Arroz Con Pollo

I'm excited to say this is a completely new recipe to me.

Since I had the day off I decided to start this early as I also had some cleaning to do in preparation for company.

You can find the recipe here.

Of course I changed a couple, um, several things.

I set it to serve 8 instead of 12.  I used only 2 lbs of chicken breasts instead of 6 lbs of whole chickens.

After I browned the chicken in the dutch oven I used about 1/4 cup Sherry to deglaze the pan.

I used half the butter and oil it called for.

I used two red bell peppers instead of one green and one red as I don't like the bitter taste of green peppers.  Use whatever you like.

Finally, I used about 4 cloves of fresh, minced garlic instead of two.  As if I'd only use 2 cloves!  Geesh!

So the following is my version.


Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 celery ribs, finely diced

2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 onions, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves fresh, minced garlic

1 can(14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

3 cups long-grain and wild rice, DRY

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup sherry

Parsley

Salt & Pepper


Instructions

I did all my prep work first.  There's a lot of vegetable chopping going on in this recipe.

So, here's your step one- set the mood for your ultimate cooking pleasure.

I did this by lighting my Gardenia candle, putting on good music and my silly apron that says "Imagine Whirled Peas".

Once I get going I sing, sashay, chop, and measure as I flit around my kitchen. I highly recommend this.  :)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter and oil in a Dutch oven. Working in batches, brown chicken breasts on both sides.  This took me 2-4 min on each side on medium high heat.  

A quick word about using the Dutch oven- once you've brought something to heat you can usually reduce it and use a lower heat than you would with a regular skillet as it retains heat quite nicely.

After you've finished browning the chicken set it aside on a plate and then add the sherry to deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits of flavor off the bottom.

Add all your veggies and cook until softened around 7 minutes.

Add in the rice, broth, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp salt.

Bring to a boil and then add the chicken to the pot, cover it and transfer it to the oven.

Cook in the oven for 40 minutes or until rice is done.  Garnish with parsley.

I set this recipe to serve 8.  After putting it into the recipe builder with my changes it comes to 10 points per serving.  

I thought this tasted wonderful!  I really loved the different textures and colors.

Even though it's set to serve on a platter I used this large soup bowl mainly because it's just so darn pretty.  My mom got this for me.  It was made by a local artisan and it's covered in my favorite colors, purple and blue.

That's another recommendation I'd have for you- make sure you have a nice presentation, not just for your company but for yourself.  Make your healthy food more visually appealing and you won't feel like you're missing out on anything.  In fact, I think you'd be surprised just how much you would start to look forward to your beautiful, home-cooked meals.

It's the alchemy of cuisine.  When you have the time, dinning should be an experience.

And after eating your food you should feel nourished.  Add in conversation with people you care about and it's something altogether different.

It's a great way to move more fully into self-love and a great way to show love to the special people in your life.


The only thing I'd change next time is that I would add pre-cooked mushrooms.  I just love mushrooms, they're zero points and they'd be just lovely in this.

I hope you enjoy this one-pot wonder.

Happy Cooking!!!

Sriracha Green Beans

If you like hot and spicy sriracha you're going to love this!

Have I ever mentioned I'm a green bean freak?  I can eat whole cans at a time.  

When I go out to restaurants or family dinners I have to remind myself what normal portion sizes are for them.  

You can imagine how excited I was to find out it's a zero point food on WW, as long as you're not adding sauces that is.  

This is Birds Eye brand Sriracha flavored Green Beans.

These are only 2 pts per every 3/4 cup serving which is a lot better than the tots were.  

They're inexpensive and found at most grocer's in the frozen foods section.  

My husband actually surprised me with these!  He thought they'd probably be low in points because he knows green beans are free and that I love them.  

HE gets major points for that!  Kindness is a great thing but when you're completely surprised by it, it feels even better.    

So if you're up for hot & spicy snag some of these little firecrackers and enjoy some low point yum.

Cauliflower Tots

If you've been reading my blog you know that I've been hounding my local grocers and desperately searching for Green Giant's cauliflower tots.

I was shopping at Wal-Mart and stumbled upon them in the frozen foods section.

