Zucchini Pizza Sticks

I hate zucchini. Hate. Unless it's in some delicious bread, of course. I now can eat zucchini if it's the base of my pizza!! Wahoo! I liked it! Who would have imagined?

This is another recipe that I found over at Skinny Taste:Peel and slice zucchini into 1/4 inch strips (7 calories each)
Spray olive oil on both sides
1 tsp pizza/spaghetti sauce per strip (4 calories)
2 tsp part skim mozzarella per strip (13 calories per strip)
salt and pepper

Spray both side lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil or grill for about 2 minute on each side. Top with sauce and cheese and broil for an additional minute or two. (Careful not to burn cheese)

Total Calories: 24 per strip!!

Southwest Meatballs with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

I have recently discovered Gina's blog over at Skinny Taste. What a treasure trove of delicious low-calorie dishes! I shall be cooking my way through her blog at my leisure. I made her southwest turkey meatballs (more or less--mine ended up bigger, so I made fewer and cooked them longer), but substituted my own cilantro dressing, lightened up. Ingredients for Meatballs:
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1 jalapeño, seeds removed (leave some in for spicier meatballs)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 tsp cumin*
pinch oregano
salt and fresh pepper
cooking spray

Directions for Meatballs:
Lightly spray baking pan with oil. Preheat oven to 400°.

Place jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and scallions into a small food processor or chopper and pulse a few times until finely minced.

In a large bowl combine turkey, chopped herbs, bread crumbs, egg, cumin, oregano, scallions, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix well and measure a hefty 1/4 cup meat, then divide in two so you end up with each meatball 1/8 cup in size. Roll and place on a baking pan.

Bake meatballs at 400° 25 minutes. Makes 18 meatballs, 24 calories each.

*(I only had 1/2 tsp cumin in my cupboard, so I haven't tried it with the full amount. What I used was delicious).

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Ingredients for Dipping Sauce
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
2-3 tomatillos (remove papery skin), rough chop
1 cup Kraft Free Mayo
1 cup light cultured buttermilk
½ bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lime
½ jalapeno pepper (remove seeds for less fire... I removed the seeds; 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper without the seeds was plenty for our uber-gringo weak-sauce palates)

Directions
Dump everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate in air-tight container.

Makes 3 and half cups sauce, 10 calories per tablespoon.

Total Calories: 24 per meatball, 10 per tbs dipping sauce!

Aloha Shoyu Salmon Rice

I made this up all by myself, inspired by a Hawaiian soy sauce that I found at the grocery store recently (in the Asian aisle at Walmart) and a burning desire to eat more brown rice. I'm totally addicted! Kinley loves it too, without the pineapple.I have had it probably 8-10 times in the last two weeks. Nervous chuckle...

3/4 of the calories come directly from brown rice and salmon, two power foods. This recipe makes two delicious smallish servings or one really big serving! Tangy, savory, yum! If you have the rice already cooked and waiting patiently in your fridge, this is a very quick meal. Less than 10 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients:

• 3-ounce salmon fillet (make it a little heavy because it will shrink down a little. I measured 3-ounces after it was cooked (153 calories)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (216 calories)
• 1 tsp sesame oil (40 calories)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup pineapple tidbits, with or without liquid -- I slightly prefer the liquid, but I've done it both ways. (60 calories)
• 1 Tbs Aloha Shoyu Hawaiian Soy Sauce** (0 calories)
• Dash of salt

Instructions:
Heat up sesame oil in skillet. Sear salmon until cooked almost through, approximately 3-4 minutes on each side (frozen fillets work just fine; don't even need to thaw them first). When the salmon is cooked, or almost cooked, break it apart into small pieces with your spatula. When salmon pieces are completely cooked, add rice, ginger, Aloha soy sauce, and pineapple. Stir until warmed through. Serve warm, add a dash of salt if desired.

**Regular soy sauce WILL NOT WORK!!!!!

Total Calories: 2 servings, 235 calories each.

Apple Chicken Cheese Snack

This is a fun snack when I'm in a hurry. Quick and delicious!Ingredients:
1 gala apple (80 calories)
3 ounces grilled chicken (141 calories)
1 wedge Laughing Cow light cheese, any flavor (I chose creamy garlic herb) (35 calories)

Total Calories: 256

Brown Rice Salad

This is a recipe that I have loved for many years. I first got it from my sister Heather. I love it! It is very filling and very healthy.Ingredients:
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (24 calories)
2 ounces chicken breast (94 calories)
1 cup cooked brown rice (218)
3 Tbs Kraft Free Caesar Italian dressing (38 calories)

1 Tbs shredded parmesan cheese (20 calories)

Directions:
Mix and eat. I prefer my rice and chicken just a little warm and my lettuce cold.

