This was one of my favorite dishes to eat while in France. I finally made my own the other day… the super easy, filling and healthy way.

Time: 30 minutes, Servings: 2-3, Points per serving: 4

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small red potatoes (boiled until fork tender)
• handful fresh green beans (steamed, 4-5 minutes)
• 2-3 cups romain lettuce
• 2-3 eggs (hard boiled , yolks removed)
• ripe tomatoes, I like just about any tomato as long as it is good. Use as many as you like. I think this salad is good with a lot of tomatoes
• 3-4  kalamata olives (chopped very small)
• very thinly sliced red onion (handful)
• one large package tuna fish packed in water

Prep Your Ingredients:

Boil your potatoes and steam your beans while you prep all of the other ingredients. Also wash your lettuce well. The key to this salad is keeping your ingredients dry. It can get watery with the steamed beans and boiled potatoes etc.. so make sure you dry things off  as you add them to the salad bowl.

Make the Dressing:

• juice from one lemon
• 1 T. olive oil
• squirt of dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

(I make this to taste - I like mine to be more acidic than anything else, so I use lots of lemon, less oil)

Toss everything together, and enjoy. I add a bit more salt and pepper, as I think a little extra really helps pull this dish together.

We went to an Orioles game a few weeks ago and I watched my friends eating these amazing smelling, greasy sausage sandwiches - overflowing with peppers and onions and sauerkraut - ooh they smelled sooo good. So, surprise, surprise -  I made a healthy version:

before I rolled it up

Servings: 2, Time: 20 minutes, Points 4.5

Ingredients:

• 2 Low cal, low fat Chicken Sausage  (I used a version I got at Whole Foods, each sausage was 3 points)
• 1/2 red bell pepper - sliced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper - sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper - sliced
• 1/2 pickled sweet red pepper - sliced
• 3/4 red onion - sliced
• 1  1/4 C sauerkraut (this stuff has like 2 calories per cup)
• 2 Light  Original Flat Outs

I cooked the whole thing on my griddle, including the chicken sausage.  The trick is too cook the sausage and peppers and onions for a long time on lowish heat so the flavors really come out and blend etc. I cooked the peppers and onions for about 20 minutes. With about 5-8 minutes remaining, I threw the sauerkraut and pickled sweet red bell peppers on the griddle too. Finally I heated the flat outs for a few minutes too - so they were slightly crispy but still “rollable”.

I served with a little ketchup . I could barely finish. It was so yummy, the sandwich was exploding with peppers and onions - and missing all that greasy baseball game crap. I’ve had the three times since…

I’ve been thinking about this dish for some time - really had no idea how/what exactly I was going to do for this recipe. It is inspired by a dish from a restaurant that ate a while back and loved. I certainly made a healthy version here. I am pretty sure I enjoyed mine better though - less guilty eating and a little more flavorful. So, I did not measure everything below - this is a guess since I was making it up as I cooked. Just keep tasting while you cook to make sure you like the flavors. I was really liking the lime and spice mixed with the curry. The restaurants version was more curry flavor and more butter/olive oil and saucier - surprise, surprise!

Ingredients:

• 1 C French green lentils
• 1/4 C  sweet onion - diced
• 1/2  large eggplant - diced
• 1 zuccini - diced
• 1 yellow squash - diced
• 1 red bell pepper - diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper - diced
• 2 T curry powder
• 1/4 t. garam masala (optional)
• 1/4 t. ground cumin
• 1/3 C Greek yogurt , or nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/3 C light coconut milk
• juice from 1 lime
• Sriracha sauce - to taste
• red pepper flakes - to taste
• salt/pepper
• olive oil

Cook lentils :

• place in pan
• cover with water and bring to a boil
• reduce to a simmer, add diced onions and cover for about 20 minutes

Cook vegetables:

• add olive oil to saute pan, bring to med/med-hi
• add all remaining vegetables
• add spices, coconut milk, yogurt,  lime juice, sriracha, etc… and stir well
• let this cook and continue to taste and add spice
• let cook down for about 20 minutes (stirring occasionally)
• toss in lentil/onion mixture once lentils have cooked thoroughly (drain off any excess water)
• mix well, reduce heat and cook covered for another 5-10 minutes (stirring occasionally)

Servings: 4, Time: 45 minutes, Points: 4

How good does that sound?!

This sandwich is so simple to make, and so refreshing.

Servings: 1, Time: 5 minutes, Points: 4

Ingredients:

• Arnold Sandwich round
• 1/4 sliced granny smith apple
• 5 slices Oscar Mayer smoked turkey
• 1/3 oz. light brie
• honey
• dijon mustard

Preparation:

• Toast sandwich round
• Remove from toaster and place sliced brie in between to melt
• Top with turkey, apples and honey and dijon to taste

I had to have some cherries on the side. I’ve been slightly cherry obsessed lately. I even snuck some into the movie theater the other night. By the way - Terminator was pretty good

I love burgers, and this one is great! Super fast, healthy, easy and delicious.

