cheese
- Whisk eggs, egg beaters and skim milk together until well blended and you can’t see any egg white floating around; it might get a little foamy but that’s ok (add salt & pepper if desired)
- Pour egg mix over everything in the casserole dish and bake 40-45min at 350 until browned and the center is set
- Cool completely before portioning out into individual containers to refrigerate or freeze for the week
Enjoy!!
Tonight’s dinner is 11 points plus: Dijon Pork Chops with baked red potatoes and broccoli in a low-fat/low-cal cheese sauce; I’ve never made the pork chops before so I’m going to wait until I test out the recipe before I post it. I’ll only post it if it’s good!
After the requisite trip to Dunkin Donuts for my coffee, I sat down and planned out our week ensuring we are both within our daily point targets. Side note: I figured out Dan’s points so I don’t starve him as I go through this; he lost almost 30lbs just eating what I was eating over the past few months and I don’t think he can spare another pound. Yes, that was – three effing zero – three times my goal, without trying, while I lost and regained the same 4lbs each month … DISLIKE! Back to my point, I’ve written out my plan for all meals and most snacks for the coming week, cross referenced my list against what I already have in the fridge/freezer and pantry and am about to run to the store to pick up the fresh veggies and other random items.
I’m going to make an egg & bacon casserole for each morning’s breakfasts (add fresh fruit & toast for Dan), lunches will be a mix between leftovers and soups for me (sandwiches, baked chips, fruit and something dessertish for Dan), dinners will be fresh, new and fabulous each night so I don’t get any complaints from the peanut gallery, err um, I mean Dan. One thing I’ve learned is that if I don’t have a good variety of dinners planned and goshforbid Dan has to eat the same thing twice within a 30-day cycle, he will sabotage me with pizza and/or cheeseburgers (or worse, Bueno). We will both have low-fat, low-cal, pro-biotic yogurt for our morning snacks but our afternoon snacks have yet to be nailed down; it’ll depend on what I find at the store that looks good (suggestions welcome!). Dan will also get a serving of dried fruit and nuts each day … seriously, he gets SO many more points than me each day and it is entirely unfair!!
Eggs & Bacon Casserole / Southwestern Style!
8 servings / 4 pointsplus
6 eggs
1 cup Southwestern Egg Beaters
¼ cup skim milk
3 slices whole grain sandwich bread
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 cup Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar)
Salt & Pepper (optional)
Olive oil cooking spray
- Spray casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray
- Break bread into bite-sized pieces & layer over bottom of casserole dish
- Top bread with bacon and cheese
- Whisk eggs, egg beaters and skim milk together until well blended and you can’t see any egg white floating around; it might get a little foamy but that’s ok (add salt & pepper if desired)
- Pour egg mix over everything in the casserole dish and bake 40-45min at 350 until browned and the center is set
- Cool completely before portioning out into individual containers to refrigerate or freeze for the week
Enjoy!!
Tonight’s dinner is 11 points plus: Dijon Pork Chops with baked red potatoes and broccoli in a low-fat/low-cal cheese sauce; I’ve never made the pork chops before so I’m going to wait until I test out the recipe before I post it. I’ll only post it if it’s good!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
New Year - New Points Plus!
Well, I tried to do it on my own and I give up. Today, I joined Weight Watchers because regardless of how much I exercise and watch what I eat, I’m simply not making enough progress for my liking. The good news is, I’m not doing this alone; the great news is, my company even sponsors it!! Meetings are every Thursday over the lunch hour so I truly have no reason to skip. Even if I want to skip, my coworkers will drag me, kicking and screaming, and force me to weigh-in. This means no binging and just pretending the scale isn’t there, no pretending ‘I forgot,’ and no cheating.
Today was the first day and I’m already starting to realize the difference between doing it on my own and following the WW plan … my workout tonight would normally have earned me 4 glasses of wine so I would’ve had 1 and then maybe something yummy and sweet like a chocolate square or two. Through the WW plan, my workout only earned me 1 Mich Ultra, booooooooooooo. BUT I’m super excited because when I figured out the points for my healthified chicken enchiladas that I’d already prepped for Dan to reheat, I found they were only 6 points (even under the new system)!! I posted my enchilada recipe before, but here it is again … a little bit more healtified:
Healthilicious Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas:
Makes 8 servings; 6 PointsPlus
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
2 cups (1 can) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
1tsp olive oil
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups (1 can) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
4oz (1 can) diced green chiles
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar
1tsp ground cumin
16 whole wheat, low-carb tortillas
•Sauté onion in olive oil until clear; add chicken, black beans and cumin; sauté about 5-7min then remove from heat and set aside
•In a small sauce pan, whisk together sour cream, broth and green chiles; heat to simmering and reduce heat to low
•Add cheese to cooled chicken mixture and mix
•Heat tortillas just a little bit in the microwave to soften them so they roll up without breaking (about 15 seconds, don’t heat all at once in a big stack, I heat about 4 at a time)
•Spoon chicken mix evenly into the tortillas; roll them up and place in a casserole dish
•Pour sour cream sauce over enchiladas
•Bake for 30-40min at 375 until all nice and bubby!
