“Lavish” Mexican Pizza Recipe
This morning I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to have breakfast until late so I made sure to stop for a Grande FF Decaf Latte with Caramel Drizzle (2.5 pts) to make sure I broke “the fast” 
When I finally got into work after my morning appointment, I couldn’t wait to dig into breakfast. My Smiley Egg Whites started out cute, but, turned sorta creepy by the time I took pictures LOL….
1 1/4 c Watermelon/Cantaloupe (1 pt)
1 serving Instant Grits (2 pts)
1/3 c Liquid Egg whites with a “HOT” Sriracha Smile (1 pt)
I ventured out at lunch for a quick 2-3 mile jog/walk to keep my legs loose for the race on Sunday. I warmed up walking for 10 minutes, then, starting jogging and my left hip immediately kicked in. GRRR…I tried doing a few 1 minute jogs but decided after the first mile it wasn’t worth hurting my hip again. So, I walked a total of 2 miles, stretched a bunch and called it good.
I couldn’t wait to get back for the salad I dreamed up last night. It was entirely centered around my latest obsession ~ The Harvest Grain Salad (4 pts).
Plus 2 oz leftover BBQ Chicken and 1 Sargento Low Fat Colby Square (3 pts).
Crunchy baby bell peppers.
Topped with just a drizzle of Anniie’s Lite Herb Balsamic Dressing. This salad was so good I was sorta sad when it was all gone 
I didn’t really wait for the afternoon to bust into my afternoon snack. I pretty much had it as dessert for my lunch. It all started with a few tastes of frosting from a chocolate cake my co-worker made (she had me at double the frosting) ~ 2 pts. So….I HAD to have a few pieces of my favorite ChocoLOVE ~ Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Almonds to keep me from eating more cake See the logic ~ chocolate takes chocolate cravings away 
(3 pts).
I ran around after work enjoying the 67 degree SUNSHINE before I came home to make this AWESOME, FAST and very ‘”LAVISH” dinner.
“LAVISH” MEXICAN PIZZA
INGREDIENTS:
1 Whole Wheat Lavish Wrap (save pts, buy the ones at Whole Foods!)
1/2 c heated fat free salsa refried or whole beans
1/4 c enchilada sauce
2 oz or ~ 1/2 c cooked LEAN Ground Turkey, beef, veggie crumbles seasoned with Taco Seasoning & a little Salsa
1 oz low fat finely shredded colby cheese
Favorite toppings: tomatoes, avocado, bell peppers, jalapeños, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, etc.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start out placing foil or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Add one Whole Wheat Lavish Wrap and top with a 1/2 cup prepared Fat Free Salsa Beans and 1/4 c enchilada sauce.
2. Add 1/2 c of prepared “turkey” taco meat and 1/4 Trader Joe’s Corn Salsa.
3. Top with 1 oz Low Fat Colby Cheese and bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes. 7 minutes for a slightly crispy crust and 10 minutes for a super crispy crust. While your pizza cooks, chop up your favorite toppings.
4. Remove your pizza from the oven. Add your toppings. Slice into 6 pieces Enjoy!
Makes 1 BIG serving for 8.5 points, but, you save 2 pts if you use the WF Lavish Bread !
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STEP-BY-STEP:
Start out placing foil or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Add one Whole Wheat Lavish Wrap and top with a 1/2 cup prepared Fat Free Salsa Beans and 1/4 c enchilada sauce.
Add 1/2 c of prepared “turkey” taco meat and 1/4 Trader Joe’s Corn Salsa.
Top with 1 oz Low Fat Colby Cheese and bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes. 7 minutes for a slightly crispy crust and 10 minutes for a super crispy crust.
While your pizza cooks, chop up your favorite toppings.
Remove your pizza from the oven.
Add your toppings.
Slice into 6 pieces
And Enjoy it ALL! You don’t have to share if you don’t want to….The Husband stole 2 slices of my LAVISH Mexican Pizza even though he said he didn’t want any 
That is sort of one indicator I know a healthy recipe is good….He is totally anti-wheat so if he eats it, you know it’s tasty
Dessert was a couple of my LAVISH Agave Cinnamon Chips! I made up a batch for my guest post on Snack-Girl ~ recipe to be shared with you all soon.
Off to relax and enjoy Iron Chef a movie with my “Oak-Y” Husband. He finally caved today and saw the doctor so hopefully he will get better soon!
Just one more day…..I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS WEEKEND ~ AHHHH ~ SO EXCITED! My sis picked up our race packets today!
