Getting Militant Again

I have been fired up this last week. First gay rights, now a woman's right to choose is in the headlines. I wrote about my feelings on my other blog. Check it out!

A Weekly Weight Watcher's Menu-Update

Ok so far I have not cooked the mozzarella sandwich or the turkey burgers because I went out to P.F. Changs on Wednesday night and then my husband had a business meeting last night. So I have been living off that delicious black bean soup I made and the leftover Mu Shu Chicken from P. F. Changs.

Tonight we are celebrating an early Father's Day so we will be going out to Italian. I love pasta but I will try to choose wisely. The reason we are celebrating Father's Day in May is because my husband is on call for Father's Day weekend and every other weekend in June is booked. I need to show my man some love since he took me to see Chelsea Handler for Mother's Day.

I will let you know how the mozzarella sandwich, turkey burgers and Tandoori chicken turnout when I make them.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Charlotte

A Weekly Weight Watcher's Menu

Ok so I am trying to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon this week due to some chick thinking I was pregnant last weekend.

I am proud of myself because I have been sticking to it, and I have been to the gym 3 days in a row. I will go ahead and post my menu for the whole week below. I will fill in the recipes later and tell you if they tasted good or not. According to Weight Watchers I am supposed to eat 23 points a day but I have 35 extra points a week to use and exercise gives you some extra points too.

Monday
Dinner (I already posted breakfast and lunch earlier in this week)
An indescribable chicken and veggie soup. It was like a Mexican Minestrone. It was based on Weight Watcher's 0 points veggie soup but I had to add chicken for my husband the carnivore and beans and rice for me. I can't do their 0 points soup because I am hungry 5 minutes after eating it and then I get a headache. But with the chicken, beans and rice it only bumped up the soup to 2 points for a giant bowl.

Tuesday
Breakfast= 1 pancake with butter only and a banana= 4 points
Lunch= Leftover soup from Monday
Snack= whole wheat mini bagel with 2 Tbs. of Lite Veggie Cream cheese= 4 points (eaten before going to the gym)
Dinner= Grilled Teriyaki chicken, grilled asparagus, grilled pineapple and brown rice (I didn't grill the rice).
I just dumped some Teriyaki sauce over some chicken breasts early in the morning and let it thaw throughout the day. (Ken's Teriyaki marinade is pretty tasty). I grilled the chicken for roughly 4-5 minutes per side, by then the coals had cooled down a little so the pound of very thin and trimmed asparagus took about 4 minutes a side. The pineapple rings (straight from a can with juice not heavy syrup) I grilled on the very outside of the grill and they take about 2 minutes per side. I put salt and pepper on the pineapple (don't knock it until you have tried it). The asparagus I just poured some more Teriyaki sauce over it and those spears were sooooo good! The brown rice was Success, boil in the bag for 10 minutes, brown rice.

I dumped a palm size piece of grilled chicken, a handful of asparagus, and 2 pineapple rings over a 1/2 cup of rice and it was only 6.5 points and it was filling. I may have had a couple of beers while watching American Idol too. *

Wednesday
Breakfast= scrambled egg white, fat-free cheese slice (on a sandwich ok but I wouldn't eat this straight), and a whole wheat english muffin= 3 points
Lunch= More of the same soup and 1/2 english muffin with f.f. cheese melted on it=3-4 points, leftover asparagus from last night=0 points and a skinny cow popsicle= 1 point (yum!!)
Dinner= Going out to P.F. Changs with a couple of my buddies tonight so I will be eating Chinese food and drinking beer. These 2 friends are skinny though so I most likely won't be pigging out.

Thursday
Breakfast= same sandwich from yesterday
Lunch= Black Bean soup, 2 cups= 2 points (3 cans of black beans 2 of them drained and 1 undrained, dumped into pot with a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice, 1/2 cup chicken broth, a pinch of anise seeds, a pinch of dried sage and salt and pepper to taste, and Tabasco to taste. Simmer and eat with 2 Tbs of Fat Free Sour Cream, good stuff!
Dinner= Skim milk mozzarella sandwich on whole wheat bread with roasted red pepper strips and 1 tsp. of Pesto. Salad with Italian dressing and steamed broccolli and zucchini. I will give you recipe and points tommorrow or Friday.

