RECIPE: Spinach (or Artichoke) Dip Bites (2 points+)

If you like spinach or artichoke dip and fluffy, delightful crescent rolls, then I believe I have a 2 point treat that will "bowl" you over. These were tasty! My wife knocked it out of the park with this one.

Little, filled bowls of yumminess!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Using a blender or mini-prep, blend all  ingredients except crescent rolls, set aside.  This can also be done by hand, but spinach may be stringy.

Open crescent roll package, but do not unroll or separate.

On counter, gently roll back and forth to smooth out dough.

Starting from the center, cut in half.

Cut each in half again.

Continue until you have 16 equal pieces.

Flatten each piece.

Form in a muffin pan.

Fill each crescent with a heaping teaspoon of filling.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and enjoy.

Feel free to get creative with your bowls! My wife had 2 extra bowls without filling, and I suggested she try filling it with peanut butter and jelly. 2 point PB&J Bites! Now that's what I'm talking about! You could also use some apple pie filling....some Nutella...Cookie Butter...you get the idea. Enjoy.

Ingredients you will need:

1 package Trader Joe's or Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
2 ounces Light Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp Light Sour Cream
20 grams of grated Romano Cheese (about 1/4 cup)
⅛ tsp sea salt
⅛ tsp garlic powder
⅛ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp paprika
1 cup chopped spinach (or artichoke), cooked and drained well.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly spray mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Using a blender or mini-prep, blend all  ingredients except crescent rolls, set aside.  This can also be done by hand, but spinach may be stringy.
Open crescent roll package, but do not unroll or separate.
On counter, gently roll back and forth to smooth out dough.
Starting from the center, cut in half.
Cut each in half agin.  Continue until you have 16 equal pieces.
Flatten each piece and form in muffin pan.
Fill each crescent with a heaping teaspoon of filling.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and enjoy.

RECIPE: Inside Out Chicken Pot Pie (5 points+)

This healthier recipe is absolutely delicious with a tasty combination of chicken, butter-marinated carrots, onions and celery. Top it off with some crispy, seasoned panko breadcrumbs, and you are good to go!

Is that Chicken...or just a delicious Pac-Man?

We all know that original pot pie is delicious. And some taste bud sticklers might harass you about eating healthier foods just isn't the same...and yadda yadda yadda. Who cares?! This is about our lives right? Honestly, we all have no-one to please but ourselves. With that being said, this dish is sure to please even the hardest of cases, and if it doesn't....toss them a pie crust, and tell them they can go to town.

For this particular dish, you will want to give yourself enough time. It will take longer than a Lunchable to prepare, so be ready for that.  Perfection takes time.

 Filling:
 2 tablespoons light butter
 1/2 cup onion, chopped/diced
 3/4 cup celery, chopped/diced
 1 cup carrot, chopped/diced
 2 servings shredded hash brown potatoes (can use fresh or frozen)
 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour or Whole Wheat White
 1 teaspoon salt
 Black pepper to taste
 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

We know...we know. You see vegetable stock.

My wife didn't have chicken broth in the house, so she substituted it with vegetable stock. While the dinner turned out good, we both agreed that it's at least 3 times better with the chicken broth.

Chicken:
6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 servings seasoned panko breadcrumbs
4 egg whites

13x9 baking dish,
Olive oil non-stick spray.

Directions:
Spray baking dish with non-stick olive oil spray and place aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter.
Add carrots, celery and onion, cook until fork tender, 10-15 minutes.

In bowl, whisk flour with chicken stock, salt and pepper.

Whisk it good. Whisk it real good.

Add flour/stock mixture to vegetables.  Cook, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Add hash browns and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness or split in half. You can ask the butcher to do that for you.

Season with salt and pepper (Obviously, this step can be omitted if you choose.)
On one side of breast, fill with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture.

Cover with the other side. You may need to use toothpicks to keep chicken closed.

Dip chicken into eggs, and then breadcrumbs to coat.

Gently press down to ensure that the panko sticks.

We are almost at the finish line!

Spray lightly with non-stick olive oil spray, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

And there you have it! Sure, it may take you a little while for the prep, but just think about it...you'll be getting exercise, and rewarding yourself with tasty food for all of your activity greatness! Let us know if you try it out. Good luck, and have a great weigh!

PRODUCT: Bacon - All Natural, Uncured (1 point+)

Have your bacon, and eat it too!!! When people are watching what they eat, unless they are on Atkins, they tend to believe they have to give up bacon. Sometimes people do the unthinkable, and completely switch over to turkey bacon. Blasphemy! If you like bacon...real good, tasty, mouth-watering bacon, and you want to enjoy it occasionally, without guilt, then this may be exactly what you are looking for.

On Weight Watchers, the points calculate out to 1 point for a serving. That's 2 slices for 1 point! Take note that the nutritional info says "Two Pan Fried Slices". Don't be greedy and fry your eggs in the grease afterwards thinking that your points have already been counted, because the grease is not figured into the nutrition on most bacon packages. If you want to use the grease, measure and count it, and fry away!

This particular brand might have different logo on the center of the package, depending on what store you go to, but everything else is exactly the same. This version is from Trader Joe's, and it is delicious.

Serving suggestion: Chop up the bacon and fry it. Remove the bacon, and drop in the Brussels Sprouts. Fry them up in the left-over oil from the bacon. Once finished, if you choose to, throw the crumbly bacon on top. It is fantastic. Again...make sure you measure the oil before dropping in the Brussels Sprouts, because it is not "free points".  Have a great weigh!

