Foodies Not Fatties

We've Moved!!!!

2010-10-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

We finally have our new website up and running! We are still learning a lot about how to post but things are going great! Stop by today to check out our newest recipe adventures!

www.foodiesnotfatties.com

Hello! My Name Is . . .

2010-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Laura and Kat!

But what's your name??

I'm actually stealing this idea from Whitney at Slimming Down for the Gown because I loved the idea so much! Awhile ago, she asked her readers to comment and introduce themselves. She brought up the good point that for the most part, we don't know who reads our blog (except for those who comment).

So we're asking all of our readers to leave a quick comment, even if you've never done it before, and just tell us your name, where you're fun and one interesting thing about you.

I'll go first! My name is Laura and I live in Houston, TX with my boyfriend and our two dogs.

Something interesting about me: I hate blood, needles, guts, and all things related, which is ironic because I work in a hospital and Cody is a surgery resident, so he spends his days with all of the above.

And since I'm writing this post, I'll introduce my blogging buddy and partner-in-crime, Kat. She also lives in Houston with her hubby and two dogs (just as cute as mine, but much more well-behaved!).

Something intersting about Kat: her nickname is Chili Dog. I think I'm the only one that calls her that, but it still counts!

Your turn!

Thirsty Thursday

2010-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thirsty Thursday!! This past weekend I was thirsty for some lemonade, but not just Plain Jane lemonade. Something special. So I whipped up some tangy, lip-smacking Fizzy Blueberry Lemonade. Yum! I wish I still had some!!

I looked at tons of lemonade recipes to see how you make the original and they all start with a simple sugar. Being lazy . . .er, time-conscious, I heated 2 cups of water in the microwave (instead of waiting for water to boil on the stove) and added in 1 cup of Splenda and let it cool.

While it was cooling, I measured out 1 cup of frozen blueberries. I added some of the warm Splenda water to help soften them and tossed them in the food processor and blended them up.

Once that was blended, I added one cup of lemon juice. I wish I could say I squeezed 10 lemons just for our readers, but this lazy gal just measured out 1 cup of pre-squeezed lemon juice.

I taste tested it once the blueberry puree, Splenda syrup and lemon were combined and it was still a bit tart. So I added 1 cup of club soda to dilute it and give it some fizz.

And the final product . . .

Pretty tasty! Tart, but lip-smacking delicious. And pretty filling, too! I think if I had a better food processor, it wouldn't look as murky, but I like seeing the fiber.

What's your favorite lemonade blend?? Cody really likes those Sweet Tea and Lemonade mixes. They're a little too sweet for me, but he drinks it like it's going out of style!

On a side note, does anyone have any tricks for removing blueberry stains from carpet? I had a little accident . . .

Here's the stats for this thirst quencher:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 32

Fat: 0.4 g

Sodium: 28 mg

Fiber: 1.3 g

Starting to feel like Bubba Gump

2010-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

I mean really, I have so many shrimp recipes! This weekend I decided to flip through the rest of my recipes to decide what I would cook for the next few posts. Of course I realized that I had already cooked the ones that sounded the best, so now I am left with some questionable recipes, mostly which are shrimp. Don’t get me wrong, I do love shrimp, but I have a feeling Rusty and I will be eating shrimp 1-2 times per week for the next few months :/

The recipe I chose for this week was an unlikely winner. I am typically not much of a Cajun food eater. Realistically I just don’t like the spice of Cajun food. I unwillingly chose Paula’s Shrimp Gumbo recipe and gave it a whirl. Well, let me tell you, it was awesome!!!

I pulled my cast iron skillet for the first time in many months to make this delectable treat. Did you know that you are not supposed to wash cast iron with soap? In order to prevent rusting we actually just scrub and rinse the skillet really well and after drying, rub it with a little oil to keep it “seasoned.” For more info on cast iron care check out the Lodge Cast Iron Use and Care page.

What it takes to make some “Lick the Bowl Shrimp Gumbo:”

Start out by heating a little Garlic Gold in your skillet. Add you chopped onions and celery and sauté well.

Add in your seasonings, broth and okra and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Paula says 30 minutes but again, I don’t like to sit and wait very often.

After adding your shrimp, mix up your cornbread and dollop it out all over the top.

Using oven mitts, put your skillet in the oven, and voila!

A holy cow mixture of yummy gumbo goodness!

Obviously I really like the dish, but how about the nutrition facts? Well, because I used a typical Jiffy mix, my gumbo was not as light as I had hoped. Next time I make this I will probably try to make cornbread from scratch to help cut back on calories, fat and salt. Again, the calories don’t seem all that different even though I added more veggies and cut back the fat. Either way, I only had this for dinner, so 3 calories weren’t too bad (even though I ended dinner with a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite).

The breakdown:

Lick the Bowl Shrimp Gumbo Casserole
Gumbo:
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp Garlic Gold
2 bay leaves
½ tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp FNF seasoning (see recipe here)
2 cups 99% fat free chicken broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
16 oz package frozen okra, slightly thawed
2 cups shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined
Crust:
¼ cup Egg Beaters
1/3 cup skim milk
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil and sauté onion and celery until softened. Add all seasonings, stock and okra. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for corn muffins. Using a spoon, dollop mixture on top of gumbo, leaving center uncovered.

Carefully, put skillet in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Frozen Fish

2010-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe is unique in that I hadn't intended to change much about the ingredients. The foundation of the Paula Deen's Savory Salmon is pretty healthy. The only modification I planned to change was to eliminate the salt. But in terms of fat and fiber, there wasn't much I could change.

I did make some changes, but my changes were based on what I had on hand.

I used agave nectar instead of honey, pre-squeezed lemon juice instead of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I omited the strawberries just because the ones in my fridge were covered in fuzz. No moldy fish for us!

I took the fish out 4 hours before I started and thawed according to the package. I put the fillets in the foil, added my veggies (so pretty!!) and wrapped them up and let them hang in the oven.

Half an our later, I pulled out the pan and opened up my salmon surprise.

Pretty, huh??

But the fish was stone cold still! Ugh! So I put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

The second time I took it out of the oven it was warm, but not hot. I was so afraid about eating raw salmon (I'm not a sushi eater, unless it's California Rolls, which is not raw) that I thought I'd pop it in the microwave for 60 seconds, just to make sure. While I was setting up my plate, I heard three loud pops. I don't know if it was the skin or what but there were flakes of fish all over the inside of my microwave. Good thing we're moving soon (just kidding, I cleaned it up; I didn't want everything I microwaved to smell like fish)!

I took it out and taste tested a little corner. Pretty blah. Probably because all the good stuff was still sitting in my foil wrapped pan.

By this time it was 7 PM and I was hungry and crabby and I just called it quits and ended up making Grilled Cheese. It was amazing, by the way.

Since the I didn't really make any significant changes AND the recipe was a disaster, I didn't even calculate the nutritional stats. If you want to try it, here's Paula's recipe. Maybe you'll have better luck!!

Pumpkin Overload!

2010-10-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

With the fall weather on its way (at least in the South), we are all looking forward to fall foods. Some of my favorite fall foods involve butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Lately there has been a HUGE craze about pumpkin. Don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin pie but I haven't ever put much thought into using it in other ways.

Today, when I was planning my weekly meals, I remembered I need to make a dessert for next Sunday's Sweets post. I asked my hubby what dessert he loved most and his answer? Cheesecake. Of course I wasn't just going to make plain cheesecake, I needed to give it a kick! I decided to make little pumpkin cheesecakes bites. I promise I am not trying to be a tease, because this recipe will be posted Sunday, but I wanted to at least explain why I am writing about pumpkins today!

With all of the wild pumpkin talk going on, I figured I should find out what is so great about them. First of all (and sometimes most important) they are super tasty! Now I don't mean fresh pumpkin, a la the leftovers from your Halloween carving! I mean the yummy puree that comes in a can!

I used the Libby's Pumpkin puree today...and may or may not have licked the can :) It was DELICIOUS! I really think I may start adding it to other things like oatmeal and maybe make one of those awesome sandwiches Caitlin has made.

What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes?

Now why is pumpkin so awesome? Well it tastes yummy, and has some pretty great nutritional info!

One cup of Libby's puree had:

80 calories

0g fat

10g fiber

And how about the awesome Vitamin A and C that pumpkin provides?! (obviously I have jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon)

That is a lot of fiber from one delicious squash! Do you want to know some other awesome things? While researching pumpkin recipes, I came across these fun pictures and world records.

The world's largest pumpkin pie was 20 feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds! That is a lot of fiber!

The world's largest pumpkin? It was grown by Chris Stevens and yes the record was set YESTERDAY!!! The giant pumpkin weighed in at 1810.5 pounds! Whoa!

On the note of carving here are some cool carved pumpkins from ExtremePumpkins.com to get your creative juices flowing this season.

On a closing note, check out the pumpkin preserving page. Apparently you can use Clorox Cleaner with Bleach to help your pumpkin friends stay fresh for the trick-o-treating season.

Happy Pumpkining!

Some Greens I Can Sink My Teeth Into

2010-10-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yea! Sunday Sweets is back! I love desserts, but it can be hard to find one that isn't loaded with fat or sugar. I found a recipe for Zucchini Brownies and made a few changes. I know what you're thinking, I've already made a dessert with zucchini, but I like sneaking some greens into sweets.

I started off with what looks like a lot of stuff, but I promise it came together really quick!

I originally had planned on doing a 3 sugar blend: real sugar (because sometimes baked goods with Splenda only don't come out well), Splenda (less calories) and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (it's the best of both worlds right?). But I got lazy and ended up just doing 2/3 real sugar and 1/3 Splenda.

I used half the oil of the original recipe and half applesauce. I know a lot of recipes omit oil and just use applesauce, but I've found that that tends to make the baked good more cake-y and less chewy.

When I mixed everything it, it seemed pretty dry . . .

I ended up having to pat it down and finally was ready to toss it into the oven.

I took them out of the oven and they looked a tad dry. But they were soooo easy to cut! You know how normally when you cut brownies (especially if you don't wait for them too cool completely, which never happens at my house), they all crumble and end up looking mangled and half eaten? No problem here!

I sprinkled them with confectioners sugar instead of frosting. I think if I ever make them again, I'll get some reduced sugar frosting because my end product was a little dry and a little bland (Cody agreed!).

Do you have any recipes for sweets that have hidden veggies in them?? What do you wish you could hide in a brownie?

Here are the stats for the final product:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 24

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 91

Fat: 0.3 g

Sodium: 177 mg

Fiber: 1.6 g

And the recipe!

Zucchini Brownies

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 tbsp confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, Splenda and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

Dust lightly with powdered sugar.

FNFFCW

2010-10-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't just drop a book on the keyboard! FNFFCW is an acronym for a super fun event Kat and I have been working on for quite awhile! It's been in the works for almost two months and we're excited to share our plans (and start counting down!).

In two weeks, Kat and I are going on our 1st Annual Foodies Not Fatties Food Crawl Weekend!!

If you remember from our blog introduction, Kat and I talk about food a lot. And one day we were talking about all of the cool restaurants we've seen on TV or have heard about in Texas. One of us jokingly said, "We should totally just pack up and go on a food crawl through Texas." As we started picking out places we would go to if we actually did it and we got so excited (and started drooling!) that we decided to commit and do it for real, instead of just wishing.

Unfortunately, we both have jobs and lives and pets, so we couldn't just pack up and leave for months, so we're testing out FNFFCW on a smaller scale. We'll be heading to Austin, then to San Antonio and then back to H-town.

Of course, we are still dietitians, and we realize that going on a 4-day binge of huge donuts and 3 pound cinnamon rolls isn't sending the best message. So we're inserting some stops at healthy restaurants in between participating in a bike race AND running through Austin and San Antonio. It's all about balance and moderation!

So, if you're going to be in the Austin area on 10/23, we'd love to meet you! We'll be dining at a place called Mr. Naturals with the lovely, literary Monet and would love to meet any readers that are in the 'hood. If you're interested, please shoot us an email here: foodiesnotfatties@gmail.com

Portion Distortion!

2010-10-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

One of the topics at my Weight Watchers meeting today was portion control. This is a major topic when it comes to not only losing weight but staying healthy. I have always been a big supporter of the "everything in moderation" mindset. Essentially, enjoy those unhealthy, specials treats every now and then and measure what you are eating!

I really think this is how I am able to tackle my weight loss challenge. Without the occasional sweet treat or cheesy snack I think I might go insane! Weight loss should never be about what you CAN'T have. You should focus more on what you CAN have and how MUCH you should be eating.

One way that I manage my portions is by changing the size of my plate. Back in the day, circa 1960's, plates were 8-9" in diameter. Now-a-days, our dinner plates are 12"! That is more than 40% larger! Can you imagine how many fewer calories we would consume by just switching to smaller plates? I am aware that this is not a new concept, but I think that with the holidays looming, the topic is valid. As I sit here and write this I am thinking that I may switch to my salad plate even during the holidays!

Typically I use our smaller bowl and plate set. When I make my plate I feel like I have a great deal of food simply because my plate is pretty full. If I were to put the same amount on my larger plates, it would look like I wasn't getting to eat much. Tricking your brain by thinking you are getting more food can certainly help you eat less.

Here is the comparison between what I use on the left and what my hubby uses:

Note my husband has the metabolism of a racehorse...he could probably have 5 full plates and still lose weight :(

Now I promise not to bore you all day with chatter about choosing smaller plates. I was really just inspired to talk about this during my meeting when we were shown some neat new products available for portion control. Of course I am going to share a few with you!

The first and I think pretty fun item is a graduated wine glass! Marked at 4, 6, and 8 oz this glass will keep you from having to guesstimate how much wine you are getting.

Of course I can't find a link to it anywhere! I saw it in the Weight Watcher's Holiday Issue. I will grab it this weekend and post a link on Twitter.

How about a tiny condiment container? This little squeeze bottle holds about 3tbsp or 1.5 servings of salad dressing. A great way to measure and carry dressings for lunch.

HumandGear Mini GoToob

I also love this compartmentalized lunch container. I wouldn't say it is specific to portion size, but it does help you pack ahead and pre-portion items out for lunchtime. I typically do much better at lunch if I take it and don't buy it. Usually I will take a protein, a starch, a veggie and a fruit. This container would be perfect.

Fit and Fresh On The Go Lunch Container

Love these little half cup containers. I would use these to separate out portions of pretzels or cereal snacks. By pre-portioning an entire bag of pretzels, you will be less likely to mindlessly eat more than you should straight out of the bag.

Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid 1/2 Cup Food Storage

I am super sad that I couldn't find a picture of the wine glass, but I promise to post where you can find it this weekend. I hope y'all have enjoyed my rant about portions and changing plate sizes. I will being putting my advice to good use this weekend when I am at my hubby's family reunion. The menu? fried fish, fried hushpuppies and fries, breakfast tacos, BBQ and fixins. Where are the greens you may ask...well they will be in my cooler. Planning on taking some fruits and veggies to keep me from overdoing the fried festivus! Wish me luck!

Thirsty Thursday - My First Attempt at "Mocktails"

2010-10-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, this October, Laura and I are featuring some of our favorite drink concoctions on Thursdays. The past few weeks I have been a bit mystified by Kath's "mocktails." The most unusual combo has been basil and selzter. When it comes to drinks I am definitely more of a sweets kind of gal. If I am out drinking, though, I have to be a bit more aware of my love for sweet drinks. They are a bit easier on the tastebuds and can be pretty easy to throwback without realizing how much you are drinking. Note to readers: keep track, otherwise you will end up hugging the porcelain throne!

I have an awesome black mail pick of my husband on one of those nights, but..... I was told I was not allowed to put it on the internet :(

While trying to find a good pic of Rusty, post drinking, I found this instead. Here we both are on New Year's....on our way to regretting our drink choices :) (but it sure was fun)

But I digress! Mocktails, love 'em or hate 'em, I had to give one a try.

I know Kath usually uses selzter and then adds some fruit and maybe flavoring. For inspiration, I decided to immitate one of my favorite dinnertime cocktails at home, Flavored water and Malibu Rum....Yum Yum!

Instead I used these:

In order to make my first mocktail EXTRA special, I made fancy ice cubes. I started with 2 types of fruit, limes and oranges. For each batch I zested the fruit, removed the skin and processed the "meat" and zest.

I added a bit of seltzer to the mix, then spooned it into an ice cube tray. I made 16 cubes, but probably could have made more if I had another tray.

After the cubes of color were frozen, I plopped a few in a glass with plain seltzer and coconut extract.

A big swig and .....YUCK! The coconut extract did not mix well with the seltzer. It smelled very cheap and fake. The ice cubes provided great color but no flavor. Basically I had bright, chilled coconut fizzy water....and I do NOT love coconut water.

Epic failure!

But wait! I still have some preflavored/sweetened water in the fridge! A splash of coconut, 3 cubes de color and some mandarin orange flavored Walmart water and VOILA! A yummy still tastes like cocktail "mocktail."

At least my second try was somewhat of a success. The funny thing about all of this is that I didn't really need for it to be a "mocktail." I am very content having a small glass of cheap, fizzy, calorie free water with dinner. I usually only add rum if it has been "one of those days" and in that case, will probably still add rum.

Whether you need a "mocktail" or a cocktail, you now know a fun color combo for flavored ice cubes (and know better than to mix coconut extract with seltzer).

In honor of my "mocktail" tonight I leave you with a fun video that we posted on National Coconut Day.

What the Chuck?!?

2010-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to put off another shrimp recipe (I know, I'm going to have to do it eventually!!), I decided to test out Paula's Chili in a Biscuit Bowl. They looked so cute I couldn't wait to try them. One year for a family get together, my mom had a soup-in-a-bread-bowl themed meal. We served these yummy, crusty sourdough bread bowls and filled them with chili or chowder. I bet you can guess which one I picked!

First came the biscuit bowl. I used Heart Smart Bisquick instead of regular, skim milk and cayenne. I've never tried a biscuit with extra spice so I was stoked to see how they came out.

I mixed up the dough and molded the 'bowls' over my muffin tin. BTW, Paula wasn't kidding when she says make sure you spray your mold with cooking spray! I had a bit of an episode when trying to get these guys off the pan.

But once I finally got them off, I was had these cute little bowls. And please don't laugh at my makeshift cooling rack! I guess I forgot to 'borrow' one from Mom before I moved so I've been using a grill rack (from a grill we no longer own) and an upside down bowl. Pretty ingenious, huh?

Now, on to the chili . . .

I used lean ground turkey instead of beef chuck. I couldn't find Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, so I just used a can of Rotel, instead. That's Mexican-style, too, so why not?

I let it simmer and after half an hour, I had some chili!