As I go through this challenge to follow the WW plan, I’m going to try to share PP values and report on my progress; if you don’t get a blog from me, it’s probably because it’s not working.
OH and ps - healthilicious is the word I came up with to descibe my cooking, should I ever get my own show. It's totally fetch!
Today was the first day and I’m already starting to realize the difference between doing it on my own and following the WW plan … my workout tonight would normally have earned me 4 glasses of wine so I would’ve had 1 and then maybe something yummy and sweet like a chocolate square or two. Through the WW plan, my workout only earned me 1 Mich Ultra, booooooooooooo. BUT I’m super excited because when I figured out the points for my healthified chicken enchiladas that I’d already prepped for Dan to reheat, I found they were only 6 points (even under the new system)!! I posted my enchilada recipe before, but here it is again … a little bit more healtified:
Healthilicious Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas:
Makes 8 servings; 6 PointsPlus
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
2 cups (1 can) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
1tsp olive oil
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups (1 can) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
4oz (1 can) diced green chiles
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar
1tsp ground cumin
16 whole wheat, low-carb tortillas
•Sauté onion in olive oil until clear; add chicken, black beans and cumin; sauté about 5-7min then remove from heat and set aside
•In a small sauce pan, whisk together sour cream, broth and green chiles; heat to simmering and reduce heat to low
•Add cheese to cooled chicken mixture and mix
•Heat tortillas just a little bit in the microwave to soften them so they roll up without breaking (about 15 seconds, don’t heat all at once in a big stack, I heat about 4 at a time)
•Spoon chicken mix evenly into the tortillas; roll them up and place in a casserole dish
•Pour sour cream sauce over enchiladas
•Bake for 30-40min at 375 until all nice and bubby!
As I go through this challenge to follow the WW plan, I’m going to try to share PP values and report on my progress; if you don’t get a blog from me, it’s probably because it’s not working.
OH and ps - healthilicious is the word I came up with to descibe my cooking, should I ever get my own show. It's totally fetch!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
fa la la Ooooo la la
Every family has their own Christmas traditions. Some traditions dictate when to open presents, others instruct whose house to go to for brunch or dinner, and many others simply resolve to spend as much time as possible with as many different family members as possible. Growing up, my family traditions included all of the aforementioned items. Now that I’ve moved away, married, and have two children of my own (ok, ok they are children of the canine persuasion but they are still my babies), Dan and I have created our own annual tradition that I absolutely LOVE and would not trade for the world! On Christmas day, Dan and I sleep in, open presents with the puppies, make breakfast together (Dan makes coffee with Bailey’s, it counts as helping) and then spend the entire day lounging around the house in our pajamas watching parades and various Christmas-themed movies. Sometime mid-to-late afternoon, I get up, get showered, put on some fresh pajamas and start making an elaborate Christmas dinner that is typically served somewhere around 8 or 9pm, depending upon degree of complexity and level of absolute laziness (usually it’s the laziness causing delays). Last year, I created a steak house sensation! It was fabulous and ohemgee delicious and it was difficult to think of something to top it.
For this year’s Christmas feast, I’m dishing up some fantastic French fare and am oh so excited about it!! If you asked Dan, he’d say he’s never eaten French food. That’s because he thinks French food has to be fancy or include things like snails in order to be considered “French.” He has no clue that meals I make on the regular are actually classic French cuisine! He’s had boeuf Bourguignon, poulet cordon bleu, poulet frit au paprika, petit salé aux lentilles, hachis parmentier, vichyssoise (but warm), and his all-time favorite gratin dauphinois just to name a few. Of course, when he asks “what’s for dinner,” I don’t always tell the whole truth as it is much easier to say “beef stew” or “potato soup” (I ask you all dearly to please not mention anything about leeks to him, ever).
