Simple Summer Tips

From sea to shining sea, Monday’s Unofficial Start of Summer kicked the season off with scorching record heat and choking humidity across much of the South. During these hotter than average days, it’s crucial to take care of your total self: Body, mind and soul.

For a simple start, check your area for a local farmers’ market. Maybe it’s just my inner hippie talking, but I find it really relaxing to throw on my shades and idle from booth to booth checking out the goods folks have on display. Maybe I just love free samples. Regardless of your motivations, summer finds a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables ripe for the choosing. Pick some up for a Saturday night cookout; you’ll enjoy the good-for-your-soul feeling of supporting local farmers while getting your daily dose of deliciousness.

When it comes to working out, it’s really important to stay well hydrated during this oppressive heat. But don’t make the mistake of simply taking water with you for outdoor activities. If you’re planning a hike or long run, you should also make sure to get your eight full servings of liquid (preferably water!) the day before your workout. If you try to drink a lot too close to your workout, you’ll probably juggle between the need to pee and an icky, sloshy stomach—neither of which is pleasant.

The thing I love most about summer is the ability to unplug and get outside. As I noted a few posts ago, I thrive in warmer weather. I bet if you’re reading this, chances are you’re a lot like me: Working 9 to 5 in a climate-controlled environment, sitting in front of a computer screen and watching the sun shine through a window that doesn’t open. Check your area for outdoorsy things to do, then get out and do them! Here in Tennessee we are blessed with the beautiful Smoky Mountains, as well as lots of blueways for water sports like kayaking and paddle boarding. Take one day and turn your phone off and switch your senses on. Suffer the sunburns and bug bites. Even if you don’t love the great outdoors, you’ll come away with a greater appreciation of the luxuries our daily lives do afford us.

Finally, remember that seasons are just that: A transition. Before you know it, the long hot days will give way to early sunsets and the cool crunch of fallen leaves. Practice daily gratitude for the moments you have experienced, and you’ll soon find that attitude transcending into every other facet of your life.

Kristen’s Grilled Panzanella

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers
2 zucchini
2 summer squash
2 red onions
2 large tomatoes
1 whole grain baguette
Olive oil mister or cooking spray

For the dressing

1 bunch fresh basil (about 20 leaves), roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons garlic
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, mix all dressing ingredients together and chill.

Cut all vegetables and bread in half lengthwise. Lightly mist with olive oil. Grill over medium heat until bread is toasted and vegetables are cooked (about 3-4 minutes per side, flipping once).

Cube grilled veggies and bread, then toss in dressing. Good warm; great as leftovers the next day after the bread has absorbed some of the dressing!

It’s Like Banana Cake, But It’s Ice Cream

Ingredients:

Light vanilla frozen yogurt
Bananas
Walnuts

For two servings, mix 1 cup frozen yogurt and 1 frozen peeled banana in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add in 1 ounce of walnuts and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Pour into 2 bowls and freeze for 30 minutes. Serve in chilled bowls.

Olé!

I may be going to Mexico, but that’s actually not what this post is about. I’ll save my “Did I survive a healthy  but satisfying vacation?” post for when I return.

This post, dear reader, is about one of my favorite things:

Olé High Fiber Tortillas

These babies only have 2 grams of fat, 71 calories and 5 carbs per tortilla. As an added awesome bonus, they also have 8 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber! For people watching PointsPlus, that’s only 1 PP per tortilla. Amazing!

I recently found that they also have different flavors, including tomato basil and spinach and herb. I used a tomato basil wrap with my dinner last night. It was fantastic! For any skeptics out there, these aren’t your regular cardboard-tasting, health-food-junkie tortillas. I can honestly say that they taste really good, have a great texture (just like a plain flour tortilla) and are super stats friendly.

Food that tastes great and is great for you? Olé, indeed!

Easy Italian Quesadillas

• 1 Olé! Tomato Basil Tortilla
• 2 oz. sandwich-style chicken or turkey
• 1 oz. goat cheese (or whatever cheese you like)
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach
• 2 teaspoon pesto or 1 tablespoon of hummus
• Roasted bell peppers, olives, artichokes—whatever veggies you like

Place all ingredients in the tortilla and cook like a normal quesadilla. PointsPlus value: 5. Tasty value: off the chain.

 

 

More is Less…

…or How Buying in Bulk Can Help You Stay in Shape.

