back to basics

I'm serious about this healthy-eating business. To prove it I am posting a picture of all my dinners this week. Breakfasts and lunches optional, but certainly may show up as well. This is a last resort to make myself accountable. okay then. . .

sun-dried pesto primavera

so I'm not good at taking a clear shot -- the chicken must've moved when I got to "3" --

but this was WAY yummy. and I did not plan it. I was actually just trying to use some stuff up, such as, the crooked-neck squash that is thriving in Marilyn's garden, a half carton of mushrooms, stuff like that.

Ingredients I used:

whole wheat pasta - 3 cups? (4 pts per cooked cup)

sauteed in as much EVOO as it needs: (5?)

chicken breast - just used one, could've used two (5)

sliced squash - I used 2 small, yet medium sized ones (0)

sliced mushrooms - like 6 oz. (0)

(salt and peppering everything as you go, otherwise it's on the bland side later)

added a 15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (0)

1/2 c. sun dried tomato pesto (which, as it turns out, is WAY lower in fat than it's cousin - regular pesto - weird) (4)

and a blob of fat free sour cream (0)

combined the cooked pasta and the veggie sauce,

sprinkled with fresh parmesan (1 pt/serving)

very summery feeling and not bad in WW points either. I won't quote it because depending on the amount of oil you use and the amount of pasta you eat, I guess it could add up. but in a good way.

grilled pizza

so this isn't the most beautifully-looking pizza, but it sure was tasty! Ryan actually did all the dough and the cooking -- so if you really want step-by-step instructions on grilling time or set-up etc, comment and I'll have him write something. All I know is that he threw the THINLY-rolled dough onto the grill for a minute or two -- just until it started to puff up, then brought it back into me to top the cooked side. Then back on the grill to finish cooking. The crispier on the bottom, the more we liked them. They had a really good flavor. (just in case you're curious, we topped this with alfredo sauce, tomatoes, canadian bacon, fresh mushrooms, green onions and cheese (oops, this one is shown minus the cheese) it was DELISH!)

Steamed Red Potatoes

really, I call these roasted potatoes -- but since they're not technically roasted, I guess I've been wrong all this time. But this is my favorite side dish in the summer because they don't heat up the oven or even the stovetop -- and they're QUICK and delish! Last night we had them with steak when what I envisioned involved lots of garlic, seasonings, butter, cream, smashing (mmmm) but then I thought about how I need to really stick to the ol' healthy lifestyle and this ALWAYS turns out to be a much better option for us. The kids even like them because they think they're fries and want ketchup for dipping. Directions:

Cube red potatoes into as big of peices as you want to serve. Throw them in a microwave safe bowl -- preferrable one with a lid. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, seasoning salt and parsley and toss to coat. Microwave, covered, on high, until spuds are tender. I always start with 3 or 4 min. and go from there.

Also: if you DO want to heat up the oven, or just have really good A.C. these are so delish really roasted too. 450 degrees and the kids really KNOW they're fries then!

Sugar

I'm not a sugar-free fan. I need my treats. But the other day I emptied out my system (some sort of flu) and then didn't eat much the whole day long -- but tried to drink plenty and ate a healthy salmon dinner by evening. By the end of that ordeal I felt so empty and clean and flushed, that I wanted to only put healthy things inside of me -- so I did well with my eating all day long. I wasn't even tempted to have a treat. After dinner, since I chose my foods so wisely, I still had a good 13 WW points left so I decided that called for a skookie!

oh how happy that made me, until about 10 minutes after -- the sugar headache. This doesn't always happen to me, but often enough that I really ought to learn from it by now. I took pain reliever before I went to bed, had a neck and head massage and still suffered through most of the night before I deliriously got up to get some second chance medicine around 5 am. It's interesting how lots of people (including me) will gladly ingest something that makes them feel better, but it's much harder to abstain from something of which the abstinence from, makes them feel better. I'm not promising from now on I will ban sugary treats from my life, but it's definitely skookies for thought.

Fruit Trifle

Happy Independence Day! This was my effort of a relatively low-fat and very refreshing dessert.

There are many ingredients you could add or subtract to make this just as good, but I'll post exactly what I used in case you're curious:

angel food cake

sugar-free strawberry jello

fat-free Cool Whip

sugar free French Vanilla pudding - made as directed

1/3 less-fat cream cheese

strawberries

blueberries

bananas

peaches

Divide angel food cake into thirds - layer chunks of 1/3 of cake in bottom of bowl. Pour Jello over (but first, let chill for 20 min or so) then layer 1/3 of cream cheese/pudding/cream mixture and all the fruits -- 3 times. (or however many times fits your bowl...) that is all.

fruit and cream crepes

This was our FHE treat this week and just for kicks, I calculated the points -- only 1 per crepe. not too bad for a yummy dessert. We filled these with sugar free French vanilla pudding, strawberries and fat free whipped cream. (which would add another point or two -- depending on the amount you wanna stuff it with.) But it was very refreshing for the hot summer night.