Britney's Spears

Okay despite the name, this recipe is awesome. Super simple and quick so I am going to keep the blog short! (also, I have to go to bed!)

Roasted asparagus with garlic, balsamic vinegar and feta. YUM

For about 125 g (or 1/3 of what you see on that plate)

55 calories
3.5 g fat
3 g protein
5 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
152 mg sodium

Kernel Austin

Once again, I have a fair amount of food blogging to catch up on. I made this today though and I just had to report immediately.

I overlooked this recipe many, many times but recently heard a lot of people raving about it. I had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to try it out this afternoon.

This is a corn and black bean salad served cold. What makes it so amazing is the dressing used. It is a mixture of lime juice, barbeque sauce, garlic, chili seasoning and spices. It is delicious. The corn is lightly browned in a skillet prior to chilling, which gives it a different texture.

This would be an awesome side dish at a summer pot luck or BBQ (one can dream about summer already, right?). I have a feeling this recipe will be in heavy rotation throughout the warmer months.

I have tons of leftovers, so I will be enjoying the rest this week.

Here is a very similar recipe that one of the authors of the book uploaded to youtube - shows you just how quick it is to make! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=1H83j3zfBhU&feature=channel

Kernel Austin (1/2 cup serving)

99 calories
2.6 g of fat
3 g protein
17 g carbohydrate
3.5 g fiber
94 mg sodium

Tinbucktuna

Hey everyone. This entire week, my plan for tonight has been to stay home and try out this tuna casserole recipe. I know, sounds kind of boring, but I've had a very rough week and all I wanted was some quiet time and comfort food!

My mom always made tuna noodle casserole for me when I was a kid, and though I still really like it, it doesn't really fit into my meal plans now. So ever since I stumbled upon this recipe in Eat Shrink and Be Merry, I have been tempted to try it. I have also come across a few message boards and blogs about this recipe book, and all of them seem to rave about this particular recipe.

Yum. I loved it. The original recipe does not specify whole wheat rotini, but I'm so used to using whole wheat pasta so that's what I grabbed.

This is really creamy and cheesy and really, it tasted like it was incredibly high in calories. I'll be honest, I actually calculated the recipe myself, ingredient by ingredient to make sure I wasn't consuming more than the 349 calories per serving (as stated in the recipe book). I did give myself enough room to have 2 servings for dinner so it was a HUGE bowl, I ate 4 hours ago and I'm still stuffed.

Tinbucktuna

349 calories
8.7 grams of fat
24 grams of protein
14 grams of carbohydrates
2.6 grams of fiber (5.6 with whole wheat pasta)
690 mg of sodium

Dilly Whoppers

So I worked out for 2 hours today and I'm exhausted. I do weird things when I am tired. I tend to forget my locker combination, get off on the wrong floor of my apartment building, and screw up recipes, apparently.

I wasn't going to post this until I tasted it. I don't know if this looks how it is supposed to look like. These are salmon burgers with dill, feta and lemon. I somehow thought you were supposed to cook the salmon fillets and make the burger patties with the cooked salmon. No - you make the patties with raw, chopped salmon. I realized this as I was making the patties (with the cooked fish) and felt like a bit of an idiot, but threw them back in the oven for a few minutes for everything to "set". I want to try this the correct way, because even with my major error this was so delicious.

I added tartar sauce, a slice of tomato, lettuce, and placed it on a dempster's whole wheat bun. Heaven.

Here's the nutrition:

236 calories
10.4 g of fat
26 g protein
9 g carbohydrate
1.1 g fiber
333 mg sodium

* note, the dempsters bun adds about 140 calories and obviously changes the rest of the nutrition info. This is per patty.

As always, you can visit www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com to take a look at the cookbook (not affiliated)

Roastess With The Mostess and Spud Lite

This was so delicious. I am usually guilty of drowning poultry in gravy, but the flavouring with this roast made it unnecessary. I used lots of lemon and fresh rosemary, and rubbed it right underneath the skin. I stuffed the juiced lemon into the bird's cavity, as per directions, and it seemed to help cook the bird very moist. I will make this again, definitely.

Roastess with the Mostess (1/4 chicken)

222 calories
7.3 g fat
33 g protein
5 g carbohydrates
0.4 g fiber
417 mg sodium (which is easily cut if you do not season the bird with salt)

Spud Lite

I went into this recipe expecting not to like it. I'm really not much of a potato fan. Give me pasta, bread, rice any day. Potatoes I can leave. Anyways, the whole point of me cooking through this book is to try new things, and I had some fresh herbs I needed to use up so this recipe seemed fitting.

I am so glad I picked this! Wow it is amazing. There is a balsamic vinaigrette used along with the herbs to flavour it. I think the balsamic took away from the starchy taste of potatoes, and I felt absolutely no need to salt them. Glad I went out on a limb, because I will make this again, without a doubt.

Spud Lite (1/8 of recipe - about 1/4 lb)

148 calories
3.5 g of fat
3 g protein
27 g carbohydrates
2.8 g fiber
81 mg sodium

Better Butter Chicken

Hi everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a fantastic start!

