She's back. Again. And armed with zucchini.

Hello blog readers. I guess I'm not as good at keeping up with this blog as I planned initially. But, I'm doing my best. I'll leave it as I'll check in when I can and post recipes.

On the weightloss front- I'm sticking strong with WW. I'm down 13ish pounds since May. I'm feeling good, exercising a lot (teaching a lot of jazzercise), and keeping my eye on the prize. Right now the biggest challenge is sticking with it and writing down all these points. I have been losing each week, but I've been lax in writing everything down. I've been diligent these last 2 days and am hoping this return to the blogging is the kick in the pants I need to keep with it!

Anyway, tis the season for the zucchini. Or, as the Brits like to say courgettes (Isn't that a pretty word?). Thus, what follows is 2 zucchini recipes--one for dinner and the other for dessert. You'll see that the dinner recipe (summer vegetable & chicken couscous) will look eerily similar to my last post. Sue me.

summer vegetable & chicken couscous (5 servings at 11 pp each)

1.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (this is the size package my store had, you could be flexible)
2 medium zucchini
3 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 box trader joe's Israeli couscous (12 oz or 1.25 cups)
2 cups chicken stock
2 small (or 1 large) lemons, juiced and zested
2 handfuls fresh basil and parsley, chiffonaded (is that a word?)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

First, prep your chicken and zucchini. I like to marinate them both with lemon juice, a little olive oil (drips off during the grilling process) salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can cook them as is too. Either way is fine.

Then, heat 2 tsp olive oil and saute onion & garlic. Once softened add pine nuts and couscous. After 5ish minutes, add the chicken stock. Raise to a boil, then lower the temperature to a summer and stir frequently till the stock is absorbed.

Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and grill on flesh side till you have grill marks. Grill chicken. Slice zucchini into half moons, chicken into strips and add to the couscous.

Add tomatoes, herbs, and lemon zest to couscous.

Make a dressing with the lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Add salt & pepper to taste. Mix well and pour over the warm couscous mixture.

Mix well and refrigerate till cool and eat!

As you can see from my photo, my tomatoes are orange and gorgeous. They are sungolds and I love them.

So, onto dessert. I got some ideas from some other food blogs I read. I tried this recipe and modified it a bit. It was delicious as a "loaf" so I next tried it as mini muffins. Still, delicious, but more dessert-y than breakfast-y. So, I figured it might be best to put in regular cupcake tins and frost. I started with the skinnytaste cream cheese frosting, but then modified for my own preferences (I like my frosting with a little butter in it and more sugary. I think it pipes better that way).

A word to the wise- zucchini contains a lot of water. The cake just won't rise much because of this. I let my grated zucchini drain on a strainer for a while and got about 4 tbsp of liquid out. You might want to squeeze excess liquid out. If you're ok with sunken-in cakes, then don't worry about it.

I should also note- my official taste tester/husband thinks the mini muffin version is best. I like the cupcakes best

Also- it might look like this recipe is more pointy than I claim. That's because a lot of the frosting is lost to the bowl, piping bag, my husband walking by and swiping some, etc.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting (makes 12, 5 pp each, 2 without frosting)

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Ghiradelli)
pinch salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup fat free vanilla greek yogurt (don't use any crap with splenda or nutrisweet in it)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium zucchini, grated (1.5-2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Spray liners with nonstick spray (there is very little fat in this recipe; they'll stick).

Mix dry ingredients (except sugar) in one bowl.

Beat together wet ingredients (except zucchini). Add sugar. Slowly add dry ingredients. When well mixed, add zucchini. Spoon evenly across the 12 cupcake holders. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting

4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1.5 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Spread or pipe over cool cupcakes.

Well, this time it might take a little longer to get my posts going

All that said, I'm sticking with all this healthy cooking, eating, and living. So far, down 8.2 lbs! I'm learning how to adjust to the jogging stroller and a couple jazzercise classes a week, but I'm making it.

For a recipe:  couscous.

Mike suggested we have some couscous and I couldn't agree more. I used Israeli couscous for this particular recipe because I prefer it, but you could use any kind you like. I served it alongside some grilled shrimp and have enough left over for tomorrow night's dinner (grilled chicken)

Delicious summer couscous (serves 6 at about 6 pp each)

2 tbsp pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
1 box trader joe's Israeli couscous (about 1.25 cups I think)
2 cups chicken stock
2 grilled eggplants (see more in the instructions below) cut into cubes
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
rind of one lemon
juice of one lemon
salt & pepper to taste

First cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. I like to coat them in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and let them sit for half an hour or so. Next, grill on medium until cooked through, flipping halfway. Most of the oil drops out on the grill, but you might want to consider these 2 points or so for the whole batch. Let them cool, dice them, and put it aside.