Night all!
A Must Try Harvest Grain Salad!
Happy Biggest Loser Day!! Do you all ever have days where you are so tired when you wake up that you cannot for the life of you think of what to eat for the day? This is pretty rare for me because I honestly I dream up what I am eating the night before. But, today, for some reason, my brain was broken and nothing came to mine.
I picked an easy breakfast that involved two of my FAVORITE Cereals ~ Kashi Cinnamon Harvest and the new “kid” on the Block Udi’s BanaBerry Granola.
Since I was running late for work, I packed the ENTIRE boxes to take with me to work (now you all know why my lunch box is a re-usable grocery bag
28 Biscuits (since I didn’t have my scale)
1/2 c banana slices
Sprinkle of Banaberry Granola
1/2 c FF Milk
I LOVE cereal, but, for 5 points, I was STILL hungry after I ate it I waited my 3 hours though before snack and decided to have a high protein 3 point snack ~ Egg Plus Cheese!
As odd of a combo as it sounds, it totally did the trick in filling me up. When I looked at the other contents of my lunch bag (organic cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit, tortillas (not sure why) plus a frozen dinner, they just didn’t appeal (broken brain!). I happily accepted an offer to hit up Thai Kitchen!
I started off with a one won ton soup plus chili sauce ~ HOT! (1 pt)
I almost always order Broccoli Chicken when at Thai or Chinese food because it’s so low in points. 1 cup is only TWO POINTS!!! I added more Chili sauce ~ HOT! (2 pts)
Plus 1 Cone Cup of Brown Rice (4 pts) – I want to get a cone shaped cup just so I can make Brown Rice Mountains like this
I think today topped the charts as one of the LONGEST days ever. Long days make my mouth think it NEEDS something sweet even though my belly is totally happy.
My Co-worker offered up some of the ChocoLOVE Peppermint Bar I gave her yesterday and I happily accepted 2 squares for 1 point. I LOVED this flavor – it’s not too strong in mint, but, it’s super creamy and decadent.
Since I wanted to share back, I broke out the Qbel Peanut Butter Wafers that I picked up at Whole Foods this past weekend.
I LOVE the stats (130 cal, 7 g fat, <1 g fiber) for both bars….3 points.
But, only one bar is ONE POINT so of course I had just one. I LIKE how flakey and creamy and crunchy they are. I am totally buying more of the choco-peanut butter wafer sticks!
I have had this bag of Harvest Grains from Trader Joe’s for awhile now and have been trying to think of ways to have it.
I LOVE all the different grains and such that are included ~ who knew they made Baby garbanzo beans?
When I stopped at Trader Joe’s to buy some chicken tonight, they were sampling up a Harvest Grain Salad. I LOVE the idea of using this grain to make a salad and had to recreate it!
I portioned out 1/2 the bag (approximately 1 1/4 cups) and boiled it for 10 minutes in chicken broth to cook it. I omitted the butter that the packaged instructions suggested because well, I didn’t see a need.
After it was done cooking, I added the following:
1/2 jar chopped marinated artichokes
1/2 jar chopped sun dried tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1/4 c white balsamic vinegar
Big Dashes of TJ’s 21 Spice Salute
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Chives
Stir to combine and enjoy hot or cold. So delicious! Makes 6 servings, 1/2 cup for 4 points. It’s SO GOOD! Even the non-couscous eating Husband LOVES it
I grilled up the Organic Chicken Breast Tenders with Gayle’s Original BBQ Sauce while I prepared the salad and The Husband’s Garlic Fries.
I decided to use these Lavish Bread’s I bought at Trader Joe’s to make up BBQ Chicken Wraps to go with out Harvest Grain Salad.
I LOVE Lavish Bread Stats ~ 1/2 for 2 pts, whole for 4 pts. I am totally thinking a LAVISH Pizza is in order this week using these
1 wrap topped with some Gayle’s Original BBQ sauce.
Then, I added the rest…
TJ’s Organic Herb Spring Mix Lettuce
Red Bell Pepper Slices
2 oz BBQ Chicken Tenders
1 Tbsp Finely Shredded Low Fat Cheddar Cheese
1/8 AVOCADO
Wrapped like a Pro ~ Lavish bread makes wrapping E-Z! The Husband decorated my plate with a few of his fries, some “greens” and a little Harvest Salad.
MMMMM!!! 7 pts for the wrap, plus 2 pts for 1/4 salad and my fries .
