Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients

2 slices high fiber wheat bread (I like to use Milton's 100%whole wheat... but I used Natures Own Double Fiber for the recipe calc)
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup egg beaters
cinnamon to taste
1TBLS low fat cream cheese
1/2 banana sliced
2TBLS sugar free syrup
spray butter

Directions

Combine egg sub, vanilla extract and cinnamon
Spread cream cheese on on side of bread and top with banana slices. Put bread slices together to sandwhich banana and cream cheese. Dip opposite sides of slices into egg mixture. Cook on medium until browned on each side. Spray with spray butter and top with SF syrup :) enjoy!
Number of Servings: 1

Nutritional Info – 4 WW Points

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 229.3

• Total Fat: 3.9 g
• Cholesterol: 9.0 mg
• Sodium: 431.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 39.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 12.1 g
• Protein: 14.1 g

Source:  SparkRecipes/Calliefornia

Roni’s Whole Wheat Pasta Pie

• 12 oz whole wheat rigatoni
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz extra lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 gloves garlic minced
• 1 medium zucchini diced
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried basil (or more to taste)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 4 oz fancy shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta until just done. Shave off 1-2 minutes from the time given on the box. I cooked mine for 10.

While preparing the pasta you’ll be making the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey with the olive oil, onion and garlic. Add the zucchini and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.

By this time your pasta should be ready. Drain, rinse with cold water and put back in the pot. Add 1/4 cup of the crushed tomatoes and stir to coat the pasta. Set aside.

Add the remaining crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Stir and add the tsp of basil. It should boil fairly quickly. Lower to a simmer.

Returning to the pasta, add the 1/2 of Parmesan cheese and stir to coat.

Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Begin to place the pasta upright in the pan. It will be a little touch and go for a bit but you’ll get the hang of it. I started with the perimeter and worked my way to the center. It took me about 10 minutes. Don’t worry some will be taller and shorter. Some will even have a bend. It will all work out once you are finished.

Top the pasta with the meat sauce. Now, I do NOT have patience to make sure there is meat and sauce in every tube. I just banged the pan a few time allowing things to setting and then added some more sauce until all but about a cup or so was on left in the skillet.

Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove and top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

Remove and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge. Release the spring form and viola!

Add a splash of water to the remaining sauce in the skillet to serve on the side in case anyone wants a little extra.

Now, for the nutritional information. I reduced the amount of pasta, cheese and meat from the original recipe, yet used the same size pan. Using the ingredients originally posted on Noble Pig and using the same number or portions for each recipe (6), I reduced everything but fiber, that I increased. :) Here is a little side by side from Nutrition Data. Remember these are just estimates.

You can see pictures of how Roni made this on her site.  Here’s the link!

Sausage & Pepper Skewers…

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 large green bell pepper cut into large chunks
• 1 large red pepper cut into large chunks
• 2 thick slices of a large sweet onion cut into large chunks
• 20oz (6) Italian turkey sausage links (I used Shady Brook Farms Hot) partially defrosted
• 8 skewers sticks
• non-stick cooking spray (for grill)

Preheat the grill.

Put the olive oil, vinegar and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Add the pepper and onion chunks. Toss in the oil mixture to coat.

Cut each sausage links into 4-5 chunks. If you keep the sausage slightly frozen this process is much easier. Simple defrost frozen sausage for a few minutes in the microwave.

Toss the sausage chunks into with the pepper and onions

Skewer the sausage with the pepper and onion, alternating the three ingredients. I shot for 4 pieces of sausage per skewer.

Makes 8 skewers and I had enough veggies left over for a veggie one.

Lower the grill to medium cook for 20-25 minutes turning frequently.

Serve  on a bed of instant whole grain flavored rice.

Aprox Nutritional Information per serving

Servings
Amount per Serving
Calories - 260
Fat - 13
Fiber - 2
WWPs – 6

Another great recipe from Roni at GreenLiteBites.  More pictures here.

Whole Wheat Pizza Margherita

Serves: 8

Details:

Sometimes nothing satisfies like a slice of cheesy pizza. This one's made with a whole-wheat crust and part-skim mozzarella, so it's ideal for South Beach Dieters — and anyone in the mood for a slice.

