Salmon with Mango Glaze

I have been hunting for eons for a great-tasting way to Fix this Family of mine salmon, and now I have one.  That also includes me.  I know we can get ourselves to eat anything if it suits our tastebuds just so, so this became a personal challenge to me.

I was given this recipe by a Friend.  There seems to be many versions online as well, including one with star anise, which I might try somewhere down the line.  I just kept basting this salmon about every 5 minutes with the glaze mixture reserving just enough to hit it once it was done and before serving.  This is delicious.  My husband is not a Fish Fan at all.  In Fact he groaned about dinner when he learned it was going to be salmon, but he loved this and said, "I could eat this all day long." So, take that to the bank as an endorsement!

6 oz of salmon is 7 points, and the only ingredient in the glaze to have points is the mango nectar at 3 points per 5-oz serving.  I would say this *may* add a single point to each 6-oz portion of salmon at the most, so I'm assigning this dish 8 points per serving.

Tip:  Save the remaining mango nectar into ice-cube trays for the next go-around with this recipe.  Each cube is one ounce, so fill up 5 cubes, Freeze and bag 'em up for later!

GLAZE INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. rice vinegar
5 oz. mango nectar (3 points)
2 6-oz salmon fillets about 1" thick or just one big piece like mine to divvy up later


INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes until mixture reduces by about half.  Strain the mixture through a sieve so that all you have left is the liquid ingredients.

Line your broiler pan with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.  Broil the salmon about 5 to 6 inches away from the heat.  Pull out and baste with the glaze about every 5 minutes if very thick piece like mine was or about every 3 minutes if thinner. The salmon is done when it Flakes easily with a Fork. Once done, apply one more basting of glaze and serve.

POINTS: 8 points (with glaze)

Chicken-Salad Stuffed Jumbo Shells for 8 Weight Watchers Points

One thing I miss when I'm trying to count calories, points, etc. is cold macaroni salad.  Granted, it's the tuna kind, but this is a very easy-to-make chicken version that even Mr. F liked. (I can't get him to try cold pasta salads, but since this didn't look like one, he gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised.  He asked for more. ;)

My version, as pictured, is a little different than the recipe listed below.  I left out the olives and used canned no-salt-added chicken breast, as well as regular Italian dressing. Sometimes I just don't have the patience for shredding chicken breasts.

INGREDIENTS:

6 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (not macaroni)
3 Tbs light mayo
2 Tbs fat-free Italian dressing
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
2/3 c. drained canned chopped artichoke hearts
1/4 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
2 Tbs chopped ripe olives
6 fresh basil leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare chicken salad filling first.  Combine the mayo, Italian dressing, and onion powder in a medium bowl and stir well.  Add in the chicken, artichokes, bell pepper, and olives and stir well.

Cook the pasta shells for about 10-13 minutes according to package directions and drain well.

Line each shell with a fresh basil leaf and then add in about 2-1/2 to 3 Tbs of chicken salad mixture. You can serve at room temperature or chill well before serving.  Top with some salt and pepper and serve atop a bed of lettuce.

YIELDS: 6 shells or 2 servings of 3 shells each

POINTS: 8

Nutritional Information:  306 calories (25% from fat); 24.5g protein; 8.4g fat (2.3g saturated); 31.1g carbs; 2.7g fiber; 81mg cholesterol; 3.1mg iron; 624mg sodium; 62mg calcium

BBQ Chicken Tostadas Weight Watcher Recipe for only 8 points!

I'm pretty sure I got this one out of an old Weight Watchers recipe book that I have in my personal Favorites Folder on a card now.  If you like Flavor...this is a good one for you.  I can seriously just eat the tomato-cilantro-red onion topping by itself.

This is a Family-Friendly meal when you leave off the toppings and serve up with only a thin bean layer, a BBQ chicken layer, and a Monterey Jack cheese layer for little ones. 

Picture sans sour cream and cilantro sprigs (just Forgot)

Today, I hadn't eaten anything all day, so I Figured it would be safe to have two of these for dinner. I only had enough left for two. Today also happened to be our Buffet-Pick-Yer-Poison Day that I talk about here.  Mr. F....what can I tell you about him, other than he can eat whatever the hell he wants and remains thin.  We pulled out the leftover beef taco leftovers, chicken taco leftovers (have both on the same night for a taco night), leftover beef stroganoff, the leftover lone-remaining spicy cod cake, and the supplies for making two of these BBQ chicken tostadas that were going to be for me.  That man ate a big chicken taco, the leftover beef stroganoff, and as I photographed this single tostada in the image above, he grabbed himself the other one! I couldn't even believe my eyes. It's just not fair I tell ya.Oh well, one is actually enough and two would have stuffed me.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of all Fat and cut into bite size strips
1 cup prepared BBQ sauce
1 (4.5-oz) can chopped mild green chiles, drained
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced (I just dice)
1/2 small red onion, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
8 (6") Fat-Free Flour tortillas
1 cup canned Fat-Free refried beans
8 scallions, Finely chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup light sour cream

Instructions:

Combine the chicken, barbecue sauce, and chiles in a large nonstick skillet and bring to a Full boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender and cooked through (about 25 minutes). Remove from heat.