Saute the garlic, onion, and pine nuts in 1 tsp olive oil until softened. Add the couscous and cook until lightly brown. Add chicken stock, lower the heat, and cover. Note:  this takes longer with Israeli couscous than with regular couscous.

Mix together the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper until you like the taste of the dressing (might need to add a little more oil). Put aside. Add the eggplant, tomato, lemon rind, and dressing to the couscous. Serve hot or cold.

One reason why I like this recipe is that you could really switch in any fruit, veggie, or nut, and it would still be tasty. Also, it goes with just about any kind of grilled meat, and can count as both a starch and vegetable with dinner. Win win win!

Tomorrow night I'll take a photo of my leftovers and post.

Brunch outcome & photo

Well, as usual it was great to see Michelle. And, I forgot to photograph the quiche in all its quich-y glory. Instead, I included this little photo of the last sliver remaining.

As it turns out, it was good! A few tips- do all the prep work for the quiche (saute leeks, cook bacon, shred cheese), but do not assemble or cook in advance. I cooked the quiche Saturday then reheated it today. So, we didn't get that fluffy goodness. But, it was pretty good! Mike liked it, though not as much as the heavy cream full fat cheese version. Another tip- my friend Heather mentioned that leeks are a bear to clean- they are. So might as well clean a bunch at once, allow to dry, then freeze! Genius! If you choose to go that way, assume 2 loosely packed uncooked cups, making 1-1.5 cooked cups. Finally, I cut the quiche into sixths before anyone served themselves. That way, I knew I got one serving before others sliced pieces in half, etc.

I ended up eating lots of fruit salad, 2 muffins, and a slice of quiche. 12 points well spent for a brunch!

What are your tips for enjoying brunches with friends?

Brunch without guilt!

I'll admit it.  I'm a sucker for brunch. I love everything about it- lazy Sunday mornings, combination meals...mimosas! And its a great way to entertain when you have kids- no worries about bed time interruption. But, brunch can often be pointy when you're on WW. It can also lead to guilt later in the day for "spending" all of your points early in the day.

So today, I offer a solution. My good friend and her boyfriend are coming to visit today to spend time with the twins and brunch with Mike & I. She's bringing the fruit salad and I'm making 2 dishes:  these delicious muffins and a quiche.

I used my regular pie crust recipe:  1 cup flour, 6 tbsp cold butter, 1 tsp sugar, pinch salt- blitz in the food processor till crumbs form then add ice water until it forms a ball of dough. Divide into 2 discs, cover each in plastic wrap. Each crust is 14 points.

Bacon, Leek, and Cheddar Quiche- serves 6 at 6 pp each
1 pie crust
1 cup whole milk
3 eggs
3 oz shredded reduced fat cheddar
5 slices center cut bacon
2 leeks- sliced & cleaned
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Roll out pie crust into a pie plate. Prick all over with a fork and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Add leeks and cook until softened. Cook bacon in the microwave, discard drippings, and crumble. In a bowl beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Remove crust from oven. Add leaks, crumbled bacon, cheese, and finally egg mixture. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until the center of the quiche puffs up.

I haven't tasted or photographed this quiche yet, but once I do, I'll let you know how it goes!

Look who's back!

Well, I'm back!
For those of you who never read my blog before, welcome!
I haven't updated in 2 years but here's a brief overview of me and the blog.

I started this blog the last time I joined weight watchers, in January 2011. I used it as a place to talk about recipes I've tried, tips I've found useful, and good finds at grocery stores and farmers markets. At that time I was teaching jazzercise 5 x/week, doing yoga 1-2x/week and was a full time grad student finishing my phd.

Fast forward a few years.

I took a job as an assistant professor at a small state college in New Jersey. I love my job. I also had two beautiful twin baby boys almost 6 months ago. I love Connor and Luke more than anything I could possibly imagine. I'm still teaching jazzercise, but now its only 1-2x/week. Yoga? I wish! I'm incredibly lucky to have a supportive husband, flexible and kind department chair, and amazing babysitters. But I'm still a mom of infant twins working full time, so things aren't so easy this time around. I don't have oodles of activity points to spend on wine any longer, so weight watchers will be a bit harder. I also have a lot more to lose.

