Lightened Up Taco Ring

I get on kicks, as my husband would say.  I get cravings or ideas and then it's all I can think about for a while until I'm completely sick of it.

I did that with yogurt once when we first got married.

He came home one night and looked in the fridge and the whole entire top shelf was nothing but yogurt.

"Wow, it feels like I'm at the grocery store" was all he sweetly said.

Then once those were gone I was sick of yogurt all of a sudden.

It was about that time he started buying it for me and then wondered why I wasn't eating it.

Since then he's learned this is something that I do.

So, right now I'm on a crescent roll kick.

I think it's kind of fun all the things you can make with them.

They give you a way to be creative and most of the recipes are pretty easy too.

So I was thinking about making a taco ring and actually found that there was already a recipe for this.

This is the one I used.

I calculated the Smart Points to be 9 for a serving of two sections.


Ingredients

2 tubes of Pillsbury's Reduced Fat Crescent rolls(16 total)

1 lb of 97% lean ground turkey

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1/4 chopped bell pepper of choice(I'm using yellow for extra color)

1/2 cup chopped poblano(I added this in)

1 package taco seasoning mix

4 oz reduced fat cheddar or Mexican cheese blend

2 Tbsp water

1 egg white, lightly beaten for wash

Romaine lettuce

25 Black olives, sliced thinly

*** Note about the olives!***

If you use one single olive for the whole freaking batch it doesn't add any points.

However, if you add any more than one it bumps it up by 1 pt per serving.

If you use 25 olives it's still only 1 pt more per serving.

So, I suggest either have no olives or use all 25!

I honestly think it's kind of ridiculous to count 2 olives worth!

Do what suits you.



Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Brown the turkey, onion and peppers in a skillet.

Stir in taco seasoning, water and cheese and mix well.

Before WW I inhaled cheese.  I mean I LOVE it, so that was a big adjustment when I first started.

Now I'm surprisingly satisfied with smaller amounts.

The picture immediately below is 4 oz of cheese which looked like a TON to me!

So, I decided to set a little bit of that aside to sprinkle on top after it was finished cooking.  

Believe me there's plenty mixed in with the meat still.

Set aside.

Pull out a round a 13 inch round baking stone.

Unroll the crescent rolls and place them large side toward the center of the stone, overlapping slightly and fanning out, pointing outwards.

There should be a 5 inch diameter ring in the center.

Let me just mention this wasn't quite as easy to get them laid out, spaced out perfectly as it appeared.

Mine are far from perfect but I'm okay with that.

Spread the meat mixture evenly over the widest end/base of the crescents.

Then finish up by gently folding the tips up and over the top.

Some of the filling will be showing.

Brush the top of the dough with the egg white wash.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Here's a close up of the pretty side-

And the not so pretty side.  :0)

Fill the center of the ring with your toppings of choice.

I initially cut up extra yellow bell pepper and poblano pepper and then also chopped up a fresh Roma tomato, black olives and Romaine.  

Then I added a sprinkling of the cheese I'd set aside earlier.

This was FANTASTIC!!!!  

I had a feeling it was going to be crazy good and it was.  I had the foresight to invite my mom and dad over to enjoy this with us.

Good company makes it taste even better ;)

I also sent leftovers home with them thereby rationing myself!  

Let's just say I could've eaten half of the ring!!! 

Also I will admit that one serving would not fill this hungry girl up so I had extra salad.

This will definitely satisfy that Mexican craving.  

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Pizza Roll Ups

Tonight I was trying to find something to make that all of us would eat.

My son is majorly picky.

So, I made these little pizza roll ups.

I bought Pillsbury's Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls(3 pts a piece) and placed 1/2 of a 1 pt mozzarella cheese stick and 3 slices of turkey pepperoni on each one then rolled them up.

I then sprinkled the tops with garlic salt and grated Parmesan(1 pts for the whole batch).

Next I sprayed them with butter flavored cooking spray to get the seasonings to stick.

Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes.

Voila!

Super cute and yummy pizza rolls!

They're 4 points a piece which is a little indulgent but it was worth it tonight.

I never realized until tonight that the 1 pt mozzarella sticks are still 1 point for only 1/2 stick which kinda made me mad but oh well.

Just make sure you have someone to share them with or it would be easy to eat the whole batch!

                                   

Happy Cooking!!!

