Breakfast Berry Parfait.

I am in love with Greek Yogurt!  A lady at Weight Watchers first turned me on to it and now I eat it almost every day.  I love that one serving has the same amount of protein as two eggs, and now Trader Joe's has a "high fiber" version that has 3 grams of fiber.  My favorite flavor is the vanilla (I love that you can see the specks of vanilla) which I layer with a half cup of defrosted frozen berries from Trader Joe's- The Berry Cherry mix and 2 tbsp. of low fat granola.  My favorite bites are the ones with the cherries and that vanilla yogurt- that is such a classic flavor combination.

1 cup (yogurt cup, not measured cup) of Trader Joe's High Fiber nonfat vanilla yogurt (3pts.)

1/2 cup frozen berries, defrosted (0 pts.)

2 tbsp. low fat granola (I used Cascadian, which counts for one point)

4 points total- isn't it pretty?  :)

On The Road Again.

I have been traveling a lot this month, sorry there haven't been very many posts.  A couple of weeks ago I stopped at a Carl's Jr. to try one of their new Turkey Burgers.  While it tasted great, and was a good choice, it still cost me a lot of points. 

But it was good enough to make me crave another turkey burger, only this time I made it at home, and replaced the bun with organic butter lettuce leaves.  With summer and a wedding approaching, I'm cutting as many carbs as I can.  I made four 5 ounce patties out of one package of Extra Lean Ground turkey from Jenny O and made them according to a recipe I had in my Weight Watchers Momentum cook book.  I grilled them indoors and they came out awesome!

Turkey Burger and Potato "Chips".

Turkey Burgers:
1 20 oz. package of extra lean ground turkey by Jenny O.
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients by hand, and divide into four equal portions (on my scale each patty weighed 5.5 ounces with all ingredients incorporated).  Form into patties and pre-heat grill.  Spray with non-stick spray and grill 6-8 minutes on each side.  Build with desired toppings-  today I used butter lettuce, sliced tomato, 1/4 avocado sliced, yellow mustard and 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce.  With no bun it was messy, but it tasted so good!

Potato "Chips"- these look like a thick kettle chip, but really they're slices of baked potato that I crisp in a non-stick skillet with Pam.  I start by baking the potato in the microwave.  When cooked, remove and let cool for a few minutes.  When cool enough  to handle, cut in half length wise then slice.   Spray skillet and heat, cooking potatoes for about 3 minutes on each side.  Sprinkle with salt and serve with ketchup.  Tastes like french fries but much better for you.

Point Plus total- 4 points my my turkey burger patty, 2 pts for the avocado, 2 pts for 4 oz of potato- 8 points total.

Secretly Low Fat Red Velvet Cupcakes.

While in Santa Barbara this weekend for "spring break" we visited one of my favorite restaurants (The Palace Cafe) and made some of my favorite low fat recipes.  I brought spaghetti squash casserole, made whole wheat blueberry pancakes for breakfast one morning, and for dessert one night, my delicious Secretly Low Fat Red Velvet Cupcakes.  These are made just like the chocolate ones I shared once before- a box mix, 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of pureed pumpkin.  Then I frost them with a low fat cream cheese frosting.  They are so moist and yummy, no one knew they were low fat until I told them- and this included men, women and children!

Secretly Low Fat Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 box Red Velvet cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup water

1 8oz. package low fat cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 12 cup cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray.  In mixing bowl add cake mix, pumpkin and water.  Stir by hand until well mixed and no lumps are visible.  Spoon evenly into 12 cupcake spots, and bake 18-22 minutes.  Test with a toothpick.

For frosting, in a mixing bowl add room-temp, softened cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla and one box of powdered sugar.  Mix with electric mixer and beat just until smooth.  Transfer frosting to a piping bag (or Ziploc bag with corner cut out) and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Decorate with red crystals if desired.

Each cupcake is 6 points.  These are really good, and can be a red light food (pun intended) so I bake them to share, making sure I only get one or two for myself.

Tomato, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Omelet

Sunday mornings I enjoy having a bigger breakfast like most.  But that doesn't have to mean that it's full of fat and calories.  The veggie drawers in my refrigerator had tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach, and my cheese drawer had some low fat goat cheese and mozzarella cheese.  I also had one tablespoon left of one of my favorite condiments- Crema di Pepperoni by AG Ferrarro. It's a delicious roasted red bell pepper tapenade that I like to use on pizza, pasta, and in appetizers, I knew it would be great in an omelet too.

Tomato, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Omelet

3 egg whites
splash of nonfat milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes,
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp Crema di Pepperoni (roasted red bell pepper tapenade)
2 tbsp low fat goat cheese
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
2 tbsp shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
2 oz. polenta

Spray two non-stick skillets with no-stick spray.  In the larger one lightly saute the tomatoes and mushrooms.  When cooked, turn off heat, and turn on heat for smaller skillet.  Pour scrambled egg whites in to prepare omelet.  Flip and fill with mushroom and tomato mixture, and top with crema di pepperoni and goat cheese.  Close omelet and top with spinach and mozzarella cheese.  If serving with polenta, heat up next to omelet in the skillet- cover to steam spinach and warm polenta.  Transfer to plate and enjoy.

The Points Plus value is as follows, 1 point for the egg whites, 1 point for the red bell pepper sauce, 1 point for the goat cheese, 1 point for the mozzarella, and 2 points for the polenta- 6 points total, and servings of lean protein, whole grains, dairy and vegetables.  Enjoy!