Who knew I would ever eat Brussels Sprouts? My wife...that's who.

RECIPE: Artichoke Hummus (1 point+)

This Artichoke Hummus is delicious. I'm not giving a biased opinion just because my wife made it. It really is better than any hummus we have purchased at the store. Not that we go around store to store, on a daily basis hoarding up all the hummus, but you get my point....this tastes great!

Let's get it started.

Gather up all of the ingredients

Ingredients:
1 cup canned artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
1/4 cup fat-free, low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ teaspoons crushed garlic
½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
15 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 

The gathering of the ingredients is the hardest part of this recipe. Now that you got that out of the way...let's make some tasty hummus!


Directions:
Put all ingredients except chickpeas in a blender. (My wife used her Stick Blender)

Using a potato masher or a fork, thoroughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl (again, she used her  stick blender). Transfer to the blender. Puree until smooth, stopping and stirring if blending slows.

For best flavor, cover and refrigerate hummus for several hours.

Serve with fresh veggies, pita chips or crackers.

***The artichoke could also be replaced with roasted red peppers, or olives.  Think of this as a universal recipe for hummus, replacing the artichoke with your favorite ingredient! Don't forget to recalculate the points if you use a different ingredient. I can't be responsible for giving olive eaters a cheating loophole! Calculate!

Serves 8 (about 86g per serving or 1/3 cup) = 1 PointPlus

Check out this recipe on Weight Watchers!

Recipe originally posted by Terri Sinclair.

RECIPE: Tzatziki Sauce (1 point+)

Tasty, cool, creamy and tangy cucumber dip. Great on Gyros or as a dip with veggies or pita chips.

Ingredients:

2 serving(s) Chobani Greek Yogurt - Plain Nonfat, (1 - 16oz. container) 

16 Tbsp Trader Joe's Refrigerated - Light sour cream, (1 - 16oz. container)

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp Trader Joe's Refrigerated - Crushed garlic

1 tsp kosher salt

14 oz English cucumbers, or Persian Cucumbers (preferred)

All the goodies.

Instructions

Step 1: Peel and grate cucumbers.

Peel and grate cucumber.

Step 2: Mix shredded cucumbers with yogurt, sour cream, olive oil and garlic.

Step 3: Chill at least 2 hours. Taste and add more garlic and/or salt if needed.
Step 4: Serve as a sauce for gyros or as a dip with fresh veggie and pita chips.

Dig in and enjoy! Have a great weigh!

2 Tablespoons per serving. (60grams)

PRODUCT: Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole (1 point+)

I love avocados. Avocados have much more fat than most other fruit, but most is fat that is healthy to eat (unsaturated fat). Avocados have lots of potassium, B vitamins, and vitamin E and K.

I could just about eat a sliced up avocado on anything. When I first discovered guacamole, the heavens opened up, and an angelic choir began singing "Hallelujah".  Slight exaggeration aside, my taste buds were break-dancing.

Within a week of joining Weight Watchers, my wife discovered this product for me at Trader Joe's. She was reluctant at first, because to this point I have not been a fan of Greek Yogurt. I do realize that yogurt, in general, has many health benefits, but my taste buds could care less. Yogurt is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. While all of that is wonderful...still...my mouth just does not care a bit about good nutrition. And then the unthinkable happened: Some genius mixed Greek yogurt with guacamole and struck green gold.

This stuff tastes great. I put it on my eggs, my turkey sandwich, cheese and crackers...on and on. You name it, and at 1 point for 2 tablespoons, I put it on nearly everything. If you like guacamole, and you're wanting to be healthier about it, try this stuff out. You won't even feel as if you are sacrificing. Have a great weigh!

PRODUCT: "Carba-nada" Noodles (3 points+)

So you have a love/hate relationship with pasta? You love it, but hate the abundant amount of carbs it packs into one serving? Of course you do. That's why you're here.

As much as this is going to come off sounding like a commercial, I just can't help myself. These noodles are a great alternative to the full-fledged, point-heavy, calorie-packing pasta you've grown to cherish.  You may not be able to buy a pound of it for 99 cents, but it'll put less pounds on you. I know....I know...you're thinking "Where does this guy get a pound of pasta for 99 cents?". My wife shops. I just push the cart.

I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about Shirataki Noodles. Some claim they are good, as long as you rinse them for 3 1/2 hours, and stick a fabric softener up your nose. No thank you. I refuse to waste valuable time washing food, that in the end, is going to end up smelling like...for lack of a better word..."Shirataki".

With Carba-nada noodles, you cook them just like you would cook any other pasta. They come in four flavors: Basil fettuccine, Egg fettuccine, Roasted Garlic fettuccine, and Lemon Pepper fettuccine.

Carba-nada Basil Fettucine

The difference will be noticed by your waist-line. Not your mouth. It's tasty. One and a half cups of regular pasta comes out to 7 points. The same amount of Carba-nada noodles slinks in at 3 points. It's not rocket science. It even packs 3 times more fiber into a serving!

Carba-nada even has more Fiber and Protein!

Where can you find it? We buy ours at Meijer. If it's hard to find at your store, they sell it on Amazon. If you try it out, let us know what you thought about it. We love to talk food. Have a great weigh!