French Toast with fruit topping and turkey sausage

Ingredients:
2 slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Soft Wheat bread*
2 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons of egg beaters
dash of vanilla
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
3/4 cup of fresh fruit. I'm using 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and 1/4 cup of fresh blue berries.
cooking spray


*calorie count listed is using this bread at 43 calories per slice, adjust your calories for the bread you use.


Ready to make French Toast?


Preheat your skillet over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray

put the milk, egg, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow dish or plate. Yes, I like a LOT of cinnamon but you can use as little or as much as you like.

Whisk it together with a fork

Place the bread in the mixture and flip it over so both sides are soaked and coated with mixture

Put both slices in the hot skillet side by side and let them cook for about 4 minutes or until they start to brown on the bottom.

Flip them over and let the other side cook until lightly browned and transfer to plate.

Aren't they starting to look yummy?

Because my berries were frozen, I popped them in the microwave with the blueberries to warm them up for about 30 seconds and then poured it all over the french toast when it was done.

Yes, I added a few links of Jennie-O Turkey Breakfast links to the plate for an additional 140 calories. and yes, they are supposed to be all black and crispy like that :-)

and because I had an extra strong sweet tooth that morning, I added sugar free maple syrup to the plate.

Wasn't that easy?

Calorie count (without fruit, sausage and syrup)

Calories: 97
Fat: 1.1g
Cholesterol .6mg
Sodium 213mg
Potassium: 18mg
Carbs: 18g
Fiber 2.6g
Sugars: 2.6g

Protein: 6g

1/2 cup of frozen strawberries: 39 calories
1/4 cup of blueberries: 20 calories
Jennie O Breakfast Turkey Links: Serving size 2 links: 140 calories

Smuckers sugar free maple syrup: 10 calories

Total for the whole plate of food: 306 calories!

Eating healthy doesn't have to be painful!

Enjoy!

Diana

Veggies with Peanut Sauce

Believe it or not, this HUGE plate of food only has 344 calories!!

Peanut Sauce for veggies

1 bag of Asian Blend veggies 16 oz. or whatever you like
Microwave veggies until they are just cooked.

Meanwhile in small bowl or cup, whisk until thoroughly blended
1/4 cup of low calorie Italian dressing
1 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
1 Tablespoons of Lite Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoons honey or Splenda
1/8 Teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less depending on your tastes)

Once veggies are cooked, drain off any excess liquid, stir sauce in and heat for another 20 to 30 seconds.

Calories: 80
Carbs: 12g
Fat: 2g
Protein: 2.5g

Serves 4

One serving of the vegetables as pictured with 4 ounces of grilled turkey tenderloin and 2/3 cup of brown rice. Total calories for the entire plate 344


Variation: Double the peanut sauce recipe and toss veggies with 8 ounce of cooked thin whole wheat spaghetti and the sauce..yum, yum, yummmy!!

Zucchini Latkes

Zucchini Latkes
Makes approx: 9

4 medium zucchini
1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1/3 flour or matzo meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ teaspoon of kosher salt or coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil spray

Grate the zucchini (no need to peel), onion and carrot on a box grater or in food processor fitted with shredding disk.

Transfer to a mixing bowl, add parsley and mix vegetables together until equally distributed

Next is a very important step! Grab handfuls of the grated vegetables and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible, placing on a plate. Drain excess liquid from bowl and returned squeezed out veggies to bowl.

Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, toss together to coat. Stir in egg and mix until well blended.

Preheat oven to 450

In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, spoon about 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the skillet and press down with a spatula or wooden spoon to form a circle shape. I used a large non stick skillet and could make three at a time.

Allow to lightly brown and then flip over with spatula and allow other side to lightly brown.

Transfer to a non stick baking tray or baking tray that has been lightly coated with non stick spray.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes, flip over and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown...mmm OH SO YUMMY!!

Makes approx 9

Calories 47.3
Total Fat 1.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Cholesterol 47.2 mg
Sodium 47.4 mg
Potassium 101.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 0.3 g
Protein 2.3 g

100 Calorie ice cream

1 cup of frozen fruit
1/2 cup of 1% or fat free milk
Splenda to taste

Put it all in the food processor or blender and let it whirl until smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes!

You get a massive bowl of fruity yumminess and a 1/2 cup of low fat dairy all for the bargain price of about 100 calories. I've made it with frozen peaches too but that increases the calorie content a bit. I've found this has a creamier consistency in the food processor (just the steel blade) than in the blender.