I'm tired tonight and getting ready for bed so this is a short blog.

I made "Better Butter Chicken"

This recipe is a total score. I will make this often. Guess how much butter you use? 2 tablespoons - for FIVE servings. If you've ever made butter chicken before... there is a lot more than that used.

Keep in mind this isn't going to taste exactly like your regular indian takeout. You pay for that yummy-ness in calories. This recipe is delicious in its own way! Definitely reminiscent of butter chicken, but you do know it is healthier - I'm not going to lie to you guys! Now the fun part.. I can actually post this recipe as the authors have posted it online. Enjoy! PS - you can totally make this with chicken of any kind, even leftovers, in the recipe book they suggest using a whole roast chicken (skin removed and diced) so that's what I used.

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Chicken/recipe.html?dishid=8423

Nutrition info: Per serving: 314 calories, 12 g total fat (4.8 g saturated fat), 33 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 4 g fibre, 120 mg cholesterol, 534 mg sodium

Poppy Love

This is a lemon poppy seed loaf. Not my usual snack/dessert of choice, but sounded refreshing and different. Plus I'm on a real lemon kick lately.

This was so incredibly easy to make!

Mix:
Pour (even if you don't have a bread maker, it is super-simple):

and it is done!

When it is ready, it gets a beautiful dark, somewhat sticky crust and the inside is so soft and moist. I love it. There is not any chopping, sifting, or weighing in this recipe. It is no-fail baking, and I am going to use this as a go-to when I have company coming over.

You can slice the loaf any way you want, but 12 slices will give you this breakdown:

Poppy Love (per slice)

161 calories
5.3 g of fat
2.8 g saturated fat
4 g protein
27 g carbohydrates
1.1 g fiber
197 mg sodium

Goody Two Chews

So I ventured into the section of the recipe book called "A Sweet Carb Named Desire". I browsed around for a good snack, and this one caught my eye right away - Goody Two Chews:




Granola, peanut butter, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, cranberries.. could you ask for anything more? I just wish I had discovered this recipe in the fall! This was very, very simple. Mix it all up, put it in muffin tins and bake!




The recipe makes 12 - which is the perfect size for me, as I am just cooking for myself (husband doesn't like cranberries!) It is the perfect blend of sweet (use REAL maple syrup) and tangy with the bits of cranberry. The peanut butter isn't very strong and I like it that way. Now, the tops get nice and crunchy but the underside/middle is my favourite part! It is soft and chewy - very much like a cookie.

These are a tiny bit higher on the calories than I would like - but 1 is very filling, and paired with some yogurt or fruit on the side would make a great mid-afternoon snack. They are nice and low in sodium, and give you a good amount of protein and a little bit of fiber (see below)

Goody Two Chews

124 calories, 3.2 g fat, 4 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 1.2 g fiber, 65 mg sodium

Glad Thai-Dings

I am really procrastinating right now. I need to clean my apartment and get things ready for tomorrow. Oh well.

Today I went out to lunch with my mom and went to a buffet. Imagine how fun THAT was to track. I just had various salads, a cup of soup and a big plate of fruit though. Just a lot to keep a mental note of for later.

I watched My Sisters Keeper today and cried like a baby. Then brought my kittens into bed and had a nap with them. I've pretty much been hanging out online since then - aside for some cooking, which is the point of this blog after all! Glad Thai Dings is a recipe for meatballs in a peanut-ginger sauce.

You saw my meatballs I made on Friday, and I used the same ones. Great way to use them up. This recipe calls for Hoisin Sauce. I didn't know what to look for - so if anyone else is confused, I found it in the Asian section of my grocery store and this is what it looks like.

I found it to have a very strong, salty taste. Almost like soya sauce but with a richer flavour. To be honest, if i remake this recipe I will use less of the hoisin. I found it over powered the peanut and coconut flavours of the recipe. It was still enjoyable! Quick and easy to make - something very different, to get me out of my food rut, too. I served it over stir fried bell peppers, onions, sugar snap peas and bamboo shoots. It could also easily be served as finger foods (well, on toothpicks) at a social gathering.

Glad Thai Dings (per meatball)

46 calories

2.4 g fat

4 g protein

3 g carbohydrates

0.2 g fiber

125 mg sodium

Red, White and Yahoo & Wrap Star

Today I feel like I totally wasted my Saturday. I was lazy all morning, then went to Zumba class and on the way back I bought one of those pre-made fruit and yogurt parfaits. I could only assume they use full fat yogurt and granola, so I tracked it as so. Ugh what a waste of calories. Sure, it was tasty, but I could have made that way healthier. After I ate that I went to sleep for a couple of hours. I was wiped from Zumba. Between that yogurt parfait and my having KFC for lunch yesterday (ew), I knew I had to go pretty light on my dinner tonight. So I picked out something I'd been planning on doing for lunch this week.



First I made "Red White and Yahoo"

This is a salad made with chick peas, mini bocconcini, grape tomatos and a really nice vinagrette and herbs. I am not a huge chick pea fan, aside from hummus, so I was wary - but it turned out great.

