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Weight Watchers Meatloaf Recipe

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Weight Watchers Meatloaf

This might just be my new favorite meat loaf. It bakes up moist and delicious thanks to the addition of lots of finely chopped vegetables and turns out 4 very generous 6 PointsPlus Value servings.  What’s not to like?

I decided it was time to get back to basics last night and serve up some meat and potatoes. Rod is a good sport about everything I cook and never complains. But he’s a midwest born-and-raised guy who prefers his food simple and straightforward.

Instead of going with what has become my standard meat loaf – the Paula Deen Meat Loaf recipe (which is tasty but has 9 PointsPlus), I wanted to try something new. After checking out a few options, I decided on this one from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Chopping all the vegetables requires a little extra work, but I think it was worth it. (I find chopping kinda therapeutic, but you could always speed up the process by using a food chopper or processor.)

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 6 PointsPlus, Beef Tagged With: , ,

Weight Watchers Italian Arugula Salad

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Weight Watchers Italian Arugula Salad
Weight Watchers Italian Arugula Salad

Weight Watchers Italian Arugula Salad

Peppery arugula, thinly sliced mushrooms, red onion and halved grape tomatoes tossed with a simple olive oil red wine vinegar dressing garnished with slivers of shaved Parmesan cheese. This is a great basic salad that complements so many dishes: pasta, pizza, sandwiches, soups, seafood, meats and more. It’s become a personal favorite here at our house since being featured in the Weight Watchers Weekly back in August (8/26-9/1/12).

(I made the salad and snapped a picture before adding the dressing a couple of hours before dinner while there was still enough light to get a decent shot.)

Loaded with Weight Watchers Power Foods, this Italian Arugula salad is a delicious way to boost your vegetable intake at lunch or dinner for minimal PointsPlus. To turn this salad into a heartier main dish meal you could add some chicken, tuna, salmon and/or chick peas.

I love the peppery taste of arugula, but if you don’t you could always use baby spinach or mesclun instead. A few sliced black olives make a tasty addition too.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 3 PointsPlus, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

{38 Power Foods} Lentil, Mushroom and Kale Burritos

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Making a lentil, mushroom and kale burrito
Lentil, Mushroom, and Kale Burrito

Lentil, Mushroom, and Kale Burrito

Would you ever think to turn a mixture of lentils, mushrooms, and kale into a filling for burritos?

I certainly wouldn’t. But I’m glad the talented Camilla Saulsbury did for her cookbook, 5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking: 500 Recipes for Lifelong Wellness.

And I’m happy I found the recipe and tried it for this week’s 38 Power Foods Blogging Group. (For nine weeks now, a group of bloggers, led by Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits, has been posting recipes using the healthy ingredients from Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients, by Martha Stewart and the editors of  Whole Living Magazine.)

Because of this group, I’m trying all kinds of recipes I probably wouldn’t otherwise, with surprising results: I never would have guessed in a million years that my midwestern born and raised meat and potatoes loving husband would have enjoyed these lentil, mushroom and kale burritos so much he would opt to eat them two nights in a row! But he did. Really.

So, what is this week’s power food? Mushrooms.

Lentil, Mushrooms and Kale

Lentils, Mushrooms and Kale

Did you know that mushrooms, considered among the most medicinal of all the earth’s natural substances, have been used to fight cancer and boost immunity in China and Japan for centuries?

They’re low in fat and a good source of protein, fiber, vitamin D, potassium, and B vitamins, including B12, which is good news for vegetarians. And it turns all mushrooms – wild, cultivated, Asian, fresh, and/or dried – have their respective strenghts. So be sure to eat a wide variety for the most benefits.

Making a lentil, mushroom and kale burrito

A lentil, mushroom, and kale burrito in progress

This lentil mushroom and kale burritos recipe was really quick and easy, especially if you use already cooked lentils. And surprisingly delicious. The recipe calls for canned lentils, but I used Trader Joe’s steamed lentils, which I love. And as Camilla explains, be sure to remove the virtually inedible stems and tough center ribs of the kale, before slicing it.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 10+ PointsPlus, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Orange Spinach Salad

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Citrus Spinach Salad
Citrus Spinach Salad

Refreshing Citrus Spinach Salad

Spinach, sliced mushrooms, fresh orange sections, and a bit of sliced red onion, tossed with a zippy lime, sesame ginger vinaigrette dressing. Delicious anytime, this colorful, light and refreshing salad is especially terrific this time of year, as the temperatures begin to soar here in Phoenix.

