Double-Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a fabulous weight watchers recipe I found. It tastes nothing like a diet cookie; it is very soft and full of chocolate. You do drop them by teaspoonfuls so they are a smaller cookie, but it’s only 2 points for one. Love these to get my chocolate fix!

Ingredients:

1/2	cup packed brown sugar
1/4	cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2	teaspoon vanilla
1	egg white
1/2	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3	tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
	Dash salt
1/2	cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

   1 Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, or mix with spoon. Beat in vanilla and egg white.

         2 Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

         3 Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set (do not overbake). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Turkey Chili Taco Soup Recipe

Loved watching the snow today while eating a bowl of yummy, warm soup. This soup is super easy to make and is ready in less than 20 minutes. For a thinner soup add more broth, or you can leave the broth out and you have yourself a bowl of chili. Don’t you love recipes that can be so versatile?

Servings: 9 – Serving Size: 1-1/4 Cups – Points+: 5 pts – Calories: 198.8

Far: 1.4 g – Carbs: 29.7 g – Fiber: 7 g – Protein: 18.5 g

Ingredients:

• 1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained
• 15 oz kidney beans, drained
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 16 oz fat free refried beans
• 1 packet taco seasoning (you can use 40% less sodium)
• 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

Directions:

In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a few baked tortilla chips and your favorite toppings such as low fat sour cream, jalapeños, reduced fat cheese, chopped scallions, onions, or chopped fresh cilantro. Freeze leftovers in individual portions for future meals.

Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Strips

If there is a food that I could eat everyday and not get tired of buffalo chicken strips would be a top contender. This recipe is incredibly low in fat and calories, and packs in an excellent serving of fiber. They have a great flavor but make sure you like spicy things because it has a kick to it. These chicken strips are also great to make for a party, and are a great, healthy snack to chow down on during your favorite football game. Yummy!

Calories: 200 l Servings: 2 l Serving Size: 3 strips l Points+: 4 l Fat: 3g

Carbs: 11g l Protein: 29g l Fiber: 3g

Ingredients:

8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup egg whites or egg alternative
1 cup original Fiber One Cereal
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup and 2 tbsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1 tbsp light butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Wash and cut chicken breasts into strips that are approximately 1 1/2 inches wide (should be about 6 strips total). Set aside.
In a food processor, combine cereal, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and pepper and pulverize to a fine powder or breadcrumb like consistency. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl or onto a small plate. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and then add in 1 cup of the hot sauce. Mix well and warm until heated, but not bubbling or boiling. Pour into a small, shallow bowl, and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix egg whites (or egg alternative) with the 2 tbsp or remaining hot sauce. Now take each chicken strip, and coat with egg and hot sauce mixture. Shake off all excess egg from the meat. Next coat chicken in cereal mix until strip is fully breaded. Lay strip on baking sheet. Repeat until all pieces of chicken are breaded and on the baking sheet. Now, with a brush or spoon, drizzle about 3/4 hot sauce and butter mixture over all the chicken pieces. Make sure to coat well.
Bake chicken at 400 degrees until breading becomes crispy and chicken is cooked through (approximately 15-20 minutes). Serve with remaining hot sauce mixture for dipping.

Super Moist Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's a super moist, low fat carrot cake recipe I made for Thanksgiving this year but would be good anytime of the year. This is made with a can of crushed pineapple which makes it very moist. I baked using a 10-inch round cake pan but this recipe used an 8” X 3” cake pan, you could also use a bundt pan or 2 smaller round pans (baking time will vary). You could also make these into cupcakes or 24 slices, and it would be 4 points each. It looks so yummy but I’m going to wait to cut it and try it on Thanksgiving!

Servings: 16 • Serving Size: 1 slice • Points+: 7 pts • Calories: 301.1 

Fat: 8.1 g  Protein: 4.4 g • Carb: 38.2 g • Fiber: 0.4 g

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated carrots, peeled
• 20 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, drained 
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts plus 1/4 cup for topping

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz 1/3 fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices; stir well with a whisk.