Tip:

Note: If you don't have a rolling pin, use a wine bottle or stretch the dough out with your hands. If the dough springs back too much, let it rest for 3 minutes to relax the gluten. The cornmeal on the pizza stone or baking sheet makes the crust dry and crunchy. The basil shouldn't go on until after baking, or it will burn.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, plus additional for kneading

Topping:

• 2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced, then cut into half circles
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella, thinly sliced into half circles
• Extra-virgin olive oil (optional garnish)
• 8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• Dash of cornmeal for pizza stone

Nutritional Information:

237 calories
7 g total fat (2 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
31 g carbohydrate
12 g protein
5 g fiber
703 mg sodium

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine yeast and warm water; let sit until yeast foams, about 5 minutes. Stir in oil and salt. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing with a large spoon, until dough comes away from the side of the bowl and holds together.
2. Sprinkle additional flour onto work surface. Turn out the dough and knead about 5 minutes, until it is smooth and springy, adding only enough flour to keep it from sticking to the board.
3. Form dough into a ball; place in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
4. To make pizza: Preheat oven to 475°F. Place dough on lightly floured work surface; flatten with your hand. Using floured rolling pin, roll dough outward from the center. Form dough into a circle or rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
5. Sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal. Lay crust on stone or sheet. Lay alternating slices of tomato and cheese on top of the crust, slightly overlapping each piece. Lightly drizzle with additional oil, if desired.
6. Let pizza rest 10 minutes. (This step can be skipped, but it makes for the crispiest crust.) Place pizza in oven and bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is melting and browning a bit. Sprinkle pizza with sliced basil leaves.

Source: southbeachdiet.com

Red Robin, fuggedaboutit…

Red Robin just opened in Heavensville. Hubby loves their burgers and is excited about going.  I just checked with DWLZ to see how many points.  Holy Crap, there’s more points in a burger than I eat in an entire day.  A LOT MORE!  Just look at this – the numbers at the end are the points.  *GASP*, the peppercorn burger has 35.5 points in it!!!!! 

Burgers, as served
5 Alarm Burger (907 cal/58g fat/3g fiber/49g carbs/46g protein) 22.5
A.1. Peppercorn Burger (1400 cal/94g fat/3g fiber/88g carbs/54g protein) 35.5
Bleu Ribbon Burger (1022 cal/61g fat/3g fiber/62g carbs/46g protein) 25
Guacamole Bacon Burger (1151 cal/76g fat/3g fiber/52g carbs/62g protein) 29
Monster Burger (1151 cal/69g fat/3g fiber/57g carbs/74g protein) 28.5
Pot Roast Burger (725 cal/38g fat/3g fiber/56g carbs/38g protein) 17.5
Red Robin Bacon Cheeseburger (1030 cal/70g fat/3g fiber/47g carbs/52g protein) 26
Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger (850 cal/49g fat/3g fiber/57g carbs/46g protein) 20.5
Royal Red Robin Burger (1178 cal/82g fat/3g fiber/48g carbs/60g protein) 30
Santa Fe Burger (1036 cal/63g fat/5g fiber/62g carbs/46g protein) 25 (25.5)
Sauteed 'Shroom Burger (971 cal/60g fat/4g fiber/52g carbs/60g protein) 24
The Banzai Burger (1054 cal/63g fat/3g fiber/69g carbs/48g protein) 26
Whiskey River BBQ Burger (1169 cal/72g fat/5g fiber/77g carbs/49g protein) 28.5 (29)
Knife & Forkers, as served
Bruschetta Chicken Burger (876 cal/54g fat/4g fiber/54g carbs/46g protein) 21.5
Burger Parmigiana (1081 cal/68g fat/5g fiber/82g carbs/60g protein) 26.5 (26.5)
Chili Chili Cheeseburger (979 cal/57g fat/6g fiber/58g carbs/58g protein) 23.5 (24)
Honky Tonk BBQ Pork Burger (811 cal/33g fat/5g fiber/78g carbs/41g protein) 18 (18.5)
Chicken Burgers, as served
Blackened Chicken Burger (791 cal/48g fat/2g fiber/49g carbs/45g protein) 19.5
California Chicken Burger (982 cal/62g fat/3g fiber/50g carbs/53g protein) 24.5
Crispy Chicken Burger (929 cal/56g fat/4g fiber/71g carbs/37g protein) 22.5
Teriyaki Chicken Burger (900 cal/47g fat/3g fiber/65g carbs/55g protein) 21.5
Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Burger (994 cal/54g fat/5g fiber/77g carbs/49g protein) 23.5 (24)
Adventuresome Burgers, as served
Crispy Fish Burger (565 cal/27g fat/3g fiber/58g carbs/24g protein) 13
Grilled Salmon Burger (806 cal/32g fat/2g fiber/52g carbs/36g protein) 18.5
Grilled Turkey Burger (704 cal/45g fat/3g fiber/47g carbs/29g protein) 17.5
Lettuce-Wrapped Protein Burger (560 cal/37g fat/3g fiber/17g carbs/36g protein) 14
The Garden Burger (578 cal/18g fat/10g fiber/63g carbs/22g protein) 11.5 (12.5)