But, the Rotel was a bad idea! It was way too spicy!! I ended up having to add an entire 3/4 can of beans. And even then it left my lips burning.

I hate to waste food, so I packed it up with some reduced fat cheddar for my lunch the next day.

I don't have a picture of when I had it assembled, but I will say that it was adorable! But as soon as I took a bite, everything crumbled and spilled out, so I ended up more of a makeshift casserole creation. I really liked the cayenne in the biscuit, it added quite the kick. Too bad my chili was too hot, too!

On to the stats:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 6	Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 391	Calories: 366
Fat: 2.5 g	Fat: 8.7 g
Sodium: 874 mg	Sodium: 750 mg
Fiber: 6.9 g	Fiber: 6.0 g

I was really surprised that the change from beef chuck to lean ground turkey didn't lower the calories more AND had less fat. I googled Beef Chuck (because honestly, I don't know where all the cuts come from) and it said that the chuck is from the neck area and super fatty. And, I used skim milk, not whole milk, so the fat should be lower. I'm losing confidence in the accuracy of our recipe calculator. I'm pretty confused.

Anyone know anything about Beef Chuck??

Here's the recipe, if you like it spicy!

Chili Cups

Nonstick cooking spray
2 c Heart Smart Bisquick
2/3 c skim milk
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
flour, for dusting
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 (14 oz) cans Mexican-stewed tomatoes (I used Rotel here)
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp chili powder

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and spray the underside of the muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Stir together the baking mix, milk and cayenne. Shape into a ball. Turn out on a floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times. Roll each piece into a 6 inch circle and place over the back of each muffin cup. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned and let cool. Remove from the tins.

Brown the turkey. Add the onion and bell pepper and continue to cook until the meat is brown and the veggies are tender. Drain off any fat. Stir in the tomatoes, beans and chili powder. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 35 minutes.

Serve chili in cooked biscuit bowls and enjoy!

Baked 'Sghetti

2010-10-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

I am actually eating spaghetti as I type tonight. It isn't the baked spaghetti recipe I will share with y'all, but non the less it is a delicious bowl of turkey spag. Turkey spaghetti has been a long time staple in the Chiles' household. It is pretty cheap and fills up my hubs (who has 2 hollow legs).

This dish is a revamp of Paula's original Baked Spaghetti. Hers is made with lots of full fat and canned items. Of course I nixed those and added my own lower fat, fresh options.

Initially, I combined all of these beautiful ingredients in a large sauce pan. The original recipe calls to simmer the recipe for 1 hour. Well by now y'all should know, Laura and I do not sit around to let things simmer. I pretty much let this cook for about 20 minutes before I added the ground turkey.

I will say, the main downsides to this recipe was the amount of prep work involved and the number of pans/dishes needed. I prefer to use as few dishes as possible simply because I HATE doing dishes.

Now one major flavor change I made to this dish was omitting the cheddar cheese. I don't find cheddar to be the best flavor match for spaghetti. My mouth was screaming "Mozzarella or Parmesan please!" My answer? Kraft 2% Italian blend. A great lower fat/calorie cheese with the yummy creaminess that a typical mozzarella would provide.

What are some of your favorite low calorie substitutions?

I layered all of the spaghetti and beautiful sauce in a medium casserole dish. I did cut Paula's recipe in half because I did NOT need 10 servings of pasta just hanging out in my fridge. The recipe below represents the 6 serving final product.

How did it taste? I loved it! It had the great twice baked flavor and texture with creamy cheese scattered in between the layers. Rusty didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. I think he is just not used to me using less salt in our recipes. His heart will thank me later :)

Here are the stats:

Baked 'Sghetti

Sauce:

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups no salt added tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 onion, diced

2 tbsp green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp FNF seasoning (recipe here)

1 tsp no-salt seasoning salt (recipe here)

1 bay leaf

1 cup mushrooms

12 oz extra lean ground turkey, browned

Casserole:

6 oz whole wheat spaghetti, dry

1 cup Kraft 2% Italian blend

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, combine the ingredients for the sauce except the turkey. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Add the ground turkey and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and set aside.

After adding the turkey, begin to cook the spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions, drain and set aside.

To assemble, spray a medium sized casserole dish with non stick spray. Put half of the noodles in the bottom. Cover with 1/2 the sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Then layer the remaining pasta and sauce. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings.

The Infamous Article

2010-10-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

The blogosphere is in quite a tizzy today! Everyone’s chatting about The Marie Claire Article. Kat and I read the article and then we read the rebuttals of the bloggers named and we debated if we wanted to even address it on Foodies Not Fatties. Well, obviously, we decided to chime in with our opinion (note I said OUR opinion, even though I think it should be safe to assume that comments and posts on blogs reflect the writer’s opinion).

If you haven’t already heard, 6 well-known food bloggers were featured in an article in Marie Claire (see it here) that basically implied that these food bloggers encouraged disordered eating through their blogs (i.e. taking pictures of all their meals, documenting their double-digit runs, etc). The general consensus of the rebuttals was that the majority of the quotes were taken out of context.

Here are just some of the thoughts we had about the whole thing:

- The author points out that none of these women, except for one, have degrees in nutrition. That is true, but they all (or at least the 4 or 5 that we read) have disclaimers that state they are not Registered Dietitians and that their comments are their opinions. They provided a disclaimer for readers; they never once implied that they were ‘nutrition experts.’

- Bloggers have no control over how their readers interpret what they write. We post recipe modifications to make foods lower in calories, fat and sodium because we (and the majority of North Americans) tend to eat more than we really need. With our blog, we cook these modified recipes for ourselves, not to enable or help facilitate disordered eating. We try to emphasize balance and moderation not over restricting. It’s our opinion that the blogs mentioned (or the ones we read) do the same.

- What about reader responsibility? Just because something is on the internet doesn’t make it a reputable. What works for one person isn’t going to work for everyone. Kat and I know we will probably never run marathons, so we know better than to follow the training plans of these ladies. Kat brought up a good point: there are lots of stores that sell alcohol, but does that mean that they’re enabling alcoholics?? They do sell alcohol, but it’s the up to the individual to use it responsibly.

- We acknowledge that food blogging can be used to fuel or mask disordered eating habits, but it’s unfair to categorize these bloggers in that genre, given that the majority of their posts focus on maintaining a healthy diet for an active lifestyle (marathons, biking, etc).

Since this came up, we just want to be perfectly clear about the intent of our blog. You can read our introduction here, but here’s what we want our blog to represent:

How to make recipes healthier, in terms of calories, sodium, fat and fiber. We chose to focus on how to make foods more reasonable for US (two young, healthy women trying to maintain a healthy weight). Some of our favorite foods are high in fat and sodium and while it’s OK to enjoy these foods in moderation, we want to make them healthier so we can eat them more often.
Accountability for what we eat. For patients that are overweight, we’ll often recommend food journaling what you eat as a way of keeping yourself accountable. Weight Watchers is a reputable program that monitors intake using a Point system. Kat uses WW and I use a different method, but the blogs helps both of us stay on track.
Share our recipes and our thoughts about nutrition related things, like we're doing right now.
Meet others out there with a similar love of food and health. We enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie of the food blog community.

This article may have caused quite an uproar amongst the food blog community, but it is a great reminder that we should always try to take a minute to reflect on how we each use these blogs. It is important to assess whether you use these blogs for ways to gather tips on healthier living or if you are using them as a way to fuel an unhealthy and harmful lifestyle. These blogs should never make you feel guilty about what you eat nor is it ever their purpose. If you find yourself too wrapped up, take a break!

Of course, if you do have an eating disorder or practice disordered eating, please see a medical professional for help! If you want to use food blogs as part of your treatment, please address it with your Registered Dietitian to assess if it will actually help or hinder your treatment. Although Kat and I are Registered Dietitians, treatment of eating disorders and disordered eating is complex and requires a multi-disciplinary team for effective treatment and we are far from experts on the subject!

Next post, we're on to much lighter subjects...Kat's making Baked Spaghetti! Stop by tomorrow for a yummy classic recipe!

Say What?!

2010-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Any Registered Dietitian will tell you we often get the reputation of being called "The Food Police." Sometimes when I'm talking to a patient about their diet, I'll ask them to tell me what they eat on an average day and I can tell when they're just telling me what they think I want to hear. They so afraid of being called out by "The Food Police" that they recite what they know is healthy, not necessarily what they actually eat. It can be frustrating because I really do want to know what they eat! That's how we can identify areas that may need a little work and areas where they're already doing well.

But every once in awhile, I'll talk to someone that has no problem telling me what they eat and what they think nutrition is. I've heard some pretty crazy stuff! Usually when I hear something that sends off sirens in my head, I'll ask them where they heard that from and the response is always, "Oh, I read it in an article somewhere." I really want to know!

As dietitians, our recommendations are based on research and evidenced based practice. There is a lot of research out there and we're trained to look at that research and assess if it's something that can be applied in our practice. But only if it's legitimate. We have to ask what kind of study was it? What was the population size? Can this be applied to everyone? What were the limitations of this research? If you look hard enough, you can find "studies" to back up any claim, but there's not much weight in them.

But I digress . . . I only bring this up because I wanted to share with you some of the oddest things I've ever heard!

"I can meet my daily protein needs from fruits, veggies and 6 almonds."

"I like to pop my popcorn in my saved bacon fat."

"Why should I have to limit how much fat I eat? The Eskimos in Alaska eat blubber."

"I never eat sweets (when there's a pile of candy bars on the bedside tray)!"

What are some odd things you've heard about nutrition??

Sunday Sweets

2010-10-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

For the month of October, Laura and I have decided to have Sunday be "sweet" themed. This weekend I decided to recreate one of my favorite cookies. I LOVE the cranberry and white chocolate sugar cookies at work. The texture is incredible, and in every bite you get a bit of sweet from the cranberries and chocolate. These cookies are about 4-5" in diameter and definitely made with white flour and butter.

Of course, in true FNF fashion, I decided to give them a little makeover. I think the hardest part of giving cookies makeovers is figuring out what to substitute for the butter. I have made cookies in the past using part margarine, but the final consistency was more cake like and didn't work out for cut out cookies. Since I wasn't going to cut these out or ice them I figured Smart Balance would be just fine.

Here are all of the ingredients:

I started by creating the cookie "base." Basically everything but the festive additives. I was afraid of over mixing the chocolate pieces if I added everything all at once. Once the base was combined thoroughly I added in the fun stuff.

When making a good lower calorie cookie, the fun stuff makes a huge difference. This recipe was hard to really cut back on the calories simply because the chocolate and dried cranberries are naturally calorie dense. One day I may try to make this cookie without fun extras to see how the base would be on its own.

What are some of your favorite "fun extras" to put in cookies?

I did stick the mixture in the fridge for awhile to let it set up. The cookies don't set very well just because I used the Smart Balance instead of butter and probably the use of applesauce. When you are scooping the dough onto the baking sheet you can mold the dough to have smooth rounded edges if you want since it is so soft.

Here is the final product:

The cookies tasted pretty good and were very light for a whole wheat cookie. One noticeable difference was the texture. These cookies are very cake like. One of my favorite characteristics of my cookies from work is the slightly crunchy texture. I will have to play around with the recipe to see if I can ever fix that.

Here are the stats for each cookie (the batch made about 27):

Calories: 90

Fat: 3.4

Sodium: 48

Fiber: 1.4

On a non-food note...aren't my blog helpers adorable?!

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup Splenda
¼ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
¼ cup Egg Beaters
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Chia seeds
½ cup Cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips
¼ cup almond slivers

Combine all ingredients except the last three in a medium bowl. Fold in last three ingredients until distributed evenly.

Chill dough for 20 minutes.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough out onto baking sheet covered with a Silpat. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for a few minutes then remove from baking sheets and let cool thoroughly on a cooling rack.

San Francisco Treat - Finale!

2010-10-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

And so begins the end...

Our last day was one of our favorite days. Surprisingly, we weren't really visiting the "typical" San Francisco monuments.

Our morning started out with a quick breakfast at Starbucks. I tried their English muffin with turkey bacon sandwich. It wasn't too bad, but for a quick breakfast it was certainly better than Jack In The Box (that Rusty wanted). We hopped on another double decker bus and headed towards....Golden Gate State Park!!! We had another great tour guide that showed us the old Victorian homes...

Yes, that is where they filmed the intro to "Full House!"

We also drove past a park that was hosting a free concert. The line was soooooooo long. I think Sara Bareilles was playing?

We ended this tour at the GGSP. We hopped off the bus (after buying discount tickets!) and headed in to The Academy of Sciences Museum. It was AWESOME! We checked out the planetarium first..sorry no pics allowed. It is not for people who get motion sickness easily!

We watched a film about the lifespan of stars. Very interesting but I could have done without the narration by Whoopi Goldberg.

We then checked out the penguins...

Then the swamp to meet Claude...

Then to the (2 acre) living roof...

Through a really cool aquarium where the pictures stunk...

And last, through the rain forest, where we met this guy...

After our fact packed museum experience we crossed the beautiful courtyard? over to the Japanese Tea Garden.

I must say this was one of the places I was most excited to see. It was a modest sized garden of impeccably kept grounds. This is when I really hate not having an awesome camera. At least we still ended up with some neat photos:

Luckily we made it back to the AoSM in time to catch the last tour bus back to town. We jumped off at Union Square and made our way to our last experience, Chinatown! Their are two important facts you should know about Chinatown. 1) Don't buy any souvenirs until you go to Chinatown. 2) Don't buy something when you see it the first time. The further you walk down the street the trinkets get cheaper! I must say Rusty was a little frustrated every time we bought something because we would walk next door and find it cheaper!!! Not a happy camper! Sadly, our camera died before we got to Chinatown. This is a pic of the gate at the entrance that we saw on one of our tours:

After our crazy shopping experience we tried to find a sushi joint for dinner. Using our iPhones we found a place not too far away. I was thrilled that it was close because my feet were killing me, and so were Rusty's. Well, we walked all the way down one hill to get to the restaurant, and wouldn't you know it, it was closed!!! Insert frustration here! Luckily we found another spot and confirmed that it was open.

When we walked into Sushi Toni's we were a little concerned. It wasn't a very nice place, a little rundown, but all of the reviews on Yelp were great so Rusty and I stayed. We started off with some wine, seaweed salad and edamame and then ordered dinner. The waitress didn't know much, but what she did know made our night incredible. She happened to say "the tuna is VERY fresh today." So what did we do? We ordered a bunch of tuna. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Ahh, I am salivating just thinking about it. I had a roll with crab and avocado, topped with tuna (yes, I ordered a second one it was so good). Rusty has Nigiri with White Tuna, Yellow Tail, Salmon and Tuna and some other sub par rolls. Holy Cow! If you are in Chinatown and want yummy and reasonable sushi ($65 including apps and drinks) go to Sushi Toni!!!

After our most filling meal of the trip, we headed back to the hotel to survey our treasures and pass out!

We headed back to Houston around 12 on Monday and went straight to pick up our boys.

We were happy to be home, but so thankful for an amazing vacation. I hope y'all have enjoyed my recap of my trip, I know I have!

San Francisco Treat - Part 3!

2010-10-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

This morning I continue sharing my recent trip to San Francisco with you guys!

On the third day, Saturday, Rusty and I did several VERY fun things. We had to get down to Fisherman's Wharf to pick up our tickets for our Alcatraz tour.

In order to get there we thought we would take a classic cable car. Well, we got up early and made our way to the first stop and were surprised to find such a long line. It took us about 30-45 minutes before we got on the car, but it was worth the wait to actually ride the iconic car of San Fran. A little hint for you soon to be travelers, don't go to the main turn-around to get on. They don't fill up the cars, and you can hop on at the next stop. That would save you lots of time. Also, you can either buy an all day pass (a great deal) or just a one way ticket on the car. I believe the one way ticket was $5 and the all day pass on public transportation was $13 (a total steal).

We finally made it to the tour store to pick up our tickets. We were a little frustrated because it was first come first serve and the ticket guy was running late. Once we actually got our tickets we were given a 3:20 loading time. That wasn't exactly what we wanted. This is why I would recommend going straight through the Alcatraz Tours Company. There is only one company that has a license to dock at Alcatraz. Do not be fooled by the other companies who say they tour Alcatraz...they only float around the island.

Anyway, back to our day ahead. We picked up our tickets and grabbed a quick breakfast at Joanie's near the tour shop. It wasn't too bad but nothing special. Very typical Denny's or IHOP style food.

After breakfast we took the double Decker bus to the Ferry Market. For you foodies this is a MUST!!!! It is a huge farmer's market with incredible fare. All kinds of local produce, local soy, local honey...ahhhhh I want to go back!

We sampled a few things and then went inside the Ferry Building for another surprise. There were tons of shops and little restaurants. We loved Cowgirl Creamery (I hate weird cheeses but they had some that changed my mind). We sampled cheese, wine and chocolate and bought a few things to take home.

After our trip to the market, we made our way to the Alcatraz Tour. We recommend getting there AT LEAST 30 minutes early or you will be stuck waiting in the hot sun. We made it there early enough to cool off with a few bottles of agua. We hopped on the ferry boat and took a beautiful but short ride over to Alcatraz. The park offers a free audio tour of the prison....but beware it is a nice climb to the top where you pick it up...WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! I was wearing my typically ballet flats but by day three I was up to about three band-aids per foot :(

Once up at the top we grabbed the audio tour guides and checked everything out.

My husband in jail...

Some of the famous prisoners like Al Capone...

Rusty trying to put me in solitary confinement...

The island tour was really neat and we are really glad we took the time to do it. Once we made it back to the mainland we maid our way to dinner of course!

We made our way back to FW and ate at Ciopinno's. It had a weird name but as far as location it was bay side across from The Cannery. It was an Italian seafood joint with great outdoor seating. Rusty and I enjoyed a great bottle of wine and some decent seafood risotto. I think I could have made it better :/

After dinner we walked across the street and took the night tour of the city. Seeing all of the city lit up was a wonderful way to end the day.

Come back this afternoon for the final installment of my trip! I have to head to a meeting so it should be up sometime around 3pm central time! Have a great weekend!

San Francisco Treat - Part 2

2010-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today's blog entry is all about....San Fran! If you are just joining us today, I am spending the next two days writing about my trip to San Fran.

On day two, Rusty had decided we HAD to go to Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a national park that protects a forest of Redwoods. They are incredible!

In order to get to the park we had to hop on the double Decker bus. We took a cab back to the Wharf to hop on.

This particular bus drove us past The Palace of the Arts (which was closed for renovations)...

Then to the Golden Gate Bridge!!! We actually hopped off an walked the whole thing!