Diana's Favorite Chicken Marinade

Diana's Chicken Marinade

1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of water
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Blend together in food processor or whisk in a bowl. Place boneless chicken breasts in large storage bag and pour in marinade. Let marinade for 3 to 4 hours. Remove from marinade and grill.

This makes enough marinade for 3 to 6 boneless chicken breasts

Spicy Shrimp Marinade

This is a slightly spicy marinade I came up with that we really enjoyed. I served it on brown rice but it would be equally as good on salad. I think it would also work on chicken but I would marinade it longer, maybe four hours.

Shrimp Marinade

½ C olive oil
¼ C lemon juice (or the juice of one large lemon)
2 T water
2 T hot sauce
3 garlic cloves minced
2 T ketchup
2 t dried oregano
1 t dried parsley or ¼ cup of fresh parsley
1 t salt
1 t black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients.

Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade for basting shrimp while it grills

Pour remainder of marinade over 1 to 2 pounds of raw peeled, deveined shrimp in a large food storage bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can and place on plate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Discard used marinade

Put on skewers and grill over medium high heat about 5 minutes per side or until shrimp turns pink, basting with reserved marinade.

Fruity Yogurt Pie

Part of the goals I've set for myself is to eat a well rounded diet. Calcium, more specifically milk products is an area I struggle with. I took a look back at the diets I've followed in the past to see what recipes I really liked and what could be adapted to fit my healthy lifestyle.

The South Beach Diet is one of the ones where I found the most recipes I could adapt for my new lifestyle. This was always one of my favorites and its South Beach friendly for Phases 1, 2 and 3!!! Whats not to love?

Yogurt Pie

1 container (32 oz.) plain nonfat yogurt
1 pkg. (8-serving size) Any Flavor Sugar Free Low Calorie Gelatin

Mix yogurt and dry gelatin in medium microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2-1/2 minutes or until gelatin is completely dissolved, stirring after 1-1/2 minutes.

Pour into 9-inch pie plate sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set.

In Phase 2 and 3, I would put use strawberry jello and put fresh strawberries on top, very tasty indeed!! Adjust the calories before to allow for any fresh fruit or whipped topping you might add.

510 Calories in the whole pie
1/6 of pie is 85 calories

Needless to say I'm putting plain yogurt on my shopping list and having yogurt pie for dessert three nights this week - yes, I plan on giving my sweet hubby 1/2 the pie, he likes it too...DARN!!!! LOL

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

I started making this back when I was single and I really wasn't much of a cook. I'm proud to say I've really become a very good cook over the past few years but this is still a favorite.

Friends, coworkers and employees alike would tease me that I could only boil water and honestly when I was in my 20's it was true. But this was the one dish everyone trusted and dare I say...demanded that I make when there was a gathering.

Its really simple and a crowd pleaser. I loved that I never had to take home leftovers!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

1 box of penne pasta (1lb box) (I use whole wheat now)
2 heads hearts of romaine lettuce
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
8 - 10 oz cooked chicken breast cut into bite size cubes
1 English Cucumber, cut in half and sliced into bite size (seedless)
2 small packages of grape tomatoes
10-20 leaves of fresh basil cut into thin ribbons (easiest with scissors)
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 small bottle of Kens brand Caesar Dressing (only need about 1/2 a bottle)
1 can of pitted black olives or 1 jar kalamata olives pitted optional
6 or 7 peperoncini peppers (greek peppers) to garnish top

cook pasta according to box directions and cool by running cold water.Drain throughly. While pasta boils, chop the veggies and place in large bowl. When pasta is cool, toss with veggies, chicken and cheese. Don'tmix in the dressing until about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Note: This is also good with small cooked tailless shrimp (cocktail or salad shrimp) in place of chicken. Also, I usually use a 4 oz package of tomato basil favored feta and a 4 oz package of plain feta but whatever you like will work

A Tabbouleh of sorts

Traditional Tabbouleh has fresh mint in it also. Since my grocery never has fresh mint and its one of the herbs that just won't seem to grow for me, I started making it without mint and found that we really like it better without the mint. If you want to add a cup of chopped mint to the recipe you can but below is the recipe I've been using for several years...

1 cup bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling chicken broth
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 large or 2 small lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil

6 or 7 scallions both white and green parts sliced thin
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
1 English cucumber chopped (also called European or seedless cucumber)
1 package of grape or cherry tomatoes (cut them in half)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Place the bulgur in a large bowl , pour in the boiling chicken broth, and add the lemon juice & olive oil, Stir, cover with lid or plastic wrap and allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the veggies, scallions, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, salt and pepper; mix well. Add the bulgur, season to taste.

Serve or best if refrigerated over night.