Friday
Breakfast= Mini whole wheat bagel with 2 Tbs. lite veggie cream cheese and a cup of cantaloupe= 5 points
Lunch= More black bean soup
Dinner= Turkey burgers with minted yogurt cucumber dressing in whole wheat pitas. I will give points and recipes later when I figure it out.

Saturday
Breakfast= Sandwich, bagels or cereal= all of those are 3-4 points
Lunch= Soup if any is left or leftover turkey burgers or some kind of meat on a stick if we go to the Wind and Art Festival.
Dinner= I am trying to score a date with my husband if I can scrounge a babysitter. If I can't then I might cook ,or not. If I cook I will make Tandoori chicken on the grill, with steamed broccoli, brown rice and pita bread. I will let you know.

Sunday
Breakfast= Same as Sat.
Lunch= Same as Sat. we don't know which day we are going to the Passing Wind and Fart Festival (I crack myself up)
Dinner= Same as Sat.

Monday
Breakfast=Same as Sunday
Lunch= Leftovers
Dinner= It's Memorial Day and points be damned! I am going to hit the gym all weekend so I can enjoy a good bbq!

Grilled beef burgers with all the fixings (mayo, catsup, mustard, horseradish, cheese, lettuce and grilled sweet red onions) on huge sourdough buns
French Fries
Hot dogs
Baked Beans
Strawberries with whipped cream
Lots of ice cold beer




* Look I don't mind telling you how many beers I drink, but there are some chicks who read this blog even though they don't like me. They come from an old mom's club I was a member of and I try not to give them too many things to talk about when it comes to my lifestyle choices. Of course it doesn't seem to occur to them that the wine and martinis they swill have more alcohol than my beers..........

Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks, Monday

So I managed to eat exactly the breakfast I said I was going to eat last night, for a total of 4 points.

I dropped off my daughter Bekah, picked up my 9 year old niece and took all of us to the gym. My boys Jake and Mike went off with their buddies and my niece made new friends of her own. I am not surprised she is super sweet.

I sweated for an hour and then I was starving. Which is ridiculous because I often skip breakfast when I am in a hurry so it's just a psychological reaction to me dieting. Stupid brain.

So I was a good and got a hard-boiled egg and a V-8= 2 points (6 points so far)

By the time I showered and picked up my boys and my niece I was hungry again. (Amazing). So when I got home I made lunch for the kids and did not eat any of their food, yay!!! I went to the freezer and grabbed a bag of Jolly Green Giant* broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in cheese sauce. Guess what? I did the math and the whole family size, 1 pound 8 oz. bag, is only 5 points! So I nuked it in my 4 cup pyrex measuring cup and ate it right out of the pyrex. I also ate a big green salad with 2 Tbs. of my favorite Lite Blue Cheese dressing, Marie's= 1 point and a few croutons= 1 point. Finally I am not hungry, but after all that fiber my husband is going to kick me out of bed tonight.

7 points total for lunch and 13 points for the whole day, so far.

*I just want everyone to know I am not getting paid when I use brand names. Wish I was, but I am not. I am just helping you if you want to go buy that particular food for yourself.

Something New

I am falling behind on my Weight Watcher recipes, sorry about that. It just got super busy around here. Well I am back on the wagon. Some chick thought I was pregnant this weekend, bitch.

I was at a bridal shower and I was making small talk with some very skinny moms and one of them said, "You look like you are pregnant.". WTF? No, seriously, What The Fuck?! I was stunned. I thought I looked pretty good too, a little bloated, but not enough to look pregnant.