Rusty being really cool, "holding up the bridge"

It was beautiful, the weather was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a better GGB experience!

We hopped on another bus on the other side of the bridge that took us to Sausalito. The bus dropped us off and we had about 20 minutes to grab lunch. Unfortunately, we didn't realize we only had 20 minutes until we only had 10 left. This lead to crazy attempts to get fast food, me waiting for the bus and begging the driver to not leave, then ending up with a frustrated hubby on the bus with no food.

It all worked out in our favor because we ended up having a wonderful lunch at the organic cafe in the park! Check out my food pics on Twitter!

Here are some pics of the most incredible trees I have ever seen,

Look at how big the tree is compared to my husband!

A view from one of the mini bridges...

After our walk amongst giants, Rusty and I headed back on the bus to San Francisco. Once we were back at the wharf we decided to tour Ghiradelli Square.

We checked out the chocolate store where we sampled the new Pumpkin Spice Squares...yummo!

We saw the vats of chocolate in the Ghiradelli cafe...

Honestly after that I would say there wasn't a whole a lot to see in Ghiradelli Square other than a few cute boutiques.

After our mini tour we dined at the Blue Mermaid. There was a huge sign outside saying they had the #1 chowder in town. They weren't lying! We had some of the best corn and Dungeness crab chowder ever! Mmmm Mmm I am salivating just writing about it.

For dessert, Rusty and I stopped in at a place called Jack's. It is a local bar inside the old cannery building. They have 85 beers on tap, most of which where local. Rusty had a few glasses and I had a flight of 5 tasters, most of which were girlie ciders. I still haven't gotten used to the idea of heavy beer :) Maybe someday.

After our "dessert" we hit the hay. I will say we had a very hard time getting used to the time change. We were kind of losers and were in bed between 8 and 9 which was more like 10-11 Texas time. And 10-11 is well past our bedtime...insert loser comment here.

Well join me twice tomorrow for a breakdown of the last 2 days of our trip. This includes the Wharf, the Market and Alcatraz...and much much more!

San Francisco Treat - Part 1!

2010-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know, my husband Rusty and I just went on an amazing trip to San Francisco. Over the next three days I will be recapping our world wind tour of the amazing West coast city! For those of you going to SF for FoodBuzz in November, take note....some of our decisions were great, some not so much!

It all started Thursday with a nice mid-morning 4 hour flight. We landed in San Fran around 11:15 and quickly tried to find a cab. Well, all of the cabs were lined up and we jumped in the first one. This was a BAD choice! Our cab driver drove us to the hotel at 95 MPH!!!! Rusty and I always have bad luck with transportation, particularly cabs, and this one was no different. After our terrifyingly speedy cab ride, we checked in at our hotel, the Hilton at Union Square.

Union Square:

The Hilton was a great hotel. It is an enormous epicenter for major conferences, which was very apparent when we arrived. There were a million bags and people everywhere! Our room was great with a pretty decent view of the nearby buildings.

As far as hotel advice, if you need to be near Union Square, the Hilton was great. If you are simply a tourist, stay closer to the Wharf. I recommend a little boutique hotel called The Argonaut, it was beautiful and in an awesome location.

After checking in, we had a quick lunch at Max's. Max's menu reminds me a lot of a Jewish restaurant Katz's. There were a million choices, mostly consisting of huge sandwiches. I tried the blackened shrimp tacos and they were awesome (but a bit on the spicy side).

Once we finished lunch, we headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf to hop on our tour bus. Before loading, we were introduced to the phenomenon known as the SF street performer. I am pretty sure this guy had 10+ instruments!

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT...If you are going to San Fran and have time to check out the city, get an All Loops Pass from CitySightseeing Tours!!!! We had a 48 hour pass that allowed us to hop on and off double decker buses that toured all around town! Our first tour included so much that we almost felt like we had experienced everything we needed to in just an hour and a half (of course we did many other things!!!).

Here are a few pics from the first tour (thank you Rus for playing photog!):

The Transamerica Pyramid:

The Bay Bridge:

St. Peter and Paul Church:

We hopped off the bus at Union Square near our hotel to get ready for dinner. Our dinner was at this incredibly cool but pricey attraction in town, Teatro ZinZanni! This dinner and show combo is housed in a huge complex of circus tents at Pier 29. You walk in to a very "burlesque-ish" type bar with a neat little shop to the side. The website says to dress "festively" and I came very close to adding this beautiful headband to complete my outfit...

The 3 hour show was absolutely hilarious! I wish I could have taken pictures, but of course that was strictly off limits. The show itself is centered around the meal and keeps the time between courses action and comedy packed. The food wasn't too bad either. It was a 5 course meal with cocktails or wine. We ended up choosing the wine flight that was paired with each course. It was a bit more expensive, but for our big dinner out we figured what the heck?!

After dinner we tried to catch a cab outside the theater and we had zero luck. We were standing on a street corner on the Embarcadero, the main street running along the bay, and not a single empty cab drove by. As a last resort, we ended up walking all the way to Pier 39 to catch a cab at the mainstream tourist attraction. It was quite a hike, but thankfully we finally found transportation.

After our safe cab ride home, we sat in bed planning our fun filled days ahead. They included a trip to Muir Woods, the Golden Gate Bridge, Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 (and the awesome seals), Ferry Building and holy cow farmer's market and a tour of Alcatraz. What I can't believe is that we saw all of that in three in a half days. I will try to skim the surface of our adventure and hopefully give y'all some good travel advice! If you have any questions about my trip just leave a comment or send me a tweet and I will be happy to get back to you!

Chicken Knuckle Soup

2010-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Laura...had to say it! Thanks to my friend AOB for that lovely recipe name. I figured that this fateful recipe would be a good way to get back into the blogging groove after my amazing trip to San Francisco. If you were following me on Twitter for the past several days, you probably had a chance to check out what delicious foods I was eating. If you didn't get a chance to check that out...ahem, Laura :) I will be posting about my trip for the next couple of days.

Anyway, back to homemade chicken noodle soup a la Paula Deen. The dish by name seems so simple...just chicken noodle and stock. Well Paula's original recipe was not so simple. You have to chop and then simmer FOREVER and then add the rest of the chopped ingredients. All in all it takes almost one and a half hours! As y'all may well know, Laura and I HATE time consuming recipes. Not only does the soup take forever but I had an unfortunate accident that cost me a few extra hours :(

So it begins...with several ingredients. Paula's recipe calls for a whole chicken in the soup base, but I definitely preferred to just use chicken tenders. I also substituted salt free chicken broth base instead of bouillon. Bouillon typically has a lot of salt some of which comes from MSG.

The ingredients for the stock:

The ingredients for the rest of the soup:

Me rocking my onion goggles after my run, but prior to "The Accident":

What the stock looks like (if only we could have scratch and sniff computers!):

At this point I started cutting the carrots...insert gruesome story here and trip to the ER. I left the stock sitting on the stove (burner off of course) hoping to get back to it. Luckily, WE were able to finish the recipe.

I enlisted my hubby for the rest of the chopping and I working on pouring and stirring.

He did a great job!

After all of the craziness that was Sunday, we were able to sit down to a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It was very hearty, delicious and not too salty. The saltiness of a typical Campbell's CNS is a bit too much for me. I only wish CNS wasn't something I only wanted when I don't feel well. When you are sick, who has one and a half hours to make soup?!

The nutrition facts speak for themselves. A great hearty bowl of soup for decent calories, low fat and low sodium!!! What else could a girl ask for?? Okay, maybe better cutting skills, but either way, I was able to end the night on a delicious note!

I did cut my recipe in half, for fear of having a million servings of soup in the fridge while I was out of town. The recipe below is exactly what I used.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Stock Ingredients:
1 ¼ lbs chicken breast
7 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
½ tsp Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Bay leaves
1 packet salt free chicken broth
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp salt substitute

Soup:
1 ½ cups carrots, sliced (carefully!)
1 cup sliced celery
1 ¼ cup egg noodles, uncooked
1 cup sliced Portobello mushrooms
1 ½ tbsp chopped parsley
2 oz cooking sherry
½ cup Parmesan
¼ cup fat free half-and-half

In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients for the stock and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot and tear or cut into large chunks, set aside. Remove bay leaves.

Bring the stock to a boil and add carrots, cooking for about 3-5 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook for another 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients including chicken. Cook for another 2-4 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Top 10 Tuesday

2010-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Top 10 Tuesday is a joint effort from me and Kat. We compiled a list of the Top Ten staples in our pantries. This list reflects a few healthy foods that we always have on hand. One thing we always tell our patients is don't keep tons of junk food in your house. Why tempt yourself? We want to make sure that if we have a craving for something sweet or salty, we have something healthy on standby.

And here we go!

#10 Sugar-free Mixes
My choice is Fruit Punch Crystal Light. Mmm... I love that stuff! I even sent some to my sister-in-law when I sent her a special care package. Kat prefers an Arizona Tea (honestly, I can't remember the name of it!) Maybe Kat will edit it in later. Bottom line, they're both ways to make sure we get enough water without drinking a bunch of calories.

#9 Mandarin Oranges in Juice
I like mine plain, but Kat likes to mix hers in some low fat cottage cheese. You could even use them in an Asian salad.

#8 Sugar Free Pudding
Who doesn't love pudding?! Sugar free chocolate pudding with some fat free whip cream is a quick, easy dessert that will satisfy any sweet tooth craving. Kat has sugar free pudding with her lunch 90% of the time. And I'm sure the other 10% of the time can be attributed to days when she just doesn't pack her lunch.

#7 Diet A&W Root Beer
A lot of the time, especially on Fridays, Kat and I have a little snack and usually it's a healthy mix of protein and carbs to tide our hunger until dinner time. But sometimes, when we want something sweet, we grab some Diet A&W Root Beer from the cafeteria and that does the trick! I don't know what's in it, but it really takes away our craving for sweets!

#6 Justin's Chocolate Almond/Hazelnut Butter
I can't believe we just discovered this a couple of weeks ago! When I spread in on my Double Fiber Bread (see #4), I swear I'm eating bread and chocolate frosting! Yum! And they come in little packets, so the portion is easier to control.

#5 Fiber One Bars
Just like with Justin's Almond Butter, we love Fiber One Bars. They're chewy and crunchy and sweet. Plus they have 9 grams of fiber per bar (or at least the Oats & Caramel flavor does; it's my fave!). They remind me of eating Kudos Bars way back in the day. Anyone else remember those? Do they even make them still?

#4 Nature's Own Double Fiber Bread
I know Kat doesn't really like to bring sandwiches for lunch, but every once in awhile I'll go on a kick and take sandwiches for weeks (usually when I end up making my gazillion-th batch of Paula Deen chicken salad . . .) and I love this stuff because it has 5 grams of fiber and only 50 calories per slice. Mmmm . . . fiber!

#3 Reduced Fat Cresent Rolls/Goldfish Crackers
So #3 is kind of a tie. Kat loves Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls and always has them on hand for quick suppers. I like them too, but I have a harder time not eating the whole batch! So my pick is Goldfish Crackers. I rediscovered these the last time I traveled to SC and I like that one serving takes awhile to eat so I feel like I'm getting more. And look what I found this past weekend!! Where have you guys been??

Not the healthiest, but less messy than the real thing and definitely less fat and temptation!

#2 Reduced Fat Cheese
We like cheese. We don't like fat. Match made in heaven!!

And our #1 pantry staple is . . .

#1 FNF Bars!!
Kat and I have set out to make the blogosphere's best tasting granola bar! We're still working out the kinks, but that just means we have plenty of them in our pantry. Kat posted a pic here.

What are your pantry staples??

(Imagine) Sandwich Sunday

2010-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, I feel a lot of pressure. Pressure to top Kat's Grilled Basil Panini Sandwich from last week that looked amazing. How can I top her sandwich?? How about with chocolate! Mmmm, warm, gooey chocolate . . . Nothing beats chocolate!!

I found this recipe for Dark Chocolate Banana S'mores in Fitness Magazine and just adapted it with what I had on hand. I know what you're thinking, s'mores aren't sandwiches, right? But really, what is a sandwich? It's something yummy between two slices of starch. Sounds a lot like s'mores to me . . .

I found the perfect sandwich, I made it (twice!) and it was wonderful! Only now that I'm posting it, I realize I can't find my pictures anywhere! I think I might have accidentally deleted them when I was cleaning up my camera files. Argh!!! Why can't I accidentally delete my Salmon Mousse Pictures or the horrible Goulash I made??

I grilled up my bananas with a thin smear of Smart Balance and I don't think I ever appreciated grilled fruit until I saw my lovely caramelized bananas! Oh, it was so pretty, I'm devastated I don't have my pics to share.

Anyhoo, I assembled my first banana s'more just like you would a regular s'more. But the banana was so hot it melted the chocolate really fast when I bit down and warm chocolate sauce dripped everywhere! It got on my shirt, in my hair, somehow it even got on my bra.

The second time I made it, I served it open-faced and it was much easier (and cleaner!) to eat.

So even though I don't have any pictures to share, I know I'll be making these again and then I'll be share to snap pics and post them immediately!!

Twitter, anyone?

2010-09-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

My lucky blogging buddy, Kat, is enjoying a well-deserved vacation in San Francisco right now. She originally planned to pre-post something foodie-related, but she got a tad behind schedule (probably trying to pack with a bum hand), so we're a little short on posts. Sorry!

But don't worry, I'm still here! And for those of you who get Twitter (I don't get it at all! I don't understand the lingo or the point of it the point of it . . . I'm like one of those little old ladies who's hoping The Internet is just a fad), Kat said she plans to Tweet her Eats (see! I don't get it!), so follow her @FoodyNotFatty.

We'll get back to more regularly schedule posts next week when she return. Please hang in there, we've got some amazing stuff cooking . . . literally!! And we have the mess to prove it!

Is there anyone else out there resisting Twitter??

Reminder: Always Read the Instructions First!

2010-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Can I say how jealous I am that other bloggers are posting pics of themselves wearing long sleeves, sweaters and scarves? It's still so hot in Houston! Not miserable-hot, just uncomfortably-damp-hot. I know I shouldn't complain, the worst is over, but I'm so ready to join the aforementioned bloggers with their winter wear! Or fall wear, whatever. I love cool morning, gusty breezes and coming home to warm food. Like chili! I though I'd test out Paula Deen's recipe for Jaime's Chili in preparation for cooler weather.

In looking over her recipe, I noticed it included a huge amount of tomatoes and beans. It had a grand total of 84 ounces of tomato products (over 10 cups!) and 42 ounces of beans (a little over 5 cups). Granted her recipe serves 8-10, I decided instead of subbing items like we normally do, I'd do a little bit of eliminating to lower the calories.

I eliminated an entire can of beans, cut the stewed tomatoes (honestly, I just don't like big, oozy chunks of tomatoes in my chilies and soups so I was happy to get rid of it). I also chose 93% lean ground turkey instead of Paula's beef/sausage mix. The recipe says add chili powder and cumin "to taste" and I ended up not using it because I don't trust myself enough to add spices "to taste." I think I'd over/under add and the final product would come out terrible. I tested out a reduced sodium version of chili seasoning, but forgot to keep the package for menu calculation purposes. And I didn't think to Google it, so I just calculated both recipes with the same seasoning. Sorry, folks!

I chopped and I browned and got everything in the same pot. Once it was ready to simmer, I skimmed to the bottom of the page. Yikes! It said to let the pot simmer for 4 hours! 4 hours! It was already 5:45 and there was no way I was waiting until almost 10 pm to eat! So I let it simmer for 2 1/2 hours while Cody and I dined on some frozen entrees. Yum.

Before I went to bed, I poured it into some Tupperware and vowed to read my recipes more carefully next time.

I finally got to test it out, 2 days later! Better late than never, right?

And it was good! Not the world's greatest chili, but definitely worth my efforts.

Here are the stats, not including any toppings or garnishes, only the changes I mentioned above:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 10	Servings Per Recipe: 10
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 346	Calories: 207
Fat: 11.4 g	Fat: 3.6 g
Sodium: 872 mg	Sodium: 660 mg
Fiber: 14.5 g	Fiber: 10.3 g

And the recipe, if you have 4 hours to wait for chili!

Sittin' Around Chili

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 c celery, diced
2 (28 ox) diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 package chili seasoning mix

In a large pot, brown the ground turkey and drain any fat. Add the onion, green pepper and celery and saute for ~4-5 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, and cook for another 10 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Add the beans and chili seasoning. Cover partially and let simmer for 4 hours.

Top 5 Tuesday....very appropriate

2010-09-21T05:07:00.000-07:00

So today I was supposed to write about the the top 5-10 things you didn't know about me. Well, I only have 5 easily workable fingers, so in an effort to give them and my brain a breather, I thought I might share with you a few of my worst accidents, ending with my recent cheffing accident on Sunday.

5. Falling off my horse
I have done this a million times!!! I don't have a horse anymore, but I grew up riding from a very young age. My most memorable occurrence, happened just before I was to go over a jump. My horse bucked and I ended up going over the jump side saddle. Once on the other side I bailed, but my horse still got a kick in for good measure. This kick landed right on the inside of my thigh. I ended up with a beautiful horseshoe shaped bruise. Hmph.

4. Finger slammed in the door when I was a kid

This may not sound like a big deal, but I still have a deformed middle finger. When I was a child I guess I had a few CRAZY friends. When I was visiting a friend who will remain nameless, she decided it would be awesome to grab my hand, stick it in the door, and slam the door. Of course I ran off screaming, but to this day, I have a big old lump on my middle finger from her CRAZINESS!

3. Stubbing my toe

Now I know this one doesn't sound like a big deal....but it really was. I was walking around my college campus with some friends, enjoying the beautiful weather. There are also HUGE beautiful oak trees...that's roots have pushed up parts of the sidewalk. Well in my flip flops I slammed my toe into a huge outcropping of concrete. I ended up scraping off a decent portion of my toe, having to go to the campus clinic to have it debrieded and worst of all....MISSED A MAROON 5 CONCERT! My toe hurt so bad from the pressure of it hanging down, that I couldn't bear the idea of actually walking to a concert and standing there. Hopefully one day I can make that one up to the hubs :)

2. Breaking my arm

This one is actually kind of funny to me. As a kid I used to love to play wrestle with my dad. Well one night we were wrestling so hard I fell off my bed. It was only about 2 feet off the ground but I knew immediately that something was wrong. My parents, however, did not! They made me lay in bed with my arm, on a pillow covered with a bag of ice. When I woke up the next morning and my arm was swollen...AND COULDN'T BEND, they too me to the ER. At least I got an awesome hot pink cast!