This wasn't the original plan by the way- life never is. I thought I'd have my babies one at a time (well, I always wished for twins, but wishes so rarely come true). I also thought I'd have them while I was in grad school, so I could be home with them, and then start the job search. Instead, it took years of trying, doctors, treatments, etc., before I got pregnant with my twins. So, I'm a working new mom. But life is still pretty wonderful.

Anyway, this time, I have a lot more weight to lose. I am 20 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight, 30 pounds above my pre-IVF weight, and 50 pounds above where I'd like to be. So I'm taking baby steps, but I'm hoping keeping this blog along with counting my points can keep me accountable.

As far as my cooking/eating philosophy:  I eat real food. No splenda, no smart balance, no ricedream ice cream. I cook with oil and butter in moderation. I use reduced fat dairy products and nonstick cooking spray. I eat real pasta. See this post if you want to know why.  Don't try and convince me to eat pretend food. I won't do it.

So, here's a quick and easy 1 point side dish

Fennel, Red Onion, and Carrots (serves 2, 1 pp each)
1 bulb fennel sliced thin
1 medium red onion sliced thin
2 large carrots peeled and sliced thin
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add remainder of ingredients to pan and saute till soft. End of recipe.

I use this as a side dish with fish often. Today I'm having it with salmon and sweet potato oven fries.

sausage & pepper quiche

A while back, I posted a recipe for chicken&brocolli&mac&cheese...I kinda like combo meals.

When I was a kid, sausage and peppers was a staple meal for us all summer long. And moving to NJ, I will certainly be able to get good italian sausage again in a giant ring like I'm used to! Anyway, my favorite part of sausage and peppers was always having peppers and eggs the next day for lunch. So I thought to myself, why not combine the two and make a sausage and peppers quiche? I should also note--I had half and half and whole milk left after another recipe last week, and wanted to use it up. Normally quiches (the good ones at least) are made with heavy cream, so though these aren't the healthiest ingredients, they do lighten up a normally very heavy meal.

Well, luck had it that my local harris teeter had organic italian chicken sausage on sale, so I figured it was a sign. Wait a minute, sausage that isn't pork? Yeah, I know. Weird. Anyway, I'm sticking closely to my points plus, so I decided to keep it low cal for this recipe. If you changed it up to include pork, you'd need to add points. As an aside, my brother thinks its crazy to eat poultry with eggs together. I try not to think about it.

So here goes:

First, for the pie crust--this recipe makes 2 thin pie crusts each at 14 pts plus

6 tbsp butter

1 c all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

2-3 tbsp ice water

Cut up butter into cubes and place in the freezer till you're ready for it (at least 5 mins). Put dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse. Add butter to dry ingredients, pulse till it looks like bread crumbs. SLOWLY add water till it all forms a ball. Form ball into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Sausage & Pepper Quiche- 4 servings at ~10 pointsplus each

1 pie crust

2 tsp olive oil, divided

2 links italian sausage (I used organic chicken sausage)

1 red bell pepper sliced thin

1/2 small onion sliced thin

2 cloves garlic sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (in the future, I'd add an extra 1/4 cup for no difference in points per serving)

3 eggs

6 oz half and half

2 oz whole milk

salt & pepper to taste

Roll out dough into the shape of a pie plate, add to pie plate, and prick all over with a fork. Cover in foil and fill with pie weights or beans (I use lentils). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and saute in 1 tsp olive oil. Saute onions, peppers, and garlic till softened in 1 tsp olive oil. Once these three steps are done, put sausage, veggies, and cheese in the pie shell, scattering evenly. Beat the three eggs and add the liquid, salt and pepper. Mix till evenly combined and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

oh how I've missed you!

Hello blog readers! Its been WAY too long. Since my last post I've:

1- gotten a job

2- gone on 3 trips in as many weeks

3- done more yard work than I thought humanly possible

4- celebrated Easter (with more candy than I thought humanly possible)

5- graduated with my PhD

6- finally, gotten back on the WW bandwagon!