So I need to get serious. I have a bacherlorette party to go to in a month. Thankfully that anorexic chick won't be there, but just in case she sees pictures of me from that weekend, I want her to say, "Oh shit I can't believe I thought she was pregnant! I am a truly horrible person and now I need to go eat a Double Whopper with cheese and maybe some onion rings too.".

So what I am going to do is post my meals for the entire week, with the points. And I will try to eat them too.

Monday, May 18th

1 cup Cheerios
1/2 cup 1% milk
sliced 1/2 a banana
At least 4 cups of coffee with 2 Tbs. of nonfat non-dairy Vanilla creamer
Points= 4

Ok so that's breakfast. I will post the rest of the meals as the day goes along. It's 10:14 pm here and I need to brush my teeth and go to bed. Wish me luck.

I don't need luck brushing my teeth, I mean good luck with sticking to a diet void of cheese and beer.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #16

Let me explain my header picture. We are coming up on Mother's Day and seated in that picture is 4 generations of women. Starting with the youngest we have my wiggly 3 year old Rebekah Hazel, and then comes me, Charlotte Noel, at the ripe old age of 38, next would be my mom, Louise Ann, 61 years and the cherry on top is my grandmother Hazel Louise (Bekah's middle name came from her) she is 85 years old.

So I was racking my brain for a Mother's Day type recipe that is less than 30 minutes and semi healthy. Not happening. Ok, sure you can stick with an egg-white omelet and a slice of cantaloupe, but it's Mother's Day!! So I am just going to list the points values for favorite Mother's Day munchies. My source is the Weight Watchers Complete Food Companion, don't worry I am not making this stuff up as I go along.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries = One point per yummy strawberry, my husband was being an ass and didn't believe me so I had to set him straight. I sent him a bazillion links proving me right.

Eggs Benedict (my fave) 2 english muffins, 2 poached eggs and a 1/4 cup of Hollandaise sauce= 16 points. I love to sprinkle Tabasco all over, yummy.

Mimosa 6 fluid ounces (that's a big one)= 2 points. I will have 12 of those thank you very much.

Bacon= 1 point each. Real bacon, crispy and yummy.

Deviled Eggs, 2 halves= 4 points

Doughnut, the good kind with frosting= 7 points

Cinnamon, 1 large,=6 points

My husband wants to have sex with me so I need to stop this post and go to bed.

Updates

Thanks for the one person who voted in my poll yesterday. My husband did decide on Beef Enchiladas and they were yummy. Tonight I will make the chili. My own recipe that you can check out by clicking that link.

Everyone in my house is healthy (knock on wood)! So Bekah is back at school and I have been to the gym 2 days in a row.

I have a parent-teacher conference for Michael today. Sigh.........these always involve brainstorming between me and the teacher and make me want to come home and drink. The conversation always starts,"He is so bright, but..........". On the other hand I met with Bekah's teacher this morning and Bekah is a, "Rock Star!". Those were her teacher's words. I love Mrs. Chrissy. She had Michael last year and she can handle him with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back. She is very professional and never compares my 2 offspring to my face, but she must wonder which one was the mailman's baby. They couldn't be more different, even though they get mistaken for twins all of the time since they are so close in age.

Interesting tidbit is that Bekah prefers her right hand at school and her left hand at home! Any feedback on that from other moms, teachers etc. would be appreciated. I am not concerned, just curious. I am left-handed myself so I am still waiting for her to pick a hand.

I will get around to posting a Weight Watchers recipe later this week I have to figure out which mom to send which flowers to.

Peace Out.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #15

OK I am going to continue to plagirize myself. I wrote an email a year ago to my old mom's club, before I blew it up, that was all about easy grilling recipes. My goals are: easy, fast, and healthy.