1. Most recently, getting 4 stitches for making chicken noodle soup :(

This one is still a pain! I was making chicken noodle soup, a la Paula, and thought I would love to have uniform, thin carrot slices. Instead of pulling out my mandolin, I used my cheese grater (on the thicker slice side). Well, these carrots were tough.. the carrot got stuck, my hand did not and I ended up with a HUGE gash on my index finger, just below the knuckle. Now I will spare you further details, because if Laura is reading this right now she is probably getting queasy, and if she were there that night, I would have had to have taken her to the ER with me for unconsciousness! All in all, I have 4 stitches, won't need surgery and have an awesome big bandage that covers my whole hand. I did end up going home and finishing the soup, with the help of the hubs...and it was AWESOME!

Even though it is a strange topic, it was fresh on my mind! Hope y'all enjoyed this and I will post the soup recipe later this week!

I Heart Blogs!

2010-09-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I've only known about the blogging world for less than a year! Somehow, in one of my inter-netting sprees earlier in the year, I stumbled across Kath Eats Real Food and I thought, "Hey, I like food too!" I loved reading it and checking for new posts and testing out crazy oatmeal combinations. I loved it so much, I wondered if there were more out there. And I found a million food blogs which became my new obsession.

But I don't just love food blogs. They're my favorite, but I try to be well-rounded. Here are a couple of my fave non-food blogs. Warning: Some may include some . . . inappropriate humor (my favorite kind of humor)!

1. CakeWrecks
This blog shares pictures of the funniest cake mistakes. Misspelled words, ugly cakes, cakes with decorations that look like poo, it's hilarious!

2. Post Secret
Here, people send in post cards anonymously with their deepest secrets. Some are pretty serious, but some are lighthearted and just downright funny.

3. My Husband Is Annoying
This is exactly what it sounds like. A woman shares some funny stories of some of the annoying thing her hubby does.

4. Hip2Save
Cody and I are both really frugal (that seems to be the nice way of saying 'cheap') and this website shares tons of online coupons, deals and freebies.

5. My Tattoo Sucks
This website shows pics of really bad tattoos. Some are funny and some just make you sad when you realize it on someone's skin permanently.

What are some of your favorite non-food blogs??

Sandwich Sunday

2010-09-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today's sandwich already has me salivating again!!!! Since my first "Sandwich Sunday"episode was a little nontraditional, I figured I would do a twist on one of my favorite sandwiches here in Houston.

I love to get the Pizzatola Sandwich at Paulie's on Westheimer. It is a taste bud party of fresh mozzarella, pesto and ripe tomatoes sandwiched between 2 slices of oiled sourdough and grilled. The sandwich has a wonderful combination of flavors but is quite salty and definitely not very low calorie.

I decided to twist it up and not only decrease the calories, but add a little fancy protein for the hubs.

On my trip to Central Market I found some of the best "sandwich bread" I have ever had. It is simply a fresh loaf of 10 grain bread. To.Die.For! I also used a little 2% Italian cheese blend, homemade pesto and the guest of honor...Prosciutto!!!

Proscuitto can be pretty pricy. While standing in line to have it freshly sliced, I ran across this pre-packaged option. It had just as much as I needed and was very reasonable, about $4. If you check out your deli counter you may find different options, some up to $100+ per pound. I haven;t taken the time to ask much about it, but plan to do so on my next visit. Either way I was very satisfied with this purchase.

For the homemade pesto, I started off with a little Garlic Gold, Basil, Parmesan cheese (pre-shredded), S&P, and Pine nuts. By the way, did you know that Pine nuts are $29.99 a pound?! Thank goodness I only needed about a tablespoon. The guy at Central Market gave me a bit more; the amount in the little box cost me $3.50. eeeeh

After, blending all of the ingredients to a fine pulp, I started to assemble one of my favorite recipes....still drooling.

After grilling them on my Cuisinart Griddler, I sliced them in half and served them piping hot.

The outside was perfectly crispy, while the inside had an incredible blend of flavors from the pesto to the cheese to the slightly salty Prosciutto.

Nutrition-wise this sandwich was not too bad at all, especially for the flavor. I cannot express how amazing this was. Rusty and I loved it so much we made a third and split it :)

One Sandwich:

Calories 410

Fat 20g (mostly from the pesto)

Sodium 885mg (mostly from the cheese and Prosciutto)

Fiber 3g

Prosciutto Panini

Pesto (makes ~1/2 cup):

1 cup fresh Basil

3 tbsp Garlic Gold oil

1 tbsp Pine nuts

S&P to taste

3 tbsp Parmesan, grated

Sandwich:

Garlic Gold

2 slices whole grain bread

1 tbsp pesto

1-2 oz Prosciutto

3 tbsp 2% Italian cheese blend

Tomatoes (optional, I forgot to add them but I bet the flavor would have been amazing)

Combine all ingredients for the pesto in a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are chopped to a fine pulp.

To assemble the sandwich, brush one side of each piece of bread with Garlic Gold. On the other side of one piece, spread pesto evenly. Top pesto with 1 tbsp cheese, Prosciutto, and then the remaining cheese. Top with other piece of bread, oil side out. Put sandwich in a panini press or even in a skillet, heating until cheese is melted and bread is lightly brown. Enjoy!!!!

Where The Magic Happens, Part II

2010-09-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Since Kat shared her kitchen with you guys last week, I though I'd do the same! I 'fessed up on Tuesday that I love looking in other people's kitchens, I thought it was only fair to give you a peek into my cupboards!

Nothing too exciting. All the fun stuff is in my cupboard (don't worry, it's coming)! That's root beer on the top, Cody loves it. When we got Rooty, I suggested naming her after a food that he likes and I started naming foods he likes to eat. Beef Jerky. Pop Tart. Cereal. Eventually we brainstormed Root Beer and we've been calling Rooty since then.

Since I brought her up, because I love sharing pics of my pups . . .

On to frozen foods . . .

It's kind of cluttered, bu that's because I keep my bread in the freezer. Yes, I said freezer. We don't go through it that fast and this way it doesn't get all moldy. And my toaster has a defrost setting, so it works out. And I know I did a post a long time ago about making your own Popsicles, but I have some sugar free (for me) and regular (for Cody) in case I don't make them using my mold. You can never have too many Popsicle in Houston, TX.

On to the pantry!

A little closer . . .

My spice bucket really needs a makeover. Everything is just tossed in there, it's a mess!

Hope you enjoyed the raiding my fridge! I try to find a balance of health and taste and economy with a splash of a splurge every once in awhile. I'm a one stop shopper kind of gal so I know you can get healthy food from a regular grocery store.

What's in your fridge? And how do you store your spices?

Another lasagna...

2010-09-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

This lasagna was a bit of a combination of Paula's Shrimp and Scallop Lasagna and my adapted Turkey Spiral recipe. As y'all know I LOVE seafood. I love seafood so much that I took the majority of the shrimp recipes in our stack (partially because I love it and partially because Laura HATES it).

I will actually get to spend 5+ days with some of the freshest seafood in the country next week. My hubby and I have planned a fun couples getaway to San Francisco! We are so thrilled to go on a vacay, but I am also thrilled to get some of the freshest and tastiest crab, shrimp and fish on the West coast!!! Good thing I don't have to have my cholesterol checked because I would be in deep trouble after our shellfish fest :)

If you have been to San Fran, are there any restaurants you recommend?

You could say this lasagna is a little preview to some of the flavors I will be experiencing. Instead of letting this lasagna be all about the seafood, I had to add some veggies!

I started out with some fresh shrimp and scallops from Central Market. The guy behind the counter kind of skimped on my seafood, but I ended up with just under 1/2 a pound of each.

I also tried to find the whole wheat noodles that I used for my spirals. After looking high and low at all of the local grocery stores, I had to settle on normal noodles. I still did the nutrition info for wheat noodles, because they would be the ideal choice when making this dish.

The other change, or truly addition, I made was adding "creamed spinach" to the mix. I simply melted 8 oz of fat free cream cheese and a bit of Garlic Gold in a sauce pan. Once melted, I added the drained and thawed spinach. I let it cook through before layering it in the lasagna.

Overall, it actually turned out pretty good. I might make a little bit more sauce and possibly do 3/4 pound shrimp and 1/2 pound scallops. Either way, it was definitely edible and quite a treat.

Here are the facts (if you count points, 1/8 is about 6)

Spinach, Shrimp and Scallop Lasagna

12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 tbsp Smart Balance Light
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Garlic Gold
1 ½ onions, chopped
2 tbsp flour
2 ½ cups fat free half and half
1 cup 2% Italian Blend of cheeses
8 oz fat free cream cheese
10 oz chopped spinach, thawed and drained
¼ tsp black pepper
½ pound sea scallops
½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9 inch casserole dish with canola oil spray.
In a large pot of water, cook the noodles until just done, approximately 10 minutes. Let sit until ready to assemble lasagna.

In a large skillet, melt the Smart Balance and 1 tbsp oil, then sauté the onions until soft. Over medium heat, whisk in the flour and gradually add the half and half. Add ½ cheese and pepper. Simmer until thickened. Once sauce begins to thicken add scallops and cook for 3-4 minutes, then add shrimp and cook for an addition 1-2 minutes. Let sauce stand.

In a small saucepan, melt cream cheese and 1 tsp oil. Add spinach and cook until heated through.

To assemble the lasagna, lay 4 noodles on the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. Spread about ½ of the shrimp and scallops across the spinach with about 1/3 f the cream sauce. Layer 4 more noodles. Spread the remaining shrimp and scallops as well as another 1/3 of the cream sauce. Layer the last 4 noodles on the top, spreading the remaining cream sauce. Sprinkle ½ cup of Italian cheese across the top.
Bake the lasagna for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling. Enjoy!

That Was Meaty

2010-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

With all the chicken and shrimp recipes we’ve been doing, it was nice to finally get a pasta recipe to try. Well, it’s not actually a pasta recipe, but a recipe for spaghetti sauce. Paula Deen’s recipe for Alice Jo’s Spaghetti Sauce looked pretty simple so it was perfect for me to test out on a busy weeknight!

(Sorry in advance for the lack of pictures, but Blogger was giving me major trouble when I was trying to load them. At least you get to see the first and the last pic!)

I switched the meat to lean ground turkey and used about 2/3 of what the recipe calls for. I added some diced carrots to make up for the bulk and omitted the salt. I wanted to use all reduced sodium tomato products, but when I went to the store I could only find No Added Salt Tomato Sauce (I guess that’s what I get for going early on a Sunday morning when the whole store was picked over).

The recipe was pretty simple, just a lot of chopping. I finally got it all chopped and cooked and set it to simmering while I worked on cooking up some pasta. One of these days I’m going to try spaghetti squash, but until then, I’m in love with this Barilla pasta made with a flour/bean flour blend.

The final product . . .

It tasted pretty good. It was really meaty. Not really “meaty” from the sauce, but really chunky. I think I tend to prefer my spaghetti sauce a little bit saucier. I actually used some of it a couple days later on a pita pizza and it was just too chunky and the flavors took away from the pizza taste I was looking for (because you know I love me some pizza!)

Nutritionally speaking, the lightened up version has less calories and fat. It was amazing to see how much switching to a leaner meat and using less of it actually impacted the nutrition stats! Even though I didn’t end up using reduced sodium tomato products, my version is lower in salt, just from omitting the 1 tsp that the original recipe calls for!

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 8	Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 351	Calories: 152
Fat: 23 g	Fat: 4.4 g
Sodium: 1009 mg	Sodium: 593 mg
Fiber: 3.6 g	Fiber: 4.1 g

Here’s the recipe!

Chunky Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced (about 1/2 c)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, No Added Salt
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Splenda
1 c water

Brown the ground turkey in a large pot and drain any fat. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrots and garlic clove and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, seasonings and water. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve with your favorite spaghetti.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2010-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

It’s that time again! It’s Top 10 Tuesday! Instead of going the food route, I thought I would share a list of a few of my favorite things, just to mix it up! I originally was going to do Top 5, but what can I say, I like a lot of things!

10. Getting mail
I remember when I was younger I used to check the mail everyday and when I didn’t get anything my mom would ask, “Well, have you written anybody?” Of course the answer was no, but I still felt left out. I still don’t write anybody, with the exception of my grandparents, but I love the joy of opening a full mailbox! I don’t love bills, but I like getting an envelope or package addressed just to me!

9. Movies that don’t make me think
My life requires enough thinking as it is! I hate it when I see a movie and it has one of those open ending where there’s no concrete resolution. When I walk away from a movie, I want to have some sense of completion and I don’t want to waste a lot of brain space obsessing about what could have happened. I need a “The End” that's legit.

8. The smell of wet cement when it first starts to rain
I don’t know if I can explain this one, but I just love the smell of the asphalt when it rains, but only for the first couple of minutes. Am I crazy? Does anyone else know the smell I’m talking about??

7. Looking in other people’s refrigerators
I know it’s weird, but I love snooping in other people’s kitchens. I don’t watch Cribs anymore because it makes me feel poor, but my favorite part of each segment was always when the celebs opened their fridge and you could see all their goodies. But don’t worry, I just like to look, I won’t judge you if you have junk food!

6. My girls
I love, love, love coming home to two happy dogs! They just brighten my day. These pups are my kids! They have two very different personalities but I love them both.

5. My fam!
Of course my family makes my Top 10 List! They taste my food disasters (remember my Salmon Jell-o disaster?), they always read the blog and are super supportive of anything I do. My mom and brother even helped me drive halfway across the country when I moved to TX; They helped unload an entire U-haul up 3 flights of stairs, in Texas heat, in the middle of AUGUST! Now that’s love! And they’ve given me some great childhood memories! Like I used to believe that there was a Cake Fairy until I was 10. I used to put a bunch of lights from a Lite Brite game (remember those?!) in a pan and put it in the “oven” (the cupboard) and “bake” it for a couple hours and every once in awhile, the Cake Fairy (Dad) would swing by and leave me a real cake! How awesome is that? I wonder if Monet had a Cake Fairy as a child to inspire her inner baker because she creates some fantastic looking sweets!!

4. My boo
What can I say? I love this guy. He eats my food without complaining, he humors my hypochondriac nature and gives me the warm and fuzzies!

3. Dirty Jokes
I know it’s juvenile, but I love me some inappropriate humor! When Kat and I were on our little field trip this past weekend, we were talking about how much we giggle like second graders when we see signs like, “Extra parking in rear,” or “Express Lube . . . Get In and Get Out.”

2. Taking naps
No explanation needed here. Who doesn’t like taking naps?!

1. Pizza and donuts
Okay, I know I said this was going to be a non-foodie post, but I’m making an exception pizza and donuts. They are my absolute favorite foods of all time. I don’t eat them that often because obviously they’re not the healthiest, but when I do have one or the other, I am in heaven for every second of that meal. I’ll find myself planning my pizza toppings during the day if I know I’m ordering at pizza that night. Or after I’ve had an extra delicious donut, I’ll think about how good it was for days! Not very dietitian-y, huh?

What are some of your favorite things??

Busy Bees

2010-09-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, Laura and I decided we needed to have another "FNF Meeting" to finalize some of our blog design and trip plans. We are planning a fun trip to Austin and San Antonio at the end of October for some great food and exercise for a good cause. We will fill y'all in a little more as it gets closer to time.

Anyway, back to our meeting. Of course we wanted to cook something while we were hanging out together. I had planned on going to the Farmer's Market to pick up our weekly fruits and veggies, so we thought we would pick up a few extra items to prepare at home.

Here are some fun shots of our shopping trip. I am in love with the beautiful colors of the oh so fresh vegetables!!!

Of course we took our prizes home in our Eat Right, American Dietetic Association bag.....Go ADA!

Our veggie sides started off with baked corn. I mixed Mrs. Dash with a little Garlic Gold, a la Kath, and brushed it all over the corn. I wrapped them with aluminum foil and baked them on a baking sheet @ 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Our second side was another Kath inspiration. We made Okra Fries! Again, I used a little Garlic Gold, salt and pepper, tossed the okra to coat, and baked the on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and then broiled for about 10-15 minutes. I think the broiling really helped give them a perfect texture. It also helped dry them out so they weren't quite as slimy.

Here is what we had for lunch...

Soy BBQ sandwiches (which were surprisingly delicious, but may have caused us both a little GI distress), roasted corn, okra fries, and a little mac and cheese by Ms. Laura Milton.

Everything was wonderful!!!! Except dessert :( We had found some beautiful plantains and thought they would make a neat dessert.

I cut them in half, coated them with a little Smart Balance and Splenda Brown Sugar and grilled them. The plantains never achieved the gorgeous caramelized brown and somewhat goopy texture we were hoping for. Instead, they tasted more like yellow baked potatoes. The only "sweetness" they had was really attributed to tiny amount of brown sugar.

Since dessert was a bust, I pulled out a back up. I forgot to take a picture, but we ate a few Wacky M's cookies that I found at Central Market on Friday. They were Ginger Orange, only 77 calories for three, and ohhhh so delicious. They don't sell them all over the country yet. He is a semi-local (Dallas) baker who has just started selling his product. You should check out his site. The different flavor combos are awesome!

Well, it is off to work for me, but come back this week for a few more great recipes and a few get to know us posts. Happy Monday!

Where The Magic Happens....No Really

2010-09-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

There are so many topics that I wanted to cover today! Okay, so maybe they aren't really topics, as much as they are things that I would like to share with you as our readers. Right now my list includes telling my weight loss story, raving about Aggie football and posting some videos, or showing y'all where I make my goods :)

My kitchen pics won tonight simply because I don't have as much time to really write out my "this is my story" blog as I would like.

So here we go...

My husband and I have spent the past several years bouncing between apartments and cities during grad school. My main concern has always been the size of the kitchen. No matter how crummy the apartment may have been, I have always had a pretty decent sized kitchen. Having a larger kitchen certainly comes in handy after you are married. Once you get married, you typically accumulate lots of wonderful kitcheny gadgets that you love, but now you have to store. When we lived in apartments, I usually had one closet solely dedicated to those items. No matter how big the kitchen was, there was never quite enough space to hold all of my random gadgets or the china and crystal that I didn't really use in our temporary homes.

Here is a picture of not only part of my apartment kitchen in Irving, but of my favorite sous chef, Riley!

Our new kitchen has been quite an upgrade from apartment living. When we started searching for a home, I wanted one with a large open kitchen. I feel that so much socializing goes on in that area that I didn't want it to be blocked off from our living or dining room. Well I got my wish!

Here is the kitchen...

Lots of counter space that Laura and I have successfully trashed while doing our cooking experiments!