Yeah...I fell off for a while. Things got too crazy. But now, I have eleven weeks before I move to NJ. Yes, you heard me correctly, New Jersey. The garden state. And I can't wait. Say what you will about Snookie and Chris Christie, but I'll be in an awesome job, and only about 2.5 hours away from my family. Just 45 minustes from Philly & an hour from NYC. Can't really get much better than that. Anyway, in these 11 weeks, I plan to get back on the WW wagon! I started journaling again on Monday, and through all this craziness gained just 0.6 lbs. Not so bad at all! And this is the perfect time of year to get back started with points plus- its strawberry season! My wonderful husband picks strawberries for me on the way home from work a few times a week. I try my very hardest not to consume them all in a day or two. Normally, I do pretty well :)

So, here's a recipe. Its a simple one, but a good breakfast and starts my day with a serving of whole grains, healthy fats, and fruit.

Breakfast Elvis Wrap 5 points plus

1 whole grain tortilla (I use Harris Teeter 8 grain--only 2 pp each!)

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 banana

light drizzle of honey

Put the tortilla on a plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread most of the PB down the middle, but put a tiny dot to "glue" the edges in place. Slice the banana on top of the PB in the middle (you might have extra banana. in that case, just eat it alone. call it a breakfast appetizer) and drizzle with honey. Wrap, eat, and enjoy!

PS- somehow iphoto lost my uploaded picture.

delicious muffins...and cookies

Hi everyone. My life is full of uncertainty right now. I bake when I need to work things out in my head. I have a lot to work out. The result--some delicious muffins and cookies.

The muffins were a combination of recipes, both from Nigella Lawson books. The combination might sound strange, but the results were awesome. Here goes:

Banana Chocolate Muffins- makes 11 at 3 points plus each

1 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tbsp honey

4 tbsp butter

2 overripe bananas mashed

1 egg

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt butter & honey together till its all liquid. Beat egg, mash in bananas, and add to dry ingredients. Add butter-honey mixture. Stir till combined. Add in chocolate chips. Portion out into a muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes. These are delish.

Also, I made these cookies today. Also delish.

and she's back

Wow, its taken me a while to post. I've been traveling, Mike's been traveling, catching up is hard...

But anywho, I worked on a fun recipe for pasta with a chickpea sauce. Mike is not a fan of beans, so I wouldn't make this for him, but its inspired by this Rachel Ray Recipe, and both easy and tasty.

Pasta with Spinach Chickpea Sauce- serves 6 at ~ 3 points plus per serving

1 tbsp olive oil

3 large cloves garlic

1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed

4 oz white wine

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 box frozen chopped spinach

1/4 c grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

1/2 tsp dry thyme

salt & pepper to taste

Put garlic and chick peas in a food processor and grind till a paste is formed. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and add chick pea mixture. Cook ~5 minutes or till it starts to smell nice and nutty. Add wine and stir. Add tomatoes, and stir; cook till it starts simmering. Add spinach and stir till it all melts and is incorporated. Add remaining ingredients. Serve over pasta.

OK, so now for a find. At Harris Teeter, Edy's ice cream was on sale. Including the light kind. For 3 points plus--this ice cream with girl scout cookies is the deal of the year! Yum!

rich and chocolate-y

Shouldn't all things be rich & chocolate-y?

I love to bake, and one of my favorite cakes, comes from a Nigella Lawson recipe for "Pantry-Shelf Chocolate-Orange Cake," in her How to be a Domestic Goddess book. I've always replaced the orange marmalade with raspberry jam because I LOVE the chocolate-raspberry combo and HATE chocolate and orange together. In any case, this cake is easy, dense, chocolate-y, and delicious. Whenever I make it, someone asks for the recipe.

I decided to try making it over, and the results were quite good. I kept some of the chocolate, added fresh (well, frozen) raspberries to replace some of the jam, halved the butter, and used white wheat flour. The results were still dense and chocolate-y, so this one is definitely a winner.

Chocolate-Raspberry Cake--serves 8 at 6 points plus each

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup unsweetned apple sauce

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate

4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp raspberry jam

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups frozen raspberries, blitzed in the food processor

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup white wheat (or all purpose) flour

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350, and spray a springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to melt. Once its nearly melted, add in the chocolate. Once its almost completely all liquid, add in the apple sauce, raspberries, jam, cocoa powder, sugar, and (after combined) eggs. Remove from heat and slowly add flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Pour into springform pan and bake on a center rack for 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove edges and turn out onto a plate. Top with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

rice & beans...sort of

Hi all,

Again, I was traveling earlier this week (this is a theme that will likely continue till May), but made some yummy lunch today. After reading this post on skinny taste, I got a hankering for rice & beans. Warning: I am a white girl from Long Island. I don't know the first thing about latin cuisine, so this recipe that follows is certainly not authentic at all.

