“International Eats”
Happy Monday All! Today is an AWESOME day because it’s The Scandalous Bachelor Finale, it’s sunny outside and I had some AMAZING eats. I cooked up TWO new “international” recipes this weekend ~ Chinese & Mexican Food ~ Both turned out to be PHENOMENAL…but more on that in a bit.
I happened to come across these Candied Pecan’s at Trader Joe’s this weekend. I have totally been wanting to try them ever since.
What better way to sample these nuts than to whip up a batch of Caramel Pecan Banana Oats! 5 points for this entire bowl of goodness.
1/3 c Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
2/3 c water
BIG Dashes of Cinnamon
All cooked for 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave.
3/4 of a small banana mixed in and 1/4 for topping
1/2 Tbsp Whipped Butter melted
1 tsp brown sugar
4 CANDIED Pecans broken into pieces
I just LOVE the combination of the salty whipped butter with the melted brown sugar caramel and these little candied pecan treats. The pecans are perfectly salty, sweet and not over sugared ~ YUM. I made sure I got a little treat with each bite.
I really should’ve had some protein with my oats because I was STARVING an hour later. I managed to hold out for 3 hours until I had my mid morning snack of TJ’s Organic Vanilla Yogurt with a nectarine (3 pts). I am really digging this yogurt ~ honestly the flavor is like that of FROYO!
My lunch today was inspired by the latest issue of Cooking Light Magazine. II LOVE digging into this magazine as soon as it arrives. The first thing I check out is the recipes (of course!) then, I move on to the articles.
I have to say there are some great articles in this months issue!
1. The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) (p. 108) – Cooking Light offers tips on how to avoid the 25 most common cooking mistakes, so you can breeze through every culinary adventure without fear. Common mistakes include overcrowding the sauté pan, turning food too often, slicing meat with the grain rather than against it, not tasting as you go, and more.
Yup, I’ll be the first to admit, I make a few of them 
2. The Healthy Cook’s 3-Step Pantry Planner (p. 48-49) – There is a pull-out guide that offers tips on keeping a well maintained pantry, stocked with healthy must-haves. Tips include knowing what you have, upgrading your ingredients, and building a collection of essential spices. Now, I just need someone to come makeover my pantry for me 
3. Guilt-Free Pizza in 20 Minutes (p. 102) – Making pizza nutritious is all about proportion and smart topping trade-offs. Cooking Light offers recipes and tips on making a healthy, nutritious pie, ready in about 20 minutes. PIZZA 101 Homemade vs store bought ~ LOVE it!
4. And for all those GIVING UP MEAT FOR LENT ~
Start with… a Can of Chickpeas (p. 95) – This versatile legume finds a home in many cuisines, from Spanish tapas to Moroccan tagines, and many dishes in between. Cooking Light offers four great chickpea combinations to satisfy any craving. I LOVE Chickpeas!
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Ok ~ I’ll stop there ~ let’s just say it’s a good issue I may have actually drooled on my magazine when I came across Ellie Krieger’s Spicy Chicken Fried Rice with Peanuts. I couldn’t find the recipe on myrecipes.com, but, you can find it HERE. I followed the recipe for the most part with the exception of subbing TJ’s Broccoli Slaw for the water chestnuts plus Sriracha.
I LOVE any recipe that lets me use my All-Clad Wok, however, any large stainless steel pan works, like the on you can find in my OPEN SKY SHOP!. I am a FIRM believer in using high quality stainless steel (think surgical) steel pans because you do not end up with anything you don’t want in your food (like Teflon pieces or Cast Iron Metal).
HIGH QUALITY is definitely a must if you buy any stainless steel pan because it cannot be easily scratched which means things do not stick. If they do, you can simply boil a little water and use a spatula to remove it. I LOVE ALL CLAD for this reason!
I had a NICE 1 1/4 cup serving for 7 POINTS topped with more Sriracha ~ I LOVED the spicy addition. This recipe is really delish even if it’s not really like Chinese Food Fried Rice. Everything just works together.