If you want to depress yourself even further, here’s the complete menu…

Awesome breakfast, 4 pt. burrito…

La Prefidera Low Carb 1 point tortilla

onions and red peppers sauteed in non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam

1/2 cup refried beans

1/2 cup egg beaters

fresh spinach

taco seasoning

taco sauce

salsa

Sprinkle the onions and peppers  with a teaspoon or so of dry taco seasoning mix, and cook in the nonstick skillet until somewhat limp.  Meanwhile spread 1/2 cup of fat free refried beans down the middle of the tortilla.  Add the cooked veggies to the top of the beans.

Scramble the egg beaters with a handful of fresh spinach in a skillet until cooked.

Pile on top of the burrito filling.  Add the mozzarella cheese and squirt on a healthy line of  Taco Sauce (I use Pace).

Fold tortilla into an envelope, then wet a paper towel, place on top and nuke it in the wave 1-2 minutes until it’s hot and the cheese melts.

Remove, add another sprinkle of cheese and salsa.

This is fantastic, very filling, and full of fiber and protein so you don’t get hungry again for hours.

The points for this, only 4.  1 point for the beans, 1 for the egg beaters, 1 for the cheese and 1 for the tortilla.  Pretty amazing, huh?

It’s all good this morning, well, kinda….

The good news is that I’m now down four pounds since April 2.

And, I dug out the capris from last season, put on a pair with a sweater this morning, dunno why it’s only 50 degrees, but I did. Anyway, the good news is that they slid right on, no problem, which means that I’m not fatter than I was last year.

The bad news, however, is that they are my big girl capris, my wannabein capris are all stacked to one side. But they’re just a size away, I can do it…

It really helps to be public with this. It makes me be accountable. At least for today…

Are any of you out there doing this weight thing with me? I see from my stats that this site is getting a lot of traffic, so you’re all watching, but you’re watching silently.

I love imput, don’t get hardly any from of all of you, and that’s fine, but I would love to hear any ideas you might have. We’re all in this together…

If you’re eating fast food this week, here’s a list of 500 calories or less food

Roni tweeted about this last night, it’s worth printing and putting in your glove compartment.  158 fast food meals for under 500 calories.

You can always find Roni’s great pages in “The Cream of the Crop” located in my right sidebar.  I’ll be adding more to this area, periodically, so check it often…

Here’s the link to the fast food finds…

~ jan

This is a great trick, if you don’t know it…

This is What I Eat, Every Day

Normally you can click on the slideshow in the right sidebar and it will link you to my Picasa Web Album so that you can snag the recipe. This morning I changed the name of the album from Jan’s Healthy Food to Eating Healthy Every Day, and it takes a while for Picasa to update, so you won’t be able to click and go for a few hours, but you can access it clicking here…  This is a picture of my 3 point (including syrup) breakfast…  The sidebar access should be working later today, and this picture will be included…

~ jan

Yes I’m going to be taking pictures of what I eat….

It’s a good idea, don’t you think, letting all of you visualize what I eat.  Don’t laugh, some of this stuff won’t be too appetizing, but it’s what I’m doing…

There will be  random slideshow in the right sidebar, and you can click on the picture to get more details from my Picasa Web Album.

Tweeting what I eat, a week later, how that’s working out for me….

Actually, it’s working really well.  I’m accountable for what I eat because I publish it, and I never eliminate anything.  Maybe none of you are even reading what I eat, that’s not the point, it’s the fact that I’m doing it.  So for however long it lasts, it’s really working.  I haven’t been home to add my Twitter link to this sidebar, but I will soon.

You can find me at http://twitter.com/whatdaisyeats

my latest harebrain scheme….

I tweet what I eat.  I do.  Yeah, I know it’s nutso, I can barely keep up with all the tweeting I’m doing, but, it really does make me think about what I eat when I publish it.