Total Calories: 394

Spinach Quiche Frittata or Scramble

I was craving quiche one day, so I looked up a bunch of quiche recipes and took a stab in the dark at a low-cal version. Success! In fact, it's a little too low-calorie at 149!

Ingredients:
1 ounce ham (30 calories)
1/2 cup egg product (60 calories)
1/2 cup spinach (3 calories)
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced (16 calories)
2 Tbs shredded parmesan cheese (40 calories)

Directions:
For quiche/frittata:
Needed: small saute pan with a lid!
Spray saute pan with cooking spray and "I can't believe it's not butter" spray. Pour in egg product, add ham, spinach, and tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium low or medium until eggs look almost "done". Top with cheese and recover. Cook until cheese is melted and eggs are "done". Transfer frittata to plate, serve warm.

For scramble:
Spray pan with cooking spray and no-cal "butter" spray. Add eggs and stir with spatula until almost cooked. Add ham, spinach, tomatoes and finish cooking. Toss in bowl with parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Total Calories: 149

Ham English Muffin Melt

Mmmmmm..... English muffins are my other vehicle of choice.
Ingredients:
1 English Muffin (they do make multi-grain and whole wheat) (120 calories)
1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese (110 calories)
1/3 cup sliced tomatoes (16 calories)
2 oz honey ham, cut into tiny strips (60 calories)
1 tsp Kraft Free Mayo (4 calories)
1 tsp dijon mustard (5 calories)
1 tsp diced green onions (0 calories)

Directions
Mix mustard and may together. Open English Muffin and spread on the bottom of both pieces. Top with ham, onions, tomatoes and cheese. Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and muffin is crispy. Yum!

Total Calories: 315

Morning Star Veggie Breakfast Sausage

This has been my favorite breakfast "meat" for many years. It tastes delicious, and I'm not nauseated by imagining exactly which undesirable parts of what cast-off animal I may be ingesting. Nor does it leave me with slimy sausage-lips! I cook them in a skillet with a little splash of water to keep them moist. DO NOT MICROWAVE THEM--they turn out tough and rubbery.

This is also Kinley's favorite breakfast "meat". As much as she loves ham and bacon, this is her top choice by a landslide. They are much cheaper at Costco than anywhere else. They are 80 calories each and go perfectly alongside pumpkin pancakes or anything else!

Pesto Salmon Pizza

I am proud to say that this one is my very own brain child! A happy success. Yum yum!
Needed: Skillet with a lid

Ingredients:
1 Guerrero whole wheat tortilla (120 calories)
2.5 ounces cooked salmon, pan-seared, broiled, or baked as you like (75 calories)
1 Tbs Classico Pesto Sauce (58 calories*)
1 Tbs Swiss cheese (46 calories)
1/2 roma tomato (9 calories)

Directions:
Toast the tortilla on one side. Transfer to a plate with the toasted side up and the uncooked side down. Spread pesto sauce on the toasted side of the tortilla. Top with salmon, tomatoes, and cheese. Return to pan. Cover with lid and cook until bottom of tortilla is toasted and cheese melts.

Transfer to a plate, cut into quarters and serve warm.

*That's what the jar says, but it is actually less. Whenever I open a jar of Classico Pesto Sauce, I always immediately dump out the thick layer of oil that sits on top of the rest of the sauce. That dumps out unnecessary calories and doesn't hurt the taste one bit.

This could also be done in an oven.

Total Calories: 308 or less*

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Yeah, I love tortillas. So what? Everything needs a delivery vehicle. Tortillas are my low-carb jalopy of choice.

This recipe has been inspired by a combination of something I found in my Biggest Loser Family cookbook, a recipe that my friend Jennie made for me, and your basic bbq chicken pizza.

Needed: Skillet with a lid and additional saute pan.

Ingredients:
1 Guerrero whole wheat tortilla (120 calories)
1 Tbs Masterpiece Hickory Brown Suger BBQ sauce (30 calories)
1/2 cup onions, slivered or diced (34 calories)
1 ounce grilled chicken breast, shredded (47 calories)
2 Tbs goat cheese or part-skim mozzarella (38 calories)
1/4 roma tomato, diced (4 calories)
pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Spray saute pan with cooking spray and "I can't believe it's not butter" spray. Saute onions until tender, adding a pinch of sea salt. Remove from heat.

Toast the tortilla on one side. Transfer to a plate with the toasted side up and the uncooked side down. Spread BBQ sauce on the toasted side of the tortilla. Top with onions, chicken, tomatoes, and cheese. Return to pan. Cover with lid and cook until bottom of tortilla is toasted and cheese is soft. Goat cheese won't "melt" in the traditional sense. It gets very soft when it warms, but it doesn't spread out.

Transfer to a plate, cut into quarters and serve warm.

This could also be done in an oven.

Total Calories: 273