Servings: 2, Time: 15 minutes, Points: 4

This recipe is a modified Weight Watchers recipe.  It is best if you can throw it on the grill, but just as healthy if you can prepare it inside in a grill pan or griddle. This time we skipped the cheese too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. 99% lean ground turkey breast
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 C chopped red onion
• 2 T fresh parsley
• 1 t. dried tarragon
• salt/pepper
• Arnold sandwich rounds (1 WW point each)
• sliced tomato
• fresh lettuce
• dijon mustard
• ketchup
• fat free mayo

Preparation:

• Mix ingredients first 6 above in bowl. 
• form 2 1/4 lb. burger patties
• Grill till done, don’t overcook, turkey can dry out quickly
• Grill buns for a sec also, then place burger on bun
• Top with tomato slice, lettuce, dijon, mayo and a tiny bit of ketchup (watch the cals in the sugary stuff)

Sweet Potatoes:

I chopped 1 sweet potato into chunks, placed in foil and added olive oil spray, a fresh sprig of thyme,sprinkle of paprika,  salt and pepper. I put this on the grill and occasionally tossed. 1 sweet potato = 1 point, so split between the two of us, this was 1/2 WW point! Oh and dont forget the pickles…they are usually 10 calories per pickle. 

Neither one of us could finish our burgers - next time I am going to go for a smaller patty!

I love throwing all sorts of stuff into salads. This one was pretty tasty.

To me the thing about making a good salad is spending time chopping, grilling, making dressing and really washing your lettuces. If you do these things your salad is bound to be good.

Servings: 2, Time: 20, Points: 4

Ingredients:

3 C. washed fresh lettuce mix

grilled eggplant, bell peppers, portobello mushrooms, red onions. I topped mine with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt/pepper:

While these items were grilling I chopped artichoke hearts, cucumbers and ham.

I also made my balsamic dressing: balsamic, olive oil, honey, fresh chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

I had to show this pretty picture too - these veggies are just soo good when they come in off the grill:

Finally I tossed it all together and added a little reduced fat feta. Mmm mmm good.

This was a quick meal I made on my way in and out of my house tonight. I had about 10 minutes.

Servings: 1, Time: 5 minutes, Points: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 Weight Watchers english muffin
• 1 Morning Star Farms- black bean burger
• handful of lettuce
• tomato slice
• slice sweet onion
• 1/4 oz. parrano cheese
• mayo, ketchup, dijon - to taste

Servings: 1, Time: 15 minutes, Points: 4

Ingredients:

• I lg La Tortilla Factory Tortilla (equals 1 ww point)
• 1/4 C refried beans (lowfat, vegetarian, organic variety)
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 C sweet onion, chopped
• 1 T jalapeno peppers
• 1 oz Tyson grilled chicken
• 1T grated cheddar cheese

Preparation:

• place veggies, jalapenos, and chicken in griddle (or pan)
• spoon beans onto open tortilla
• grate a tiny bit of cheese onto beans
• place open tortilla onto griddle
• spoon grilled veggies and fold top over
• cook until cheese is melted
• cut with pizza cutter or knife
• serve up with sides

Toppings/Sides

Fresh Guacamole - this is how they made it for us in Puerto Rico, and I’ve been making it ever since. Guacamole adds 3 points to this dish, but it is good fat, so I dont feel too bad about eating it. I don’t eat it every day!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Avocado
• 1/4 fresh tomato, chopped
• 1/4 C sweet onion, chopped
• handful fresh cilantro
• juice from 1/2 lime
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• hot sauce

Preparation:

• Mix ingredients in bowl
• Add tomatoes at the very end so they don’t get mushy
• add hot sauce, garlic etc.. to taste

I also had about 2 T Plain Greek Yogurt. If you aren’t using this in place of sour cream yet, you should be. It is so much better for you - tons of healthy stuff, same nutritional punch as regular yogurt, but tastes just like sour cream.

Pace picante sauce and Texas Pete are also two of my favorite sides for Mexican dishes - very few bad things in them and tons of flavor!

Tracey’s Meal: Tyson chicken chunks, Amy’s refried beans, tomatoes, onions, picante sauce, Cholula

Servings: 1, Time: 5 minutes, Points: 5

Amy’s Meal: Morning Star Farms Black bean burger, sauerkraut, tomato, lettuce, 1/2 oz. swiss cheese, Weight Watchers bun, ketchup, ff mayo, mustard

Servings: 1, Time: 5 minutes, Points: 5.5

And now we are out the door! So much better than eating crap somewhere…

I love making burritos. They are easy, quick, and you can put pretty much ANYTHING in them.

Today was Refried beans and Fresh Corn

Servings: 1, Time: 5 minutes, Points: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C Amy’s organic refried beans
• 1 ear of corn, fresh off the cobb
• 1 oz. Tyson grilled Chicken Breast Strips
• 1/8 C chopped sweet onion
• 4 slices Ortega jalapenos
• 1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla
• 2 T. fat free sour cream
• 2 T. Pace Picante sauce
• 1 T Texas Pete

I used our skillet to cook the corn, onions and jalepenos together.

Next, I measured out my beans. I love my All Clad measuring instruments!

And then I measured my chicken chunks. I prefer to use fresh chicken, but sometimes this is just the reality. You only have so much time in the day.

Once the corn was done, I put the beans into the tortilla, topped it off with the corn mixture, put it all on the skillet for a few. Rolled it up and topped it with sour cream picante sauce and Texas Pete. I chose to skip any cheese just to keep my points down today.  Sometimes low fat mexican cheese is just too good to pass up.  If you do add cheese, try to use 1/4 C or less.

So this meal is 4 points and totally fills you up. Delicious lunch. Oh and you can make it in the microwave if you are really short of time, or are not near a stove top. Trust me its quite good. We survived on this meal while our kitchen was being redone this winter. It was burritos in the microwave many many nights!