Combine the tomatoes, onion, chopped cilantro, garlic, vinegar, oil, and salt in a medium bowl until blended. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large nonstick baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the tortillas on the baking sheet. Spread each tortilla with the beans and top with the chicken mixture. Add scallions and cheese to the top.

Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly (about 15 minutes).

Top each tostada with the tomato mixture, sour cream, and cilantro sprigs.

Points: 8 per tostada
Servings: 7

Per Serving:  358 calories, 12 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 87 mg cholesterol, 864 mg sodium, 27 g total carbs, 4 g fiber, 33 g protein, and 195 mg calcium.

Tex-Mex Haystacks for 8 Weight Watchers Points

This is a Filling dish.  It makes 4 servings, so if not everyone enjoys this (beans Freak my kids out and rice Freaks out 2 of them), then you have something for a grab-and-go situation for a Few days out into the Future.  Just portion, mix up, and Freeze what's left.

I'm still having a heck of a time Finding baked tortilla chips, and the scoops above claimed to be baked.  They didn't taste baked either, but I'd like to Find some regular baked tortilla chips and do a value comparison before I promote those babies. 

Ingredients: 

1 (16-oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained & chopped
1 (10-oz.) can premium chunk white chicken in water, drained
1 Tbsp. chili powder
3 Tbsp. no-salt-added tomato paste
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
***************
2 c. hot cooked long-grain rice, cooked without salt or fat
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions
40 baked tortilla chips (10 per serving)

Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon rice onto a serving platter and top with chicken mixture, shredded cheese and sliced green onions.  Arrange tortilla chips around outside edge of platter.

To serve up individually, each portion will be 3/4 c. chicken mixture, 1/2 c. rice, 2 Tbsp. cheese, 1 Tbsp. green onion, and 10 tortilla chips.

Yields: 4 servings
Points: 8

Nutrition:  414 calories, 28.5 g protein, 6.1 g fat, 61.8 carb, 10 g fiber, 41 mg cholesterol, 4.2 mg iron, 1115 mg sodium, 257 mg calcium.

Tuscan Chicken with Fettuccine Weight Watcher recipe for 8 Points

I go through my neighborhood sifting through people's recycle bins for coupon inserts that I donate to the military, but on one trip last summer, I scored someone's discarded old Weight Watcher recipe book for 15-minute meals.  Her loss and my gain, or vice versa, depending on how you look at it I suppose.  It had Core points listed, and I think that was before I ever waded into the Weight Watcher pool.

This is two combined recipes, so there will be two parts below.

I had to run an errand with my daughter tonight and presented the recipes to Mr. F and asked him if he thought he could cook that up while we were out.  He gave it his best shot and it was yummy.  (I just asked him if he added the Parmesan cheese or butter to the Fettuccine, and he Forgot both!  Probably would've been even better had he or I remembered that part!) I WILL NEVER complain when he cooks for me because it just never happens! I'll take it.

He cooked waaaay too much pasta, not noticing it called for 9 ounces of it, so I did the 1/2-cup measure scoop to grab mine.  Next time I will measure out my pasta serving to ensure I have enough, and I'll keep searching for the spinach Fettuccine that I could not find on my last shopping trip. 

I will make this again.  Only 3 of the 5 of us were willing to try it.

Tuscan Chicken Ingredients:

4 (6-oz.) skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. water

Tuscan Chicken Instructions:  Place chicken breast halves between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and pound to 1/2" thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add chicken.  Cook 3 mknutes on each side or until golden.  Add tomatoes and cook 4 minutes or until tomato skins pop.  Stir in balsamic vinegar and water.  Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is done and liquid almost evaporates.

Yields: 4 servings (serving size 1 chicken breast half and about 1/3 cup tomato mixture)
Points: 5

238 calories, 5.8 g fat, 40 g protein, 4.4 g protein, 0.9 g fiber, 407 mg sodium, 29 mg calcium


Spinach-Parmesan Fettuccine Ingredients: 

1 (9-oz.) package fresh spinach Fettuccine
1/4 c. (1.3 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp butter

Spinach-Parmesan Fettucine Instructions:  Cook Fettucine according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.  Drain. Combine the cooked pasta, cheese, and butter and toss well.