I spent quite a lot of time poring over recipe sites and flipping through my cook books to create what, I believe, is the BEST Christmas dinner menu ever!! Also, BIG thanks to Ms. Fonda for letting me bounce ideas off her and for her fabulous suggestions (and just for putting up with my obsessive menu planning behavior in general). If I were to win an award for this meal, I’d totally thank her in my acceptance speech. I do still have one hole in the menu: the salad. However, I’m not stressing over it because I do not eat salad. I’d love to do a salade de pissenlit, but I’m too afraid I’d slip up and tell him he was eating dandelion and he’d ruin the mood by gagging (even if he loved it). So, for the salad course, we’ll just see what fresh field greens I can find and toss them with some shallot and a fun vinaigrette; maybe I’ll do a raspberry champagne vinaigrette!!!!
So without further ado, here is my Christmas Feast:
Appetizer Course: Brie en croûte with Almond Champagne
Soup Course: Soupe à l'ail with Sauvignon Blanc
Main Course: Coq au Vin, carottes vichy, Haricots verts à l'étouffée and Purée de pommes de terre à l'ail with Chardonnay
Salad Course: as we discussed, this is still open and up for debate
Dessert Course: Crème Brûlée with Champagne
I really hope I can pull this off, and that we are able to eat dinner before midnight!
I wish you all the happiest of happy holidays and the best of luck with your Christmas meals, whether they be at your house or another’s. Cheers!!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
dan's BIGGEST challenge
Dan has mastered the art of reheating things; he can use the rice cooker and as long as I put the flour/seasoning in a bag, he can “shake-and-bake” oven fried chicken. It was time. He was ready. And he aced it!! Tonight, Dan used his patented “shake-(pause)-and-bake” method for the chicken; made some rice in the rice cooker; boiled peas & carrots and even … wait for it … simmered a sauce while constantly stirring so it didn’t burn. There were still a few steps left for me to finish when I got home, but GO DAN GO!!!!
Tonight for dinner, we had HG’s Sesame Chicken swap with a healthified fried rice. I’m not going to claim any credit for the sesame chicken (you can find that recipe here), but I am going to outline how to split a recipe up into steps that can be easily done by two different people.
Two nights before:
- Take two skinless/boneless chicken breasts from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to defrost.
One night before:
- Take the chicken breasts out of the fridge and chop into bite-sized pieces; place in a re-sealable plastic bag with 2tbsp teriyaki sauce (this isn’t in the HG recipe, but the chicken looked so plain and boring by itself) and place in the fridge.
- Place ½ cup of whole wheat flour in a re-sealable plastic bag and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix ¼ cup fat-free chicken broth with 1tbsp cornstarch, stir until dissolved. Add 2tbsp sugar-free pancake syrup, 2tbsp seasoned rice vinegar, 1tbsp ketchup, ½ tbsp lite/low-sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp sesame oil, ½ tsp crushed garlic and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge with the chicken.
- Line a baking pan with foil and place on the countertop; set out the rice cooker (or microwaveable bowl with lid) and rice near the pan and also the wheat flour. Place two small sauce pans on the stove.
- Write down the instructions for the next day.
Dinner time:
- Heat oven to 350; take the chicken and sauce out of the fridge.
- Drop a few pieces of chicken at a time in the flour and shake to coat; place chicken on the baking pan and place in the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- Place one cup rice plus one cup water in the rice cooker and set timer for 15minutes (or whatever your package directions state).
- Place ½ cup frozen peas & carrots in one of the sauce pans, cover with water and heat on the stove over medium-high heat until boiling, lower heat to keep it simmering.
- Place refrigerated sauce in the other sauce pan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.
****THIS IS WHEN I CAME HOME AND HOW I FINISHED DINNER****
- Toss the chicken in the sauce and place back in the oven to keep warm.
- Drain peas & carrots.
- In a large pan or wok, melt 1tbsp faux-butter and scramble one egg. Add rice and peas & carrots, 1tbsp light/low-sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp of crushed garlic, ½ tsp of black pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Tonight for dinner, we had HG’s Sesame Chicken swap with a healthified fried rice. I’m not going to claim any credit for the sesame chicken (you can find that recipe here), but I am going to outline how to split a recipe up into steps that can be easily done by two different people.
Two nights before:
- Take two skinless/boneless chicken breasts from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to defrost.
One night before:
- Take the chicken breasts out of the fridge and chop into bite-sized pieces; place in a re-sealable plastic bag with 2tbsp teriyaki sauce (this isn’t in the HG recipe, but the chicken looked so plain and boring by itself) and place in the fridge.
