Hope everyone had a great weekend! Saturday was my 4th weigh in at Weight Watchers. This was the first meeting after the new year and it was standing room only. They have yet to know that I am the hand out queen of recipes – they have no idea what’s in storm for them, but I thought I’d take slowly 😀
Last week I earned 42 activity points, but I didn’t “eat” any of them. My strategy this week is to not have wine Monday to Thursday, and to eat 1/4 of my activity points. I am not disappointed at all – when I lost 70 pounds in a year almost 11 years ago, I always had a loss, whether it was -.2, or -3.2. No big!
This month’s Food Network had a recipe for turkey and roasted red pepper sliders, and when I mentioned that to both Tony and Hannah, they both kind of turned their noses in the air – no worries – I made them and brought them to two of my co-workers who are doing WW! 😀
| Course: main meals PointsPlus™ Value: 7 Servings: 3 Preparation Time: 10 min Cooking Time: 6 min Level of Difficulty: Easy |
Ingredients
| 12 oz uncooked ground turkey breast | |
| 3 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus | |
| 1 tsp dried parsley | |
| 1/2 tsp ground coriander | |
| 6 loaf/loaves Thomas’ Sahara 100% Whole Wheat (Mini) Pita Bread | |
Instructions
Mix turkey, hummus, parsley and coriander in a large bowl. Mix well.
Shape mixture into 6 equal patties (approx. 2 ounces each raw) and cook in a non-stick skillet with Pam, about 3 minutes per side.
Carefully slice 6 mini pitas in half to make the bun.
Add cucumber, tomato, baby spinach as desired on bun – top with burger and enjoy!
One of my co-workers was like ” wow, these are tiny!” But we both were stuffed after this lunch 😀
I was thrilled that Tony was up for Party Pizza Friday – I haven’t made homemade pizza in a couple months! My half of the pizza was 1/2 ounce pepperoni, 1/2 ounce Italian sausage, diced yellow pepper and 1.5 ounces mozzarella cheese – my guess was my half of the pizza was 18 points – but worth every one and exhausted my remaining flex points for the week.
And my weekend may have included a couple pita pizzas – I know I will have this a lot so I made it a recipe in eTools.
Breakfast Pita Pizza
| Course: main meals PointsPlus™ Value: 6 Servings: 1 Preparation Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 20 min Level of Difficulty: Easy |
Ingredients
| 1 item(s) Flatout Multi-grain | |
| 1 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheeses | |
| 1/4 cup(s) pizza sauce | |
| 1/4 large yellow pepper(s); 1/2 cup baby spinach | |
| 1/4 cup(s) Egg Beaters Egg Beaters; crushed red pepper to taste | |
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.
Spread pizza sauce on pita. Top with yellow pepper, spinach and mozzarella cheese.
Starting at the center of the pita, pour on 1/4 cup of egg beaters.
Bake for 15 -20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and eggs are cooked through.
Well, as other football loving wives will know, with all the college bowl games and the playoffs going on, basically Tony asked “so what are you gonna do?” What else would I do but be Bizzy in my Kitchen?! My step-son Joe had given me a diabetic cookbook for my birthday a couple years ago. I decided to check out their bread recipes and adapted one of theirs based on what I had on hand.
This recipe makes two loaves – and I made each loaf 8 generous slices for 4 Points each slice – their original serving size was 1/16 of a loaf – really? Who eats just that? And while their instructions said to bake in a bread pan, I baked mine on a cookie sheet on top of parchment paper, using steam in a broiler pan underneath – you’ll be rewarded with a tender inside and crunchy crust. I didn’t tell Tony until after he ate it that it has whole wheat flour and wheat germ in it – he liked it!
High Protein Bread
| Course: main meals PointsPlus™ Value: 4 Servings: 16 Preparation Time: 15 min Cooking Time: 180 min Level of Difficulty: Moderate |
Ingredients
| 2 1/4 tsp yeast | |
| 2 cup(s) water, warm | |
| 5 cup(s) all-purpose flour | |
| 1/3 cup(s) wheat germ | |
| 1/3 cup(s) whole wheat flour | |
| 3 packet(s) SPLENDA® SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener | |
| 1 Tbsp table salt | |
| 1 Tbsp vegetable oil | |
Instructions
Mix yeast and warm water in a separate bowl.
In stand mixer, add dry ingredients and mix well to blend.
Add dissolved yeast, oil, and water to mixer and mix until it starts to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl – about 7 to 10 minutes.
Put in a greased bowl and cover and rest for 1 1/2 hours.
Punch dough down. Let rest another hour.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Separate dough into two loaves. Place loaves on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross mark on top about 1 inch deep.
Place a broiler pan on the bottom rack of oven with 1 cup of water. Put bread on middle rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow.
I have had the best time reading over all the healthy recipes you all left on my last post. It’s not too late to enter to win an autographed copy of Rocco DiSpirito’s new cookbook Now Eat This! Go here to leave a comment with your healthy recipe and enter to win! 😀
I have A Smile A Day to thank for my new favorite soup recipe. She left a link on my last post for a carrot soup. Um, turns out the last time I was at Sam’s Club, paying $2.98 for 5 pounds of carrots sounded like a good idea. I wasn’t sure how I would like just carrot soup without kicking it up a notch, so I decided to add a chipotle pepper to kick it up a notch. I have no idea how to describe this soup other than smokey, velvety goodness! It’s the perfect balance of sweet and heat.