In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Add grated carrots and pineapple; mix well. Fold wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. Fold in 1/4 cup chopped nuts.

Spoon batter into an 8” X 3” cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for about 40-50 minutes, depending on pan size or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish with remaining chopped walnuts.

Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole

Perfect for potlucks and under $10 to make. This recipe has tuna, mushrooms, peas and noodles in a creamy cheese sauce topped with breadcrumbs. The quintessential American dish. It is very good and there are plenty of leftovers if you are just cooking for 2. Enjoy!

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/6th • Points+: 8 • Calories: 318 • Fat: 7 g • Carb: 34.3 g Fiber: 3.6 g • Protein: 27.3 g

Ingredients:

• 6 oz no yolk noodles
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, minced fine
• 3 tbsp flour  
• 1 3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 10 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms(I used 8oz)
• 1 cup frozen petite peas (thawed)
• 2 (5 oz) cans tuna in water, drained
• 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar
• butter flavored cooking spray
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs

Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large deep skillet. Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray 9 x 12 casserole with butter flavored cooking spray.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined, increasing heat to medium and whisking well for 30 seconds, then add the milk and bring to a boil. When boiling, mushrooms and petite peas, adjust salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 minutes). Add drained tuna, stirring another minute.

Remove from heat and add 1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar and mix well until it melts. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated. Pour into casserole and top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray and top and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Place under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp (careful not to burn).

Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Warm oven-fried coconut chicken over a bed of baby greens, cucumber, tomato, shredded carrots topped with hot honey mustard vinaigrette. It's the perfect mix of salty and sweet, warm and cold. This salad has plenty of protein to keep you satisfied and the warmth of the chicken doesn't leave me feeling like I'm missing something. Serve this for lunch or dinner; use any combination of salad fixins'. This is my second time making this recipe for lunch and it is one of our favorites. It is my first time making a salad dressing and it just makes the whole dish.

Servings: 3 • Serving Size: Salad w/ 2 chicken tenders • Points+: 8

Calories: 397.6 • Fat: 11 g • Carb: 32.5 g • Fiber: 4.4 g • Protein: 26.8 g

Ingredients:

• 6 (about 12 oz) chicken tenderloins
• 6 tbsp shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 2 tbsp crushed cornflake crumbs
• 1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
• pinch salt
• olive oil spray

• 6 cups mixed baby greens
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, sliced

Vinaigrette

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp white vinegar (balsamic would work too)
• 2 tsp dijon mustard

Directions:

Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine coconut flakes, panko, cornflake crumbs and salt in a bowl. Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl.

Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture. Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with parchment for easy cleanup. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway, or until chicken is cooked through.

Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate. Divide carrots, cucumber,and tomato evenly between each plate. When chicken is ready slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens. Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over 1 tbsp each.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

Make your own delicious, homemade Thanksgiving Stuffing with this easy, low calorie recipe. With all the traditional flavors you’d expect, but a lot less Points +. Stuffing is what I look forward to the most but it’s also one of the most fattening side dishes. This recipe has 1/3 of the fat and calories most traditional Thanksgiving Recipes have. You get a huge 1 1/2 cup serving for just 5 points+.  It does require you to make your own bread cubes vs. using prepared ones out of a box, but considering the Points is saves you, it’s so worth it. Yum Yum!

 Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 ½ cups • Points+: 5 pts • Calories: 175 • Fat: 4.5 g 

 Carb: 28 g • Fiber: 7 g • Protein: 10 g

Ingredients:

• 12 slices of low calorie, high fiber bread (I used Sara Lee Delightful), dried and cut into bite size cubes (see Tip)
• 4 cups water
• 2 extra large chicken bouillon cubes (about 1oz)
• 5 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
• 2 tbsp light butter
• 1 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large saucepan, heat water, butter and bouillon to a boil.
3. Add in celery, onion, sage, thyme, rosemary and pepper, and turn heat down to medium. Simmer until celery and onion are soft, about 15-20 min.
4. In the meantime, put bread cubes into a large oven safe bowl or casserole dish.
5. Pour broth over bread cubes and combine gently until all bread cubes are saturated.
6. Gently mix in the egg substitute.
7. Place stuffing into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until stuffing reaches desired texture.