I’ve been a huge spinach salad fan for decades, but the traditional kind – with generous amounts of bacon, cheese, and chopped hard-boiled eggs – while delicious, is not something I want to eat that often anymore. My tastes have changed. I prefer lighter salads that are full of flavor and texture without all the fat and calories.

This orange citrus spinach salad fits the bill perfectly. We enjoyed it recently for dinner with simple grilled turkey burgers. Each generous 1-2/3 cup serving, with just 3 PointsPlus, is a tasty way to boost your intake of of vitamin and mineral-rich fruits and vegetables.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 3 PointsPlus, Salads Tagged With: , ,

Skinny Pasta with Italian Sausage, Peppers, Onions & Mushrooms

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Skinny Pasta with Sausage Peppers Onions & Mushrooms
Skinny Pasta with Sausage Peppers Onions & Mushrooms

Skinny Pasta with Sausage, Peppers, Onions & Mushrooms

Fusilli pasta tossed with Italian sausage and peppers, onions and mushrooms in marinara sauce. Quick, easy and delicious!

When I want to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, I often turn to recipes like this quick and easy pasta dish. The sauce comes together in about the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta.

In addition to having great flavor, this pasta also got a lot less fat because it uses fully cooked Italian turkey sausage instead of pork. Experiment until you find a flavor and brand that your satisfied with.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

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Filed Under: 8 PointsPlus, Pasta Tagged With: , ,

Lightened Up Easy Slow Cooker Beef & Mushrooms

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Slim & Healthy Easy Slow Cooker Company Beef
Slim & Healthy Easy Slow Cooker Company Beef

Slim & Healthy Easy Slow Cooker Company Beef

Lean stewing beef and mushrooms cooked in slow cooker until tender. This is a great dinner for the meat lovers in your home. It’s easy enough for a weeknight and tasty enough for company with just 5 WW PointsPlus per serving.

I’m not a huge steak fan, but I love hearty beef vegetable soups, stews and braised dishes, like this slow cooker beef and mushrooms. And a simple meat and potatoes meal always pleases my mid-western raised husband.

This recipe is loosely adapted from one of my most recent cookbook purchases, Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly: 600 Healthy Low-Fat Recipes for Your Slow Cooker, by Phyllis Pellman Good. I made several changes, including substituting fresh mushrooms for jarred, but kept the fat-free cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix.

The recipe instructs you to just combine everything together in the slow cooker and let it cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, which would be fine when you are really pressed for time. But, I took a few extra minutes to season the beef with salt and pepper and then brown it in a skillet and also cooked the mushrooms, in two batches, before tossing everything into the cooker.

(I’m not sure who taught me the correct way to saute mushrooms; Was it Jacques Pepin or Julia Child? What a revelation it has been to cook mushrooms without overcrowding the pan. They cook up golden and delicious.)

Serve over noodles, rice, pasta or mashed potatoes. And don’t forget a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans :-)

Simple home cooking that’s satisfying and just plain good. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 5 Ingredients or Less, 5 PointsPlus, Beef, Slow Cooker Tagged With:

Slim & Saucy Healthy Chicken Marsala Recipe

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Healthy Low Fat Chicken Marsala

Are you looking for a healthy version of chicken marsala that’s low in fat and high in flavor? If you like chicken marsala, I think you’re going to love this slimmed down version. It’s simple, healthy and delicious! (But don’t tell anyone it’s better for them. Let it be your little secret and no one will be the wiser!)

Healthy Low Fat Chicken Marsala

Healthy Low Fat Chicken Marsala

I’m always on the lookout for tasty healthy ways to prepare boneless skinless chicken breasts – one of my favorite go to ingredients. And this dish certainly fits the bill. It’s great when you want a gourmet style dinner that can be ready in 30 minutes or less.

As soon as I spotted it in my  Weight Watchers Comfort Classics : 150 Favorite Home-Style Dishes cookbook, I thought it would be a winner. And I was right! But as with most recipes, I made a few changes based on the ingredients I had on hand.

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Filed Under: 6 PointsPlus, Chicken & Turkey, Dinner, Easy Healthy Tagged With: ,