I also was averse to leaving the house this morning/afternoon, so I used what I had in the closet & fridge. I'm normally a huge fan of fresh veggies, but sometimes I have frozen on hand. Today, I used frozen bell peppers I bought a while back to use in a crock pot chili. When things are cooked for a really long time, the freshness doesn't matter quite as much. Also, in the recipe below, I threw in extra veggies to increase the volume.

skinny gringo rice & beans--6 servings at 4 points plus each

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 bag frozen bell peppers

1 c brown basmati rice

1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can black beans

1 c water

1 beef bouillon cube (could use any flavor)

2 c loosely chopped fresh spinach (could sub in frozen)

4 green onions, chopped (white parts only)

1/2 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper (black & red) to taste

Coat a large dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray, and cook onions and garlic over medium heat. Once softened, add peppers. Once peppers defrost, add rice, and stir for a few minutes to coat. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on very low for about 40 minutes.

The end result, pictured here was quite yummy. I topped it with 1/2 oz light cheddar cheese & 1 tbsp light sour cream for a very delicious 5 point lunch. Enjoy!

and then she added photos

Hello blog readers!

So this posting is really a way to kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to share my new favorite breakfast, and want to get better at using my new iphone as a camera. I'm still having trouble holding my hands still, but I'm getting there.

I've done weight watchers before on the old plan, and used to make a smoothie with frozen berries, bananas, yogurt, and milk. Now that fruit is zero points plus, I revamped the recipe a bit. When my bananas get over-ripe, I peel them, mush them up, and put them in plastic baggies to use at a later time in smoothies like this one or baking.

Banana-berry smoothie--about 2.5-2.75 points plus (I count as 3 to be conservative)

2/3 frozen banana (or 1 small frozen banana)

1 c frozen blueberries

1/2 c fat free greek yogurt

3/4 c skim milk

1 tsp honey (or agave)

Put all ingredients in a blender and let them sit 15-20 minutes (softens frozen fruit a bit and makes it easier to blend). Puree and enjoy!

making the best out of stale bread

Yesterday, I bought a lovely baguette at Southern Season...which we never ate. And I forgot to pack up to prevent it from getting stale. So I woke up this morning to find a loaf of bread beginning to go stale at the ends. I remembered making a tomato bread soup a few years back, and promptly scoured the internet for recipes and my pantry, fridge, and freezer for ingredients. I mixed and matched and came up with the following, recipe, which was rather tasty. The only negative is that there is very little protein in this soup. I'd recommend eating it with an open-faced sandwich. The ingredients might sound a little odd, but its what I had on hand, and came out delicious. I'll have some nice lunches this week, and I think it will freeze well too.

Tomato-Bread Soup- makes 8 lunch portions at 3 points plus each

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups chopped onions (I used a combination of yellow & red that I had leftover)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 cups chicken stock or broth (I used frozen turkey stock)

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes in their own juices (I used 1 plus a large 28 oz can)

2 tbsp jarred pesto (could substitute chopped fresh basil; will also decrease points value, and might make you want to add more garlic or parmasean)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4.5 oz stale bread, cubed (could also use fresh)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large dutch oven. Add onions, and stir till coated. After about a minute, add chopped garlic and cook till softened. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add the tomato paste, and stir till incorporated. Add tomatoes, pesto, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and some fresh black pepper (DON'T ADD SALT YET!). Stir and bring to a boil. Add bread, stir, and bring to a boil. Bring temperature down to a simmer, and cover for 20 minutes. Soup should look mushy and gluey at this point. Add cheese and parsley and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve and enjoy!

lemonade cupcakes!

Hello blog readers!

I'll report back on the moussaka- delicious! And it left me with 3 egg whites & a desire to make those lemon cupcakes I was talking about (I bake when I have to work things out in my head; it's excellent therapy. I had a lot of things to work out in my head the day I made these.). They were awesome, but I made enough modifications to warrant posting my own recipe, as follows:

Lemonade Cupcakes--makes 12 at 4 points plus each
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 large lemon, zested & juiced
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (*hint #1- you may want to spray the liners with nonstick spray as this recipe has very little fat in it and may lead to some difficulty removing your cupcakes). Combine flour, baking powder, & salt (*hint #2- no need to sift! you can just put them in a bowl and whisk to remove lumps). In a separate bowl cream sugar & butter till light and fluffy. Add egg whites, lemon zest, and half the lemon juice; mix to combine. Turn beater off and add half the flour mixture and half the sour cream. Mix till combined and repeat with the remainder of the flour and sour cream. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. They will still be quite light in color when you remove them from the oven. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan and 30-60 minutes on a wire rack.