- Place ½ cup of whole wheat flour in a re-sealable plastic bag and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix ¼ cup fat-free chicken broth with 1tbsp cornstarch, stir until dissolved. Add 2tbsp sugar-free pancake syrup, 2tbsp seasoned rice vinegar, 1tbsp ketchup, ½ tbsp lite/low-sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp sesame oil, ½ tsp crushed garlic and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge with the chicken.
- Line a baking pan with foil and place on the countertop; set out the rice cooker (or microwaveable bowl with lid) and rice near the pan and also the wheat flour. Place two small sauce pans on the stove.
- Write down the instructions for the next day.
Dinner time:
- Heat oven to 350; take the chicken and sauce out of the fridge.
- Drop a few pieces of chicken at a time in the flour and shake to coat; place chicken on the baking pan and place in the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- Place one cup rice plus one cup water in the rice cooker and set timer for 15minutes (or whatever your package directions state).
- Place ½ cup frozen peas & carrots in one of the sauce pans, cover with water and heat on the stove over medium-high heat until boiling, lower heat to keep it simmering.
- Place refrigerated sauce in the other sauce pan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.
****THIS IS WHEN I CAME HOME AND HOW I FINISHED DINNER****
- Toss the chicken in the sauce and place back in the oven to keep warm.
- Drain peas & carrots.
- In a large pan or wok, melt 1tbsp faux-butter and scramble one egg. Add rice and peas & carrots, 1tbsp light/low-sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp of crushed garlic, ½ tsp of black pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 29, 2010
i don't eat broccoli
The Thanksgiving holiday is barely over and everywhere I go, all I hear about is Christmas!! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday and wonderful long weekend. I’d love to hear about your signature dish, what you do with your leftovers or your favorite dessert … please share!!
Now, what was that I said about Christmas? Oh yea … like many people, I normally start celebrating Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I would probably start earlier, but I have a deal with Dan that I will not start until the day after Thanksgiving because he thinks I go a little overboard and that it is not healthy to listen to Christmas music year round. So every year, on the days after Thanksgiving, I lovingly turn my leftover turkey into Feel Better Soup, clean the house top to bottom and bring out the decorations and tree to make the whole house look like Christmas exploded all over the place. This year, however, I am way behind on my normal schedule thanks to Dan talking me into a complete and total lazy day followed by a day with the fam followed by a gluttonous girls’ day (wine + mani + pedi = yay!). It wasn’t a total loss; I enjoyed myself thoroughly but now I am BUSY getting caught up from my three days off! Between Christmas prep, working on my list of 101, regular every day “fun” and who knows what else that’ll pop up … I will be very happy when January 1st has come and gone. (I normally take down everything Christmas on January 1st, if I don’t then Dan threatens to do so for me and, well, neither of us wants that!)
As part of my ongoing attempts to cut-the-fat, here is another holiday fave gone thinner. I cannot personally vouch for the flavor as I detest broccoli; it does not matter what you cover it in, I still can’t eat it. However, Dan told me this Thanksgiving that this dish has moved to his list of holiday faves and has asked for it to be added to our Christmas menu. I can attest that the cheese sauce is delish though so I hope you give it a try!
Broccoli Au Gratin (sounds fancy for broccoli with cheese sauce)
3-4 cups fresh broccoli (frozen works too) washed and chopped
1 small brick Velveeta made with 2% milk (I know, I know, I’m not a big velveeta person either but I promise this is good)
1 cup reduced sodium 99% fat-free chicken broth
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (2 if they’re large, 3 if they’re small or you’re measuring minced garlic out of a jar)
2 tsp black pepper
1tsp white pepper
Panko (or whatever bread crumbs you have in your pantry)
- Cut the brick of velveeta into about 1” cubes and place in small saucepan with remaining ingredients over medium-low heat
- As the velveeta melts, whisk the sauce together until smooth; immediately remove from the heat or it will BURN (yes, I know from experience)
- Steam your broccoli, or boil your frozen (you can do this while the veleeta is melting)
- Place broccoli in a casserole dish, pour the cheese sauce over and toss to coat, sprinkle a little panko over the top
- Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until all bubbly and browned; enjoy!