Quick Notes:

TIP: To dry out your bread, turn your oven onto the lowest setting (mine was 170 degrees) and evenly spread out all the slices of bread on a large, un-greased cookie sheet. Let bread slowly toast in the oven for about 4-6 hours. As soon as bread stiffens, turn off oven and leave it in there overnight. Bread should be fully stiffened, with all moisture removed, but not burned or charred.

Low Fat Baked Onion Rings

These are great as a snack or in my case, a perfect side dish to a nice juicy turkey burger! Baking them with a blend of Panko, cornflake crumbs and breadcrumbs gives these a fabulous crunch without all the fat. I found the best way to bread these is using tongs instead of your fingers, so you don’t lose much of the breading. Some of the crumb mixture and buttermilk were left, so if you use that you will have to add more points, I just got rid of what was left.

 Servings: 2 • Serving Size: 1/2 • Points+: 2 pt • Calories: 74.7 • Fat: 0.6 g 

 Carb: 14.7 g • Fiber: 1.6 g • Sugar: 1.7 g • Protein: 2.9 g

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings(I used a white onion)
• 2 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup crushed corn flake crumbs
• salt to taste 
• olive oil baking spray

Directions:

Place slices of onion in a shallow dish. Pour the buttermilk over the top and let them soak for about 1 - 2 hours, refrigerated Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Combine panko, bread crumbs and corn flakes and place half of the crumbs in a large dish, season with salt. Reserve the rest for when the first batch is used up. This should help avoid clumping and they should stick better to the onions Dip each soaked onion ring into the crumb mixture; coat well. Place rings onto two cookie sheets. Lightly spray with oil. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Bangin Good Shrimp

Stir fried shrimp mixed with a creamy sweet and spicy chili sauce served on a bed of lettuce topped with scallions. This is a great slimmed down recipe that only takes about 10 minutes to prepare which makes this perfect for lunch, as an appetizer or even a light meal. You can easily find Sweet Chili Sauce and Sriracha at your local supermarket (found mine at Wal-Mart).This recipe I was a little skeptically of because I only ever ate fried shrimp, but the sauce is really good and if you don’t mind the texture of the shrimp you will enjoy it

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4th or recipe • Points+: 5 pt
Calories: 215.7 • Fat: 7.6 g • Protein: 23.8 g • Carbs: 11.9 g • Fiber: 1.0 g • Sugar: 6.3 g  Sodium 443.9 mg

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 tsp Sriracha (to taste)

Shrimp:

• 1 lb large frozen shrimp
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 4 tbsp scallions, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce and Sriracha. Set aside.
Combine lettuce and cabbage and divide between four plates. Set aside.

Coat shrimp with cornstarch, mixing well with your hands. Heat a large skillet or wok on high heat, when hot add oil. When oil is hot add the shrimp to hot pan and cook tossing a few times until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and combine with the sauce coating well. Place shrimp on lettuce and top with scallions.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Perfectly portioned individual lasagnas. This is one of those family friendly recipes everyone in your home will love! There is healthy hidden spinach inside. I personally find one to be filling and they are great for leftovers. I served mine with a homemade piece of garlic toast and some celery with peanut butter. You must try these!

 

Servings: 9 · Serving Size: 1 roll · Points+: 6 · Calories: 224.9 · Fat: 5.1 g · Fiber: 3.4 g · Protein: 13 g

Carbs: 31.5

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce (that is 4 cups but I only used 3 cups, it was plenty)
• 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Hash brown Egg Nests

I love using my cupcake pan to make portion controlled meals. I made this for lunch today and filled ours with eggs, ham, cheese, peppers, and green onions. Delicious! They have such few weight watchers points ( 3 points for 2) that you can add a few more sides for a balanced healthy meal. We had Jimmy Dean turkey sausage (3 pts for 2), and some fruit.