The Husband was pretty proud of his plate with THREE wraps (with salsa tortillas), so he took pictures to share He does a pretty good job at plating, huh?
BIGGEST LOSER TIME!!!! Hasta Manana!
Baked Cheesy Bacon Mac N Cheese Recipe
I think the BEST food ever created was Macaroni and Cheese and I honestly don’t discriminate. This Baked Cheesy Bacon Mac recipe takes your Traditional Baked Macaroni & Cheese to the next level by using FOUR types of Cheese, BACON, a little HEAT and some vegetables for crunch….Plus, it’s healthy too Try it, you’ll like it!
Thanks to TJ’s Test Kitchen for the inspiration to take her delicious looking Baked Macaroni recipe and spice it up a bit with this version!
Baked Cheesy Bacon Mac N Cheese Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
7 oz Whole Wheat Elbow Macaroni (or any shape)
1 c Low Fat Riccota Cheese
3.5 oz Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
3.5 ox Low Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 oz Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
1 Egg
1 Tsp Sea Salt
1/4 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 c chopped fresh spinach
2-3 small zucchini’s sliced and quartered
4 slices center cut bacon or turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 jar Bertolli Spicy Arabbiata Pasta Sauce
A few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Nonstick Spray
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a small 8×8 or 9×13 dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Prepare pasta according to packaged instructions. Be sure to salt your water as it’s the only time you can season your pasta and cook it all dente. I cooked mine for 8 minutes.
3. After weighing your cheese, set aside one handful of the mozzarella and cheddar (about 1/4 cup each). Combine ricotta through freshly ground black pepper mixing thoroughly.
4. Stir in your fresh spinach and zucchini mixing thoroughly. Stir in your bacon. Add hot pasta and stir to combine.
5. Layer it up! Start with 1 cup of pasta sauce, topped with 1/2 of the cheesy bacon macaroni mix, then 1/2 cup to 1 cup sauce followed by the rest of the cheesy bacon pasta. Top with 1/2 cup sauce and remaining cheese.
6. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and cut into 6 slices.
Makes 6 BIG Cheesy Bacon Macaroni squares for only 6 POINTS EACH!
VEGETARIANS ~ Use Fakin’ Bacon or omit bacon to make it vegetarian.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING (using sparkrecipes.com):
Calories 296.6, Total Fat 8.3 g, Saturated Fat 4.0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g, Monounsaturated Fat 0.9 g, Cholesterol 61.6 mg, Sodium 807.7 mg, Potassium 190.4 mg, Total Carbohydrate 35.2 g, Dietary Fiber 5.6 g, Sugars 5.4 g, Protein 22.3 g
STEP-BY-STEP:
1. Prepare your pasta according to the packaged instructions ~ be sure to salt the water and cook al dente.
2. Save yourself some time (& mess)and cook your bacon in the microwave. Place on 3 paper towels and cook approximately 1-1 1/2 minutes per piece.
Tadah ~ crispy, crunchy micro waved bacon with NO mess to clean up. I cook all of my turkey bacon this way when using it.
While your bacon cooks, measure out all your cheeses using your super cool Eat Smart Precision Pro Digital Food Scale.
.5 Ounce Parmesan
3.5 Ounces Low Fat Mozzarella
3.5 Ounces Low Fat SHARP Cheddar Cheese
3. Set aside a small handful of your cheeses for topping and combine Ricotta through freshly ground pepper.
4. Add spinach and zucchini and mix well.
Add your secret ingredient ~ crispy, crumbled bacon pieces.
Plus your cooked pasta.
Stir well to combine.
5. Layer it up! You could make your own spicy pasta sauce, but, I wanted to try out my new Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce from Bertolli. Of course I had to taste it BEFORE I put it on my pasta
I LOVE the ingredient list ~ this sauce is pretty tasty by itself. It has a nice tomato/red pepper flavor with a little spicy kick.
Add 1 cup of your pasta sauce to your prepared 9 x 13 pan.
Next, 1/2 of your cheesy bacon pasta mixture and a little more sauce. You can dot the sauce or spread it around, whatever you prefer.
Top with the remaining cheesy bacon pasta mixture.
Plus another 1/2 cup of sauce and the reserved cheese.
I like adding a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes on top to add some more HEAT, but, you don’t have to do that
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into 6 pieces and enjoy!
I LOVE how a little bacon and a little strong flavored cheeses go a long way to adding flavor to this Baked Macaroni and Cheese. This casserole is even better the next day. Enjoy!
