Mediterranean Eggplant Dip

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large eggplant
1 medium red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small tomatoes, diced
20 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Greek seasoning

Directions
1- Peel and chop eggplant. (smaller pieces will cook faster).
2- Heat oil in a large pan and add onions and garlic and saute for about 3-4 minutes.
3- Add eggplant and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.
4- Add tomatoes and Greek seasoning and cook until tomato is completely mushy.
5- Stir in olives and balsamic vinegar.
6- Remove from heat and mash either with a handmixer or potato masher, until desired consistency.
7- Refrigerate until completely chilled and serve with pita chips or other similar type cracker.

* Tastes much better if chilled overnight, flavors really come through!


Nutritional Values
10 servings
(1/4 cup serving)
1 point
49 cal
3.5 g fat
0.5 g sat.fat
4.6 g carbs
1.5 g fiber
0 g sugar

5 servings
(1/2 cup serving)
2 points
99 cal
7.1 g fat
1 g sat.fat
9.2 g carbs
2.9 g fiber
0 g sugar
1.5 g protein

entire recipe
495.5 cal
35.5 g fat
14.6 g fiber

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

Mango & Sun-Dried Tomato Chutney

This chutney can be served as a topping for roast pork, ham or chicken. Top a fresh slice of warm baguette with cream cheese and then chutney for a fantastic apetizer! It can also be mixed in to your favorite Indian dishes or rice. It's versatile and delicious... hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients
(makes 4 cups)

3 cups chopped Mango
1 1/2 cup diced, Vidalia onion (or other sweet onion)
1 cup sundried-tomatoes (not oil packed), snipped into small pieces
1 cup sultanas (or raisins)
150 ml white wine vinegar
150 ml sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 or 1/2 tsp chili powder (or more depending on you tolerance!)*

optional
2 tsp gelatin **
hot water

Directions
- Place all ingredients into a medium pot.
- Cook covered over low heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. The chutney is ready once the onions and mangos are soft.
- At this point, I turn off the heat and leave it covered
- In a small bowl, mix the gelatin with some hot water until diluted.
- Add the gelatin mix to the chutney, mix and pour into jar or storage bowl and let cool.

The chutney sould keep in the fridge for about 1 month. You can also freeze it.

* I put 1/2 tsp and my chitney wasn't spicy.

** The gelatin is optional... I like to add it to make it more like a relish or jam consistency. However, you can totally leave it out, or minimize it to 1 tsp.

Nutritional Data
1 serving = 2 tablespoons
1 WW point
67.3 cal
2.5 g fat
11.8 g carbs
0.8 g fiber
6.8 g sugar
0.6 g protein