I only recently discovered the joy that is Sam’s Club (or Costco or whatever your favorite big-box-bulk retailer may be). While the aisles of free samples—Chicken wings! Jalapeno poppers! Cheesecake!—can definitely sidetrack your daily goals, with a go-to plan and list in hand, you truly can stock up to slim down.

Bulk Shopping Things to Avoid:

The candy aisle. A no-brainer, but it’s pretty tempting.

Chips/pretzels/crackers—any crunchy carb. If you shouldn’t eat a lot of it, don’t buy a lot of it.

Frozen meals/prepared stuff: Prepared pastas, meats/fish, any sort of frozen sandwich is a pitfall of starch, sodium and fat. The one exception is frozen turkey burgers.

Impulse items. You’ve got a list, so stick to it. I often fall prey to picking up a 12-pack of Sobe Slenderize or 2-for-1 tortillas, but if I don’t really have a need for it, I’m spending unnecessarily—so for me it’s often less about calories and more about cost. However, impulse items are usually bought when we’re at the store and hungry, so that 24-pack of cinnamon rolls seems too good to resist. They’re not. Read any impulse item’s label and remember your goals; if you’re buying it in bulk, it better be worth it long term!

Bulk Shopping Things That Are Awesome:

Unprepared frozen foods: Frozen fish (raw/unprepared), frozen fruit (unsweetened), frozen veggies (without any sauces or seasonings). You can do so much with a bag of raw frozen tuna fillets—it’s truly amazing. However, if that fish is swimming in olive oil and Cajun seasoned, you’re kind of limited at that point. Likewise, sugar-covered blueberries and butter-coated carrots counteract the benefits of eating your fruits and veggies. Buy ‘em plain, then you can control the seasonings/sweeteners you use.

Fresh fruit/veggies: Grapes. Bananas. Pears. Dates. Spinach. Those are my top-five fresh foods that I buy every single grocery trip. I mix a banana with frozen blueberries and some Greek yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast—making a healthy mix of carbs, protein and dairy that powers me through my morning. I toss my dates/spinach together in a salad (see this previous post for a recipe).  I just snack on pears any time, usually with some roasted almonds. Sometimes I will bake pears off with a little granola for a quickie crumble that hits the spot. Regardless of your fresh fruit/veggie preferences, I’m willing to bet that if you stock your fridge or counter with fresh goodies, they’ll be eaten.

Nuts/snack bars: You can get a giant container of Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds for $10. Simple, delicious, satisfying. Always check the label, but you can also satisfy between-meal cravings with Fiber One/Nature Valley snack bars and save big by buying big.

Bottom line:

I find it best to grocery shop with the week’s meals in mind. I usually hit Sam’s Club for the staples I know I will want/need a lot of—fruit, spinach, canned broth, etc.—and then swing by Kroger to pick up recipe-specific ingredients. It takes a little extra time, sure, but it ends up saving money and giving me more healthy choices at home. And when you’re maintaining a healthy lifestyle, that type of more really does add up to less.

 

 

Chip’ins

Yesterday I discovered the deceptively delicious Chip’ins at Walmart.

Made from whole grain popcorn, you get 18-20 chips for 2-4 grams of fat. They are only 4PP per serving and come in flavors such as Sea Salt, Hot Buffalo Wing, White Cheddar and Jalapeno Ranch. I’ve only tried the Wing flavor, but it was super tasty! These are now officially a pantry staple in our household.

 

“I’m a Summer Olympics kind of girl.”

My quote to Eric after the seventh or eighth time I landed ass-up on the snow trying to ski. While I had a wonderful time regardless, I have to confess: I’m not a snow bunny. Give me the white stuff from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, then send it packing and bring back 80 degrees and sunny, please.

So with that in mind, I’ve come to a realization. I began this blog during my WeightWatchers journey as an outlet to share recipes for people who also want to live a healthy lifestyle. It went strong for a few months, but if you look back, it really started to wear off as the weather began to warm up.

These things are not unrelated.

I’m from the South, so our cold season is brief. But it’s still winter. I stay cooped up indoors, achieving skin so dry it might qualify as leather in some designer’s eyes (assuming freckles are in this season). But when the sun comes out and my shorts go on, I spend less time after work on my computer and more time gardening, hiking, kayaking, tanning and generally sucking in the beauty of Tennessee.

So that explains one side of my lack of posting: summer. But winter has come, and with it the holiday season and other distractions. My real reason for failing to blog as regularly as I should has honestly been Recipe Overload. This winter I’ve cooked a new recipe 2 to 3 days a week. If I blogged everything I thought turned out great, I’d be doing this full time.