I made up a Spicy Peanut Slaw to go with it using Trader Joe’s Broccoli Slaw with 1 Tbsp TJ’s Low-Fat Spicy Peanut Sauce.
I was starving all day, but, my lunch finally did the job along with a few Pop Chips in the afternoon at holding me over until I could get home to the dinner I put in the Crock Pot this morning.
SLOW COOKER TURKEY BURRITO BAKE!!!
This has layers and layers of flavors….Ground Turkey, Enchilada Sauce, Salsa, Fire Roasted Red Tomato, Veggies, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, CHEESE! It’s as good as it sounds!
I served mine over romaine lettuce and made a turkey enchilada burrito salad topped with avocado, tomatoes and green onions.
This might just be my FAVORITE new recipe….I will be posting it tomorrow for you all!
For now, I am off to finish watching THE SCANDALOUS BACHELOR FINALE!!! Are you all excited about who he picked or not???
GET READY FOR A BIG OPEN SKY GIVEAWAY COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY ~ I will be offering you all another discount with a personalized gift for each person who buys and 3 LUCKY people will win a prize too!
Night all!
Super Bowl Fun….
What did you all think of the Super Bowl and more importantly “the commercials”? I have to admit I am a bit PUMPED that The Husband won one of his prize pools and scored $125. It definitely made the game more exciting to watch when you were hoping for different scores 
As for the commercials, I was sorta bummed that there were not that many that were great….they were just like normal commercials…if I had to pick, I LOVED the CareerBuilder.com, VW and E*Trade Milk-Holic commercials. I had fun trying out a few new recipes too, but, more on that in a bit. For now, let’s recap the weekend.
SATURDAY
After LOVING The Justin’s Maple Almond Butter on Friday, I decided to give the Justin’s Organic CINNAMON Peanut Butter a try.
I only used 1/2 for 2 points.
It’s really smooth, creamy and loaded with cinnamon flavor. It’s good, but, I cannot say I LOVE it like I LOVE the Peanut Butter &CO Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter…..that stuff is just AMAZING!
I topped two slices of Trader Joe’s FF Multi-Grain Bread.
Then, added slices of pear for a PB-Pearwich.
5 points all together and it was delicious.
After breakfast, I helped The Husband unload the rocks out of his truck for my Raised Garden! It wasn’t too bad, great exercise and I got to put on my poncho since it was pouring rain– fun!
Lunch was at one of my FAVORITE places in Suisun ~ The Joy of Eating. They have such a homemade mom & pop flare and the food is tasty. I subbed out my fries for a side salad with house Italian on the side.
Then, had the BEST Sunrise Sandwich ever!
Homemade thick sweet bread, AVOCADO, bacon, lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese. I ate it ALL plus a few of The Husband’s fries….so good!
After lunch we went and saw From Paris With Love….WOW! It is so intense, but, really good. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about John Travolta playing a bad guy (he just doesn’t seem the part to me), but, I have to admit, he pulled it off pretty good.
We had a BBQ in the rain with our friends. I brought my Healthy Asian Slaw and added Toasted Almond slices. I probably could’ve eaten the entire container. The nuts make it totally like a Chinese chicken salad which is just AWESOME in my book.
I had a little bit of everything…GARLIC BREAD, chicken, 2 ribs, healthy asian slaw, salad, and a baby potato. Um, ya, ALOT of food
We also brought a healthy, fun Valentine’s themed dessert to share with everyone.
I LOVE that this dessert is only 3 points!
1 slice Angel Food Cake
1/2 c sliced strawberries
Whipped Cream
Valentine’s Day Sprinkles
I was thinking I should’ve used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut heart squares – that would’ve made it over the top Valentine’s
SUNDAY
I was totally sleepy when I woke up so I decided to save my run for later. I had a BIG cup of Starbuck’s African Blend coffee while reading the paper with The Husband.
Breakfast was a fast 5 point EggWich.