As my brain registered what my eyes were seeing this is what I heard in my head.  

FINALLY I've found them!!!!  

And I grabbed the last bags in the store.  

The scoop is that they tasted great, like cheesy potatoes.  

The only down sides were that they didn't brown well even though I cooked them quite a bit longer than the package directed and they were a little high in points.  

They're 4 points for a serving of six tots which seems kind of high to me considering I could totally binge my way through the whole bag.  

I think I've finally gotten to where I know not to lay out the whole pan and only put out what I'm going to eat.  

Still, I think these were great and I was so excited to finally get to try them!

Hallelujah!  :)

La Croix

I have heard about this La Croix flavored water for quite some time now.

When I went to our local health food store I saw it and thought I'd give it a try.  

I bought grapefruit flavor, mango, orange and peach-pear.

My son and I were excited to try this and we both wanted the grapefruit flavor.  

Sadly, we both didn't really like.  

It's basically club soda with a little flavoring and I would assume the other flavors are also flavored club soda.  

The thing is that I actually really, really like the taste of regular old tap water but I know a lot of people don't. 

And if this is the only way you can stomach water I'd say go for it!  

Bottom line- if you like club soda and you don't plain water you're gonna love this.  

If you don't like club soda you'll probably want to skip it.  

But you know what they say, variety is the spice of life!

To each her, or his, own.  :)

Skinny Cow Oh La La Chocolate Truffles

Product spotlight today.  

I just picked these up at Wal-Mart.  I had read something on a Hungry Girl newsletter mentioning that Skinny Cow had some new products.

I originally thought these were going to be just like Yasso bars but I'm not sure they really are.  

Even though this was really good it seemed similar to their standard bar with some extra chocolate swirled on.

It may be some new packaging, in which case I just gotta say, I'm still gonna fall for that.

Like I always say, I'm a sucker for packaging.

They're 5 pts a piece which really isn't too bad for a sweet.

And, they're really super yummy and rich and chocolaty- all the things that make me really happy!

Just sayin'- summer's coming and this would sure be a great way to cool off :)

Spicy Hummus Dip & Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Just a short post today with more find's from Trader Joe's.  

You know, before I went I had copied screens of products I was seeing on WW's Connect as well as copying Hungry Girl's pages on this store.

Let's just say it took me twice as long to shop as usual.  

I was scanning like a mad woman!

The first product is the spicy hummus.  It was really tasty and only 1 pt for each 2 Tbsp serving!

The cauliflower soup is only 3 pts for a 1 cup serving!

This was good, not great, but it was good.  My husband actually liked it even better than I did.

And, it's just nice to have something like this on hand for nights when I'm too tired to cook.

Yes, I do have those nights.  

So next time you're at Trader Joe's stock up!

Happy Snacking!

Surviving Chuck E. Cheese

My son's birthday was at Chuck E. Cheese this year.  Even though he's getting older he still wants to be a kid right now and thankfully isn't embarrassed of his Mommy yet.  

Of course there was pizza...

And cake...

But, you know what?

I didn't eat any of it!!!!

Yay me!!!

I ate a good breakfast before we left and had a sugar free mocha for 4 pts too.

At the party I felt like I had to be "on" and that everyone and everything was taken care of.

My husband noticed that I wasn't eating any of it and leaned over and whispered in my ear "it's not really any good any way".

"Good!"  I thought.  I don't want to waste my points on crummy pizza anyway!  

I came home and ate a piece of Nancy's frittata that I had made for 6 pts.

And it was delicious and I didn't feel deprived and I didn't feel shamed or sorry or bloated.

And it was such a nice feeling.  

Some people shoot for getting blue dots(days you stay within your points) all month long or at least for one day.

I celebrate each and every moment and every meal at which I make a good choice because it's one meal and one moment at a time for me.

And today, in this moment I was victorious!

I give myself credit for doing something that supports my goals and the healthy lifestyle I enjoy.

Today I honored my body temple and it felt good in mind, body and soul.

That's a NSV(non-scale victory)!!!!

Nancy's Sausage, Mushroom, Sweet Potato Frittata

This is another recipe from my wonderful WW leader, Nancy.