The Ava Gardner Sandwich

I'm not normally a big sandwich fan but this baby?  This is to-die-for in my opinion.

I get this beauty at our locally owned health food store.  

It's ciabatta bread with goat cheese on one piece of the bread and a sun dried tomato pesto on the other piece.

In between in kale, Portabella mushroom, onions and roasted beets.

It's called The Ava Gardner.

It is so freaking good!

This would also be easy to make at home.

They grill the Portabella so this isn't laden with butter and oil.  

The spreads are also very thin.

Points~

For one serving of ciabatta bread it's 4 pts.

Goat cheese is 2 pts for one tablespoon.

0 points for beets, onions, kale and mushrooms.

I gave myself 3 pts for the sun dried tomato pesto which is pretty high.

This is where you could probably save big points at home, making your own skinnied down version of this.

So it's roughly 9 points for an insanely delicious and really filling sandwich.

If I'm being honest, I also feel so elegant eating it.

Maybe that's why they named it the Ava Gardner. :)

Never Give Up!

I saw this little sign when we were out shopping and just had to share it with you.

It's a great reminder that the real difference between success and failure is just that we keep showing up.

Never Give Up!

Dining Out at Outback Oyster Bar & Grille

Here we go again, dining out practice.

My family and I were out of town and dining out quite a bit so I got lots of practice trying to make good choices.  

On this day I chose the beef kabobs and asked that they add another shrimp skewer.  

Overall this was good, not great but good.

I'm not trying to sound arrogant but I think my husband's kabobs are a lot better.  

These were overdone and dry.  

But, ...  they weren't too high in points.

The rice was really mediocre so I gave it to my husband.  

That probably cut 5-6 points.

Overall this was very low in points which gave me extra points for a treat.

The hotel we stayed at were serving free 1/2 cup servings(the real serving size) of homemade ice cream.

It was the full fatty deal but oh gosh it was good!

That's how I like to work the program, skimp on one area and indulge on another.

Overall get what I want and still feel good physically and mentally.  

And the more I practice the less afraid I'll be about dining out and staying on track.

After all, practice makes perfect.  

Skinnytaste Cherry Sorbet

Sadly, it's already back to school time.

The kids seem to go back earlier every year which makes the summers seem shorter and shorter.

As I sat back and evaluated everything we did this summer I realized there was one thing we hadn't done.

My son had asked me to make homemade sorbet.

So, today it's all about sorbet.

Before I go on I thought I'd share this enlightening article on the differences between sorbet and sherbet.

I have to admit I was raised pronouncing it "sherbert" and I'm very unlikely to give that up now.

Okay, the truth is that I'm just plain stubborn.

Anyway, today I'm doing a skinnytaste version of homemade cherry sorbet, which is the flavor my son chose.

I was admittedly feeling a bit lazy so I decided to use the frozen cherries so I didn't have to pit them.

Today I merely supervised my son while he cooked.

So, the credit goes to my son for making this tasty treat!


Here we go!


Instructions

2 lbs frozen cherries, thawed

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice


Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.

Cook until the cherries are soft and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.

Pour everything from the saucepan into a Vitamix or blender and puree.

Then pour this mixture through a fine sieve.

Once chilled follow the instructions on your own personal ice cream maker to finish off.

This makes 1 pint per 1/2 cup serving.  

Each serving is 4 points.

This was delicious!

It's a little on the soft side so it will need to go in the freezer but we couldn't wait to try it so we ate it anyway.

It was like eating Dairy Queen's soft serve ice cream by texture.

The only thing I personally would do differently next time is to use less sugar.

I don't think it needs a lot but my son said he wouldn't change a thing.

To each one's own preference.  ;)

Happy Cooking!

0 Pt Veggie Soup!

This post is for my WW meeting buddies, Renay and Barbara.

They asked for a post on my 0 pt soup I'm always mentioning.

Truly this is an essential ingredient in my weight loss tool box.

When I started WW I made sure to keep a big pot of this on hand at all times.

Even now, if I'm trying to get back on track you'll find this soup in my fridge.

I call it button soup because it's more or less me pulling out every veggie in the fridge and throwing it in.

You can change it up any way you like to suit your tastes and needs.

One thing I always enjoy when I make this is how bright and vibrant all those beautiful veggies look on the cutting board and in the pan.

I just look at those and feel a sense of Blessing because I know how wonderfully nourishing they are for my body and how they will serve my family, well, my husband any way.  My son is too picky to eat it but maybe someday....