2 slices TJ’s FF Multi-Grain Bread
1 Egg, “fried” in nonstick spray
1 1/2 tsp whipped butter
One of the traditions The Husband has with his friends is to play football the day of the Super Bowl. It totally cracks me up, but, he LOVES it and I go to be his cheerleader. I decided to take advantage of the fact that they have a track there and watched the game as I ran 5.25 miles.
I have to say I LOVE my new New Balance 1064 Shoes. They are awesome and totally comfortable. I really think they make a difference with my back. I am trying out Super Feet to see if they help as well, but, I am not sure I LOVE them yet. They said it takes 8 hours to break them in and 2 weeks to get used to them so we will see.
After my run, I snacked on this pear (1 pt) while I watched The Husband play. He did really good even though I forgot to take pictures
When we walked in the door, I was famished. So, I quickly grabbed a 1 point cheese.
Then, pulled out an Amy’s Tamale Verde Cheese Dinner. I LOVE this dish because of the green verde sauce and REAL, not low-fat cheese.
The nutritionals are decent and the ingredients are AWESOME!
The picture doesn’t do it justice, but, it’s worth all 8 points.
I quickly rushed around all afternoon doing laundry, planning meals, shopping, etc and made it home just in time for the Super Bowl to start. My Super Bowl eating was based on random bites of the things I made.
I had two of these Creamy Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms. I used Panko Bread crumbs for the croutons. I LOVED how creamy and crunchy they were…Since mine were small, I counted them both as 1 serving for 3 pts.
I kept my mouth happy/busy to stay away from The Mushrooms and thoroughly enjoyed all of these Butternut Squash Fries (2 pts).
I was super proud of the next appetizer I whipped up ~ Healthier Buffalo wins. I have NEVER made actual Buffalo Wings before, but, when I saw Maria’s Farm Kitchen Buffalo Chicken Wings I had to try them. Buffalo Wings are by far The Husband’s favorite thing aside from steak.
I LOVE that you bake the chicken to get it crunchy (it actually gets crunchy in the oven!). I bought Party Wings (drummettes) and baked them for 1 hour, turning them 1/2 way through. Then, I melted 1 Tbsp butter with 1/3 c Frank’s Original Hot Sauce. I placed the wings in glass bowl after they were done cooking and tossed them with the hot sauce mix.
AMAZING!!!! Maria, you seriously know your wings….they taste better than the ones at the restaurant. I had 2 wings (2 pts) and The Husband ate the rest.
Told ya, pretty random Sometimes it’s fun to have appetizers for dinner….other than I was STILL hungry. So, I had two pieces TJ’s FF Multi-Grain bread with 1 Tbsp whipped butter (4 pts).
I will catch up with you all tomorrow…For now, I am off to relax and catch up on some zzzzz’s!
Be sure to check out my Guest Post over at Meals & Moves tomorrow for my healthy spin on a Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Cross Training workout. I will update the link in the AM when it posts.
Have a great night all!
Crock Pot Kung Pao Cashew Chicken Recipe
One of my favorite things in life is ASIAN inspired foods. I LOVE spicy chicken recipes that are loaded with vegetables and a little nutty crunch like King Pao Cashew Chicken. This recipe is super easy because your crockpot does all the hard work for you. You simply prep everything and let it cook all day. You can mix and match your vegetables to get creative (I think mushrooms would be an AWESOME addition). Adjust the heat to your liking, but, remember, you can always add more AFTER it is done, like I did
My inspiration for this recipe came from the new Weight Watchers Slow Cook It Cookbook, however, I cannot say that I took away much from their recipe. The recipe was not spicy and used only frozen peppers and water chestnuts (sorta boring). So, I spiced it up a bit or a lot (HELLO SRIRACHA!), added a TON of fresh veggies and a little nuttiness.
Enjoy!