Grilled Mexican Chicken





1 cup favorite salsa
3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup or less chopped cilantro
4 palm size chicken breasts
desired amount of lettuce

Stir salsa, cilantro and vinegar together. Reserve 1/2 cup for later. Pour other 1/2 cup over chicken breasts. Marinate for 2 hours or not. Pre-heat grill to med-high heat. Discard marinade so you don't die. Grill breasts 3-5 minutes per side. Slice against grain and serve over lettuce with remaining sauce. Per serving= 4 Points! Add some cheese or chips if you can have more points. Drink a beer with lime. A lite Mex. beer with lime is 2 points. Happy Cinco De Mayo.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #14

So last year I started reading this blog that had a brand new crock-pot recipe everyday! And I thought, "Hey I can do something like that but every day is too much so I will post one recipe a week. And I will have pictures too!". Uh, no. Once again I am behind so I owe you 2 recipes this week. I did get around to posting a pic of chocolate covered strawberries though if you want to check that out.

Let me tell you that food photography is almost as hard as taking pictures of children. I would take a picture and look at it and think, "Ewww look at that stain on my counter.". So I would wipe that up and take another picture, "Oh shit I left that knife laying in the background.". So I put the knife in the sink and take another picture, "Uh, if somebody showed me this picture it would not make me hungry.". So I try a different angle, etc. etc.

Anyways, my awesome friend Barb sent me a list of grilling recipes that I typed up and emailed a year ago! And forgot about! So now I can plagarize myself and just figure out the Weight Watchers points.

So this is what I do all summer. I marinate some meat during naptime (or not) and then after naptime I drink beer (or iced tea) while monkeys play in the yard with the hose and then I grill meat while supervising them. Then I cut the meat in slices and serve over lettuce. Simple. Kids get to play, I get to cook, husband gets to eat, it's a win-win.

Grilled Mediterrean Chicken

Work with me on this one. It requires mixing salsa and spaghetti sauce, I know that sounds weird but I am not asking you to add raisins or anything so just trust me.

1/2 cup salsa, ( I am using Ortega thick and chunky salsa to obtain points, but most salsas are the same)
1/2 cup jarred spaghetti sauce ( I am using Bertolli Marinara because it does not give me garlic burps, a 1/2 cup is 2 points and not all jar sauces are the same so check your label)
4 palm size chick breasts
desired amount of lettuce

Mix salsa and spaghetti sauce in bowl scoop out a 1/2 cup of mixed sauces and reserve for later. Pour other 1/2 cup over breasts and turn to coat, you can marinate for 2 hours or not. Set aside and pre-heat grill to med-high (work fast to make this under 30 minutes). Grill each breast 3-5 minutes per side.(discard marinade so you don't die) Slice on the grain and serve over desired lettuce with remaining sauce. You can have sauce chilled, room temp., or warmed up. If you have time add chopped Basil leaves and lemon slices on side.

Ooops I published this without points, so here we go again. 1 serving of breast with sauce on top of lettuce is 4 points!! That's really low. You can have some wine, beer or even pasta or rice.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #13

I am giving you the recipe for the easiest and best (healthwise) dessert ever! Chocolate-Covered Strawberries!!! People always get so intimidated by chocolate-covered strawberries that they don't even try to attempt them. They look so pretty sitting on a platter, all red and plump, covered with silky chocolate and a perky little green stem sticking out of the top. Just begging to be eaten. They must be hard to make right? Because nothing good in life is easy right? Usually that's true except for chocolate-covered strawberries.

People want to make them extremely difficult too, so if you look up a recipe it's going to call for a double boiler, 2 kinds of chocolate wafers, maybe even some butter. That is ridiculous!! Guess what I use? Strawberries, chocolate chips, microwave and wax paper. Does that sound difficult?

And the best part.............1 point each!




Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
12 large strawberries
Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
some paper towels
wax paper
microwave
a bowl

Rinse and COMPLETELY dry the strawberries. Line pretty platter with wax paper (or put wax paper on your kitchen counter, who cares?) Pour 1/4 to 1/2 the bag of chocolate chips into bowl and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir nuke some more if not melted. Don't let it turn into lava though. Once it's melted, grab strawberry and swirl into melted chocolate leaving enough space under stem so that when you pick them up you don't get chocolate under your fingernails. Lay them on wax paper. Repeat process with all strawberries and you may need to re-melt chocolate as it sets up, add more chips if you need to. Put in fridge until they are set, which is like 10 minutes. Lightly top with plastic wrap if you are not going to eat them right away so they don't take on the flavor of your fridge.