Yields: 7 servings (serving size about 1/2 cup)
Points: 3 

157 calories, 5.5 g fat, 6.4 g protein, 20.3 g carbohydrate, 1.2 g fiber, 39 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium, 93 mg calcium

Family Friendly Taco Salad - 8 Weight Watcher Points

Yes I can and do eat taco salad when doing Weight Watchers.  Of course, as my points allowance goes down, so does the way I make some of my dishes.  Right now, however, I have a lot of points to use each day, and when my dinner is going to be around 10 points, I make sure that my breakfast, lunch, and snacks are Far Fewer in points. I doubled the below recipe tonight.

Homemade taco seasoning (zero points):

Brown your pound of lean ground beef and crumble.

Add in the following:

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Mix well and add in 1/2 cup water.  Cook until water evaporates to your taste. 

Assemble the following ingredients to make taco salad:

1 ounce of the seasoned lean ground beef mixture        2 points
1/8 c. (0.5 oz.) Mexican blend cheese                            1.5 points
28 grams of regular tortilla chips                                    3 points
1/2 tablespoon fat-free sour cream                                 0.25 points
about 1/8 c. diced onions is                                            0.12 points
0.8 oz. cubed avocado                                                   1 point
shredded lettuce                                                             0 points
diced tomato                                                                  0 points

TOTAL                                                                         7.87 (or 8) points


You can minimize the points by using baked tortilla chips (which my local grocery no longer carries), low-fat cheeses, and by eliminating the sour cream or avocado or both. You could also substitute fat-free greek yogurt for the sour cream as well.

It is Family Friendly because with all of the fixings set up in the middle of the table and the addition of some hard shell and/or soft-shell taco shells/tortilla shells, the kids can make whatever they want--the tacos, the soft tacos, or the taco salad. 

For now, this mixture works for me, and today I still have 1.25 points left. I'm stuffed! Enjoy!

Family Friendly Mexican Chicken Salad Platter recipe - 8 Winning Weight Watcher Points Max

There is supposed to be more of the salsa, but that was all I had left until I bought some more the next day. 

Love, love, love this salad.  It is also Family Friendly, meaning 4 out of the 5 of us like it.  I got this recipe out of an old Mexican cookbook somewhere that I do not have and can therefore not give proper credit.  I will if you know where it came from though!  You can make it as spicy as you'd like via your choice of salsa spiciness--mild, hot, etc.  You can can also make your serving size a little smaller since the chicken breast is 1 point per ounce and the homemade dressing goes a long way, which is why I've listed this as "8 Points Max."  A couple of shakes is all it takes, and I figured that 1 whole tablespoon of the dressing is worth 3 Winning Points. I so far have never actually used a whole tablespoon of the dressing. 

Here is a pic with the dressing, followed by the recipe and instructions for assembly. At the bottom of this entry will be a recipe to make your own corn and black-bean salsa.

Make the dressing ahead of time to allow flavors to blend. I actually double the dressing recipe so I have some for future salads and store it in the refrigerator.

Dressing:

Blend all of the below ingredients together, cover, shake and refrigerate.  You can use any ol' jar you have handy with a lid.  You must shake it each time before applying dressing.  I prefer the salad dressing bottle above with a small opening because, as I mentioned earlier, a little bit goes a long way. 

1/4 c. olive oil or vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
3 Tablespoon fresh cilantro finely chopped
3 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce finely chopped (wear gloves!)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 clove of garlic finely minced


Salad:

10 c. coarsely chopped lettuce (1 head iceburg or romaine).  I sometimes use both.
3-1/2 c. shredded cooked chicken
10+ grape tomatoes cut in half (I usually use more than 10)
1/4 c. sliced green onions (I just eyeball this to make tomato/green onion mixture balanced)
1 avocado
1 16-oz. jar corn and black bean relish (I like the Target brand)
l lime

Assembly:

Cover a large serving platter with lettuce.  Toss the shredded chicken with about a tablespoon of the dressing.  In a small bowl combine the tomatoes and green onions.  Arrange with chicken mixture down center over top of lettuce, place the green onion/tomato mixture on one side of the chicken mixture and the corn and black bean salsa on the other side of the chicken mixture.  Cut your lime into wedges and place in another row and place your avocado slices on the last row covering the entire bed of lettuce(s).  Cover and chill for an hour, but if you are fast enough, you can eat immediately too. Do not put dressing on until ready to eat if you will serve up & consume entire batch. Use tongs to grab a portion of each section, including lettuce, to create individual salads.