It's really easy too.  And, it's really something you can serve at any meal.

Gotta love flexibility.

I just made this ahead of time for our dinner tonight.

Since I didn't have the Sweet Italian Sausage on hand I used 1 lb of the Honeysuckle turkey breakfast sausage.

I also chose to use all liquid egg whites instead of the eggs.  Again, lots of flexibility and you can decide how to create with this.



Ingredients

10 oz uncooked sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

3 links(12 oz) Honeysuckle uncooked Sweet Italian Sausage

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh spinach, packed

12 eggs(or 3 cups egg substitute)

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese



Instructions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 12 baking dish with cooking spray.

Line the prepared pan with sliced sweet potatoes.  Bake for about 10 minutes to partially cook potatoes.

Take the sausage out of the casings and brown in a non-stick skillet, crumbling as it cooks.
Drain and evenly spread over the sweet potatoes.  Top with mushrooms and spinach.

Whisk eggs together in a medium bowl.  Pour eggs over spinach.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake covered for 20 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes until the eggs are set and potatoes are tender.

Serve warm or save for later.  This refrigerates or freezes and reheats in the microwave or oven very well.

Points:  For 8 servings:  1= 7 smart points with eggs/  4 smart points with egg substitute

When I put my changes into the recipe builder I put it in for 6 servings and it came out to 6 points.


Okay, truth time~

  I realized I screwed up a little, or a lot, when I was typing this up just now.  I totally forgot to cover the dish the first time I put it in for 20 minutes.  I noticed the spinach got a little crunchy but didn't think anything of it.

  I also forgot the salt and pepper but it was plenty salty for me which is just a shocker!!!  Maybe I'm making strides on my salt habit.

  I also put more mushrooms than it called for which made it a little wet but when I pulled it out I could tip it to a corner and pour out some of the mushroom juice.

  Despite all my goofs it still turned out really well.

  Sometimes you just gotta laugh at your mistakes.  Thank goodness I'm not going for perfect!

  As they say, it's a moving target.

This was really delicious and relatively easy to make if you're not in a complete brain fog as I was.

I guess that's what I get for taking on too many things at once.

Once again my thanks to Nancy sharing it with us.  Thank you fearless leader!

Happy Cooking!

Pop Quiz

P  O  P    Q  U  I  Z  

As you may recall I'm in the midst of doing a 100 Days of Weight Loss Challenge.

So far, it's been good.  Now in the way of hitting target points every day?  Um, not quite there yet but I am learning a lot and I think in the end that's more valuable than a quick fix.

I'm starting to see trends for myself.  I noticed that I can pretty much have two red dot days(days when I go over) and if the rest are green dots(on target) than I'm weight neutral.

If it's more red dots than that I'm definitely looking at a gain. I think if I ever decide to try WW Simply Filling plan this might come in handy but I'm not there yet.

What I also know is that there are foods I avoided since I've started WW because I felt too vulnerable.  They were my trigger foods.  What I'm starting to think though is that I need to make more of an effort to somehow get these things in in smaller amounts on a more regular basis with the idea that I won't feel deprived and it will hopefully demystify the whole thing.  I'm hoping it will be less alluring and special if I have it more regularly.

The thing is that you lose so much weight and if you haven't had something you love then you're ready to let yourself have it all of a sudden but you haven't trained yourself to have it in small bits so you binge and it's a mess.

The thing I'm working on is sorting how I'm going to work in more regular small treats.  But it's something to work on.

 For the 100 Day Challenge the first ten days are more or less setting you up for success.

One of the days consisted of a short little quiz which I'll post for you here.  This day was talking about asking for support and so after you fill it out then you're supposed to show it to the people close to you so they know and understand what makes you feel supported and what does not.

It helps eliminate bad feelings between everyone.  So if you want to, take the quiz and consider showing it to your support group.

I'll be sharing mine with my husband and mother.  They're the ones I see most often and are around to see me eat and struggle or succeed.