1 point per strawberry, Yummy!!!

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #12

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers are one of my favorite meals. They are yummy served over rice but that bumps up the points a lot. So you can serve them over lettuce.

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 egg
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
8 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce (like Kikkoman's)
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
can of pineapple rings in juice, with 8 Tbs. juice reserved
electric skillet if you have one
Romaine or green leaf lettuce as much as you want.

Put turkey in bowl, make a well and crack egg into it. Take off your rings and squish it all up. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder, squish a little more and form 4 patties. Pre-heat skillet to med-high heat. Whisk Teriyaki sauce, ginger and pineapple juice together in bowl.

Brown each burger 1-2 minutes each side in skillet. Reduce heat to low or simmer on electric skillet. Pour at least 2 Tbs. of sauce over each burger, and simmer with lid on for 2 minutes. Flip burgers and pour 2 more Tbs. of sauce (that should finish it off) over each burger and simmer for 2 more minutes with lid on so the sauce doesn't boil off. Check center of burger to make sure it's not pink. Serve over lettuce topped with a pineapple ring.

Turkey burger with egg is 4.5 points, the sauce for each burger is 1.5 points, each pineapple ring is 1/2 a point. Lettuce is zero points. So one turkey burger with pineapple and lettuce is 6.5 points.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #11

Last week got away from me, so I owe all of you 2, less than 30 minute recipes. I am going to focus on low-carb since this week is Passover.

By the way a matzoh-ball is 2 points, and chicken broth is zero, so if you have 3 balls in some broth you have 6 points. A matzoh cracker is 2 points.

This week my recipe is Thai Beef Salad. This is sooo yummy you can serve it to guests. Fresh sliced oranges are perfect with this as a sweet side dish.

10 ounces lean boneless beef loin cut into strips
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. minced seeded jalapeno pepper (don't rub your eyes)
1 crushed garlic clove (use more if you like, I am allergic too much garlic is not good)
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger or 1 tsp. fresh minced ginger root
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tsps. sesame oil
8 cups washed baby spinach


Cook beef over med-high heat in nonstick skillet for 30 seconds or no longer pink. Add soy, jalapeno, garlic and ginger IF USING FRESH, cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add ginger IF USING POWDER and green onions and stir and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add cilantro and sesame oil and toss.

Divide fresh spinach into 4 bowls and top with 1/4 of beef mixture each bowl. Each bowl is only 4 points so feel free to double up.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #10

I have been making this for years and a mom that used to be in my old mom's club asked for the recipe. After serving it 3 nights in a row her husband finally made her stop. It's good.

Curried Chicken Salad

2 cups diced rotisserie chicken breast
1/4 cup diced green onion
1 cup green seedless grapes cut in half

or 1 cup diced green apple
1/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons Mango Chutney
1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder (to taste some people like curry more than others)

as much lettuce as you want, Romaine is good
salt and pepper to taste

dashes of Tabasco to taste

Dice your chicken, apple and/or grapes, onions. Mix all ingredients together, serve over lettuce.

1/2 cup serving of chicken salad is 5.5 points, if you use both apples and grapes it's 6 points for a 1/2 serving. Remember lettuce is zero points.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #10

What is an Irish 7 course meal?

A 6-pack and a potato.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am sorry but I couldn't come up with a suitable less than 30 minutes recipe that represents my Irish heritage. Corned beef and cabbage, any potato casseroles and even beer bread takes longer than 30 minutes. So I have come up with a very lazy menu for St. Patrick's Day.

1 potato
1-1 inch cube of white extra sharp cheddar cheese
3 tsps. butter
2 Tbs of a grainy brown mustard
1 Guinness/ Bass etc.