So while I’ve hit my goal weight, that in no way means my journey has ended. As long as I live, I’m sure I will face challenges because I simply love food. So instead of just posting recipes, I’ve decided to turn this blog into more of a healthy lifestyle/suggestions/tips/insights place. I’ll still post links to recipes and reviews, but I’ll also post more about things I see/do/hear that make maintaining a healthy lifestyle easier for me.

I’ll leave you, until next time, with one of my favorite things.

Deceptively Decadent Date Salad – 4 PointsPlus

• 3-4 cups washed fresh spinach leaves
• 4-6 fresh dates (NOT dried!), chopped
• .5 oz. crumbled goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons Ken’s Steakhouse Fat Free Raspberry Pecan Dressing

Put everything together in a to-go container and pop it in your lunchbox. When noon comes, shake it to mix well and enjoy a sweet, filling lunch that puts most restaurant salads to shame.

Turkey Lasagna and Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Inspiration: Weight Watchers Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

Review: Can comfort food really be good for you? Can cheese and pasta really be low in POINTS? Yes, it can; and yes, it can! You can have your lasagna and eat it too if you follow this recipe. Like any lasagna, it’s pretty easy to assemble, but takes a little while (I’d say start making it at least 2 hours before your event time). I’ll break it down in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. The green beans that go with this are totally amazing and worth the time for the flavor!

Turkey Lasagna Ingredients and Directions

Pasta Layer

• 9 no-cook lasagna noodles

Cheese Layer

• 1 – 15 oz. container low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 and 1/2 cups – low-fat mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
• 1 egg white, beaten

Mix all cheeses and and beaten egg white together in a bowl. Set aside.

Meat Layer

• 1/2 lb. sweet turkey sausage
• 1/4 lb. extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add in the sausage and ground turkey, cooking until no longer pink. Once finished, turn off heat and set aside.

Sauce Layer

• 1 – 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 3 – 15 oz. cans Italian style tomatoes (or fire roasted with garlic; whatever you like) (or 1 can of tomatoes and 2 cups of thick/chunk store-bought or homemade pasta sauce)
• 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor and puree. Set aside.

Top Layer

1/2 cup shaved parmesan

To Build the Lasagna

Spray a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish, then top with 3 lasagna noodles. Top those noodles with 1/2 of the cheese mixture, then half of the meat mixture. Top with another 1/4 of the sauce. Add on 3 more noodles, then top with remaining meat and cheese. Top with another 1/4 of the sauce. Finally, top off the dish with the final 3 noodles and cover with  remaining tomato sauce.

Press all of your noodles down firmly, making sure sauce penetrates all layers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan, then cover with foil and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven 350 degrees.

Cook lasagna, covered in foil, for about 40 minutes. After time is up, remove the foil and finish for about 10–15 minutes. Pasta should be bubbling and the top should be lightly browned.

Let cool for 10–15 minutes, then serve.

Serves: 8

POINTS: 7

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

• 1/2 a large vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon light butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 – 15 oz. cans Italian cut green beans, drained
• salt and pepper

Directions

Over low heat, melt butter into the olive oil. Add in onions and cook on low heat for 20–30 minutes, until onions are a deep caramel color. You’ll need to keep a close eye on them so they will brown but not burn. Once the onions are caramelized, raise the heat and add in the drained green beans. Heat through, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 6

POINTS: Zero

Italian Spinach and Orzo Soup

Inspiration: Tuscan Chicken Soup from the latest Weight Watchers recipe book

Review: What a quick, easy and satisfying recipe. It’s finally Autumn here in Tennessee, and I couldn’t be happier—I’ve been in a soup-making mood for a month! This hearty meal is sure to fill you up without needing a lot of extra sides. I paired ours with a simple side salad; a crusty slice of multigrain bread wouldn’t hurt, either. Apologies again for the lack of photos.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 8 oz. fresh spinach
• 2 – 15 oz. cans fat free chicken broth
• 1  – 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can diced Italian style tomatoes, undrained
• 1–2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• freshly chopped parsley (option garnish)

Directions:

Spray a large soup pot with cooking spray over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until translucent, then add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add in the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up as much as possible.

Once the turkey is cooked, add in your fresh spinach and cook until slightly wilted. After the spinach wilts, add in rinsed the chickpeas, tomatoes, chicken broth, orzo and Italian seasoning. Stir well and add in 1 or 2 cups of water, depending on how much broth you want your soup to have (see note below). Bring the soup to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot; an option garnish of fresh chopped parsley would be divine.