One of my favorite things about this space is that while I cook or do dishes (which most of y'all should know...I am allergic to doing dishes) I can watch TV. This is usually a wonderful thing, but now it is football season and that is all we get to watch :(

While my sister-in-law Sara Jo lived with us we did a little rearranging. Her room used to be our office, so I had to find a new place to put our desk. Rusty and I thought about selling it but I loved it so much I had to find a place. The place is now right next to the entertainment center. I used to blog there but I felt like a little kid who was told to sit in the corner :(

Now I find myself blogging at my dining table. I have a great view of the TV...which for the next few months I don't really care about, but at least I have a view of everything going on.

I hope you have enjoyed a little mini tour of my home and where I cook. Over the next few months, Laura and I will be taking a day our two to either discuss a topic, blog about our foodies experiences, or simply talk a little bit about what is going on in our lives. If there is anything you would like to know about, be it about us or a nutrition topic, shoot us an email or simply leave it in a comment and we will do our best to answer!

Have a Happy Friday, oh and by the way....follow us on Twitter! Our name is FoodyNotFatty and I typically tweet what I eat :) or just talk about some funny things going on in my world!

Zucchini Cupcakes, Take II

2010-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday! We're that much closer to the weekend! Usually on Thursdays I start making up my grocery list so I can go first thing on Saturday and get it out of the way. Just in case my bloggy friends out there in the blogosphere are doing the same, I wanted to share a cupcake recipe you may want to try!

Remember our Coconut Day Celebration? Kat had picked up some coconut butter to help celebrate and she had mentioned that I was bringing some zucchini cupcakes. Well, I did and they were . . . okay. One of the girls we worked with said they didn't taste like cupcakes, they tasted like a sweet vegetable bread. That's not a bad thing, but I wanted this recipe to be one of those recipes that people love and then shock people when I tell them there's a vegetable in it!

Anyway, I got the recipe from Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals That You Can Make in Minutes, check it out below. I got this book last summer on a whim and actually liked a lot of what I made. The only thing I didn't really like was they list the calories, but nothing else (no fat, sodium, carbs, etc.) Last week I followed the recipe to a T last time. So today I tried a few adjustments to make them totally cravable.

Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes

I omitted the ground nuts and subbed out flour in hopes of lightening it up and tried Splenda Brown Sugar Blend instead of 100% regular sugar. I also didn't use the recipe for the frosting in the book, I used a reduced sugar vanilla frosting.

I combined the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients. Then I shredded the peeled zucchini and added it to the wet mixture. You can't really tell, but the grated zucchini is a pretty light green color and super watery.

Then I added the wet zucchini mixture to the dry mixture and mixed them all up.

Then I filled my little cupcake holders and let them do their thang in the oven for 28 minutes.

I let them cool (barely) and covered them with some frosting.

Final verdict: Much better! Still pretty dense, but this frosting was 10x better than coconut butter (and loads less in saturated fat!!). Looking back, I really think my cupcakes are so dense because I don't have an electric mixer and mix everything by hand with a whisk. And honestly, my forearm gets tired in, like, 30 seconds, so there's probably not enough air incorporated into them.

Any other suggestions to help lighten up these little guys??

Here's the nutritional info for 2 cupcake, topped with 1 tbsp reduced sugar frosting:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 153

Fat: 5 g

Sodium: 151 mg

Fiber: 1.3 g

And here's my recipe, adapted from Cook Yourself Thin:

Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c oat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c zucchini, finely grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, oat flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, brown sugar blend and vanilla until thick and lightly colored, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to beat until well mixed.

Pour ~1/3 c batter into 12 lined muffin tins and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Top with your favorite frosting (I like the reduced sugar vanilla with these cupcakes!)

Should've Been Sandwich Sunday...

2010-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Laura and I had a serious "business meeting" on Sunday. Not only did we start working on the specifics of our new .com, but we also cooked up some fancy granola bar recipes.

Here is a sneak peek:

We ended up being so busy, that I forgot to post my sandwich Sunday recipe. Obviously this month's weekend topic will be all about sandwiches. I know I typically think about my husband's daily turkey sandwiches for lunch, but those are certainly not FNF worthy. Instead, I wanted to start things off with an INCREDIBLE breakfast sandwich.

Breakfast on the road often call for Whataburger Taquitos (yummo!!!!) or if we are really being bad, a McGriddle from McDonalds. On CalorieKing.com, a McGriddle has 560 calories and 32 grams of fat (12 of which are saturated)! Well, in honor of one of my favorite unhealthy breakfasts....I revamped it!

It all started with Paula's Breakfast Sandwich Recipe. The only thing I didn't like is that the "innards" of the sandwich were loose. I prefer that my egg and sausage be in a neat little shape...also part of my OCDism :)

I started out by browning my turkey sausage. Paula recommended using precooked sausage, but I found that the uncooked version was actually a little healthier. After browning the sausage, I measured out about 2 oz. When I filled my round cookie cutter with Egg Beaters I sprinkled in the 2 oz of sausage.

While the eggs cooked, I made my pancakes. Again, being pretty crazy about organization, I chose the round cookie cutter one size larger than my egg mold. This made for a perfect little sandwich.

When all was said and done, it was delicious!!!!! Who doesn't love sweet and savory? Oh, that's right..Laura!! Laura and I love debating our food faves. One of mine is using my breakfast bacon as a syrup spoon :) The best part is the mixture of salt and sweet, just like chocolate covered pretzels. Laura on the other hand is somewhat disgusted with my breakfast habit. Oh well, I am sure I will find something to pick on Laura about :)

Even though I got a little side tracked by my soapbox, I must admit a mistake I made with this recipe. I forgot to add the oil!!!! I wondered if it was just the whole wheat flour that made my pancakes so dense, but in fact it was the omission of the oil! I apologize to all of the boys who had to eat my chewy pancakes (Rusty had some lucky taste testers over for his fantasy football draft).

The breakdown:

1 Sandwich
Calories: 360
Fat: 10
Sodium: 408
Fiber: 3.3

Incredible Pancake Sandwich!!!
Pancakes (makes ~ 14, 3-4” pancakes):
1 ¼ cups white flour
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
2 cups skim milk
½ cup egg substitute
2 tbsp Canola oil
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
Canola oil spray

Each Egg/Sausage Patty:
¼ cup Egg Substitute
2 oz ground turkey sausage, browned

Condiments for Each Sandwich:
2% American cheese slice
1 tsp Smart Balance Light
1 tbsp sugar free syrup

Mix together ingredients for pancakes. Spray hot skillet with oil. Pour ~3 tbsp of batter onto skillet (can use round mold for uniform shape). Flip pancake when bubble appear in the center. Cook until browned on each side. Keep warm.

In another skillet, pour egg beaters and turkey serving into each mold, slightly smaller than the pancakes. Cook on both sides.

To complete the sandwich layer as follows: Pancake, cheese slice, egg/turkey patty, pancake, tsp SBL, syrup. ENJOY!!!!!

Sesame Chicken

2010-09-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

This Monday, I decided to make Paula's Sesame Chicken Strip recipe. I thought it would be something pretty easy to put together while I was waiting for my hubby to return from South Texas. I wasn't wrong about the recipe being pretty easy, I just don't know how delicious it really was.

Meet my sous chef!

It all starts out with a "marinade" of sorts. You basically mix together the sour cream and other seasonings, stirring in the chicken strips (see bowl on right).

I assumed that a lot of the sour cream mixture would be left in the bowl for me to wash out when the chicken had finished marinating. I was wrong!!! The marinade had almost completely soaked into the chicken! At least I knew that the meat would be moist :)

After my chicken soaked while I was hard at work, mind you it was Labor Day :(, I rolled the little strips in my Panko-Pita-Sesame mixture. Paula's recipe calls for simple bread crumbs. When I think of sesame chicken, I think of a more Asian flare. Though I have never used Panko bread crumbs, I have always wanted an excuse to give them a try. This was the perfect recipe!

Instead of pouring melted butter on my coated strips, I used Smart Balance. I think the lack of "real" fat had something to do with the lack of crispness. I really wanted these strips to be somewhat crunchy on the outside. Even though I broiled the strips at the end, they still weren't brown and crispy. I think next time I will spray them with Canola oil and broil them a little bit longer.

As far as taste, they weren't too bad. I think I was so disappointed with the crust that the flavor was already doomed in my mind. I had them reheated for lunch, and re-evaluated the taste. I was a little more pleased with my second test.

With a little "un-fried rice"...

Here are the stats:

I left Paula's the way she had it set. If she used 6 chicken breasts you would get about 3 oz of meat for 8 servings. That is the same amount of meat you would get for my recipe for three servings....which I am now realizing I put 2...it should be three, but the same nutrition info...oops!

Sesame Chicken
2 large skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
¼ cup light sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp garlic pepper
4 tbsp Panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp whole wheat pita crumbs
2 tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tbsp Smart Balance, melted

Mix chicken with sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and garlic pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and let soak for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with canola spray.

In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs with sesame seeds. Roll each chicken strip in the breading mixture and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all strips are coated. Evenly pour the melted Smart Balance over the breaded strips. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, broil the chicken for at least 5 minutes, or until they are slightly browned. Enjoy!

***By the way, come back after lunch for an INCREDIBLE breakfast sandwich recipe!!!!!

Top Ten...I mean 5 Tuesday

2010-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

This month we are dedicating Tuesday to our Top 5 _____. This Tuesday I am writing about my 5 favorite things as a dietitian.

5)Exercise
I am putting this at number 5 simply because I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. I don't love the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach when I get ready to head to the gym. Typically I am having a conversation in my head that goes a little like this: "Hmm I mean I am really tired" or "I can't find a shirt that goes with my running shorts (yes I like to color coordinate)" or "I am sure I can just do this tomorrow" or "didn't my walking at work count as exercise?" The list could go on and on. The redeeming factor of exercise is how it makes me feel. Even if I have had a cruddy day or if I absolutely went to the gym kicking and screaming, I always feel awesome when I leave. Not only are there health benefits like burning fat and building muscle but you release endorphins....enter Legally Blonde line here :)

4) Water
Good old H20! I know there are all kinds of "super power" drinks out there, but I feel like nothing beats water. I actually CRAVE water...maybe not all day, but the first thing I do before I hit the floor to see my patients, is drink almost 32 oz of yummy, delicious, refreshing water. If you haven't had a great glass or bottle of water lately, I urge you to put down your $5 bottle of fancy flavored promises and have a date with your old friend water!

3) Fruit
Notice I didn't say fruit and vegetables. I don't really love vegetables. I don;t hate them, I just don't absolutely love them. I think part of that dilemma is that I am not that creative or good at cooking them. I find myself simply steaming, baking or boiling them. I think I need to channel my inner Kath or Caitlin to actually come up with unique veggie dishes....now on to my favorite FRUIT!!! I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. I would love to blame this on my grandmother, who when I was a wee child, would sneak us into the kitchen for late night mini sundaes :) Unfortunately I think it is simply just part of my being that I struggle with everyday. This is why I LOVE fruit. Laura knows I have fruit with every lunch and dinner, and sometimes even as a snack. It is a great way to fill that sweet craving without really overindulging.

2) Carb and Protein Snacks!
I always stress to my patients, if you have a meal or snack, ALWAYS add protein. Lately this has become one of my favorite things! I have started packing a variety of snacks. My absolute favorite has been a medium banana with 1-2 tablespoons of Smart Balance Peanut Butter....or maybe now Justin's Chocolate Peanut Butter. I have also enjoyed having light cheese and crackers, or low fat vanilla wafers and PB! Not only to I love putting these combos together but I simply love having a little something to nibble on every 4 hours. I love to eat, so snack time keeps me sane....and a little bit thinner :)

1) Food Journaling
This is absolutely my #1 favorite thing! Food journaling is definitely not for everyone, but does work for a lot of people. For me, it is a way to keep myself accountable. Thanks to genetics and my upbringing, food has always been a struggle for me. It has never been a struggle to love delicious or even healthy foods, it has just been a matter of how much I would eat. What helps keep me on track everyday is writing down what I eat. Everything I put in my mouth goes on paper (or now my iPhone). I am able to assess what I have eaten and typically try to make changes accordingly. It may be a little OCD for some of you, but for anybody who is stuck in a rut I highly recommend giving it a try!

Hope you have enjoyed finding out a little bit about what I am about. There will be lots of great recipes to try out this week as well. Join us next Tuesday for Laura's edition of Top 5 Tuesday!

Chicken Salad Makes an Unexpected Appearance

2010-09-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

Hello, my friends! I feel like it's been so long since I've posted anything! It's good to be back. I know we were MIA for the last two days, but Kat and I have been cooking up some super exciting FNF stuff that we hope to roll out in the future and it took more (wo)man hours than we thought. We'll keep you updated!

On to the food! I tried to remake Paula Deen's Chicken Divan into a lighter dish this weekend. I've never had this dish, but it looked very casserole-y and I like casseroles so I was ready to go!

I used some chicken breasts that I had already cooked and chopped. I used light mayo instead of regular, swapped nonfat Greek Yogurt for sour cream, used reduced fat cheddar and used the lower sodium version of cream of mushroom soup. I omitted the curry because I just don't like curry and used chicken broth in place of white wine because I didn't have any on hand.

I mixed up all my goodies and put them in my dish and covered it with grated parm and Panko bread crumbs. I've never cooked with them and wanted to test them out. They really maintained their crispiness. I'll have to remember this stuff the next time I make some Fried Ravioli!

What have you made with Panko Breadcrumbs??

The dish on it's way in . . .

. . . looks a lot like how it looked on it's way out.

It was pretty goopy. Must be all that mayo (Paula's "favo," according to Kat)!

It reminded me of the Hot Mess Chicken Salad I did last month, except with broccoli. It wasn't bad, but I'm a little tired of so many chicken salads! I think this is my fifth run with chicken salad.

Nutritionally, it looks bad, even the lightened version. But I think it all has to do with the listed serving sizes (I know Kat and I have both had tirades about that before). The original recipe says it serves 6 to 8, so I entered in my ingredients and based it on making 6 servings. I cut the recipe in half and made it in an 8 inch square pan and could easily get 6 servings from it. Go figure.

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 6	Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 848	Calories: 531
Fat: 59 g	Fat: 24 g
Sodium: 1315 mg	Sodium: 1244 mg
Fiber: 3.4 g	Fiber: 4 g

I probably won't try this recipe again, only because I think I've had my fill of chicken salad for the year. But if you like it, I'd recommend cutting the mayo and yogurt sauce down by at least a third.

Sneaky Chicken Salad
2 (10 oz) packages frozen broccoli, chopped
6 c shredded chicken from boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 c light mayo
1 c fat free plain Greek Yogurt
1 c reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c Panko bread crumbs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Thaw the broccoli and put into a casserole dish. Add the shredded chicken

In a separate bowl, combine the soup, light mayo, Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, and chicken broth. Whisk together and pour over the broccoli and chicken.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese over the top and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

Crazy For Coconuts!!

2010-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today Laura and I are having a belated Happy National Coconut Day Celebration! We are really using this day as a great excuse to try some of our fellow bloggers like Kath's favorite oatmeal condiment and one of her favorite refueling drinks.

What is your thought on the coconut craze?

The first taste test will be of some coconut waters. Each are about one carb serving (~15g). The unique thing about these beverages, particularly the coconut juice, is that it is considered "isotonic." Basically that the beverage has similar concentration of solute particles that your blood has. Isotonic fluids are helpful in rehydration after a workout. They are not high in carbohydrates so they do not provide as many calories as a hypertonic drink. We will have to leave some feedback on the taste of these two coconut beverages after we give them a try.

Our second taste test will be coconut butter (CCB as Laura calls it!). One of our favorite bloggers, Kath, often uses this as an "icing" like topper on her morning oatmeal. It absolutely looks like a dreamy topping and the way Kath describes it, it sounds amazing. Our only main concern is the amount of saturated fat is in each tablespoon. There are 8g of saturated fat for each tablespoon! High intakes of saturated fat can lead to cardiovascular disease. Now we aren't saying that everybody who eats coconut butter is asking for a coronary. If you eat coconut butter or other high saturated fat items, try to eat them in moderation as part of an otherwise heart healthy diet.
Again, we are both looking forward to giving this creamy treat a try today. I believe Laura has cooked up some yummo zucchini cupcake for use to use as our CCB sponge.

As another coconut treat, I made some not so healthy German chocolate cake cupcakes for us to get a little extra coconut in our diet today. We will definitely post a few follow up comments as we try these yummo coconut treats today.

Have a happy Friday!!!!!

How is this really a salad?

2010-09-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

I am not exactly sure why Paula calls this a salad. I understand we have tuna/chicken salad, but typically that involves cold meats, mixed in a cold mayo sauce of some sort. Paula's Fettuccine Chicken Salad is served sort of warm with noodles....not very salad like :)

Well, at 6am my blogger photo uploader stopped working!!! So today we have no pictures, but if I can get them to load this afternoon I will try to update this post.

One of the changes I decided to make with this recipe was avoiding the use of seasoning salt. I often find myself educating my patients about salt free seasonings. I decided to make my own salt free Lawry's Seasoning "No Salt" for this recipe. I basically added equal parts of onion powder, salt substitute, turmeric, and paprika together. It smelled just right and I think the flavor was pretty much there. Making your own seasonings is a great way to cut sodium from your diet.

Insert pic of ingredients here:

Kroger was out of basil yesterday, but I found a great basil herb "puree" if you will that was a great substitute (and cut back on my chopping).

Insert picture of chicken with thermometer here:

I wanted to remind everyone that chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 5 seconds. Having a thermometer on hand helps you determine if your meats have reached a safe temperature and can help prevent overcooking...ahem...Laura :)

This recipe turned out okay. I think it would have been great if there were less fresh green seasonings in the sauce. I may have just needed to better chop them. I kept biting into parsley or basil which was a little off putting.

Since the "label" is also a picture I wasn't able to upload the nutrition information. In a nutshell, I cut the calories by 295! The sodium was cut more than in half and the fiber was more than doubled! Even with all of the great changes, this is not a low calorie or low fat dish. It is your entire dinner, minus some veggies, so spending the calories may still be okay for you. Here is the breakdown:

1 serving (1 cup pasta, 3 chicken strips)

Calories: 365 (was 695!)
Fat: 12.8g (was 46.9)
Sodium: 287mg (was 968)
Fiber: 6.3g (was 2.3)

Garden Chicken Fettuccine
2 skinless chicken breast halves
Olive oil spray
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
8 oz dry fettuccine
1 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley leaves
2 tbsp freshly chopped basil leaves
1/4 tsp FNF Seasoning
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp homemade season “un-salt”

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice chicken breasts into one inch wide strips. Lay strips on a baking sheet, sprayed with non stick spray. Season chicken with thyme and spray light coat of olive oil across the strips. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until internal temp is 165 degrees.