Combine the remaining juice and the powdered sugar till smooth (you may want to add the sugar to the juice in batches) to make a thick icing. Spoon about a tablespoon onto each cupcake and smooth. Allow cupcakes to harden and serve and enjoy!

checking in

So...its taken me a while to get back into posting here. I traveled again last week--twice to PA for job interviews. Yesterday, I made this chicken recipe, and it came out delish. Well worth the 5 points.

Today, I'm "spending" a little more on dinner, as I'm making this moussaka with a few modifications: I baked the eggplant rather than frying, I used 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of 1/4 cup, I used skim milk rather than whole, & used 3 tbsp of butter rather than 6. All in all, it comes to 15 pts a serving. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Finally, I can't wait to try these cupcakes. I hope to make them some time this week. Again, I'll report back on how they turn out.

easy & delicious salmon

Hi all. So sorry these posts have been fewer and further between. I have been traveling for job interviews and am just now getting a chance to catch my breath. For dinner tonight I'm making salmon. According to the little WW handbook, salmon is 5 pts for 4 oz. Well...make sure you check your labels. You might be pleasantly surprised. I bought the wild pink Alaskan salmon from Trader Joe's (in the freezer section) and for 4 oz frozen (~ 3 oz cooked)--3 pts! Woohoo! The recipe below is for 2 servings but can be easily adjusted up or down.

Maple Dijon Salmon--serves 2 at 7 points plus per serving

12 oz uncooked wild salmon (~10 oz cooked)

2 tbsp REAL maple syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima stuff)

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

pinch salt

pinch pepper

Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray & add salmon (might want to cut into individual portion sized pieces). In a small bowl combine syrup, mustard, oil, salt & pepper. Mix to combine. Pour over salmon and refrigerate for at least an hour (I sometimes do this part in the morning & then cook after work). Preheat oven to 375 & cover pan with foil. Cook about 10 minutes.

I'm serving this alongside sweet potato oven fries and steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

and so it goes on

Hi everyone.

So good news this week--I lost 1.6 lbs. Bad news, I've been behind on my postings.

To follow up on my last posting, the cupcakes were great. The frosting was nice and marshmallow-y but, to be honest, not as good as a buttercream. But, that said, 4 points plus for a cupcake is a great deal!

Some struggles--tonight I'm going to celebrate my PhD with some great jazzerfriends. I don't want to totally blow my points allowance in one night. So, I've been loading up on fruit & water all day (also want to stay hydrated...), and about an hour ago I had a scrambled egg. I'm hoping to not be full when I get there, but also not be ravenous. So, I won't eat or drink too much. I hope.

Last Sunday, I made a turkey, and obviously, that means we have lots of leftover meat. One thing I like to do with leftover turkey (or chicken) is make risotto. Here's my recipe:

Leftover Turkey Risotto--makes 4 servings at 9 points plus each

2 tsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups arborio rice, uncooked

2 fluid oz white wine

1 quart chicken stock

8 oz cooked leftover turkey (or chicken)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp butter

Heat chicken stock to "low" in a pot. In a separate large pan, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, and celery. Cook till softened. Add rice, cook till transparent. Add wine to deglaze pan. Once wine is nearly all evaporated or absorbed by rice, start adding the the stock 2 ladles at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed. On the last ladleful, add remaining ingredients. Stir till well incorporated. If rice is still a bit hard, add some water.

Eat and enjoy!

decadence in moderation

OK gang--today I had a change of plans. I was supposed to be heading out to PA for a job interview today, but ended up having it rescheduled & working from home. So, I had a little bit of extra time, and decided to try a new recipe. I subscribe to a lot of fitness magazines and have been dying to try out this recipe for chocolate cupcakes since my copy of Shape arrived last week. When I first flipped through the magazine, I loved that they did comfort food healthy makeovers. I was even more excited to see a chocolate cupcake in there--made with butter sugar and flour. To top it all off, it included a marshmallow 7 minute frosting. Given that I consider peeps a major food group, this was a huge seller for me. Finally, the icing on the icing on the cake--they're only 4 points plus each! Seriously! How can I say no?