**VARIATION: increase the broth to 2 cups and add 1 cup uncooked Minute brown rice + 2 cups cooked and cubed chicken breast (or leftover turkey), increase cook-time to 30-45min and turn this into an easy weeknight casserole entrée instead of just a side dish. Again, I cannot personally vouch for the flavor but Dan loved it when I made it for him from the leftovers we had in the fridge. **
Now, what was that I said about Christmas? Oh yea … like many people, I normally start celebrating Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I would probably start earlier, but I have a deal with Dan that I will not start until the day after Thanksgiving because he thinks I go a little overboard and that it is not healthy to listen to Christmas music year round. So every year, on the days after Thanksgiving, I lovingly turn my leftover turkey into Feel Better Soup, clean the house top to bottom and bring out the decorations and tree to make the whole house look like Christmas exploded all over the place. This year, however, I am way behind on my normal schedule thanks to Dan talking me into a complete and total lazy day followed by a day with the fam followed by a gluttonous girls’ day (wine + mani + pedi = yay!). It wasn’t a total loss; I enjoyed myself thoroughly but now I am BUSY getting caught up from my three days off! Between Christmas prep, working on my list of 101, regular every day “fun” and who knows what else that’ll pop up … I will be very happy when January 1st has come and gone. (I normally take down everything Christmas on January 1st, if I don’t then Dan threatens to do so for me and, well, neither of us wants that!)
As part of my ongoing attempts to cut-the-fat, here is another holiday fave gone thinner. I cannot personally vouch for the flavor as I detest broccoli; it does not matter what you cover it in, I still can’t eat it. However, Dan told me this Thanksgiving that this dish has moved to his list of holiday faves and has asked for it to be added to our Christmas menu. I can attest that the cheese sauce is delish though so I hope you give it a try!
Broccoli Au Gratin (sounds fancy for broccoli with cheese sauce)
3-4 cups fresh broccoli (frozen works too) washed and chopped
1 small brick Velveeta made with 2% milk (I know, I know, I’m not a big velveeta person either but I promise this is good)
1 cup reduced sodium 99% fat-free chicken broth
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (2 if they’re large, 3 if they’re small or you’re measuring minced garlic out of a jar)
2 tsp black pepper
1tsp white pepper
Panko (or whatever bread crumbs you have in your pantry)
- Cut the brick of velveeta into about 1” cubes and place in small saucepan with remaining ingredients over medium-low heat
- As the velveeta melts, whisk the sauce together until smooth; immediately remove from the heat or it will BURN (yes, I know from experience)
- Steam your broccoli, or boil your frozen (you can do this while the veleeta is melting)
- Place broccoli in a casserole dish, pour the cheese sauce over and toss to coat, sprinkle a little panko over the top
- Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until all bubbly and browned; enjoy!
**VARIATION: increase the broth to 2 cups and add 1 cup uncooked Minute brown rice + 2 cups cooked and cubed chicken breast (or leftover turkey), increase cook-time to 30-45min and turn this into an easy weeknight casserole entrée instead of just a side dish. Again, I cannot personally vouch for the flavor but Dan loved it when I made it for him from the leftovers we had in the fridge. **
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
is that a vegetable or a dessert???
Technically it’s a vegetable, but did you know it flowers? Regardless, the sweet potato is fabulous. Packed full of important vitamins, they’re low in calories and have virtually no fat. There’s a whole lot of good info about sweet potatoes here so I won’t bore you with just typing out all the facts. So what’s the problem with sweet potato pie? Namely that it is drowned in butter and sugars and sometimes marshmallows or whipped cream which negates all the positive influence of the pure sweet potato!
In order to get the full benefits of the sweet potato without loading it down in fat and calories, I’ve modified my traditional sweet potato casserole while still maintaining that Thanksgiving-esque sweetness. Hope you enjoy!
Sweet Potato Casserole
3-4 medium sweet potatoes
3 tbsp heart-healthy faux butter, divided
¼ cup fat free half & half
2-3tbsp of skim milk
2 tbsp brown sugar substitute, divided (splenda brand is best)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon blend or pumpkin pie spice
1tsp each salt and black pepper
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecan
-- Wash the sweet potatoes and prick a few times with a fork; microwave for about 7-12min (depending on size) until really soft; allow to cool slightly for easy handling
-- Once cooled, split them open and scoop out the insides into a casserole dish
-- Add 2tbsp of the faux butter, half & half, milk, 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar substitute, vanilla and spices; mix well then smooth out the top. I add the milk a tablespoon at a time until I get the consistency that I want so that portion may vary.
-- Mix remaining 1tbsp faux butter and ½ tbsp brown sugar substitute with the chopped nuts and spread across the top of the sweet potato mixture (I sometimes sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top too)
-- Bake at 350 for about 20-30 min or until you have a nice crust and enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