This makes about 6 or 7 cups of Tabbouleh and its very easy to cut the recipe in half so you aren't eating it for weeks.

I made this yesterday and served with marinated turkey tenderloin and had leftovers for lunch today....gotta love a two for one meal!!

If you've never tried bulgar wheat don't be afraid to try it. Its a versatile whole grain that is not only delish but good for you!

White Chicken Chili

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 can (4-ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (16 ounces) BUSH'S BEST Great Northern Beans, also called white beans
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 ½ cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast* or turkey

*I used 2 large boneless chicken breasts and baked them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until cooked through. I probably wouldn't use precooked chicken from the store because of the sodium levels, canned beans tend to have a lot of sodium already and you don't need the added sodium that is found in some of the precooked chicken and baking the chicken breasts was easy.

In large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add cooked chicken; cook until hot.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa, if desired. I skipped the garnish and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. Hubby put some shredded cheddar on his and said it was really good that way too.

Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie: a Traditional English Dish with an American Twist

Ingredients

Potato topping:
3 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes (I use baby red potatoes)
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon Smart Balance
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Filling:
1 lb of ground turkey
½ of medium onion
2 cups diced carrot
1 cup of frozen peas
3 cups quartered mushrooms
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or sage
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 ½ cups of chicken broth
½ cup of grated cheddar

Preparation

To prepare potato topping, place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 15 to 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Place potatoes, sour cream, milk, smart balance, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Microwave carrots for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender crisp

To prepare filling, in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat, add the ground turkey and break apart, add the onion and continue to break apart the meat into crumbles as you sautee. Add in mushrooms and sautee 5 more minutes. Add poultry season and garlic and sautee 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots. Sprinkle in flour and cook for 2 more minutes until well blended. Add the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, stir well and add the broth. Allow to cook for a few minutes or until broth starts to thicken, stir in frozen peas.

Transfer mixture to a 2 quart casserole dish and top with potato mixture. Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Allow to stand about 10 minutes before serving.

6 servings, approximately 335 calories per serving.

Spiced Cranberry Apple Chutney

12 oz. Bag of Fresh Cranberries

3/4 cups Sugar (use 1 1/2 cups of you don't use Splenda)

1/2 cup Splenda

½ Cup Water

½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 to 2 tsp of Chipolte Sauce (you can use more or less depending on the spice level your prefer)

1 Granny Smith Apple, Peeled, Cored and Chopped

1 Orange, Zest Grated and Juiced

1 Lemon, Zest Grated and Juiced

¾ Cup Raisins

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Ginger

½ teaspoon Allspice

1/8 teaspoon Ground Cloves

¾ Cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts

UPDATED: I made this again this year for Christmas and included a small can of mandarin oranges, drained. I added them in during the last 5 minutes of cooking time for a perfect combo of spicy and sweet.



1. Combine the Cranberries, Sugar/Splenda , Water, and Vinegar in a saucepan. Over medium heat cook around 10 minutes or until the Cranberry skins pop open. You will hear the popping sound.

2. Add all the other ingredients except for the Pecans. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes stirring often.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the Pecans.

4. Cool to room temperature.

5. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*EXCELLENT with Turkey, Chicken, Pork, or Ham. Great to serve along with cheese and crackers at a party too.

Flourless Protein Pancakes

½ cup of dry oats (not instant)
½ of cottage cheese
½ cup of egg beaters (slightly less than ½ cup works best)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon of Splenda for baking (or regular sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (use the real stuff, not imitation)

Place oats and cinnamon in food processor or blender and pulse to grind up the oats for about a minute. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process/blend for about a minute, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat, spray with nonstick spray and spoon 1/3 of mixture into hot pan. If your batter is thick, use the back of your spoon to spread it around a bit and form a pancake shape. Flip when brown, cook an additional minute or two on the other side until cooked through.

Makes 3 four inch pancakes, 100 calories each (more nutritional information below)

Top with ½ cup of apple sauce and additional cinnamon or your favorite fruit.

Here they are without toppings

Nutritional Information is for the whole batch, yes I eat all three :-)

Calories: 300
Fat: 4.7
Carbs: 31g
Protein: 32.6
Sugars: 0.4g

Iced Cinnamon Swirl Latte

½ ounce of Davinci Sugar Free Vanilla syrup

½ ounce of Davinci Sugar Free Cinnamon syrup

2 shots of espresso

8 ounces fat free milk

1 to 2 cups of ice

Throw it all in the blender (or food processor), add as much ice as you need to make a thick icy drink. Sit somewhere quiet and reflect on life. Enjoy!



90 calories

0.6g fat

12g carbs

8.5g protein

0.0g sugar

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