Recipe

Servings: 3 • Size: 2 egg muffins • Points+: 3 pts • Calories: 133.4 • Fat: 1.8 g • Carb: 15.3 g • Fiber: 1.8 g • Protein: 13.2 g • Sugar: 0.6 • Sodium: 297.7 (without salt)

Ingredients:

• olive oil spray
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 cup shredded potatoes, Simply Potatoes
• dash of garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup egg whites or egg beaters, beaten
• 2 tbsp diced onions
• 1/4 cup diced bell peppers
• 0.8 oz reduced fat swiss, chopped
• 1 oz turkey ham, diced
• dash of garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray a muffin tin with oil spray. Combine potatoes, 1/2 cup onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Fill each muffin tin with 1/4 cup of potatoes and press along the side of the tin so that it forms a nest. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown and edges are crispy.

While nests are baking, combine the liquid eggs with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove nests from the oven when golden brown. Fill each cup with about 3 tbsp of egg mixture. Return to the oven and bake an additional 17-20 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked.

Skinny Low-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s hard to get exactly what you want from a cookie, sometimes they can be too cakey and other times they are too crispy. These cookies are chewy, soft, sweet perfection! If you have the will power to stop at 2 cookies they are a great snack when you’re craving chocolate. They are made using half whole wheat flour and only 2 tablespoons of butter. No one will suspect the alternative ingredientsJ Next week I’ll be making a breakfast recipe, Hash brown Egg Nests.

Recipe

Servings: 12 • Size: 2 cookies • Points+: 5 pts • Calories: 170.7 • Fat: 5.0 g • Protein: 1.4 g  Carb: 34.5 g • Fiber: 1.4 g • Sugar: 25.4 g • Sodium: 113.1 mg

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line two cookie sheets with non-stick silicone baking liners or lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and stir to blend. In another bowl, whisk the sugars, butter, egg white, applesauce and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smoothes out. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Roasted Idaho® Potato Pizza Slices

Welcome to my blog! I’m excited to be cooking and sharing the recipes that my taste buds love. Me and my husband are eating healthier and are following Weight Watchers and also a vigorous workout called P90X. Getting you in the best shape of your life in 90 days. We do great following Weight Watchers during the week and we definitely reward ourselves on the weekends, make sure you do that. This is a delicious, quick, and healthy meal or great appetizer. This recipe substitutes potatoes for the pizza crust. Potatoes are a great source of Vitamin C, Potassium, Vitamin B6, and also provide fiber. Mix and match toppings to suit your mood, and remember most fruits and vegetables are not only Weight Watchers power foods but also have zero PointsPlus values, so add all that you would like. Click to calculate your daily PointsPlus Target.

Recipe

Servings: 3 · Size: 4 Slices · Points+: 6 · Calories: 203 · Fat: 5.0 g · Protein: 15 g · Carb: 32.0 g ·

Fiber: 6 g · Sodium: 214.0 mg

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil Spray
• 1 lb medium Idaho® Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into approx. 12- ¼ inch slices
•  1/3 cup spaghetti sauce(I used Heart Smart Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic)
• ¾ cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Options for pizza toppings:

• Honey ham(2 slices)
• Green onion
• Red or Green pepper
• Olives(2 tablespoons)
• Tomatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil spray; arrange potatoes on sheet in one layer; spray the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
2. Remove potatoes from oven. Using a spatula, turn the slices over on the baking sheet. Spread a teaspoon of spaghetti sauce on each slice. Arrange desired toppings on each slice; sprinkle slices with cheese and bake 4 minutes until cheese is melted. Using a spatula, remove slices from baking sheet and serve.