This is a good treat when you want a change from boring plain coffee.  This is more of an idea than a recipe.

Protein Coffee

1 cup coffee
fat free half and half to taste
sweetener to taste
dash SF vanilla syrup
1 scoop of vanilla protein shake mix

In large mug or pitcher (because there will be splashing) mix all ingredients with a stick blender. Can use any flavor of syrup. If you really want to be decadent, add a dollop of fat free cool whip or RediWip on top.

If you don’t have a stick blender, then use a regular blender.

1 serving

The nutritional information will vary depending on the ingredients you use.

I love salsa.  But I am picky.  Until now I have only liked salsa I have gotten in Mexican restaurants.  I don’t like chunky salsa and I am not a big fan of onions.  Salsa that I get at Mexican restaurants is usually not chunky (at least in my neck of the woods).  So I have not had good luck at finding a salsa from a jar that I could eat.  Most of them are either chunky or oniony or both.

But it didn’t keep me from looking for that elusive creature - a non-chunky, non-oniony salsa.  I finally found it at Trader Joe’s.  I should have know. Trader Joe’s rocks!  Trader Jose’s Salsa Autentica is a non-chunky, non-oniony salsa.  It does have onion it it.  It would be perfect if i didn’t actually see a few onion pieces floating in it, but I can manage with the little bit there is.

The best part is that this salsa is fairly cheap for jarred salsa.  A 12 oz jar is $1.69 at my local Trader Joe’s.

And it is only 10 calories for 2 Tbs.  That means I can eat 1/4 cup for 0 Weight Watcher points.  A bargain all the way around.

I guess technically my version of this potato recipe shouldn’t be called “chips”. They were not cut as thin as they should have been and I didn’t bake them until crispy.  I prefer my potatoes (even French Fries) non-crispy.  This was a tasty alternative to oven fries. This makes a nice sized side dish for not too many Weight Watcher points.

Oven Parmesan Chips - originally from the Taste of Home magazine (Feb/Mar ‘94)

4 servings
3- 4 medium unpeeled baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbs Parmesan

Cut potatoes into thin slices, place in a mixing bowl and add the oil.  Toss to coat.  Add the seasonings and toss to coat with the spices.  Spread the potato slices on a greased baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes until tender and golden.  Turning once during cooking.  Bake a little longer if you like them crispier.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 173
Fat:  4.3 g
Carbs: 30 g
Fiber: 3.9 g
Protein: 4.5 g

3 Weight Watcher points

Sunday - pasta with marinara sauce, broiled chicken breasts, broccoli
Monday - Teriyaki chicken in the crockpot, rice, broccoli, eggroll
Tuesday - Left overs
Wednesday - Turkey Sausage Stromboli from Trader Joes, salad
Thursday - Chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans
Friday - Hamburger Helper, green beans
Saturday - Dinner at Grandma’s house

See Org Junkie for more menu ideas!

This is one of my favorite crockpot recipes. Its not gourmet by any means, but it sure is comfort food. This recipe is all over the Internet. I adjusted it by leaving out the mushrooms and adding a can of peas.

Creamy Italian Chicken in the Crockpot

6 servings

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (I like my chicken cut into chunks)
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope dried Italian salad dressing mix (Good Seasonings is the brand I use)
8 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can low fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Place the chicken breast halves in the crock pot. Sprinkle with the Italian dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.  Combine the cream cheese and soup until smooth and blended. (I sometimes need to microwave the mixture for a minute to smooth out the lumps. Pour soup mixture over chicken. Add a can of peas. Cook 1 more hour.

Serve over hot cooked rice or pasta.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 234.3
Fat:  12.6 g
Carbs: 10.7 g
Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 10.7 g

5 Weight Watcher points (8 points if you divide this into 4 servings)

As I have mentioned before, I love Mexican food.  A favorite lunch for me is bean tostadas.  Fat free refried beans are a filling and very low point option.  A tostada shell is an empty canvas just waiting for yummy toppings.  Here I will show you my standard bean tostada.  This is not really a recipe but more of a tutorial.

First I heat my beans.  I am usually only making one or 2 tostadas at a time and just microwave the amount of beans I need in a bowl for about a minute and a half.  If I was cooking for more people, I would put the whole can of refried beans in a pot and warm on the stove.  I normally use about 1/4 cup of beans per shell.  You can find fat free refried beans that is 1 Weight Watcher
point per serving, that is what I always use.

Then, I use a knife and spread my beans on the tostada, using about 1/4 cup of beans per tostada.  I find it easier to spread them with a knife than a spoon.

Next I put on my cheese.  Of course, you could wait and sprinkle your cheese on top but I like my cheese next to the beans so the residual heat from the beans slightly melts the cheese.  If I am short on Weight Watcher points for the day, then I will only use 1/2 ounce of low fat cheddar per tostada.  If I have more points to spend, then I might use 1 ounce per tostada.  In this picture I am using mozzarella only because that is what I had in the fridge.

Next, I layer toppings depending on my mood.  Sometimes I only have beans, cheese and a little taco sauce or salse. Other times I add jalepenos, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.  Other options might be onion, black olives, avocado, etc.

Calories and points will depend on who much stuff you put on your tostada.  Mine usually range from 2.5 - 4 points each.

Sunday - Enchiladas, beans, rice
Monday - Scalloped Potatoes and Chicken Casserole, green beans
Tuesday - Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken, broccoli
Wednesday - Eat Out
Thursday - Teriyaki Chicken, rice, eggroll, veggie
Friday - Bourbon Chicken, rice, broccoli
Saturday - Turkey Burgers, Oven Parmesan Chips, salad

See Org Junkie for more menu ideas!

Ok, so the picture doesn’t look like pie or even a layered dish.  Next time I think I will let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.  That is if I can wait.  This was really good.  It was a nice change from just plain old spaghetti. I got the recipe from here.

Spaghetti Pie

3/4 pound lean ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup low fat sour cream 2 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked
4 ounces low fat cheese (I used mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. Drain if needed.  Add salt, spices, and tomato sauce.  Simmer 20 minutes.  In the meantime, cook the spaghetti.
Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and Parmesan in a small bowl, set aside.
Place spaghetti noodles in a 2 quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Spread sour cream mixture over spaghetti noodles. Top with meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover, bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 328
Fat: 13.9 g
Carbs: 27.5 g
Fiber: 1.2 g
Protein: 23.8 g

8 Weight Watcher points - you can get this down to 7 points per serving if you use a high fiber pasta such as Ronzoni.

I found this recipe and thought it sounded interesting.  I’m glad I gave it a try.  I left the additional salt out and glad I did as the soy sauce gives the chicken plenty of a salty taste.
Oven Fried Sesame Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast strips
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a baking dish with vegetable spray. In a shallow dish, place soy sauce. Add chicken, turning once to coat; remove and discard remaining soy sauce. In a large resealable plastic bag, add sesame seeds, flour, and pepper. Add chicken and shake to coat. Place chicken in prepared baking dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 248
Fat: 6.4 g
Carbs: 8.1 g
Fiber: .9 g
Protein: 37.6 g

5 Weight Watcher points

Lemon and Herb Rice

4 servings

1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1 Tbs Light Smart Balance
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Tbs lemon juice

Place rice, water, butter and herbs in medium pot and bring to a boil.  Turn down to low, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 181
Fat: 1.6 g
Carbs: 37.3 g
Fiber: .6 g
Protein: 3.3 g

4 Weight Watcher points