So, I’m going to take a deep breath here, and post the link, maybe it will help keep me on track, maybe not.  But if it all goes poof, you will know that I fell off the wagon yet again, with a big kerthud.

I look back over my stats for the last couple of years, up and down, the same freakin’ 10 pounds, I lose and gain the same 10 lbs. over and over and over again.  Not to mention the other 20 that I should be losing. 

But it’s a new day, so here’s the link, I’ll put the Twitter site in the sidebar when I have time.

It would be great if some of you would join Twitter and follow me.  You could post what you eat, and I can follow you, too.  Information is power….

I’ve tried every diet that comes along, always go back to following Weight Watchers.  I have vowed many times to never eat low carb again, this time I mean it.  My latest disaster last month before Nisha’s son’s wedding with Atkins made me a believer.  I followed Atkins for 10 days and was never so miserable in my entire life.  And it doesn’t work, as soon as you add the carbs back, the weight comes right back…. 

So it’s 18-20 WW points per day.  It’s worked before.  I went to meetings in my early 50’s, I had gained way too much weight after recovering from meningitis, and being on steroids.  I lost 43 lbs. in 14 months and I didn’t cheat.  I felt great, I was a comfortable size  10 and it worked for a couple of years, but then bad habits returned and the weight started coming back.  But I just don’t want to go to the meetings again, I already know the program backward and forward, so this is my latest idea, being accountable online for what I eat, and letting all of you see it.  I’ll give this a try, why not I’ve tried everything else!

Oh, one other thing, I’m really bad about not cooking for myself, – I cook for hubby, then I’m tired, so I  just grab something, and I don’t eat from all the food groups like I should, so my entries are not always well rounded, if you know what I mean….  But I’m trying to do better, and I’m trying to get him to eat what I do….

http://twitter.com/whatdaisyeats

An oldie but a goodie, worth repeating….

Oh, is my face red!  This is SO me.  Ya know, those frozen cheesecakes aren’t half bad either!

~ jan

      Breakfast
       1 grapefruit
       1 slice whole wheat toast
       1 cup skim milk

       Lunch
       1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
       1 cup spinach
       1 cup herbal tea
       1 Hershey's kiss

       Afternoon Tea
       The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag
       A tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chip

        Dinner
       4 glasses of wine (red or white)
       2 loaves garlic bread
       1 family size supreme pizza
       3 Snickers Bars

       Late Night Snack
       1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)

Salsa Chicken review…

It was amazing, it really was. Hubby devoured it! You would never know you were eating healthy, it was so good.

I made it just like the recipe below, (scroll down to view it) except that I used raw chicken tenderloins, they were a bit smaller than the bigger sized breasts so I used 6 total, 1/2 packet of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning Mix so it wouldn't be too salty, and I cooked it on high for 3 hours in my crock. I stirred in 1/2 cup of fat free sour cream at the end, I wondered if I would need a bit of cornstarch to thicken it, but didn’t. It was perfect.

I also fixed Alton Brown’s Baked Brown Rice, my favorite way to make rice, in the oven, and simmered a can of black beans. Ryan always adds Tapatio (hot sauce) to his beans and some cumin, so that’s what I did also. I served the sauce over the rice, I would rate this a ten, it was so good! Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

How could it have been better? Well, if it had a bit of Mexican cheese melted on the top it would be awesome, it would also be good to shred the meat and put the meat and sauce in a tortilla and make a burrito. Lots of possibilities with this recipe!

Diet Coke Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

16 oz. 96% ground beef
1 cup diet coke
10 tbsp heinz one carb reduced sugar ketchup
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard

Directions

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain beef and add back to skillet. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook on low for 30 minutes uncovered so sauce can thicken. You can also add onions or green peppers if you'd like.

Number of Servings: 4

WW Points – 3.5 without bun

Nutritional Info

* Servings Per Recipe: 4
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 152.5

* Total Fat: 4.5 g
* Cholesterol: 65.0 mg
* Sodium: 596.7 mg
* Total Carbs: 2.5 g
* Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
* Protein: 23.0 g

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Directions

Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Pour salsa and soup over chicken.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Serve with rice.
NOTES:
You may use half the packet of taco seasoning (I have started doing this to reduce sodium content myself)
Some slow cookers cook faster than others. Mine is a true slow cooker (have had it over 10 years.) The newer ones cook a bit faster and you may have to adjust your cooking time based on that!

Number of Servings: 6

Source: SparkPeople user CHELLESHOCKED.
Number of Servings: 6