Scrub and rinse potato, poke holes in it with a fork. "Bake" in microwave at least 5 minutes. Split open and add cheese and butter and nuke again until melted. Add mustard, pop open a beer and grub down.

Potato= 3 points
Cheese= 3 points
Butter= 3 points
Mustard= 0 points
Dark beer= 3 points

12 points! Damn no wonder everyone in my family has heart disease and diabetes!!

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #9

So in honor of the Jewish Holiday of Purim which begins tonight at sundown, I am offering a cookie recipe. Hamantaschen are a 3 cornered cookie with a fruit filling. The shape of the cookie is to represent Haman's hat. Haman is an asshole who gets defeated. These cookies can be labor intensive so in light of a less than 30 minute recipe I am going to use refridgerator dough.


Ingredients:

Pillsbury sugar cookie dough from fridge section
Your favorite jam (I like strawberry or blackberry)
drinking glass, rim dipped in flour

Preheat oven roll out sugar cookie dough, cut circles with a large drinking glass with rim dipped in flour. Put 1 Tbs. of favorite jam in center of circle and pinch 3 corners together. Bake according to package.

Weight Watchers points are 5 pts. for 2 cookies. Each cookie is 1.5 points and 1 Tbs. of jam (any flavor) is 1 point.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #8

I made this last week and it was sooo good and it was surprisingly filling. I know you are thinking how can lean turkey and some lettuce be filling? That's because a 1/2 cup of lean ground turkey is only 3 points, that's a lot of meat and the plum sauce is another 2 points for a total of 5. The lettuce is Zero points. So you can have a whole cup of meat for 10 points. You are also welcome to add many more veggies to this to stretch it out but I just put carrots and green onions in the recipe below to make your life easier.


Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

A healthy handful of shredded carrots (buy pre-shredded carrots of course)
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 package of lean ground turkey
Large lettuce leaves, green leaf or butter leaf work best
1 jar of Dynasty Plum Sauce
Dashes of Tabasco to taste (optional)

Brown turkey and carrots together until no longer pink over medium heat.While that is browning, wash and pat dry your lettuce leaves and put on plate. Add diced green onions to pan and add plum sauce. If you have one of those mini spatulas from Pampered Chef those work great for getting every last drop of plum sauce from the jar. Turn off heat and stir, add some dashes of Tabasco. Scoop a 1/2 cup of turkey into each lettuce leaf and enjoy. You can eat it like a wrap but I eventually gave up and used a fork.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #7

I always thought pizza dough was complicated. I assumed you had to let it rise and roll it out and toss it up in the sky (which Michael begs me to do). But you don't have to do all that. If you just want some straight up, no fuss pizza then this recipe is for you. This will not be less than 3o minutes but if you hustle you can make it in 30 minutes.


I will have the pizza dough recipe for you below but I will leave toppings up to you. I use Contadina Pizza Squeeze for sauce. Just grab the bottle and spttt, squeeze it over the crust, super easy. And I just use a pre-grated Colby Cheddar-Jack mix, go easy. The beauty of this crust is that it makes a ton! I roll mine out into a huge square broiler pan (minus the broiler grate thingy) and it feeds me, Erik, Jake and Bekah for Friday and Saturday night (Mike doesn't eat pizza, he just likes to help make it). I am going to base the Weight Watchers points on this for 2 squares of cheese and veggie pizza (veggies are zero points). A square serving being the size of your palm, 5 points each square for a total of 10 points. Eat some salad to fill up, trust me I can eat 6 squares with parmesan and Ranch dressing but I am trying to behave.







INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees, I never measure personally)



Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Dust your hands and rolling pin (or wine/beer bottle) with some flour and spread out on a large pizza/broiler pan. Top as desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes on top rack of oven.