A little tip for mixing salads with tomato of any kind - keep the tomato separate and only add it right before you eat it. I have my left overs in the fridge, tomato-less and I will just cut and add them as I eat each serving.

Red White and Yahoo (3/4 cup serving)

230 calories 9.6 grams of fat 10 grams of protein 27 grams carbohydrats 5.2 grams fibre 452 mg of sodium

Wrap Star

This has feta and sour cream in it. Again, I was wary, but it was delicious. I found the feta really added extra flavour. This isn't your normal tuna salad sandwich. I took a picture before wrapping it so you can see the filling better.



Wrap Star (1 wrap)
234 calories
5.9 g fat
20 g protein
25 g carbohydrate
2.4 g fiber
549 mg sodium


So, I am very happy with my light dinner. It was very fresh and certainly better than KFC! Plus, I have leftovers for lunch on Monday, so I have something to look forward to.

Wowie Maui Meatballs

So last night I made a new recipe. I was basing the recipe on which would mean the least ingredients to have to carry home on the bus after the gym. I ended up with Wowie Maui Meatballs, which are kebobs with a ginger barbecue sauce. They turned out delicious!

Yes, that is white rice you see on the plate. Basmati, to be specific. I just can't do brown rice very often. I have switched all of my pastas and breads to whole grain (and love them), but for some reason the brown rice seems like a huge chore to eat. I figure a healthy lifestyle is all about balance, so if I want to eat my white rice, I will. I just measure it out and get my fiber by other means the days I decide to eat it.

Anyways - this recipe calls for low-fat meatballs, and I love making home made meatballs for some reason, so I decided to go that route. This meatball recipe is also taken from Eat Shrink and Be Merry.

Here are my cute little meatballs - yes, I think meatballs are cute! haha

You can see there's lots of green in there - these meatballs are packed with spices and herbs and flavour!

As you can see, some of the fat does drip off while cooking which helps with the calorie content as well. Then I loaded them up on skewers with pineapple and bell peppers. Made the Wowie Maui Meatball sauce/glaze, and threw them on my George Foreman grill.



If any of you make this, just be sure to continuously be glazing the kebobs every few minutes so they don't stick.

They smell amazing on the grill! And let me tell you, they were absolutely delicious. A very nice change from my normal chicken or fish. And these babies are only 172 calories per skewer!! Here's the breakdown:

1 Skewer 178 calories
6.3 grams of fat
11 grams of protein
20 carbohydrates
2.6 g fiber
556 mg of sodium (yeah - don't have these the night before weigh in!)

I will make these again, for sure. Loved the flavour combination with the fresh pineapple. If you are interested in the cook book at all, you can get it on Amazon or www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com (buy 1 book and they send you a 2nd for free!)

"Lord of the Wings"

Whew it has been a long day.. I put off going for a run all day (well, to be fair I was working, but I usually work out on my lunch break). Then finally at the end of the day I thought "enough!" and went to a step class. Those who step regularly, I have to hand it to you, that is hard work. After that, I grocery shopped, made a big batch of spaghetti sauce and then started on this recipe.

On with the recipe: I decided on "Lord of the Wings". This is faked buffalo wings and WOW I am blown away.

I have always liked the taste of chicken wings but disliked a few things. A) there is never enough meat on those bones! B) the calorie content (of course) and C) they can be kind of stringy and... gross.. you know how it is. I am not cool with veins in my chicken.

Well, problems solved! These are made from boneless, skinless chicken thighs so they are 100% meat and they are quite delicious if I do say so, myself. I didn't find they lacked any flavour that I expected from a chicken wing recipe. Scroll to the end of the blog for nutrition info, if you'd like.

Here is some of my step-by-step work: First I had to trim the thighs of all visible fat. To be honest, I never worked with thighs before - and I wasn't prepared for them to be so... for lack of a better word.. icky. I guess I've spoiled myself with all of the chicken breast lately. Anyways, after all the trimming was done (I will spare you the pictures on this) I had to sort of roll each 1/2 thigh to resemble a chicken wing, and spoon the sauce mixture over each piece.

Into the oven they went. My kitchen smelled delicious. When you remove them from the oven there is a fair amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan (or, uh, foil in my case - old pans!)

You take this sauce and mix it in a pot with a little cornstarch to thicken it up. It is suggested to use this as extra dipping sauce, but my "wings" were looking a little dry, and not what I'd be pleased with serving to guests (though for me they were fine - still tasted moist and delicious!)

So I took a pastry brush and spread a little bit of this sauce on each "wing". Perfect! I used a mixture of Kraft Calorie-wise BBQ sauce and Frank's Red Hot to dip.

So what does this run me, nutritionally?

1 wing with 1 tsp of sauce

56 calories

1.7 grams of fat

7 grams of protein

2 carbohydrates

114 mg of sodium

Not bad! I can easily work a couple wings into my dinner as an appetizer, or make a whole meal out of them with a large side salad. These are filling though, being all meat - so you won't need to eat nearly as many of these as you would with regular wings.

The full recipe available in the Eat Shrink and Be Merry cookbook, available on Amazon or at http://www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com/

The Beginning

For recipes and more about the authors of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry please visit www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com