While chicken is cooking, cook past according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all other ingredients, including chicken juice from the baking sheet and mix well. Pour pasta into large bowl and stir to coat. Serve pasta with sliced chicken on top. Enjoy!

Sneak Peak

2010-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't checked it out, Houston Health Blogs is an awesome blog that features lots of amazing guest posts from bloggers in the Houston area. Kat and I submitted a post about goals and wanted to give you guys a sneak peak a little early. Enjoy!

Part of weight loss and maintaining health includes setting goals. Goals are the proverbial “carrot on a stick” that keep us motivated and help us measure our success. There are tons of resources and blogs with tips on how to set attainable goals, how the measure progress and (best of all!) how to reward yourself once you’ve reached those goals. But Kat and I wanted to take a different approach to goal setting. We’ve compiled the 5 Worst Goals that we see as dietitians.

#5 “I will lose XX pounds so that hot guy will like me.”
We hate to take away anyone’s motivation to lose weight, but trying to lose weight for anyone other than yourself is never a good idea. You are a worthy person regardless of whether or not some hottie wants to date you and by trying to change so someone will like you is not fair to you. It may help you get started, but what happens if things with Mr. Stud don’t work out? You lose your motivation and fall back into bad habits. I know a lot of people in relationships want to trim up for their significant others (S.O.), but it’s important to differentiate between “I want to lose some weight so I will feel as hot and sexy as my S.O. thinks I am” and “I want to lose weight so someone (who otherwise wouldn’t) will think I’m hot and sexy.”
Bottom Line: Someone who really loves you will love you whether or not you have a little extra jiggle.

#4 “I will run 10 miles so I can eat a whole cheesecake for dinner.”
Uh, nice try. A whole cheesecake isn’t good for anyone. A little bit of cheesecake after a long run is okay, but try not to use exercise as and excuse for overindulging in unhealthy foods.
Bottom Line: It important to eat a healthy, varied diet to get a good mix of nutrients with occasional treats in moderation.

#3 “I will lose XX pounds so I can fit into my cheerleading uniform from high school.”
We all wish we were the same size as we were when we were younger, but don’t hold yourself unrealistic expectations. Some people may be lucky enough to stay the same size over the years, but remember our bodies change as we age and there are just some things we can’t change. Metabolisms slow down as we grow older, childbirth changes our bodies and our lives are just different. Sure, when we were younger we could eat more and workout less, but teens burn calories at a much higher rate since they’re growing. And they don’t have the added stress of running a household, paying bills, keeping up with small kids. It’s apples and oranges: you can’t compare the two. Try to make it a goal to change what makes you feel healthy and strong. Regular exercise can help counter a slowing metabolism.
Bottom Line: Embrace the fact that your body was able to grow a child in it and just enjoy what your strong, healthy body can do now, rather than chase the dream of staying “high school skinny.”

#2 Once I lose XX pounds, I will be happy!
So this isn’t really a goal, but it’s important to address. There could be a lot of reasons why you’re overweight and if those issues aren’t resolved, you could end up smaller but still unhappy. If you’re an angry person at 200 pounds, you’ll still be that same angry person at 150 pounds, just smaller.
Bottom Line: Health is not a linear journey that just ends one day. It’s dynamic and constantly changing. You should adjust your goals as life throws you curveballs!

And the worst weight loss goal to have is . . .

#1 “I will lose XX pounds because I’m disgusting/a slob/etc…”
We can’t say it enough! The number on the scale does not determine whether or not you’re a good person! Don’t let something as trivial as a number make you feel like you’re a bad person or ruin your day.
Bottom Line: The number on the scale is just a reference number to track your progress. Take it for what it is (just a number!) and move on with your journey to becoming healthy by changing things under your control.

It is important to make sure you always evaluate your goals. Though some may say they are trying to just be “healthier” they may truly have other motives behind their lifestyle changes. You should always evaluate your goals and if they are linked to some of the above “goals” you should make sure to address those accordingly so you can become a healthier and happier person for the right reasons.

Paula's Favo is Mayo!

2010-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Laura and I were laughing today about how much mayonnaise we have gone through over the past few weeks! With so many "salad" recipes we keep having to buy more and more jars. In fact I have a fettuccine recipe that Paula uses mayo as the cream base!

To say the least, Laura and I don't use mayo much outside of the occasional sandwich. Paula however loves to use it as the main ingredient. Simply changing the quantity and type of mayo you use can make a huge difference in the calorie and fat content. There are many options on the shelves and you have to sift through all of the bright colored labels to find which mayo is right for you. I typically go for lower calorie and lower fat as well as mayo instead of Miracle Whip. I prefer mayo simply for the taste.

On to the recipe...this weekend I made a version of Paula's Shrimp Salad in Mini Phyllo Cups. I was in a pretty big hurry and forgot to take the picture of all of the ingredients. Part of the way through I remembered and grabbed a few shots!

The shrimp...

The Phyllo Cups!

The mayo...and a cutting board :)

And the celery + green onion + seasoning mixture...

The overall flavor of the cups wasn't just incredible. I am not a huge fan of celery, and to me the celery flavor was just too strong. I would have preferred more shrimp and less celery and mayo. The recipe below is what I would do to fit my taste!

Oh, and sorry I didn't get a pic, I was in such a hurry to make my new Sunday sandwich recipe I forgot to take a final product picture...if it makes any difference, they look just like Paula's with less fat :)

I don't have the comparisons but I do know how many calories are in each baby cup. I don't have two dogs to get to, but I do have this calling my name :)

Each cup:

Calories: 56

Fat: 1.9g

Sodium: 85mg

Fiber: 0.1g

Shrimp Cups

24 Mini Phyllo Cups (find in your grocer's freezer!)

2 1/2 cups of shrimp, cooked, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 tbsp minced green onion

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/4 tsp salt substitute

1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients (except phyllo cups) together. Fill each cup with an even portion of shrimp salad and enjoy!

More Fried Chicken, Y'all!

2010-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kat and I must be on the same wavelength because I found myself revamping Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken, even after Kat shared one of her fried chicken recipes just last week! I love fried chicken, but haven't had the real thing in years, because once I start, I just can't stop myself. And then I want biscuits, topped with butter and honey. And then maybe some mashed potatoes with gravy (brown gravy, that is, I know how southerners love white gravy!). Or potato salad. And then have some pie . . see, this is why I don't have it!!

Here's my lineup (minus some olive oil):

I reduced the egg yolks by two and just used the whites. I also omitted the salt from Paula's House Seasoning and used crushed corn flakes to get that crunchy texture so I could use skinless chicken. I originally had intended to bake the chicken, but decided at the last minute to pan fry them, using 1 - 2 Tbsp oil to ensure that my chicken came out crispy. I was just in that kind of mood and the oven-fried method usually only works 50% of the time for me.

I set up my dunking and dredging stations. Egg, water and hot sauce on the left, crushed cornflakes on the left.

I coated the pan with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, about 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil.

While I waited for the oil to heat up, I pounded out my chicken breasts. When I make chicken, I almost always use a meat pounder/tenderizer (not sure of it's official name) thing to flatten it out for two reasons. First, it makes the chicken cook so much quicker and it's easier for me to not overcook the little guys.

The second reason is evident below:
Look at how huge that piece of chicken is! I promise you, it was just a small chicken breast, but pounding it out makes it look so much bigger! So I felt like I was really treating myself to this huge piece of "fried chicken," but I'm really getting a very reasonable portion.

I've never tried the hot sauce in the egg mixture before, but I loved this recipe! It was crunchy and not overcooked (thanks to my meat mallet!) and had a little kick to it. I even had some today as leftovers over a salad with some egg whites and more hot sauce and it was still amazing!

What's your favorite thing to add hot sauce to? I've never really used it, but am thinking I should start but don't know what to put in on, other than eggs. Too bad Kat can't tolerate spicy foods, otherwise I would totally share my leftovers!

And the nutritional stats are . . . not quite ready! Sorry, guys, but typing up the ingredients for both recipes (while very important in comparing our recipes) takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r and I have a date on the couch with these two great girls and Hot Tube Time Machine, so I'll add them in later.

They don't look it, but they're excited!

Here's the recipe, it's a keeper!

FNF-ing Awesome Pan Fried Chicken

1 whole egg, plus 2 egg whites
1/3 c water
1 c hot red pepper sauces
2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp oil, for cooking

Combine the egg, egg whites, water and hot sauce and whisk in a small bowl. Pour the crushed cornflakes into a shallow dish. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

While the oil heats up, pound the chicken breasts to ~1/4" thickness and season with pepper and garlic powder. Dip into the egg mixture and coat in cornflakes. Cook in pan, about 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

A Very Special Simple Sunday

2010-08-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Simple Sunday comes to you in a slightly different format (i.e. no cooking for me!) and was inspired by my very lovely sis-in-law, Lauren!

Lauren is a very hardworking, full-time mother, wife and law student and she also happens to be super sweet! She helped me with that awful Salmon Mousse Disaster, even though she doesn't even like fish!

The other day she commented on Facebook that she was so caught up with her studies that she worked right through dinner and all of the sudden it was 11 o'clock. What's a tired, overworked law student to do for dinner at 11 PM? Eat some Combos!

I laughed pretended to be shocked (trust me, I've heard worse!) and 'fessed up moments I'm less than proud of (Hershey's Kisses and Diet Coke for dinner, anyone??). If I lived in SC , I would whip up some healthy casseroles and tasty sides and toss them in her fridge for those late nights, but now that I live in TX, that's geographically unrealistic. I did want to send her some super simple, quick dinner options to help fuel her way through her studies. Please note I'm not doing this because I'm a dietitian and (people think) we're the Food Police, but because I love Lauren and her family and I think that good nutrition can do nothing but help (with school, health and life in general)!

So here is what I sent in her very special care package, all that is simple and can be prepared in less than five minutes!

I love having breakfast for dinner! I especially like it on the night's when Cody's on call, because I hate having to make a big dinner (and big mess) for just me. So sometimes I'll have some cereal or oatmeal, with some fruit and a boiled egg. I also send some natural peanut butter for a quick PB sandwich. Pair this with some fruit and you've got a filling meal!

Ah, the poor white potato. I feel bad that it seems to have gotten a bad reputation since the whole low carb craze began. Yes, white potatoes have carbs. But they also have fiber and can be super filling (remember Kat's Shrimp Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes from earlier this week?) And as long as you're not eating the largest potato you can find and make smart stuffing choices, it's a quick and healthy dinner option. I found these broccoli and cheese servings in the freezer section. After a quick spin in the microwave, toss these on your spud and you have a Broc & Cheese Potato. Obviously I can't send the broccoli and cheese in the package, but you get the idea!

I like to keep a couple of frozen entrees and these guys in the cabinet for those days when I want something hot, but don't want to cook. These all are between 350 and 450 calories and have 600 mg of sodium or less. And they don't have to be refrigerated or frozen.

Sometimes, I'm lucky and have leftovers and I like to have some simple sides on hand. I like these little fruit cups because the fruit is in juice not syrup. I love these little cups of brown rice! They only take 60 seconds to cook in the microwave (compared to 45 minutes on the stove) and have less that 200 mg of sodium per serving, which is pretty low for an instant rice product. Most of the flavored varieties are much higher.

And a little something sweet for dessert. Kat and I are CRAZY for sugar free puddings! They're full of sweetness, but low on calories. Top it with some fat free whip cream and you have dessert for under 100 calories!

I sent some Crystal Light just because I'm OBSESSED with the fruit punch flavor right now and wanted to share it. Seriously, I think I could drink the whole 2 quarts if I didn't pace myself. every time I drink it, I feel like I'm seven years old again! The only thing missing is cookies and recess! I tossed in this coffee just because I had it. I think I had a coupon for one box free and it's just been sitting in my cabinet for awhile. But it's instant, so it fits in with my simple theme.

I added some snack bars just because I like snacks and bars. These are just a couple I have on hand in my office and purse for those moments I'm starving and lunch is still hours away.

I included a little note to explain why I'm sending her a box of food . . .

And sent it off to South Carolina, with love!

I hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

Frozen Friday

2010-08-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yay for Fridays!!

I'm excited about this post! I've tested out a lot of Popsicle recipes, but this is one of my faves! I don't know if either of us have mentioned it before, but Kat and I LOVE sugar free pudding! I think we probably have it almost every day of the week!

I made some standard pudding pops, but added some frozen, chopped strawberries because I had some in my freezer.

I pulsed the frozen strawberries until they were kind of the texture of a granita dessert. I was initially going to chop them, but I worried they would all sink to the bottom.

The final product was tasty, but I think I like pudding pops the best without fruit.

Very delicious and a healthy treat for the hot summer!

Nutritional Information (OLD)

Servings Per Recipe: 4.5

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 46

Fat: 0 g

Sodium: 304 mg

Fiber: 0 g

FNF Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding Pops

1 (1 oz) package Jell-o Sugar-Free, Fat-Free Cheesecake flavored pudding mix
1 3/4 c skim milk
6 frozen strawberries, pulsed in a food processor until the texture of shaved ice

Combine all ingredients and pour into Popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 3 hours.

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Late Fish

2010-08-26T04:24:00.000-07:00

So as I admitted earlier this week, I missed posting my Simple Sunday recipe, and promised it later this week. Well here it is...

This recipe actually come from my dad. He used to always go wade fishing in the Gulf and would bring home fresh red fish. As a kid, I didn't really love this recipe. I think it had too much flavor and it was too goopy. As I have grown up a bit, I have learned to absolutely love this recipe!

You start out with simple fish. I will typically leave the skin on one side.

Basically, just salt and pepper the fish (not the skin), spread light mayo(2 tbsp per 3oz fish) across the top, and sprinkle with lemon pepper to taste.

You can either bake or grill these yummy fish!

The Facts for 3oz Fish:

Calories: 201

Fat: 13.9 g

Sodium: 303 mg

Fiber: 0

Creamy LP Fish

Fish

Light Mayo

Lemon Pepper

Salt Substitute

Pepper

Season the fish with salt and pepper, skin side down. Evenly spread mayo over the seasoning. Sprinkle lemon pepper to taste. Bake or grill fish until thoroughly cooked. Enjoy!

Paula’s Fond of Fryers

2010-08-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know we just posted a recipe for fried chicken yesterday, but I’ve got another Fried Food makeover that turned out amazing! Paula’s original recipe for Fried Ravioli with Marinara Cream Sauce looked so tasty I couldn't wait to try it after my month-long run of fishy fiascos. It’s supposed to be an appetizer, but I just turned it into an entrée. The final product, as Paula would say, “It’s out of this world, y’all!”

First up, I cooked and coated my little guys. I bought the light ravioli because it was lower in calories and fat (and also filling, according to Cody), opted to use fresh breadcrumbs made from some double fiber bread and use 2 egg whites instead of a whole egg.

Once I had all my stations prepped, I dipped, dredged and popped the little nuggets into the oven. While they got toasty, I worked on the dipping sauce.

For the marinara cream sauce, I used my favorite spicy pasta sauce and added fat free half and half to make it creamy.

They came out toasty and golden and crispy. They were absolutely gorgeous! I’m telling you how fab they looked because once I got our plates ready I completely forgot to take a picture! I swear, I was overtaken with tunnel vision! All I could see was fried bites of ravioli and everything else was just background.

I thought they were delish, but I will say that Cody felt like there wasn’t enough filling on the inside (perhaps because they’re light?) and would have liked a heartier stuffing. I think next time I'll try a regular ravioli or one stuffed with meat to make it more filling for him and just serve myself a smaller portion. Love is all about compromise, right?

The stats are a big difference. I think the difference can be attributed to cutting out so much of the fat (from the egg yolk, heavy whipping cream, ground nuts). I didn’t add the oil in the recipe calculation because I wasn’t sure how much would actually be absorbed and consumed AND I only calculated half of the coating in each recipe because I ended up only using about half.

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 4	Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving (11 pieces)	Amount Per Serving (11 pieces)
Calories: 733	Calories: 360
Fat: 51.7 g	Fat: 10 g
Sodium: 1396 mg	Sodium: 1015 mg
Fiber: 7 g	Fiber: 7 g

Here’s the recipe.

Oven Fried Ravioli with Dipping Sauce

Ravioli:
9 oz package of light ravioli
2 slices Nature's Own Double Fiber Bread, toasted and ground into crumbs
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c skim milk
2 egg whites
pepper

Tomato Cream Sauce:
1 1/2 prepared marinara sauce
1/2 c fat free half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking sheet in the oven, before turning the oven on.

Cook the ravioli for 2 minutes. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Combine the bread crumbs, wheat germ, and Parmesan cheese and set aside in a shallow dish.

Whisk the milk and egg whites in a bowl and set aside.

Dip the ravioli in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture. Arranged on the preheated baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy.

While the ravioli bake, heat the marinara sauce and fat free half and half. Serve alongside the ravioli for dipping.

Fried Chicken, Volume I...of too many

2010-08-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

Laura and I were talking yesterday about the make up of Paula's Top 100. Not only do we not understand how they came up with this magical list, but were are also disappointed with the mix of recipes. The majority of recipes are shrimp and chicken with a few salmon and beef. Of the chicken recipes, there are at least 5 fried chicken recipes!!! As a dietitian, fried chicken is not a common occurrence in our house, but with the spirit of Foodies Not Fatties, I made Paula's fried chicken anyway.

I certainly was not going to batter and deep fry these little guys, so I had to come up with different ingredients to make them healthier. Two big changes were using skinless chicken legs and Fiber One Cereal.

I have been able to purchase skinless drumsticks before, but lately I haven't been able to find them. One tip I find helpful is using a dishcloth to help remove the skin. The skin tends to be very slimy and hard to pull off. If you use a dry cloth it will grab the skin and you can pull it off with no problem.

Instead of deep frying the chicken I baked it in the oven. Just spray the pan with Olive or Canola oil and then spray the chicken. Having the oil on the coating will hep it crisp up.

One thing that surprised me about this recipe, was that it actually looked like fried chicken. The dark color of the Fiber One cereal gave it a nice "fried" color. I might actually broil the chicken a bit longer to give it the "fried" texture.

Overall the chicken tasted okay. I wasn't thrilled or disgusted. I am looking forward to trying some of the other fried chicken recipes. I have lots of new ideas to test out!

I am having some technical difficulty with my label so all I have are the new nutrition facts. I will try to update this once I get things working.

1 drumstick
Calories: 141
Fat: 5.3 g
Sodium: 114 mg
Fiber: 5.3 g

Fried Chicken Numero Uno
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt substitute
2 tsp Canola oil
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 Fiber One cereal, finely ground
2 lbs skinless drumsticks

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix eggs and water in shallow dish. Mix all flour, cereal and seasonings in another shallow dish. Dip drumsticks in egg mix then roll in flour mixture. Place on baking sheet. Spray with Canola oil.

