Healthy Twist on Chile Rellenos

My Mom used to make this for special occasions when I was growing up.  It was a chile stuffed with a block of high fat cheese, dunked in whipped egg whites and deep fried.  Served with refried beans, lettuce, doused with tomato sauce, and smothered in Parmesan and cheddar cheese.   I think I gained weight just writing that.

TIP: chopped chilies are more common - look carefully at the label!

This version, this tres easier and tres healthier version is courtesy of weightwatchers magazine! (Mar/Apr 2011 issue, pp 74) Serves 1 (you’ll need to multiply this for your family) for 5 PointsPlus values without the tomato sauce mentioned below the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 can green chilies (whole, not chopped)
  • 9 Tbsp shredded fat-free mozzarella (we used 7% fat which is “low fat” I think)
  • 3 Tbsp cornmeal, stone ground
  • 1 tsp oil

Directions

  1. Remove, pat dry the green chilies.
  1. Stuff (carefully) with 3 tbsp cheese each.
  2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.
  3. Dredge chilies in cornmeal and fry
  4. Fry 2 minutes each side.

Note: These were far yummier with an entire plate of iceberg lettuce, chilies on top, and drenched in ¼ cup of tomato sauce, sprinkled with oregano.

Enjoy!

Stevia sweetened Fruit Dip

I’m changing up some of my recipes so I’ll be posting on here a little more often.  This time, we’re sweetening a very smooth, yummy fruit dip with stevia.

Fruit Dip Recipe

  • 250g cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
  • 4 Tbsp skim milk
  • equivalent to 3 tsp powdered stevia
  • food coloring – this also looks tres cute when dyed to match the party palette!

Whip together and refrigerate to let the flavors blend, 1 hour or more.  Serve with berries and bananas – or any fruit!

This week’s Menu

menu-may9

Click on Image to see Full Menu or Print.

Printable menu is (c) threadneedle. And can be printed for free from Organized Home along with approx.  Eighty – hundred other printables.   :)

Crunchy Sole

sole

In the fish category we usually stick to Salmon, I suppose because it is familiar to us.  I’ve been thinking for a while that I’d like to add fish to our weekly menu, but my comfort level with cooking it is minimal.  This is the one recipe that I make whenever we have salmon.

I’ve tried this teriyaki glazed version too, which come to think of it, we all really liked.  Anyhow, a white fish like Sole is a real stretch for me but there’s nothing like only 8 points left for Dinner to motivate a girl to experiment.  For my non-Weight Watchers friends, this means I can’t have a lot of fat, and calories, because I’ve already eaten most of the day’s ration before dinner!  Time to get creative!

Ingredients:

  • 4 sole fillets
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • cooking spray

Crumb:

  • 3/4 c. crushed corn flakes (Make your own by crushing a baggie of corn flakes with a rolling pin – finer is better)
  • 1/4 c. flour blend
  • 1 Tbsp garlic pwd or Lemon Pepper seasoning
  1. Preheat oven to 400° and line cooking sheet with tin foil.  Spray foil with cooking spray.
  2. whisk together egg white and lemon juice on plate.
  3. Combine all crumb ingredients on separate plate for dipping.
  4. Dip each fillet into egg white mixture, then coat thoroughly in crumb mixture.
  5. Spray both sides of fillet and place on cooking sheet in single layer.
  6. Cook 4 minutes on each side, or until opaque.

Serve with lemon juice or wedges.

Points: One 3 oz fillet is 4 Weight Watchers© Points.

Ok, I’m back! With a new twist!

We (my hubby and I) are going to be keeping our calories in check for awhile.  Me a while longer than he.  But who’s counting?  Ummmm.  That’d be us.  So, along with our old goals for this site:

  • family-friendly
  • mom-approved
  • easy
  • quick
  • common ingredients

We are now adding:

  • healthy!!!

Now, I realize everyone has their own definition of healthy, so here’s what I mean, and what we aim to write in our recipes:

  • low fat
  • more complex carbs
  • more chicken & fish, less red meat
  • more servings of fruits & veggies
  • hubby is also tracking fiber intake (which lessens the impact of the fat in our gut)
  • and I’m also tracking protein intake (which keeps blood sugar stable longer than carbs)

To sum up:  Heart Healthy.

Are you as excited as I am?

Mike is using the weight watchers points system, and I am tracking calories and other foods at SparkPeople, which is a free service!  I’m o2cathy over there, if you see me, say ‘hi’!  :-)

Lots more to come!  Keep an eye on those feed readers,

Here’s to your health,

Cathy

GF Diet & Weight Watchers

Hello friends,

We are embarking on a new path in our diets.  Both hubby and I need to loose a few pounds.  Me a few more than he, but who’s counting?  So he has joined weight watchers at work, and is eating on the flex plan – that is the points one.  This is an excellent challenge to us to keep moving forward on our plan of eating healthily.  I’ll be fishing around the web for some GF & WW sites, I’ve heard that it is quite common.  Any links you could suggest, would be oh so appreciated!

More recipes to come this week.  In the meantime, have you tried out the Gluten Free Rice Chex in the States yet?