Side Dishes

Creamed Spinach- I just kind of made this up the other day, but I really enjoyed it, and so did my husband. I had made blackened salmon, brocolli and this spinach. I also made some rice for my hubby.

1 pkg. frozen spinach
2 Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb wedges

Prepare spinach according to directions. Drain. Keep stove on low and stir in cheese wedges. Stir until melted and mixed together.

Makes 3-4 1 point servings

Easy Meal Ideas

BREAKFAST:
Quaker Instant Oatmeal- the apple cinnamon is only 2 points
Dannon Light 'n Fit Yogurt- 1 point!
Cereal Bars- All Bran and Honey Bunches of Oats are only 2 points
Crustless Quiche- make one and reheat leftovers; 2 points (the recipe is on this blog)
Strawberry Waffles- two whole wheat waffles, strawberries, light cool whip- 5 points
LUNCH:
Grilled Cheese- on light bread, using cooking spray, and 2 slices of 50-calorie cheese slices: 3 points
Tomato Soup- depends on how much you have, but you can just have 1 point worth to dunk your grilled cheese in!
Club Sandwich- light bread, turkey slices, a little light mayo, lettuce, tomato, and extra lean turkey bacon: mine is 5 points. Bread-1, turkey-2, mayo-1, bacon-1
Smart Ones, Lean Gourmets and Lean Cuisines- I buy these when they're on sale and keep them in the freezer. The points are listed on all three brands.
Pita Pizza- recipe is in the lunch section. About 5 points.

DINNER:
Salmon- I squeeze a little lemon on the salmon and sprinkle it with Lawry's fish seasoning and a little extra black pepper. Then I blacken it in non-stick spray or olive oil. Very tasty. 3 points.
Trader Joe's Marinated Ahi- Just defrost and follow directions- so easy. 3 points.
Taco Soup- recipe is in Soup and Chili section- I make a big pot and have leftovers for a few days. So easy and so yummy.
Taco Salad- I make taco meat with ground turkey and Lawry's seasoning, put some meat, black olives, a few crumbled tortilla chips, and reduced-fat cheese in a big bowl of lettuce. I mix that up with Just 2 Good Thousand Island dressing. So good. I like a big salad, so mine usually runs 6 or 7 points depending on how many tortilla chips or how much cheese I want on it.
Black Bean Chili- same as taco soup!
Turkey Chili- I use a Lawry's chili seasoning packet and make chili with lean ground turkey. It's about 5 points.

Desserts

DIET COKE CAKE- I hear that this is an old WW standby, but I love it. I make it for parties and no one ever knows! I take a piece and then frost the rest for whoever wants frosting. I have only done chocolate with diet Coke or Pepsi
10 oz. diet soda (cola only works w/ chocolate cake mixes- it will change the color)
1 box cake mix
2 egg whites
Cooking spray
Mix diet soda, cake mix and egg whites. Follow cooking directions on cake box. So easy!
DIET COKE CAKE VARIATIONS- I found out that I can't have chocolate anymore, so I started playing around with yellow cake mix and diet 7-Up. It worked great. I made cupcakes. Here are some yummy cupcake ideas:

• Twinkie Cupcake- cut a yellow cupcake in half and sandwich a dollop of light Cool Whip- 2-points

• S'more Cupcake- put a tablespoon of marshmallow creme on top, put the cupcake under the broiler for 1 minute or until browned a little- 2-points
  
• Jam Cupcake- cut a cupcake in half and sandwich a little bit of jam- 2 1/2 or 3 points, depending on how much jam you use.

The S'more cupcake and Jam cupcake ideas are from Real Simple magazine. They have such great ideas!

Lunches

PITA PIZZAS- I buy whole wheat pitas from Trader Joe's and use them as personal-sized pizza crusts. These are my pizza fix! My husband likes them also.
1 Whole wheat pita
1/8 C. pasta sauce
1/4 C. reduced-fat cheese
0-point veggies (I usually use green peppers and/or tomatoes)
Put sauce, cheese and veggies on top of pita. Put on a cookie sheet in 350 oven for 5 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and/or a little browned, depending on how you like it.

TUNA MELT IDEAS-Here are a few ways to enjoy tuna melts. I had the tuna Babybel melt today for lunch. Very yummy! It has a nice texture.
1. TUNA AND CHEDDAR- Mix tuna with 1 T. mayo (you can use light and lower the cals, but I use regular), salt and pepper. Spread on a slice of light bread, sprinlke on 1/4 C. reduced-fat cheddar and put on top brown in a toaster oven. Serves 2
1 slice bread, 1/2 tuna, 1/4 C. cheese- 240 cals, 5 g fat, 4 g fiber 4 points
2 slices bread, 1/2 tuna, 1/4 C. cheese-480 cals, 5 g fat, 4 g fiber 5 points (toast other slice and make a sandwich)

2. TUNA AND BABYBEL- Mix tuna with 1/2 T. mayo, 1 wedge of light Laughing Cow, and 1 round light Babybel cheese in a food processor (I have an Ultimate chopper- it's like the Magic Bullet). Spread mix onto a slice of light bread and put on top brown in a toaster oven. Serves 2
1 slice bread, 1/2 tuna mix- 180 cals, 5 g fat, 4 g fiber 3 points
2 slices bread, 1/2 tuna mix-220 cals, 5 g fat, 7 g fiber 4 points (toast other slice and make a sandwich)
You could probably use any combo of cheeses. The light Laughing Cow wedges are 35 cals and the light Babybel rounds are 50 cals. I used one of each. You can also use the mix as a dip with Triscuits or other crackers. The mix is 3 points for 1/2 of it. Reduced-fat Triscuits are 2 points per serving.

3. MEATLOAF SANDWICHES- I make these when I have leftover mini meatloaves. My husband was raving about these this weekend. It was rainy and meatloaf sandwiches make a nice comfort food.
Slice one 2-point mini meatloaf. If it has been refrigerated, you can nuke it for 30 seconds. Toast 2 slices of light bread (1 point for 2 slices). Spread on 1/2 T. mayo or light mayo (you can use more mayo with light or save points). Spread on 1 T. ketchup, add the meatloaf slices, and enjoy!
230 cals, 10 g fat, 7 g fiber 5 points If you use light mayo, it's only 4 points