The other thing you need to know is that I change this up a lot.  I think if you eat the same thing all the time you'll end up hating it, so I change it frequently.

Today as I made it I tried something totally new.  I'll tell you about it in just a bit.

This is how I typically make the base~


Ingredients

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes(I often use fire roasted for extra flavor)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper(or whatever color you like), diced

2 cloves of crushed or minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

2 cups of chopped cabbage

1 cup(or so) of diced carrot

1 medium to large zucchini

8 oz of thinly sliced baby bella or button mushrooms

32 oz broth of your choice(I change it up a lot.  Sometimes chicken and sometimes beef- always low sodium)

*** OPTIONAL***  1/2 skin-on seeded acorn squash cut into one inch cubes.

Spices~

Here's where I change it up.  You can go a lot of different ways here.  Sometimes I use a tsp of smoked paprika with a little cayenne, onion and garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

The last time I made it I used a Tbsp of Bragg Liquid Aminos(or soy sauce) and a Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.

Today I got a wild hair and used taco and chili spice to taste.  I also added another new veggie to the mix today.

I had an acorn squash on hand that needed to be used and decided to use that.  This is one squash where it's okay to eat the skin.

You can read more about eating the skin on squash here.

To make this easy on myself I decided to keep the skin on so I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and cut off the stem and then cut it into 1 inch cubes and threw it in the pot.

I thought this would make it thicker and heartier and help fill in the space where my taste buds were missing the bean texture.

Since this is a 0 pt soup I'm leaving the beans out.  However, this fall you must try Alisha Silverstone's Black Bean and Kabocha Sqaush Stew.  It's FANTASTIC!!!

And, it's totally vegan.


Instructions

Spray a large soup pan with cooking spray.

Add in the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes using broth instead of oil to prevent scorching and sticking.  If I'm adding powdered spices I add it in at this point.

Then add all the remaining ingredients except the zucchini.

Let this simmer for at least 20 minutes.  Then taste it and make sure you're good with the spices you have thus far.

That's the added acorn squash.

If you like the taste then add in the zucchini.  I would only cook this for 10 minutes or so.

The zucchini should be al dente like pasta, meaning crisp tender, not hard and not mushy.

There is nothing worse than mushy zucchini!

Voila!

0 Pt Veggie Soup!

I loved the spicy taste of the taco and chili spices!

And I did love the acorn squash in this.  I will admit that I think I like kabocha squash even better, as does my husband, but this is still very good.

The kabocha has a meatier texture but the acorn squash is more readily available and easier to cut.

You can decide what you throw in your own pot of soup.

This makes a nice large pot.  I often have a cup when I get home from work and then wait an hour or more before I have my dinner.

I also eat this any time I start feeling that jittery, crazy hungry feeling, or what we call hangry.

In addition, if you're out of points for the day this is also a great go-to.

My mom makes a great turkey veggie soup too.  It's not 0 pts but it's crazy delicious!

She usually brings me a big pot and thinks we'll freeze some.  WRONG!

My husband and I love it so much it all gets gobbled up quickly!

I hope you not only enjoy this but that it helps you stay on plan.

It will most certainly nourish your body with all those wonderful vitamins.

After all the more colorful natural foods the better it is for you typically.

We've just gotten back from a weekend away.

When I've indulged on vacation I can't wait to get back and load up on veggies.

This is a great way to do that.

Happy Cooking!

Chili's Ancho Salmon

Here I go again!

My husband, son & I decided to have a date and go see the new Emoji movie Tuesday.

We met for lunch before the movie at Chili's.  

I pulled out my handy dandy phone app and decided on this yummy number, Ancho Salmon.

It's 15 points for the whole plate.

You could cut it down by boxing half of it or you could substitute extra broccoli for the rice.

I have to say, I was a little worried because my husband was sitting next to me and he ordered the fajitas which is what I usually order.

But, ...  mine was delicious!  

He also ordered the chicken and I usually get the steak so it wasn't as tempting. 

You know I always thought fajitas would be point friendly but they're not, at least not at Chili's.  

I suppose it's the oil and the sides of sour cream, cheese and so forth that make them so high.

There's also the tortillas.  But, I've been known to sneak in my own tortillas before.  

When I was pregnant with my son I had gestational diabetes and the only options are diet or insulin.

I was diet controlled, checking my glucose four times a day.  

