Dijon Scallopped Potatoes

No cheese, no milk, no way... you say!! I'm telling you, these scallopped potatoes are creamy and delicious without the milk and cheese!! I used a food processor to slice my potatoes paper thin... I think it helps get the ultimate creaminess possible!

(paper-thin potatoes)

Ingredients
1 kg potato, with skin, sliced paper thin
1 small onion, sliced
3 tbsp vegetable shortening
3 tsbp all purpose flour
2 cups fat free chicken broth
2 tbsp Old-Fashioned Dijon mustard (grainy) *
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste


Directions
1- Spray a 3 liter dish with some non-stick spray.
2 - Preheat oven to 170 C.
3 - In a saucepan, melt shortnening over low medium heat.
4 - Remove from heat and stir in flour.
5- Stir in broth and other ingredients and return to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
6 - If sauce is too thick, add some water to thin it out.
7 - Arrange half of the potatoes in the bottom on the greased dish.
8 - Add all the sliced onions.
9 - Add half of the sauce.
10 - Add remaining potatoes and top with the rest of the sauce.
11 - Bake for 2 hours or until soft.
* if you arent a dijon fan, use 2 tsp instead. It will taste strong in the sauce at first, but will be barely noticeable when the finished dish comes out of the oven!

before heading to the oven

Delicious Yummy Greatness!

Nutritional Data
4 servings
per serving
6 points
293 calories
9.5 g fat (2.3 g sat)
45.8 g carbs
4.7 g fiber
2.6 g sugars
5.9g protein

6 servings
per serving
4 points
195.3 calories
6.4 g fat (1.6g sat)
30.5 g carbs
3.2 g fiber
1.7 g sugars
3.9 g protein

Kid-Proof Asian Turkey Noodles

My husband and I often like to eat late, once the kids have gone to bed. We enjoy the quiet, relax environment that allows us to have an uninterrupted conversation. On night's like that, I often whip out some quick child favorites for the kids. My little critics love this concoction! It might not look so appealing to adults, it looks kind of "blah" an colorless... but I've learned that with my kids the less different colors the better. They seem to prefer a uniform dish (like mac n cheese). Might not be the case with you children, but this sweet dish should please them either way!


Ingredients
(3 servings)
350 g ground turkey
100 g dry wok noodles (straight to wok noodles) *
1 onion, diced
2 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp garlic-ginger paste
salt to taste
Pam spray
water

Directions
1- Spray deep pan, or wok with Pam and heat.
2- Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft.
3- Add ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4 - When turkey is cooked, add hoisin sauce, ginger-garlic paste and fast cooking wok noodles.
5 - Add a few tablespoons of water, not too much, just enough so that the pasta gets cooked and that it evaporates when pasta is ready (about 2-3 tbsp, and 4-5 minutes of cooking)

* Wok noodles; I use noodles that are to be added directly to the wok unboiled. You can also use ramen noodles, they cook quickly. Or if you don't have straight to wok noodles, then some precooked egg noodles should please the little critics ;)

Nutritional Data
1 serving
6 WW points
278 cal
14.1 g fat
37.4 g chol
22.8 g carbs
2.2 g fiber
0.3 g sugars
13.4 g protein

Asian Meatballs

I had thawed some ground beef and was in the mood for some stir fry and didn't feel like throwing the ground meat in as it was, so I decided to make some meatballs. I took some ingredients that I thought would give it a good flavor and mix in well with any stir-fry or other chinese dish. All 3 of my picky critics loved the meatballs.... sadly, I wasn't a huge fan. I ate them, I was hungry... but I didn't enjoy them that much. However, I will make them again, since my picky kids gobbled them up in record time! I just couldn't taste much flavor in the meatballs. I think when I will make them next time, I will mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours for the meat to really soak up the flavors before making the meatballs. I mixed and formed the meatballs and cooked them right away... maybe that's why I thought they were a little bland.


Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
3 scallions, diced
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp sugar

Directions
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.
- Refrigerate for 30 mins or more.
- Form meat mixture into 30 meatballs (about the size of a ping pong ball!).
- Cook in a preheated oven at 175 C for 20 minutes. I cooked mine on a cookie sheet to ease cleanup ;)


Nutritional Data
1 Meatball
1 WW point
46 cal
3.3 g fat
18.3 mg cholesterol
0.7 g carbs
0.1 g fiber
0.5 g sugars
3 g protein

1 serving of 5 meatballs
6 WW points
230 cal
16.4 g fat
91.7 mg cholesterol
3.4 g carbs
0.4 g fiber
2.4 g sugars
14.9 g protein

African Couscous Salad

I love couscous, especially cold couscous salad. This couscous salad has a nice sweet North-African taste to it, and a little tang from the red wine vinegar. I think that cider vinegar would also taste fantastic! This is best if completely chilled before serving, giving the flavors time to meld ;)
My 3 critics enjoyed it, as did I.... definitely will be making it again. It is quite filling, therefore, I think it would be the perfect packed lunch. It makes a great side dish too!


Ingredients
1 cup whole-wheat couscous (makes 3 cups cooked and fluffed with fork)
1 1/4 cup hot fat-free chicken broth
290 g jar of chickpeas (210 g just chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1/4 cup raisins, not packed!
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped (approx. 25g)
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

*To make it vegetarian, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.


Directions
- Boil the chicken broth in a small saucepan. Once broth is boiling, remove from heat.
- Add couscous, stir to fully coat couscous and cover.
- While couscous is sitting, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the remaining ingredients (see note below on optional olive oil).
- Fluff couscous with a fork and let cool. (if you add the hot couscous, it will absord too much of the liquid in the mix... including the water in the vegetables... so it is best to wait till it has cooled).
- Once couscous has cooled to room temperature, add to the salad mix.
- Mix and refrigerate.