Bake until chicken reaches 165 degrees (about 45 minutes) flipping chicken halfway through. For a crispier texture, broil for the last 5 minutes.

(Sigh)

2010-08-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to know how the handful of recipes we've collected have managed to earn the title of "Top 100." Surely, our recipe modifications aren't what's making them...less than stellar. Or perhaps they're just more suited to a different palate. I've landed another fail with Paula's Artichoke Rice Salad with Shrimp :( Sad day.

I assembled all my ingredients together and got started. I didn't use the marinade from the artichoke hearts because the mixture was goopy enough without adding another 1/4 cup of liquid. I also added peas instead of bell peppers because I already had some on hand in the freezer. I didn't add the pimentos OR the curry because I really don't like either. And the recipe also called for shrimp so I figured I could only handle adding one ingredient I dislike instead of three!

See what I meant by goopy enough??

I tried to tell Rooty this recipe wasn't looking so hot, so she might as well move on to something better, but she just stayed in her spot, watching.

After a quick roast in the oven, I pulled out the completed casserole.

It looks pretty but I didn't care for it because:
1. There was shrimp in it. I took a bite and I still don't like shrimp (no surprise there).
2. All I could taste was the "chicken" flavoring of the rice and pasta mix, I couldn't even tell there were artichokes in there.
3. 6 hours later, my stomach hurts. I asked Cody if the dish made me sick and he said the onset of illness depends on the bacteria; it could be 6 to 48 hours. I don't think the dish is behind my upset stomach, but I won't feel better about if for another 42 hours.

I'm going to keep it in my fridge and save my rating until I can have a neutral, shrimp-loving party taste it to get a true opinion. Perhaps I will bring some to Kat (in 42 hours!).

Here's the stats:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 6	Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 331	Calories: 231
Fat: 18 g	Fat: 9.4 g
Sodium: 854 mg	Sodium: 606 mg
Fiber: 1 g	Fiber: 01 g

And the recipe.

FNF Dish With a Whole Lot of Textures

1 (6.9 oz) package instant Rice and Pasta Mixture, chicken flavor
1 (6 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2 c light mayo
1/2 c frozen green peas
3-4 green onions, chopped, white and green parts
pepper, to taste
1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the rice and pasta mixture, according to package directions, omitting the oil/butter.

Drain the artichoke hearts. To the artichoke hearts, add the peas, green onions and black pepper.

Cook the shrimp, being careful not to overcook. Once cooked, chop coarsely.

Combine the rice and pasta mix with the artichoke mixture and the shrimp. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Should Have Been Simple Sunday

2010-08-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

So I actually attempted to start this blog entry on Saturday night :(

I was supposed to post a great simple Sunday blog about red fish. Well as you can tell, a red fish entry was never posted. My hubby and I went out of town early Friday afternoon and I figured I would just find something from Boerne, TX to post about.

There were many wonderful things about our trip to write about...none of which were really healthy. It all started with Dairy Queen on our drive there, Boerne Bakery "pigs, hogs and cheese pockets," soggy sandwiches and beer during our river float, a delicious steak, rib, salad and bean dinner prepared by our host, ending with another "pig, hog and cheese pocket breakfast."

With all of those wonderful foods you would have thought that I would have posted something. Well I had no idea you can't use blogger on your iPhone! I had taken several great pics and couldn't load them, nor could I write anything in the text section! Thus I had no way to post my Sunday Funday foods!

Even though I skipped out on my weekend post, I promise to make sure you get the great Red Fish recipe I had planned. Look for it this Saturday. As for today, I think Laura has a great post up her sleeve that should be up around lunchtime...enjoy!

Dog Days of Summer, Volume II

2010-08-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

I love my husband very much…but I also love my four legged children! This Saturday is another day to showcase our loved ones.

Even before Rusty and I were married, I was dying to get a dog. I have always grown up around animals, be it rabbits, horses, cows, ducks, dogs or cats, and I was tired of being pet free. Rusty and I ended up waiting to get dogs until we were somewhat “settled” in Dallas. Once we knew when, we had to decide what. I have ALWAYS wanted a Westie. Rusty, however, didn’t know what he wanted. During our decision making process he would throw out different breeds…anything but a Westie. He didn’t have a reason to not get a Westie he just wanted something else. I had a hard time accepting that even though I had ALWAYS wanted a Westie, we were going to get some random breed that he never had any dreams/passion/desire etc etc to get. Thus we ended up with 2 children instead of one.

The first boy we got was Riley. He arrived via plane from Indianapolis. It was love at first sight!

Our second “flying son” came from Arkansas.

Surprisingly the boys got along quite well…

And grew up much quicker than we would have liked…

While they were growing up they did lots of funny things, most we tried to catch on camera, but some of our favorites are only memories :(

No matter how silly, disobedient, dirty or loud these boys may be … they will always be our “sons.”

Hope you enjoyed meeting the Chiles! Have a great Saturday!

Orange You Glad It's Frozen Friday?

2010-08-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think they are!!!!

Today’s frozen recipe comes from Alton Brown. To be quite honest, I don’t really like Alton. He is a bit too hyper and ADD for me to watch for 30 minutes straight. One night, for some crazy reason, we settled on watching his show. Thankfully for you, it was an episode about oranges. Thus last night, I made low fat orange sherbet!

This recipe seems to have a pretty simple ingredient list but it ended up being pretty labor intensive.

I started out juicing all of my oranges. Luckily, when Rusty and I got married, we were gifted a Cuisinart juicer. It is a lifesaver when it comes to recipes that call for large quantities of fresh juice. Other than those times…it sits in our cabinet.

After juicing the oranges I start working on the orange zest. There are 2 different methods for zesting. On the left, you will see the bigger zester. It turns the orange rind into a consistent, long strand of orange. I love to use this tool if I am garnishing. On the right you have the micro planer. This makes a very fine zest. I ended up using a combination of both for this recipe.

After everything is all mixed together, you stick the mix into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once thoroughly chilled, pour the mix into your ice cream machine!!!!!

In about 30 minutes you will have a nice soft serve style sherbet.

If you put the soft serve in the freezer for an hour you will have sherbet that is a bit more formed. I topped this version with a little melted chocolate…very Kath (if it were coconut butter).

The sherbet was delicious! Very fruity but not overwhelming. Even though I used low fat milks, the sherbet had a very creamy, rich texture and flavor. Next time I will probably not use the large zest. It had a nice visual effect but when you bit into it, it was almost like hair got stuck in the sherbet :(

Taste: Seconds Please!
Waist: Tighten your belt a notch….this was only 95 calories for the half cup serving, and very satisfying!

Light Orange Sherbet
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup Splenda
2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice, about 3 lbs of oranges
1 ½ tbsp orange zest
Juice from ½ a lemon
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup 2% milk
1 cup skim milk

In a food processor blend together the first 6 ingredients. Gently whisk in milk. Return mix to freezer for approximately 30 minutes. Pour chilled mixture into ice cream machine and let it mix for 30 minutes. Either serve straight out of the mixer or pour sherbet into a shallow, air tight container and chill for 2+ hours until desired consistency is reached.
Makes approximately 1 quart.

Another Winner!

2010-08-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I feel really bad for Laura...I think I ended up getting all of the good recipes!! Tonight's recipe was a delicious empanada recipe. If you aren't from Texas, these are regulars on every Tex Mex menu. Typically they are deep fried and super greasy! I was really surprised when Paula's recipe didn't call for deep frying.

When buying all of the ingredients, I decided to be a little lazy and pick up canned chicken. I feel a little hypocritical simply because I talk to my patients about choosing fresh or frozen items over canned. I think the biggest issue with salt intake is that we often look for the easiest option. What isn't easy about pre-cooked, chopped chicken? Good news is that we didn't add anymore salt to the recipe.

Once everything was all mixed together I started filling and folding the empanadas. This is really where the recipe gets to be a little time consuming. You put a tablespoon sized dollop of chicken mixture in the middle of the pie crust circle. Before you start to fold, I recommend rubbing the pie crust with a little water and then pressing your finger down around the chicken mixture. This helps spread out the crust so it will fold a little better. I decided to also close the empanadas with a fork. Most of the empanadas I have seen have those neat little fork marks and mine were no exception!

These little pockets turned out just right. One thing you could try, would be brushing the tops with a little egg white and turning the oven to broil for a few minutes to give them that crispy brown look.

I decided to put my empanadas on a bed of shredded lettuce and topped them with some fresh diced tomatoes. After I started eating I ended up adding a little low fat ranch. I know that may sounds weird to some of you ... ahem Laura ... but there is a great restaurant, Chuy's, that has a jalapeno ranch dip that is delicious on everything Mexican.

That stats are a little confusing. If you read Paula's original recipe, she makes 16 - 2" circles and only fills them with 1 tsp of meat. Even though I added an extra 1/2 cup of veggies, I had a ton of mixture left over. I made about 18 circles and filled them with 1 tbsp of chicken. I had about half leftover. Not sure where Paula gets her portions from but my calculations are based on her original recipe and serving sizes.

Baked Empanadas (amounts for 16-18 Empanadas w/ 1tbsp filling)

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 cup low fat Mexican blend cheese,
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, sauteed
1/4 medium onion, sauteed
2 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped, optional (aka I didn't use this)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt substitute
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 8 ingredients. Unroll 1 pie crust onto wax paper. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts, making 16-18 circles total. Arrange 1 round on the baking sheet. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 tbsp of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Bacon Loves Chicken

2010-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

How does Paula Deen improve chicken? She either fries it in oil, smothers in with mayo and/or sour cream or she wraps in with bacon and dunks it in sugar! This recipe for Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps looks as decadent as her Fried Mac & Cheese, sans the frying. I was willing to try it because I like chicken. And from the pic it looks like bacon likes chicken, too, because it's giving each nugget a big ol' hug!

Since the recipe only has 4 ingredients, it was easy to simplify. I swapped turkey bacon for the regular bacon and wanted to try Splenda's Brown Sugar Blend. I've tried one other lower sugar brown sugar creation and wasn't too thrilled with it, but I though this would be fun to try. It's just a blend of brown sugar and Splenda.

Prep was super easy. It took less than 10 minutes. And here's the final product (sorry about the boring preparation, I was sooo excited to taste them, I was eating as I was plating!):

I think they were pretty good. I've never loved the whole sweet-and-salty combination, but I really liked this one. I think it makes a good appetizer, but I don't think I would serve it as my entree.

Do you like sweet and salty foods together??

Here's the nutritional stats. There wasn't too much of a difference. The lighter version is only 20 calories less on only lower in fat by ~1 gram. And it's actually higher in sodium.

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 12	Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 203	Calories: 181
Fat: 7 g	Fat: 5.8 g
Sodium: 254 mg	Sodium: 393 mg
Fiber: 0.4 g	Fiber: 0.4 g

Taste: Seconds, Please! Even Cody said he liked them!

Waist: May Need to Unbutton My Pants; the lightened version wasn't that much of an improvement (only 20 calories!), although it was tasty. I think if I make this again, I'll still use the brown sugar blend because I have a ton of it left, but I'll probably just use real bacon and save this recipe for special occasions and enjoy it in moderation.

Bacon + Chicken 4-eva (aka Bacon Wrapped Chicken)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lb turkey bacon
5 tbsp + 1 tsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
2 tbsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Cut each turkey bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Stir together the brown sugar blend and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wraps on rack in broiler pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done.

Holy Shrimp Potatoes.....Batman!

2010-08-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

Oh...My....Gosh!! These potatoes were delicious! I don't know if you remember, but my friend Penny brought twice baked potatoes over for our pre-party dinner. It was a great dish to have with the kabobs, but certainly not a healthy version. I remember her grating Gruyere cheese and having added full fat sour cream and other yummy dairy products into the potatoes. Even though they were delicious, they were pretty high calorie.

Paula's original potato recipe was pretty high cal, but a few changes and it became a much more reasonable dish.

I started out with my favorite frozen shrimp. I shop at Walmart to keep my food budget down and they don't have fresh shrimp. These frozen shrimp thaw in just a few minutes, and have a great flavor when cooked.

I also realized when I was collecting ingredients, that I didn't have any Parsley :( I think you definitely want to add it, because it will help add a little color to the dish.

When you get to the part of scooping out the potato innards, make sure you are slow and careful. One false move, and you have a torn potato, which is not so great in the presentation department (still yummy though)!

As I am sure you have already figured out....I loved this dish. I didn't really balance it out with any veggies, but I can say I was absolutely stuffed!

Here are the facts:

Taste: Second please!!!!

Waist: Tighten your belt a notch.....add a salad and you have a whole dinner around 400 calories

Shrimp Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

6 medium potatoes

3 tsp Canola oil

4 tbsp Smart Balance Light

2 cups, grated 2% Mexican mix cheese (reserve 2 tbsp for topping potatoes)

2 cups light sour cream

1/2 tsp salt substitute

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp parsley

12oz shrimp, peeled and deveined

Paprika

Rub 6 potatoes with 1 tsp canola oil. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

Sautee shrimp in a medium frying pan in 2 tsp Canola oil, drain. Set 6 whole shrimp to the side and chop the remaining shrimp.

Mix together the chopped shrimp, cheese, sour cream, salt sub, pepper and parsley.

When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and cut the top third off. Carefully scoop out the inside of the potatoes and add it to the shrimp mixture. Using an electric mixer, mix thoroughly. Gently re-stuff the potatoes with the new shrimp mixture. Top each potato with one whole shrimp, 1 tsp cheese and paprika for color.

Bake the potatoes for another 20-30 minutes or until browned. Enjoy!

Finally....

2010-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

After last week's disasters (think Racoon Repellent and some inedible chowder), I was ready for a winner. These recipe modifications are fun and and exciting to test out, but they're actually a little bit of work. We review each recipe, figure our modifications and the type in the recipes and get calculations for both. Then we have to actually make the recipe, remember to take pictures and whip out some witty commentary about our adventures. Not to mention a lot of her recipes include lots of chopping and dish-dirty-ing. Usually the whole process is super fun, but when you knock out two duds in a row, it's discouraging.

I approached Paula Deen's recipe for Gumbo with mediocre enthusiasm, but got to work, because this recipe had several steps and involved a lot of sitting and simmering.

I used cooking spray instead of oil and turkey sausage instead of regular sausage to cut out some fat and calories.

I made my roux with Smart Balance Light and Whole Wheat flour.

I didn't make any exceptions to the veggies, but did omit the salt and used dried parsley. I wish they sold frozen chopped celery. Is it just me or does it take forever to chop??

I was looking for some low sodium beef bullion or something similar and there just wasn't much. There was low sodium beef broth, but no bullion. I did find this stuff, though.

I don't know too much about broths and bullions and bases, but this beef base was lower in salt than all of the bullion cubes by ~200 mg. It's not much, but making a recipe healthier is all about finding a balance of health and taste, so I decided to give it a try.

Once all that was cooking, I added the pre-cooked chicken and turkey sausage to the roux and veggie mix and let it do its thing in the pot. After 45 minutes of simmering, I added the frozen okra and tomatoes.

I actually forgot to add the green onion and I omitted the shrimp (I know it's part of the recipe, but I just couldn't do it!! I needed a winner!! I did include it in the recipe and nutritional breakdown, though).

I served it with some frozen corn muffins I made to go with my failed chowder last week and YUM!! It was so good. I just ate, but I think I could eat some more. I would imagine adding shrimp wouldn't hurt, if you like shrimp, but I thought it was absolutely delicious as it was! Finally!

Here's the stats, still high in sodium, mostly in part to not using low sodium canned tomatoes and the turkey sausage.

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 8	Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 511	Calories: 330
Fat: 30.9 g	Fat: 10.3 g
Sodium: 1678 mg	Sodium: 1412 mg
Fiber: 2.8 g	Fiber: 3.4 g

And here's the winning recipe!

Some Good Gumbo
3 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves, chopped
1 pound turkey smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 tablespoons Smart Balance light margarine
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
5 tsp Better Than Bullion Paste
1 (14-ounce can) stewed tomatoes with juice
2 cups frozen sliced okra
4 green onions, sliced, white and green parts
1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

Spray a large pot with cooking spray and cook the chicken until browned on both sides and remove. Add the turkey sausage and cook until browned, then remove. Sprinkle the flour over the remaining juices, add 2 tablespoons of margarine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until brown, about 10 minutes. Let the roux cool.

Return the Dutch oven to low heat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, pepper, to taste and the 1/4 bunch parsley. Cook, while stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add 4 cups hot water and bouillon paste, whisking constantly. Add the chicken and turkey sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving add the green onions, shrimp and chopped parsley.

Simple Sunday

2010-08-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

I love pizza for so many reasons. It's a familiar comfort food. It's warm and tasty and gooey. It's easy, especially if you have it delivered or if you "make" it yourself (i.e. take it out of the freezer and pop it in the oven).Unfortunately, those methods usually also give you over-sized portions and tons of extra fat. I have a recipe that's simple and lower in fat that is great for busy days.

I use whole wheat pitas as the crust and turkey pepperoni, diced garlic, some veggies as my toppings. All you do is pile on your toppings and toss it in the oven and wait for it to bake. It doesn't get any simpler that that!

And when it's done (in a whopping 10 minutes!), you have a delicious filling entree!

Yes, that is fruit cocktail. And that's salad from a bag. This is Simple Sunday, after all!

Much lower in fat, but I will admit, still very high in sodium. You could lower it by making your own marinara or omitting the turkey pepperoni and adding extra veggies or some fresh meat.

What's your favorite go-to meal on busy nights??

Here's the stats:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 373

Fat: 1.4 g

Sodium: 994 mg

Fiber: 8.5 g

And the recipe:

FNF Pita Pizza

1 whole wheat pita
1/4 c marinara sauce
1/4 c mozzarella cheese
1/2 tbsp diced garlic
~10 spinach leaves
6 turkey pepperoni rounds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place pita on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Cover with marinara, then the garlic, then cheese. Top with spinach and turkey pepperoni.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Frozen Friday

2010-08-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Houston is hot. Hot and humid. When I get home after a 5 minute bike ride (yes, only five minutes!) from the train station, I'm red-faced, sweaty and gross. On the days that I walk, I feel like I'm walking in the hot mouth of a mouth breathing giant. It's bad.

So what do I want when I finally make it home? Ice Cream!! But if I had ice cream every time it was hot in Houston, well, let's just say I would need to invest in several pairs of sweat pants. A healthier alternative is popsicles!