And you know what?  It's pretty amazing what you can do when you know you're doing it for your baby.  

So, when I ate there during pregnancy I brought my own low carb tortillas in.  

You should've seen the waitress stare at me when I said I didn't want tortillas as I'd brought in my own.  

It was worth it then and it's worth it now.  

So, if you're dining at Chili's you might give this dish a try.  

I didn't feel deprived in the least and after I'd finished every bite I felt really full.

The only down side was that a full belly plus over-sized cozy recliners in the theater are a recipe for sleep!  

I fell asleep at the beginning of the movie and had to sit up to stay awake.  

Good food and be so comforting.  :)

Dining Out

One of the things I didn't allow myself to do too much when I was first losing weight was eat out.  

Obviously you can eat a lot more food for the point when you eat at home and you're not tempted with all the seriously high point items you used to eat.

So, I stayed away.  I ate out once in a great while but not much.

While I don't have any real desire or intention to eat out frequently I now realize it's a skill I need to learn and the only real way to learn it is by practicing.

I need to get used to picking out healthier options when I dine out, finding balance between indulgences at other times and also going ahead for the full fatty deal when I've banked weeklies.  

Last Friday I went on a day trip with my mom to Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

This property is owned by the Wal-Mart family and is completely free to the public.  They only charge for the touring exhibit which happened to be Chihuly.  

Neither of us had been there so it was really fun to have a chance to explore.  

After seeing all that wonderful artwork we decided to explore the town square and found the most delightful Italian place for lunch called Tavola.  

Above pictured is my meal.  It was a chicken cutlet with capers, artichokes, mushrooms and cheese in a lemon butter sauce served over a small bed of angel hair pasta.

It was FANTASTIC!!!!!  

Really, the whole place was just adorable.  Here's a peak~

What you can't see here is that the water was infused by cucumber.  They poured it to the halfway mark in my glass like it was fine wine. 

That simultaneously really tickled me and made me really excited.

I love good atmosphere and presentation!

The other thing you can't see in the picture is that the marinara sauce they brought to the table to dip the homemade bread in had an olive tampenade.  

EVERY. SINGLE. BITE. was FANTASTIC!!!!

Our server was also so delightful.  She was professional, sweet and attentive.  

She may have also gotten a bit tickled by mom and I because we may have been moaning at the table due to the food being so good.

Think "When Harry Met Sally".  ;)

Mom got the salmon dish pictured just above.  She said it was also fabulous.

When I got home I tracked every bite and felt really good about it.  I also got on the treadmill.  

I'd saved up my weeklies for this and it was so wonderful to eat without guilt and with complete abandon.  

It was a blissful experience I highly recommend.  

And, even  though I went through somewhat of a stress volcano a couple days later I still managed to lose 1 lb this week.

We also visited the adorable spice & tea shop across the street from the restaurant and the adjacent bath shop.

  

The adorable little plastic animals are actually tea infusers.  I bought the manatee for my son.

He loved it!

I also bought a packet of two teas- black chocolate and hazelnut cookie.  You can drink them individually or mix them for a Twix candy bar flavor.  

Ladies and gentleman that's the only 0 pt Twix you'll ever find!  lol

The cute bag was the adorable gift wrapping at the bath shop.  I bought my son a glow in the dark bath bomb that was really cool.  

All in all it was a fabulous day out with my mom.  

Of course she was the best part.  ;)

Get Your Pumpkin Fix

I know what you're thinking- "It's too early for pumpkin foods!" but the truth is I love pumpkin flavored goodies and I just couldn't help myself.

I also think it doesn't hurt to have a line up of favorite fall treats before the season hits and everyone is in your face with their high point, fall indulgences.  

This is the Pumpkin Pie flavored, Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt.  

It's 2 pts for the whole thing and it's delicious!  

To be honest I wasn't expecting too much but thought I'd give it a try.  

I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I liked it.

There are a lot of WW members who sprinkle crushed Graham crackers over their yogurt and, had I had any one hand, this would've been perfect.  

Here is a beautiful fall recipe for a pumpkin parfait.  I will warn you that it's almost too good.  

The homemade granola in this is to-die-for good and way too tempting for me to keep in the house.  

My husband can't stay out of it either.  

For the mission critical pumpkin spice latte you can check out my post here where I tried several different recipes.  

You can bet I'll be brewing up a cuppa very soon.  ;)