I made the following 2 modifications: first, I substituted nonfat greek yogurt for the low fat buttermilk (less calories & more protein...but negligible enough to not affect the points plus values); second, I used 2 egg whites, again, not enough of a difference to affect the points values. Also, the 2nd egg white was unnecessary. I had so much frosting, I could have frosted 2 batches of the cakes.

I haven't done the taste test yet, but I have had a lick of the frosting, and its great. And the cakes look fluffy and delicious. I will report back tomorrow.

In general, I love the idea of cupcakes. They're automatic portion control (if you eat just one), fun for sharing, and just plain cute. The fact that these are also REAL FOOD but low in points, makes this recipe is already a win win win for me!

glorious breakfast

Hello blog readers.

Here in Chapel Hill, we had a beautiful sunny 60 degree day today...which I appreciated as Mike & I spent much of this morning raking leaves (yes, we still have leaves on the ground).

Anyway, I also had a chance to make some fantastic pancakes, and the recipe for them is below. When I was in MN, my mom and I went to a restaurant called Hell's Kitchen and ordered some lemon ricotta hotcakes. They were so good, I decided to search through recipes on the web, make my own modifications, and try my hand at my own version. Many of the recipes I found had a stick (or more) of melted butter, so I avoided those. I started with one from Nigella Lawson, and modified as follows.

Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes- serves 2, 6 points each
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp butter
3/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp powdered sugar
fresh berries

Heat an oven to 200 degrees. Combine ricotta, milk, and egg yolk, and stir till mostly smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix till smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg white & granulated sugar till foamy (can do by hand). Fold egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then add lemon zest. Heat a griddle to medium-high, and coat with butter. Spoon batter onto the griddle (in a size of your own choosing), and flip once bubbles appear all over pancake. Once finished on both sides, add to a pie plate & put in warm oven to keep warm. Once all pancakes are done, divide among 2 plates, and top with powdered sugar (pushed through a strainer), and fresh berries. You can also use maple syrup too, but you need to count those points separately.

Enjoy!

back to reality, sort of

Hi everyone. I'm back. It has been a busy few days, but I can officially say that I'm now Dr. Madden! I passed my defense, and can finally relax a little.

On to food/weight updates. I lost 0.6 lbs this week...not too shabby for a week where I was mostly away. I just hope this pattern continues. Mike & I had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday night at the Weathervane at Southern Season. I was very proud of myself, eating just half of my appetizer (butternut squash risotto!) and half my entree (a sinfully delicious duck confit and truffle cream sauce linguini). Mike took the pasta for lunch (thank goodness), and I will be eating my leftover risotto today for lunch. I'm going to count 8 points for it, because for a full dinner serving of my own risotto, I count 8. I think I'm being conservative enough by doubling.

Onto some recipes. Being at Southern Season gave me some thoughts. You can buy the proscuitto ends there (left over from slicing) for fairly cheap. My Aunt Jennie used to make a pasta sauce with prosciutto, called filete sauce, and I decided that these ends would be used perfectly in her recipe. The one I have is huge (24 servings!) and contains loads of olive oil, so I'm skinny-ing it up, halving the size and posting here.

Filete Sauce- serves 12 but freezes well --2 points plus per serving

5 tbsp olive oil

3 stalks celery chopped very finely

4 ounces prosciutto (again, chopped finely)

2 large cans whole peeled plum tomatoes

1 small can petite diced tomatoes

3 medium onions chopped finely

2 oz red wine

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute celery for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add onions and saute another 8-10 mins. Add prosciutto and "melt" it into the vegetables (you want to see the edges curl up and the fatty part go translucent), about 3 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes (crush with your clean hands before adding) and stir to combine. Add parsley and plenty of pepper (black or crushed red or a combination). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook about an hour. After half an hour or so, taste it, and if it seems like it needs salt add a little. Prosciutto is very salty, so you may not have to add any. Serve over pasta.

Hint #1- I like to portion this out right away. Its about 2 ladles full per serving, so after serving that night's dinner, I portion it out into 5 freezable containers (4 ladles full each). It makes for a very easy weeknight dinner after defrosting.

Hint #2- I serve this over pasta (1-1.5 cups per person), and though there is some protein, there's not a whole lot. I suggest serving a spinach salad alongside this meal with some chopped hard boiled egg to get an extra dose of protein.