Right as the weather turned from warm to miserable, I bought a set of popsicle molds. I think I spent $20, but I've used them a lot! It was a great investment. You can mix and match any flavors and make it as healthy (or as decadent) as you want.

I had a couple of overripe bananas, so I blended them up with some frozen pineapple, some reduced sugar OJ and some Splenda. You could probably omit the Splenda, but I feel like it adds a little sweetness so I feel like I'm getting a treat.

Pour the liquidy concoction into the mold and let it freeze. Three hours later, you'll have a cool treat! The best part is each of these pops is only 30 calories!

What's your favorite freezer treat? Know any good popsicle recipes?

Stay cool!

FNF Trop Pops

3 small bananas
3/4 c frozen pineapple
1/2 c light orange juice
1/4 c Splenda

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and chill for at least three hours.

I'm Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!!

2010-08-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

After last weekends Salmon Mousse disaster, I was ready for something a little less . . . mousse-y. So I was psyched to try Paula Deen's recipe for Poblano Chicken Chowder. It looked much more appetizing!

I pre-chopped all of the veggies before I left for South Carolina so they wouldn't get all soft and limpy and it ended up being a huge time saver! I also decided to use cornstach because the whole butter and flour roux looked like too much work and would dirty another dish. I subbed fat free half and half for the heavy cream and omitted the salt.

The original recipe called for 3 quarts of chicken broth. Even though I normally cut the recipes in half, that still seemed like a ton of fluid, so I cut it back to just one quart. I usually like my soups thicker and less runny.

And here's the final product:

Looks good, doesn't it?! It was SUPER HOT! I couldn't even eat it and I eat just about everything! I ended up baking a potato in the microwave the next night and added it hoping it would reduce the spice and it helped a little bit. But still hot enough to declare this a failure. Argh!!!

How do you bust out of a recipe rut of failures??

Here's the stats. I know normally Kat and I complain that the original recipes underestimate serving sizes, I think this one actually overestimates with 12 servings! I double checked the ingredients in our recipe calculator because ~100 calories seemed kind of low, so I think the serving size is just super small (so keep that in mind if you decide to try this recipe).

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 12	Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 278	Calories: 103
Fat: 21 g	Fat: 5 g
Sodium: 1238 mg	Sodium: 386 mg
Fiber: 1.6 g	Fiber: 2 g

And here's the recipe, if you like things HOT!!

Chicken, Potato and Poblano Chowder

1/4 c olive oil
3 large carrots, diced
2 large onions, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
1/8 c garlic, minced
2 to 3 poblano peppers
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp chicken bullion granules
1 quart low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 c diced chicken2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c fat free half and half
1 medium Russet potato, baked

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, white pepper, cumin and thyme. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bullion, chicken broth, cilantro and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through.

In a separate bowl, mix ~1 c broth from the soup mix with the corn starch until smooth. Add to the large pot and mix.

Remove the pot from the heat and add the half and half. If it's too hot, chop up the baked potato and gently mix in.

Turkey Spirals

2010-08-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Writers block!!!

I actually cooked this recipe a few weeks ago, and even though it was delicious, I don't remember much about the experience (aka I don't have a very cool and cheeky story to open this blog).

Anyway, I made some delicious turkey spirals that weren't exactly what Paula was planning with her original recipe, but I think it worked great!

I had a really hard time finding the pasta shells that Paula recommended in whole wheat. I figured if we were going to have a pasta dish I would at least add some fiber. Instead I found whole wheat lasagna noodles which lead to my spiral idea!

Once I had the noodles cooked and the stuffing prepared, I layed the noodles down on wax paper and started spreading the stuffing. I left a little room on either end to make for a clean roll.

I then set the rolls up in the casserole dish and topped them with the spaghetti sauce. They baked in the oven for about 45 minutes and came out as delicious little single serve turkey rolls!

Even though this recipe took several pots and pans....and minutes, it was worth the work.!

Paula's recipe said it feeds 6-8 but I couldn't imagine 3 lbs of meat and 1 lb of noodles, plus the extras feeding only 6-8 people! I went ahead and calculated the old recipe facts based on her recipe feeding 13. That means there would have been almost 1300 calories per original serving!!!

Here are all of the facts:

Taste: Seconds...Actually Thirds Please!

Waist: Tighten Your Belt A Notch (pair with some vegetables and a small starch)

Turkey Spirals
30 oz chopped spinach (thawed and drained well)
2 lbs 95% fat ground turkey
1 package fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan + 4 tsp for topping
2 lg onions, chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup egg substitute
13 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups pasta sauce
1 cup chopped tomato

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown turkey in large frying pan, drain. Mix turkey with spinach, cream cheese, seasoning, Parmesan (minus topping), onions, egg substitute.

Lay noodles flat on wax paper. Spread turkey mixture evenly across noodles, leaving 2 inches on each end empty. Roll noodles into a spiral and stand up in a casserole dish. Top the spirals with the pasta sauce, tomatoes, and Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Definitely Not a Bust!

2010-08-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Rusty and I love to eat seafood...I however, do not love salmon. Therefore, I was not so thrilled to try these salmon croquettes. The only redeeming factor for this recipe was that it was just like crab cakes, without the crab.

I particularly enjoyed this recipe because it required very few ingredients. So many of our new and improved recipes call for every ingredient, pot and pan in your kitchen. That is not something I want to come home to...and as my husband knows....I HATE DOING DISHES!

Four medium patties....

One complaint I did have, was that they kept falling apart. I think if they were deep fried they would have stuck together, but that defeats the whole purpose of this blog :(

I chose the 2 patties that were the prettiest...Sorry Rusty!

The recipe is not very low calorie. The fat was decreased simply because I didn;t deep fry these little guys. Also, you get more fiber using high fiber bread for your crumbs. I ended up eating two of the patties, but 1 probably would have been satisfying. Here are the facts:

Taste: Seconds Please

Waist: Pull out the sweatpants (if you want 2)

Salmon Cakes

2 cans salmon
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tbsp Green Onions, chopped
1 high fiber sandwich thin, processed to fine crumbs
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix all ingredients except the the canola oil and 4 tbsp bread crumbs. Form the mixture into patties. Roll in bread crumbs. Pan fry in the canola oil in a medium frying pan. Cook until the outside is crispy and the inside is heated through. Flip halfway through cooking.

Racoon Repellent

2010-08-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

We love Paula Deen's cooking. Most of her recipes look so decadent and delicious that we can feel our salivary glands tingling with anticipation. There are a lot of recipes that look so amazing we both want to make them, but one of us has to bow out. Paula Deen's Salmon Mousse with Dill Sauce is not one of those recipes. Neither of us wanted this one, but somehow I ended up with it. I wanted to go into it with an open mind, so I decided to save it when I cooked for a group of people so I could get a good sampling of opinions.

I spent a long weekend visiting my brother and his lovely family in Charleston and got to see my parents when they drove up for a couple of days. It was the perfect opportunity to test out my lightened version!

I used fat free whipped cream and mayo for the salmon mouse to lighten it up. For the dill sauce, I swapped fat free plain Greek Yogurt for sour cream and again used he fat free mayo.

I didn't have a fish mold, so just used a regular bowl to let the mousse set in. Here's the final product:

And what did everyone think of the final product??

Here's my Dad taking a bite....

Even my lovely little niece agreed to try it...

My mom (who is our most loyal Foodies Not Fatties reader) tried to be optimistic. I'm sure she just tolerated it because she's my mom and that's what moms do.

There was one taste tester who actually liked this "salmon jello," as my brother called it.

Everyone was nice enough to take a bite, but we still had a lot left. Greg (my brother) said he would leave it in the trash to keep the racoons away.

Since I'm out of town, I'm not on my usual computer so I don't have the nutrition graph, so I'll post it when I get back. But I will say that the lightened version cut the calories by over 100 calories and was much lower in fat. So I guess if you're the kind of person that likes salmon jello, definitely try this recipe. But if you just have some salmon, I'd use it in a different recipe.

Taste: I'll Pass!!

Waist: Tighten Your Belt a Notch!

What was the last recipe disaster you tried??

Here's the recipe, if you dare!

Racoon Repellent Mousse (a.k.a Salmon Jello)

Salmon Mousse:

1 unflavored gelatin

1/4 c cold water with 1/2 c boiling water for gelatin

1/2 c fat free or light mayo

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp grated onion

2 drops hot sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

2 c salmon, flaked into small pieces

2 tbsp drained capers

1 c fat free whipped cream

lemon slices

1 bunch parsley, washed and dried

Dill Sauce:

1 English cucumber, peeled, grated and drained for an hour

1 c nonfat Greek yogurt

1 c fat free or light mayo

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

2/3 c fresh dill, finely chopped

Grease a 6 cup fish mold with cooking spray. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Add the boiling water and stir well until the gelatin has dissolved. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lime juice, onion, hot sauce, paprika and mix well. Fold in the salmon and capers. Add the whipped cream and continue folding until everything is well combined. Pour the mixture into the mold. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in a refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.

To make the dill sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

To serve, unmold the salmon mousse and serve the dill sauces along the side. Surround with parsley.

A Very Tardy Simple Sunday

2010-08-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

We have Turkey Spaghetti every single week. Rusty and I have found that it is very inexpensive, and very delicious. Often we will pair it with baked zucchini. Sometimes we will drizzle the sliced zucchini with olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Lately we have really enjoyed slicing the zucchini, dipping it in egg whites and dredging the slices in Italian bread crumbs. Both recipe bake very well.

For the Turkey Spaghetti I will typically start out heating about 2 tsp of canola oil in a skillet. I will typically put a dash of seasoning in the oil before adding the turkey. Lately, we have been using a great Garlic and Wine seasoning from the Melting Pot. I am sure that it is full of salt, but it is delicious.

I had a really big afternoon snack before I cooked dinner. So this photo shows my smaller portion. I have set up the nutrition facts for my typical portion size, 1 cup of spaghetti noodles and ½ cup sauce.

Here are the facts:

Turkey Spaghetti
1 lb 97% fat free ground turkey
1 can Hunt’s pasta sauce
1 box whole wheat pasta
2 tsp Canola oil
Seasoning of choice

Boil 4-5 cups water in a medium pot. Add pasta and cook for ~10 minutes or until cooked to desired texture. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil and seasoning in a large skillet. Add ground turkey and cook thoroughly. Drain meat and return to skillet. Add can of pasta sauce. Cook until heated through.

Serve warm sauce over bed of pasta. Enjoy!

Frozen Friday!

2010-08-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

This month's weekday theme is Frozen Friday. We have some great treats in store for everybody!

What is your favorite frozen treat?

I happened to use this theme as a great excuse for a new kitchen gadget. I have always had the Kitchen Aide Mixer but have only had the meat grinder attachment. Though it has come in handy after many hunting seasons, it is not near as much fun as an ice cream maker! Enter my new toy:

KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment

All you do is freeze the bowl overnight and attach it to the mixer! Just mix your favorite blend for ice cream, sorbet or sherbet! This week I thought I would try a mix of treats that would please my hubby.

For my ice cream concoction, I made a Lower Fat Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. All I had to do was mix the dairy products, add the sugar and put it in the attachment. If you are adding any sort of fruit or cookie to the ice cream, Kitchen Aide recommends waiting until the last 5 minutes of the mixing process to add them.

The ice cream turned out to be pretty delicious. I will say there are a few changes I would have made. Since a low fat ice cream tends to have less of a creamy mouth feel, I would serve this directly out of the mixer as "soft serve" versus freezing it for your typical ice cream texture. Also, make sure you chop up the strawberries as small as possible. I might even go as far as to say they would be great if you spin them in your food processor. Since mine had bigger chunks, after the freezing process, it felt like you were eating strawberry ice!

Here are the stats of my recipe:

Taste: Seconds, Please! (If it is soft serve)

Waist: Tighten Your Belt A Notch! (If you stick to one, very satisfying 1/2 cup serving...it always helps to put smaller servings in smaller, cute dishes to disguise its size!)

Low Fat Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

½ cup sugar
½ cup Splenda
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup fat free half and half
½ cup 1% milk
2 tbsp egg substitute
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped strawberries
4 oz fat free cream cheese, melted
Crushed Graham crackers (topping)

Mix all ingredients, except fruit, together. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour. Pour into ice cream machine and prepare according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add strawberries in the last 5 minutes of mixing. Top with 1/2 tsp crushed low fat graham crackers. Enjoy!

Almost Gumbo Casserole

2010-08-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

One this recipe was put together; it reminded me of a great shrimp gumbo…minus the juice. Cooks beware, this recipe is very time consuming and, well, pan consuming. At one point I think I had 3 pans on my stove and my food processor going!

What is a favorite recipe that takes almost every pan in the kitchen?

The original recipe called for canned cream of mushroom soup. I tried to cut some of the fat and sodium by using a sauteed mushroom and cauliflower puree. Since I changed things up a bit, as we usually do, this recipe had lots of ingredients! Here they are:

One thing I wish I would have done is chop up the shrimp before mixing it with the rice. The shrimp, whole, are just too big when you scoop out the casserole. I might also add a little low sodium vegetable broth to the mixture before baking. My casserole was a little too dry, but I did cook it in a bigger casserole dish, so it may have just too much surface are when it baked.

Up close and personal....

The sodium was changed quite a bit! This dish is still on a higher end of calories but paired with lower calorie vegtables, would be a great dinner!

Shrimp and Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
¾ cup wild rice
½ cup brown rice
14 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp Smart Balance, Light
½ green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cauliflower, cooked and pureed
1 cup mushrooms, sautéed and pureed
1 ½ cups 2% Cheddar
¼ tsp salt substitute
½ tsp black pepper
Canola oil spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cook the rice in 2 cups water until almost all of the water is absorbed. Set aside.

Bring 2 cups of water to boil and cook shrimp for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt Smart Balance in saucepan and sauté the bell pepper and onion until soft.

In a large bowl, mix together the rice, shrimp, cauliflower, mushrooms, 1 cup cheese, salt substitute, pepper, and sautéed vegetables. Spray an 11 by 7-inch casserole dish with canola oil. Pour the shrimp mixture into dish and sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

More Shrimp, Y'all

2010-08-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

As Kat had mentioned before, I really don't like shrimp. I want to, just like I want to like beets, edamame and tofu, but I just don't like them. I think it's their rubbery texture. It doesn't matter if it's perfectly steamed or coated and fried, I just can't help but feel like I'm chewing on baby fingers. But I didn't think it was fair to make Kat cook all the shrimp recipes (because that would mean her house would be having shrimp until the end of this little experiment), so I ended up with a couple in my pile. Luckily, with Paula Deen's recipe for Potato Soup with Shrimp, I was able to make my portion shrimp-free.

I used skim milk and fat free half and half, opted for reduced fat cheese and a leaner turkey bacon. This recipe included a little bit more prep work. There was lots of chopping and pre-cooking. I worked diligently while my kitchen assistant looked on....

I cooked enough shrimp to add to my boyfriend's bowl and mixed it in at the end. Here's my serving, sans-shrimp and topped with turkey bacon and reduced fat cheddar cheese.

It was very tasty! Cody said his shrimp version was OK. But he has a very succinct rating scale: Good, Bad or OK. And in the 4 years we've been together, only and handful of recipes I've made for him have earned a "Good" rating (surely, it couldn't be my cooking!?!). So I'm taking that to mean this was something he'd eat again if I made it.

Here's the stats:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 6	Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 669	Calories: 449
Fat: 31 g	Fat: 16 g
Sodium: 1875 mg	Sodium: 943 mg
Fiber: 4 g	Fiber: 2 g

Kat and I were talking today about the original serving sizes and we think they're way off. Her recipe says it serves 6. I cut the recipe down by 75%, so I should have ended up with only 1.5 servings but I ended up with 4 very reasonable servings. I left the servings the same in the table for the sake of comparison.

My ratings:

Taste: Seconds, Please!

Waist: (if you have limit your serving to 1 to 1 1/2 cups, instead of using the original serving size) Tighten Your Belt a Notch!

What foods do you wish you liked??

Shrimpy Potato Soup

1/4 c tub margarine
1 small onion
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 medium carrots, diced
8 medium Russet potatoes, cubed
4 c skim milk
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 c fat free half and half
1/4 tsp pepper
2 c water
1 lb shrimp
chopped turkey bacon
shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

In a large sauce pan, melt the margarine and saute the onion and carrots until both are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the whole wheat flour and cook for 1 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk and bullion cubes. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to turn to mush. Add the half and half and pepper.

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add the shrimp all at once and stir well. Cook 2-3 minutes or until they all turn pink. Remove from water and chop into big chunks.

Add the shrimp to the soup and stir well. Top each serving of soup with turkey bacon and cheese.

Chicken Party!

2010-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

My college roommate/one of my best friends and her husband were coming to Houston for a night out on the town with us. I thought this kabob recipe would be a crowd pleaser that would be easy to prep ahead of time. I was right!

What is your go-to dish when you have a group over?

The original recipe called for an original marinade. The marinade had a lot of oil in it so I thought I might switch things up Texas style.

The magic ingredient isn’t pictured because it was a game time addition! I thought a good Texas light beer would add flavor and lighten things up a bit.

Paula’s recipe calls to marinate the meat and veggies for 4-6 hours. After reading several of the reviews for the recipe, I decided to only marinate the meat for about 1 hour. Most of the reviews commented on the fact that the meat was too tenderized. Pineapple is a natural tenderizer, breaking the meat down as you marinate it. It is a great thing to add to a marinade for tough meat, but too much time and your meat may be mush.

The final product wasn’t too bad!

We paired it with Penny’s Twice Baked Potatoes (not so healthy)…

and some great company!

The results:

Taste: I guess I'll Eat It ( Good flavor but not the most amazing thing I've eaten)

Waist: Tighten Your Belt A Notch (Paired with a grilled veggie and a lighter starch and you have a dinner for ~400 calories)

Drunk Chicken and Shrimp Kabobs

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Canola oil
3 limes, juiced
½ cup light beer
1 tbsp Splenda
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 red bell peppers, cut into one inch pieces
1 onion, cut into one inch pieces
2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 large chicken breasts, cut into one inch pieces
½ pound shrimp, de-veined and peeled

If using wooden skewers, soak in water before grilling.

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lime juice, beer, Splenda, red pepper. Pour mixture over thawed chicken and shrimp and cover. Let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat grill to 350 to 400 degrees.

Using skewers, thread 1 piece of chicken, 1 piece of pepper, 1 piece of onion, and one piece of pineapple, alternating to fill the entire skewer. Do the same using the shrimp.

Place the chicken kabobs on the grill, cover with grill lid, and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked to 165 degrees.

Place shrimp kabobs on the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Remove from grill and enjoy!