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Slow Cooker Turkey & Bean Burrito Bake Recipe
This is by far one of my FAVORITE new recipes. How can you not LOVE coming home to tasty baked burritos that are topped with enchilada sauce and stuffed with lean ground turkey breast, brown rice, beans, fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes, zucchini, tortillas and CHEESE!
I wish I could take credit for this FANTASTIC idea, however, this recipe has been adapted from my latest Weight Watcher Cookbook called Slow Cook It! I spiced it up a bit, added a little garlic and fire roasted diced tomatoes for their smoky flavor.
I served mine on a salad to it became a Turkey & Bean Burrito Bake Salad with all the fixin’s ~ the result was AWESOME! This tastes even better the next day.
Get creative and add your favorite veggies to mix it up. I imagine this would work fantastic with veggie crumbles, ground beef, chicken, pork, etc. Enjoy!
SLOW COOKER TURKEY & BEAN BURRITO BAKE
Source: Weight Watchers Slow Cook It!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb lean ground turkey breast
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Taco Seasoning (HOMEMADE, Mrs. Dashes Chipolte Lime or Chili Powder)
1 14 ½ oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
10 oz good quality enchilada sauce
1/3 c salsa
½ c cooked brown rice (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Brown Rice)
1-2 zucchinis, quartered and chopped
1 15 oz canned kidney, pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
6 small corn tortillas
1 ½ c shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese
** I didn’t add corn, but, I think it would be a FANTASTIC addition.
OPTIONAL TOPPERS:
Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce
Tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, AVOCADO, Sour Cream/Greek Yogurt, Additional Salsa
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add turkey, onion and garlic; cook, cook, breaking turkey apart with wooden spoon, until turkey is no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning and remove from heat.
2. Spray your slow cooking with nonstick cooking spray (I used my 3 quart slow cooker and filled it to the brim.) Combine tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and 1/3 cup salsa in a medium bowl. Spread ½ cup tomato mixture over bottom of the slow cooker. Top with 2 tortillas, tearing on of the tortillas in half so that the tortillas cover tomato mixture. Top evenly with half of turkey mixture, half of rice, and with half of beans and ½ cup cheese. Repeat with 2 tortillas, remaining turkey mixture, rice, and zucchini, 1 cup tomato mixture, remaining beans, and ½ cup cheese. Top with remaining 2 tortillas and spread with remaining tomato mixture.
3. Cover and cook until hot and bubbling at edges, 2 ½ – 3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Sprinkle burrito bake with remaining ½ cup cheese. Cover and let stand until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve on top of lettuce with all your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Makes 6 servings, 1 ½ cups each
Nutritional information per serving (1 ½ cups burrito bake), excluding toppings:
341 calories, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 956 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 28 g p
Try it ~ You will like it and not having to do anything to cook when you get home….just chop a few veggies or serve it straight up and you are good to go.
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Low Fat Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Most people will tell you when eating healthy, you should avoid anything that is made with a cream sauce, like Alfredo Sauce. However, I say, why avoid it when you can make a healthy Low Fat Alfredo sauce that tastes just as good, if not better than the real deal. I know there are several different variations using Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges to make a Mock Alfredo, however, this is the version that I find works the best.
I used 1/2 Garlic & Herb and 1/2 Original Swiss Laughing Cow Cheeses when I created the sauce for my Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Sauce. Although my Gnocchi wasn’t perfect, this sauce was absolutely AMAZING!
I think this thick & creamy Alfredo sauce would be awesome served up over some whole wheat fettuccine with steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms and grilled chicken.
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
8 Laughing Cow Lite Original Swiss Wedges, garlic & herb or French onion (any combination works)
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 c fat free milk
1/2 tbsp butter
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
If you’d like more of a fresh garlic taste, add 1 clove of minced garlic when you first start to cook the sauce.
INSTRUCTIONS::
1. Combine all the above ingredients in a small sauce place. Place on heat over medium low, stirring often using a wire whisk until melted and creamy. The sauce will thicken as the cheese melts.
2. Serve at once over your favorite pasta, veggies, gnocchi or as The Husband says, dip for your bread.
Yields about 1 cup of sauce, 16 Tablespoons
Nutritional information per serving, 2 Tbsp:
Calories 52.1, Total Fat 2.8 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g, Monounsaturated Fat 0.2 g, Cholesterol 12.5 mg, Sodium 281.0 mg, Potassium 51.1 mg, Total Carbohydrate 2.5 g, Dietary Fiber 0.0 g, Sugars 1.0 g, Protein 3.6 g
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