Remember, the chicken breast is 1 point per ounce, the avocado 1 point per ounce (1 slice of avocado sliced into eights), and the dressing 3 points per tablespoon. You can figure out your points for the salsa according to the brand you choose.  Mine is zero! (Winning points).

This makes 6 main dish servings, which are really quite large and very filling.  We usually get more out of it.

You can cover with saran wrap and store the salad, sans dressing, for days, so you can have lunch or grab for a dinner when the family is eating something you shouldn't be. As always, you can divide up into covered food containers or Mason jars for grab-and-go convenience (sans dressing until ready to eat!).

Shortcuts:  You can use deli-roasted chicken instead of cooking up your own chicken breast.  You can toss the avocado with some of the lime to help prevent browning, but I find the avocado still gets squishy, so I take off the avocado slices and freeze them on a plate until frozen and then move them into a baggie. I pull out the one-eighth (1 oz.) avocado about 45 minutes before I plan to eat or pop a slice into the microwave for a few seconds and then dice it up into my salad.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa: (which I've never made)

Combine 1 15-oz. can black beans (rinsed and drained), 3/4 c. cooked fresh or frozen whole-kernel corn, and 1 small orange sweet pepper or green sweet pepper chopped (optional).  Toss w/2 tablespoons of dressing. 

Serves 6.  365 calories, 19 g fat, 73 mg cholesterol, 466 mg sodium, 22 g carb, 7 g fiber, 31 g protein.

Gyro Sandwich on a Diet!? Yaaaaaaaaasssssssss!

I love me a gyro sandwich.  Until I tried NutriSystem, I thought that it was something I should avoid.

On NutriSystem, thanks to the NS community, I found a recipe on their site on how to turn the rehydrated beef patty into a mock gyro.  I really liked it, and that was my go-to idea for the beef patties, but it was time consuming to make the mock-Tzatziki sauce.

Fast forward to now.....I went to my local Gordon's Food Service and found they had a bulk package of gyro meet.  I could see that the serving size was 4 slices and figured it may work.  I bought it, figured out my points (only 5 points for 4 slices) and prepackaged it in serving sizes to freeze.  Grab & go is what I need to be successful.  The NutriSystem flame-broiled beef patty was 2 points, so this is only 3 points more for me.

Just like with NutriSystem, I put it into a whole wheat pita bread half and stuffed it full of lettuce, onions, and tomato for 1 point.  Instead of making the Tzatziki sauce myself, I had come across a Tzatziki spread at my grocery store.  I bought that and figured out my points....only 1 point per tablespoon!

All of the items in the picture below are only 3 points for me (2 for 2 tablespoons for Tzatziki sauce and 1 for the pita bread). 

Here is my gyro lunch for only 8 points

Does this help you have a gyro too?

Nutty Balsamic Tuna Sandwich with Avocado

This is one of my favorite sandwiches.  Unfortunately, it is high in points, but that's a good thing when you have a ton of points minus the appetite.  I know, I know....there are people wondering why I'm fat if I have no appetite.  I drank too much pop.  That's where all of my calories came from most days.

With a 3-point breakfast, that leaves me 26 points for the day.  Since I usually aim to leave myself around 15 points for dinner (so I can eat what my family is eating if needed or to go out at the last minute), eating an 8-point sandwich is no big deal.  That leaves me with 18 points left for the remainder of the day.

Here's the recipe:

4 slices of pumpernickel or whole wheat bread
5-oz. can of tuna fish, drained
4 Tbsp. balsamic dressing (I use Marzetti's Simply Dressed Balsamic)
4 Tbsp. shredded carrot
1 green onion finely chopped
2 Tbsp. toasted sliced almonds (you can use walnuts too)
Avocado, cubed to mix in, or sliced to top mixture.

Mix the drained tuna, dressing, shredded carrots, green onion, and nuts in a mixing bowl. (you can chop up the avocado to mix in, but I like to slice for weighing out 1 ounce to top the mixture.)  Lightly toast your bread, use one-half of the mixture in each of 2 sandwiches, and top with sliced avocado if you didn't mix it right in. Voila. Sandwich is done. Delish.

I don't have the nutritional information on this one, so you will need to figure that out for yourself.  For me, the 4 slices of pumpernickel is 8 points, the whole can of tuna fish is 2 points, the 4 tablespoons of dressing is 2 points, the shredded carrot is 0 to 0.5, green onion is zero, and 2 tablespoons of almonds is 0.5 to 1 point.  I rounded up for the almonds, so the grand total for two sandwiches is  14 points minus the avocado.  That makes each sandwich 7 points, and since I weigh out 1 ounce of sliced avocado to top the sandwich, my sandwich is 8 points.