Serves: 4 hearty, 2+ cup servings

POINTS: 7

Note: If you have leftovers, the orzo will absorb a LOT of the liquid; I recommend using at least 2 cups of water in the recipe if  you’re planning on having it again a second night.

Banana Pudding For A Crowd

Note: Again, this is mainly a go-to guide for folks from yesterday’s barbecue. No pics here.

While there are some really great made-from-scratch banana pudding recipes out there, I find that this simple take on an old favorite always goes over well. The best part is, no one will even realize it’s low fat if you don’t spill the beans. I discovered that myself just yesterday!

Banana Pudding For A Crowd

Ingredients:

• 2 – 3.4 oz. packages of fat free, sugar free Instant Jell-O Pudding mix in vanilla flavor
• 6 cups cold fat free milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 box of reduced fat vanilla wafers
• 6 medium bananas, sliced
• 3 cups light Cool Whip

Directions:

Prepare pudding according to package directions, mixing both packets together with 6 cups of milk. I found it worked best mixing for 3–5 minutes in my stand mixer’s metal bowl to help it gel. Once the pudding sets, mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in sliced bananas and vanilla wafers gently, careful not to break them while still incorporating them evenly throughout the mix. Top with cool whip and chill  at least 2–3 hours before serving.

Serves: 20 (about 3/4 cup serving)

POINTS: 4

Potato Salad

Note: This is a pretty informal post, but I thought I’d share some insight.

Potato salad is often overdone. Too many sauces. Too many ingredients. Too much trouble. If you want an easy, staple recipe that is sure to get rave reviews, stick to this. The keys are high quality ingredients and building the salad in layers. You can scale the amount up or down, depending on how many you need to feed.

Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red potatoes, cubed
• 2 medium bell peppers (I use one red and another of a different color—yellow, orange or green)
• 1 small red onion
• 1/2 cup low fat Hellman’s mayo (It must be Hellman’s or Best Brand. Go cheap and suffer the consequences.)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Cube your potatoes and put them in a large pot of water. Rinse them once, then drain the starchy water. Refill the pot with water, just covering the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain potatoes in a colander and let them cool for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut your peppers in a large dice and your onions in a small dice.

Once your potatoes are cool, layer a small amount of your mayo onto the bottom of a bowl. Add in about 1/3 of your potatoes, then salt and pepper them moderately. Add in 1/3 of your onions and peppers and a few tablespoons of mayo. Mix well.

Add in the potatoes, salt/pepper, onions and peppers in 2 more layers, being sure to mix well between steps. Once all your layers are mixed in, give it a taste test. If you prefer your salad a bit “wetter,” add in extra mayo—but that will change your POINTS. If it needs more salt and pepper, go ahead and add a bit extra. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Best overnight.

Serves: 6

POINTS: 3

Chicken Pot Pie

Inspiration: Weight Watchers Online recipe

Review: The thick, creamy sauce that comes together in this recipe will make you long for a cold winter’s night and a warm, fluffy blanket. By itself, the sauce is fairly neutral in flavor. However, you could easily add in some minced rosemary or thyme to sway in one direction or the other. The phyllo dough provides just enough of a light, airy topping to give you crunch and the feeling of bread—without gumming up the consistency of the soft veggies and creamy sauce. I paired mine with a crisp salad and served it in a bowl with a spoon.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 teaspoons minced garlic)
• 1 – 12 oz. bag frozen pearl onions
• 2 – 12 oz. bags mixed veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, corn or any variation thereof)
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 5 oz. fat free evaporated milk
• 6 sheets phyllo dough

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Coat with cooking spray, add in 2 teaspoons olive oil, garlic and cubed chicken. When the chicken is no longer pink, add in pearl onions and heat them through. Once the onions are translucent, add in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for 2 minutes, coating the chicken and onions evenly. After two minutes, add in one cup of chicken broth and 5 ounces fat free evaporated milk.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, thickening the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened, toss in the mixed veggies and coat everything evenly.

Pour your veggie, chicken and sauce mixture into a casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

Top with the phyllo dough in layers. I sprayed a little butter spray between each layer of phyllo, but it’s not necessary.

Bake the pot pie for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 20 more minutes. Top should be golden brown when finished.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly for about 5 minutes, then serve.

Finished dish:

Serves: 4 generous portions

POINTS: 8