THE "WHAT I WANT FROM YOU" QUIIZ

1.  If you see me eating something that's not on my diet plan you should:
a)____ Ask me, "Should you be eating that?"
b)____Ignore it entirely.
c)____Ask me if I've had a bad day.
d)____Give me a hug.
e)____Offer me something healthy like a piece of fruit.(I made this one up)

2.  When I'm making progress, such as losing weight:
a)____Compliment me on how I look.
b)____Praise me in front of others.
c)____Never comment on my progress in front of others.
d)____Give me non-food gifts or rewards.

3.  When I'm struggling or gaining weight:
a)____Tell me you notice and really care about my struggle.
b)____Ignore it entirely.
c)____Hug me and show me extra affection.
d)____Ask me how you can help.

4.  When I'm making progress you can't see(such as improving my self-esteem):
a)____Ask me how my efforts are going.
b)____Compliment me on how I look.
c)____Ignore my efforts and my changes.
d)____Give me non-food gifts or rewards.

5.  When I've maintained my weight(even though I may still want to lose more):
a)____ Tell me you are proud of my current efforts.
b)____Ignore the subject entirely.
c)____Ask me if I'm struggling or feeling discouraged.
d)____Compliment me on my looks and my efforts.
e)____Ask me how you can support me.(I made this one up too)


Keep in mind that you can, and in fact should, make up your own answers if there's something else that would work better for you.

I also actually marked some of these with two acceptable answers and wrote in "NEVER!" next to the ones that would really offend me and, believe me, some of them would.

#1a is a NEVER!!!!!  for me.  That would only served to make me really, really angry.  I've had that happen to me before and I was all at once hurt and angry.  It ruined my whole day.

My answers were:
1 e
2 c & d
3 c & d
4 b & d
5 e

Of course everyone is different and that's the point of this exercise.  Your support group people aren't mind readers and this will help them help you and strengthen your relationship as you take responsibility for your feelings and situation.

I personally find it very empowering to ask for help in this way.

I also think we may want to include other things that we find difficult.  For instance, I told my mother-in-law to please not give my son gifts of chocolates and I asked my mom not to bring Reese's into my house.

I can't stay out of those even if they're my son's.

Hope this helps you set yourself up for success.  :)

To-Die-For Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

Some years ago I started really getting into cooking with quinoa.  It's high protein and super versatile.

I started following and reading Wendy Polisi's books and website.  Let's just say she's the queen of all things quinoa.  I've purchased several of her e-books in a very inexpensive bundle.  I've also had our local library buy her books.  I secretly always feel good about ordering books for the library because I like knowing other people are going to benefit from reading them too.  It's a way to pay it forward.

As I mentioned, Wendy has several books.  She also has several quinoa burger recipes.  This one specifically came from her first book The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook.

It is a little higher in points than I usually like but sometimes you just gotta have what you're craving.

I've tried so, so many different vegan and vegetarian burgers of all types and this is truly my absolute favorite.

To be upfront and honest it's a bit of cooking so if you're someone who doesn't like to cook this may not be the recipe for you.  Also, it's on the spicy side.  If you're not into hot and spicy you need to reduce the heat or forego this one.

Or...  maybe this is a recipe you need to find someone to make for you(yes, I'm totally laughing here).

A quick word about cooking with quinoa.  Before you cook with it you need to rinse the resin(saponin) off by using a very fine mesh strainer. If you don't it will be bitter.
There are also several different types of quinoa but the most readily available are the white, red and black.  My personal favorite is the red.

When it's cooked it goes from looking like the seed it is to looking like it has a little tail on it.

The recipe I usually use to cook plain quinoa is to boil 1 1/4 cup water and then add 1 cup rinsed quinoa.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes covered.
Then take it off the heat and let it sit covered for five more minutes and then fluff with a fork.

I find this recipe is the best.  Others I've tried seem to overcook and stick to the pan and some are so wet at the end of cooking that you have to drain it.  What a hassle!    

On to the recipe!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans(I buy canned and rinse them)

1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce

1 onion, chopped fine

6 cloves garlic, minced(I know it sounds like a lot but it's really good!)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup cilantro, minced(I used 1 Tbsp dried)

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)

3 Tbsp walnut oil, divided(this is pricey so don't feel like it has to be walnut oil-use what you have)


Instructions

Place 1/2 cup of the black beans in the bowl of the food processor with the chipotle chili.  Pulse until well combined.  I ended up having to use 1-2 Tbsp of water to get it to blend properly.  I also used my smaller bowl insert for the food processor.  Combine with remainder of black beans in a large bowl.

Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce 

Heat skillet sprayed with olive oil spray over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, tomato past, crushed red pepper, chili powder, salt and pepper and cook for one more minute.  Remove from heat and combine with black bean mixture.

Add in quinoa, breadcrumbs and cilantro.  Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes and add in eggs and cheese.  For best results, place in refrigerator for one hour(I was too lazy to do this step).

Form patties and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Heat half of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook for 3 minutes per side.

I put the nutritionals she lists in the WW calculator.  For one 77 gm patty it's 6 points.  

There are several ways to cut points here- use egg whites instead of whole eggs, use a lower fat cheese etc.  The thing is that I've had the full fat version and that's what I'm craving.  I mean really craving it like crazy.  So I was kind of afraid I'd go to all this work only to be a little disappointed if it wasn't quite the same.  Now that I've had my fix I do intend to try the lower fat version at some point.

I also want to mention that vegans could potentially use a dairy free cheese substitute and maybe use processed firm tofu in lieu of the eggs to help hold it all together.

So this is a little on the high side points wise but today it was worth it for me.  I love these so much it's better than a hot fudge sundae in my book.

My husband loves them too.  Those chipotle peppers in adobo sauce just flood our house with that smoky, savory smell while I'm cooking.  Tonight my husband couldn't seem to keep his nose away from my pans while I cooked.  I just chuckled and elbowed him to move over.

These are just so yummy!!!!  I was again very happy with how they turned out.

And, for me, the points and time it took to cook them was totally worth it.

Happy Cooking!

Surviving the Cheesecake Factory

Whenever we go to KC my son insists we eat at the Cheesecake Factory.

For those of you who haven't been to one let me just say it's the fattiest food God ever made, literally food as big as your head.

Wait for the but.....

BUT, they now have a skinnylicious menu!

And, it's really good!  I started my meal with the beet and goat cheese salad pictured below.  

For the main course I ordered the skinnylicious steak medallions.  Normally this would be served over mashed potatoes but fortunately I don't like mashed potatoes.  

So, I held the mashed potatoes and substituted veggies instead.  They gave me a bowl of lovely and fresh carrot and snow pea medley.

All in all this was absolutely heavenly!  

I did not feel deprived at all.  

My mom and dad even ordered off the skinnylicious menu and they said the food was really good.

Mom had the fish tacos and dad had the salmon.  Both meals looked delectable.  

I will also tell you before I ordered I was looking it all up and reading this article from Hungry Girl.  

You gotta love technology.  It makes this plan infinitely easier than it used to be.

I also personally love how accommodating restaurants are now.  

If I'm being honest I'd also admit it's kinda nice seeing respect shining back in the eyes of the wait staff when I explain that I'm on WW and trying to make a good choice.  

Really, it just feels good to walk your talk.  

So, the next time you go to this restaurant give this a try.  

The only thing I'm doing differently next time is asking that they steam the veggies.  

I think there was possibly peanut or sesame oil on them but they were good and I didn't let it ruin my good mood.

Here's to workin' the plan.  

Kale Bites & Carrot & Pea Patties

I know what you're thinking- this is a lot of Trader Joe's.

I did tell you I brought a cooler right?  I really stocked up.  I've spent months looking at other people's Trader Joe's food and finds, envious of all that low point loot.

So when I had the opportunity I had to fully stock up.

I do have a confession though.  Honestly, I feel better and I still get fuller on my own cooking which is usually lower in points than anything I could buy.

The scoop on the carrot and pea patties- they were okay.  I didn't love them as I thought they were a bit bland and mushy but they were okay.

The patties are 2 pts a piece which is certainly very low.

Now the kale bites were another story.

I loved these!  In fact I think they're my favorite of all the Trader Joe stuff I've tried so far.

The only problem was that it's 5 pts for 4 of them and I ate almost the whole box.

My poor husband only got one.