Topping suggestions: red pepper rings, thinly sliced onion rings, fresh tomato slices, mushrooms, etc.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #6

Ok I realizing it's freezing and raining outside but I had a craving for this salad. This recipe is for 2 people but you can double it if you have guests or your kids eat salad.





INGREDIENTS
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast (pre-cooked grilled chicken )
as much lettuce chopped as you want ****
fresh tomato, chopped as much as you want (optional)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 of a (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
4 Tablespoons Fat Free Ranch dressing *****
4 Tablespoons barbeque sauce, your fave
A handful of crushed tortilla chips per person



Preheat the grill for high heat. Place chicken on the grill, and cook 6 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and slice. Or use pre-cooked/grilled chicken.

In a bowl mix tomato, cilantro, corn, and black beans together and put on top of lettuce. Top with the grilled chicken slices and crushed tortilla chips. Resist grated cheese but if you have guests over they might like it.

In a small bowl, mix the Ranch dressing and barbeque sauce. Serve on the side as a dipping sauce, or toss with the salad to coat.

6 Weight Watchers Points per serving. So that would be 1/2 a chicken breast, 1/4 of a can of black beans, 1/4 of a can of corn, 2Tbs F.F. Ranch, 2 Tbs. BBQ sauce and a handfull of crushed tortilla chips is about 6-7 chips crushed. I have big hands.


***** Making salad is boring and tedious. Eating salad is essential if you want to remain healthy and lose weight. A sad, sad truth. So I have a giant tupperware container that holds 3-4 heads of chopped lettuce. And at the beginning of the week I just chop a whole mess of rinsed and drained lettuce and throw it in the tupperware container and put in fridge. Nothing fancy, no carrots, no tomatoes just lettuce. So when I need to eat my salad the lettuce is already there and I can grab a handfull and put on some dressing or add other more exciting ingredients. The main point is to get greens in my gullet without a lot of fuss.

***** In my opinion Fat Free Ranch dressing tastes like ass. That is why in this recipe I reccomend mixing it with your fave bbq sauce. Tastes really good that way.

Weekly < 30 Minute Recipe #5

Everything is better with bacon.


Bacon, Corn, and Clam Chowder

Campbell's 98% Fat Free New England Clam Chower (not condensed) 1 can
1 8.75 oz. (or the closest size you can find) can of corn with diced red pepper, do not drain
2 slices bacon (freeze the rest of the package so you aren't tempted to eat it all)


Fry up your bacon and drain on paper towel. Drain grease from pan but don't wipe it down, a little bacon flavor won't kill ya. Open cans, dump into bacon pan on medium heat. Dice your crispy bacon and add to soup. You can simmer it for a few minutes or just eat it. Serves 2.

1 cup of this soup is 4 points. 5 saltine crackers are only 1 point so go nuts.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #4

Beans make me happy. They are filling and warm and have lots of fiber. My husband makes me sleep on the couch if I eat too many but then I don't have to hear him snore so I don't mind.


Black Bean Chili

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 cup diced onions (buy them pre-chopped)
1 garlic clove pressed (feel free to use more I have a slight allergy to garlic, so even though I love the stuff I have to go easy or my tongue swells)
4 tsps. chili powder
2 tsps. cumin powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (trust me)
3 cans 15 (or 15.5 oz) cans black beans, drained
2 cans 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes in juice
dashes of Tabasco to taste
hefty scoop of Fat Free sour cream
chopped fresh cilantro if you have it


Heat oil over med-high heat in large saucepan and add onions. Saute 5 min., mix in garlic and spices and then add beans and tomatoes. Simmer at least 15 minutes. Top with sour cream and cilantro if you want, resist the cheese!

One large cup of black bean chili is 2.5 points. Check the label on your fat free sour cream but the brand I use is zero points for one serving. That would be Naturally Yours Fat Free Sour Cream. So if you want you could add some grated cheese, let's say you use 1 oz. cheddar-colby mix which would be 1.5 points, that would bump up the total points to 4 points. Add a lite beer and you are still only at 6 points. Party on!