Nutritional Data
3 WW points
187.5 cal
1.1 g fat
41 g carbs
4.2 g fiber
3.3 g sugar
6.3 g protein

Add 1 tbsp Olive Oil to the recipe (when you add the vineagar) and the values change too
4 WW points
207.4 cal
3.3 g fat
41 g carbs
4.2 g fiber
3.3 g sugar
6.2 g protein

Turkey Bolognese Sauce

I love Spaghetti Bolognese, and to make it worse, I like mine "gratinée" or "au gratin" as some others may say, which is topped with cheese then melted under the broiler! I'm salivating just thinking about my Spaghetti Gratinée! However, it can pack a good amount of calories and fat, so I made some changes to my regular beef sauce. Turkey doesn't quite have the same texture as beef, but once the sauce is mix with the pasta and topped with cheese, I am satisfied. I usually melt mozzarella on top, but to cut back on calories, I am opting for Parmesan, which I love just as much!


Ingredients
(makes 7 cups of sauce)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cup bell pepper (color of your choice, I prefer sweet)
1 cup diced celery
4 garlic cloes, minced

1 lb ground turkey (white meat)
salt & pepper to taste

2 cans (14 oz/400g each) of chopped tomatoes
1 jar (14 oz/400g) Passata (tomato puree)
1 cup water
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar *

Directions
-Heat oil in a large pot.
- Add diced vegetables and garlic.
- Cook covered, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
- Add groudn turkey and season with salt and pepper. Mix and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the turkey.
- Once Turkey is no longer pink, add the remaining ingreditents and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes on low or until the water has absorbed and the sauce is thick. If you wish to have a less thick sauce, you can add 1 cup of tomato sauce instead of water and don't simmer it as long... although, it won't be as flavourful if it simmers for less time.

* The sugar is there to break down the acidity from the chopped tomatoes and passata.

Nutritional Data
1 cup serving
6 WW points
280.1 cal
12.9 g fat
65.6 mg cholesterol
14.7 g carbs
3.4 g fiber
4.8 g sugars
21.2 g protein

Greek Bulgur Salad

Bulgur is a grain I discovered a couple of years ago. It resembles short grain rice, but has a chewier texture. It is fantastic warm or cold. I like to use it in place of rice for hot meals, or cold to make delicious salads. It is packed with fiber and very nutritious. I made this for myself, and I enjoyed it. I used canned shrimp since that was all I had, but I think it would be better the next time with frozen shrimp or with no shrimp at all, but as a side dish for a nice grilled shrimp dinner! Mmm, now I am salivating for fresh BBQ's shrimp...

I will test this out on the little critics when they get home from school... I have a fishy feeling they will be picking out several things and just eating the bulgur... they LOVE bulgur!
Ingredients
1/2 lb uncooked bulgur
2 cups low fatchicken broth
20 gr sun-dried tomato, diced (4 halves, not oil-packed!)
1/2 lemon, juiced
can of cocktail shrimp, drained and rinsed (100gr without liquid)
1/2 cup diced cucumber
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/c cup crumbled low-fat feta *
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Greek seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

*the low fat feta I used was 12% fat (nutrional data is based on that value).

Directions
- In a medium saucepan, add bulgur to chicken broth and bring to a boil
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and boil for another 5 minutes, covered, or until all liquid has been absorbed. The bulgur should have a chewy texture like that of rice when still al dente. (No matter how long you cook it, it will never reach the softness of rice!)
- Remove from heat, squeeze juice of half a lemon into bulgur, mix and let cool.
-In a large salad bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and toss.
- Once bulgur has completely cooled, mix it into the salad mix and refrigerate at least 30 minutes until nice and cool.

Nutritional Data
You might think the portion is small, but bulgur is incredibly filling ;)
1 1/2 cup main dish serving (makes 4 servings)
6 WW points
339 cal
5.7 g fat
39 g cholesterol
52 g carbs
11 g fiber
24 g protein

1 cup side dish servings without shrimp (makes 6 servings)
4 WW points
208 cal
3.5 g fat
7.5 g fiber
0.8 g cholesterol
34.5 g carbs
12.7 g protein

Couscous Salad for Two!

I am horrible at measuring the proper amount of pasta, rice or couscous.... or any other grain that swells up when cooking! Today's leftover: couscous!

I love couscous salad, and always whip up a different one depending what I have on hand. I usually omit oil when making salad, since I am trying to lose weight, but go ahead and add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to the mix if you aren't worried about the fat! I recently purchased a bottle of Apricot Balsamic Vinegar that is devine! I have never tasted flavored Balsamic vinegars before, but now that I have, I am hooked. I will be trying all the other flavors I saw at the supermarket! The bottle I purchased is from Olitalia, an Italian brand available here in Europe... I'm not sure if it's sold in North-America though. HoweverI did find a place that sells it online.


Ingredients

2 cups cold cooked couscous
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp Herbes de Provence*
2 tbsp minced or diced red onion
2 tbsp Apricot Balsamic Vinegar**
salt and pepper to taste

Simple Directions :)
- Mix all ingredients, except the couscous.
-Add couscous and mix to coat.

*Herbes de Provence is a blend of herbes. You can find it in most supermarkets. If yours doesn't carry any, here is a recipe to make your own.
**If you can't find Apricot Balsamic, substitute it with any other fruit infused Balsamic vinegar, or a sweet Balsamic Vinegar.

Nutrional Data
1 serving
4 WW Points
212 cal
0.6 g fat
3.9 g fiber
7 g protein
0 g cholesterol