Crock Pot Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
3 Tbsp dry sherry or low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp Sriracha Hot Sauce (adjust if you want it not as spicy)
1 lb organic boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 c of your favorite vegetables, chopped ~ here is what I used:
* 1 c broccoli
* 1 yellow and 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 red onion, chopped
* 3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
* 2 celery stalks, chopped
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp corn starch or 1/2 Tbsp arrow root
4 Tbsp roasted cashews, optional
1 green onion, sliced, optional
Serve over sprouts, rice or enjoy straight up ~ it’s delicious no matter how you serve it.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Spray your crock pot with nonstick cooking spray to make it easier to clean.
2. Combine hoisin sauce, sherry, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce. Add chicken and place in prepared crock pot. Cover and cook until chicken is fork tender, 2-3 hours on high, 6-8 hours on low.
3. About 30 minutes before cooking time is up, mix water and cornstarch/arrowroot in a small bowl until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture and all your vegetables into your crock pot. Cover and cook on high until the mixture simmers and thickens and the vegetables are crisp tender.
Makes 4 LARGE 1 1/2 c servings, 4 points each ~ BARGAIN!
Nutritional information per serving (calculated using sprouts and optional ingredients):
Calories 201.5, Total Fat 4.3 g, Saturated Fat 0.7 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g, Monounsaturated Fat 0.2 g, Cholesterol 10.7 mg, Sodium 752.4 mg, Potassium 433.6 mg, Total Carbohydrate 30.1 g, Dietary Fiber 4.4 g, Sugars 10.5 g, Protein 9.7 g
Click the Spring It! Button in order to save this recipe
Healthy Chicken Parmesan
I LOVE Italian food, it is by far on my list of Top 10 foods in the world to eat. However, I find that most Italian dishes are loaded with extra fat and calories so you can only enjoy a little to stay in a healthy calorie range. In this recipe, I make a healthified version of Chicken Parmesan by getting it “crispy” in a little good fat (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and lightening up using a healthy sauce with reduced fat cheese. It is baked to perfection and in the end, I am pretty sure that your friends and family will not even be able to tell that it was “baked” not “fried”.
HEALTHY CHICKEN PARMESAN
INGREDIENTS:
Four 4 oz Chicken Breasts
1/2 c Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 Egg Whites, lightly whipped
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 c Marinara Sauce (Homemade or Canned ~ TJ’s Low-Fat Tuscan works great)
1/2 c Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella
2 Tbsp shredded parmesan
Nonstick cooking spray
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breast between two sheets of saran wrap and pound using a meat tenderizer until approximately 1/4 inch thick.
3. Pre-heat a nonstick pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium heat. Combine bread crumbs, garlic salt, pepper and crush red pepper and spread on a plate.
4. Dip chicken in egg whites then bread crumbs. Turn to coat both sides and place in pan. Brown chicken on both sides until lightly browned, approximately 4-5 minutes per side.
5. Add 1/3 of the marinara to the prepared 9×13 dish then add the chicken. Top the chicken with the remaining marinara and both cheeses. Bake in oven for 15 minutes until bubbling. Remove and enjoy alone or over your favorite pasta.
Makes 4 servings, 1 chicken breast and a 1/4 of the sauce.
** Make it VEGETARIAN, by using Morning Star Chick Patties and follow step 5.
Nutritional information per serving (6 Weight Watcher Points – Omit the parmesan and it becomes 5 points per serving):
Calories 278.8, Total Fat 10.8 g, Saturated Fat 2.2 g, Cholesterol 48.0 mg, Sodium 1,093.6 mg, Potassium 185.1 mg, Total Carbohydrate 20.7 g, Dietary Fiber 3.0 g, Sugars .8 g, Protein 25.1 g
Enjoy and don’t forget to SpringIt to add it to your recipe file as a MUST TRY!
Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Enchiladas Recipe
Do you all remember when I made Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Enchiladas? I even provided ways to make them Vegetarian and VEGAN for my readers who say chicken is no bueno.
My recipe is now up as a guest post for Janeeeetha at Meals & Moves. Click on over and check it out!
MMM ~ It was so good I might just have to have it again soon now that I can share the recipe
Just a few more hours to enter my Great Pumpkin Giveaway!!!
See you all later tonight for today’s recap and some BFL challenge update thoughts.
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