Spicy Carrot and Chipotle Pepper Soup
| Course: main meals PointsPlus™ Value: 2 Servings: 6 Preparation Time: 8 min Cooking Time: 35 min Level of Difficulty: Easy |
Ingredients
| 1 tsp olive oil | |
| 1 pound(s) baby carrots | |
| 4 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth | |
| 1 Tbsp canned chipotle peppers | |
| 1/3 cup(s) heavy whipping cream | |
| 1 tsp dried parsley | |
| 1/2 tsp table salt | |
| 1/2 tsp black pepper | |
Instructions
Peel and dice carrots. Add oil to stock pot. Once hot, add carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add chipotle pepper, stock, salt and pepper, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
Remove from heat. Add heavy cream and puree until smooth. Stir in parsley and serve.
This soup will warm you up on the coldest and snowiest of days. 😀
Well, if you like soup, this is going to be Soup Week here at My Bizzy Kitchen! On the menu this week for my lunches:
- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili (9 points for 2 cups!)
- Curried Squash & Chicken Soup (6 points for 1 3/4 cups)
- Beef and Bean Chile Verde (7 points for 1 1/2 cups)
- Ravioli & Vegetable Soup (7 points for 2 cups)
- Chicken and Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto (5 points for 1 1/2 cups)
Hope you have a great Monday!
I made this soup and am eating it now. Holy crap you should have warned a person how spicy it is! I had to add some crackers to it to cool it down. The flavor is awesome though. Thanks!
I like the sliders…something simple I can make w/out worry 🙂
Way to go Biz!!! A loss of any kind is a good one!!!! Amazing looking recipes, thanks for sharing!!!! Have a great week!
Great job on the weight loss. Sounds like you have a good plan for the week with cutting wine and eating 1/4 of your flex points. Right now I am trying to get back on track with eating healthy and after eating sweets for one month it is a hard habit to break. Thanks for your vote of support for the Cooking Salon, I am very excited to get a dream of mine from the dream state to reality. I would love to see some of your relatives, but I would really love to see you! we will meet someday! Robin
I am so excited for you!! 😀
Oh and I do hope to sell Tshirts too, but I need to find a place that makes a better quality shirt. I like a poly cotton blend for some give, the one I have is pure cotton! I have to think up a fun phrase too- like…. “I got caught being FRESH at Reston Market”. Hehe. I know, it needs some work over a big bottle of wine!!!
That soup sounds fantastic! Bookmarking so I remember to make it soon!
I still love your blog. I always tell myself that I’m going to try one of your healthy recipes. One day! I’ll let you know if I attempt it. =)
The turkey slides sound so good with the red pepper hummus and the breakfast pita pizza is excellent!
Hey Biz,
No worries! I’d love it, but please don’t feel like you have to!
Love Monday posts! And yay for another loss! That Target hummus looks so good, I need to get that next time I’m there
Those sliders look amazing! Sounds like a great combination of ingredients! I’m going to also have to try your bread recipe!
Boy is this post PACKED with awesome recipes. I think both the pizza & sliders look awesome. But I want to make that bread! Yum! Homemade bread is the best. Congrats on the loss 🙂
Great job on the loss. As you know, all the little blips add up to big numbers over time 😀
I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again….your pizzas always look amazing, like they are from a restaurant!
go girl! i have to stay off the scale during the week because if i’m not losing as much during the week as i’d like i get frustrated, which isn’t good.
i love the hummus sliders, that brand of hummus is one of my faves! they make an orange blossom horseradish that is to die for.
I can’t wait to see the ravioli and vegetable soup recipe!
Almost 5 lbs! That’s great! And I was always the same way…I don’t care what the lbs are as long as I lose! Oh that pizza recipe looks good!
Wow! Look at you shrink!
I love all of your recipes. You give me so many ideas. Like that breakfast pizza!
Wow! I’d love to sit down to every one of your offerings! I remember a long, long ago diet where one was supposed to eat just cottage cheese and canned peaches. After a few days, I would have done almost anything for one of your dishes!!
Keep warm. I hear we are in for some snow.
Best,
Bonnie
Nice soups. I love soup and this is the best time of year to enjoy them.
Woohoo for the loss! Slowly but surely, you’re going to get there! 🙂
I can’t wait to see your chicken spinach pesto soup – you had me at pesto!
YAY for soup week! With this cold weather we’ve been having, I need some recipes to warm me up! Way to go with the loss-you’re doing great!
I am so glad that you liked the soup. I will definitely have to try adding the chipolte to it!
Congratulations on your weight loss, it all adds up!
I think you should be a professional chef!
I have been on a soup kick myself lately. I find a bowl of something hot to be so satisfying and filling.
Mmmm….fresh bread! Will you send some my way? 🙂
CONGRATS on your loss, Biz! I agree completely – a loss is a loss. In fact, I think (in my personal, completely unprofessional opinion) it’s probably better to lose it all gradually than quickly and have it come back on, right?? You are rockin’ it!!
I’ve gone back to my “no alcohol” at least 5 days of the week. Last week I made it 6. I think it’s better for my metabolism not to have even one glass every single day.
I made pizza too – only on Saturday. Mr. Helen was so happy. I made a pepper & onion (I know that’s gross to you!); a hamburger; and a Rosemary Potato and Chicken pizza that is fast becoming one of our faves.
One of my friends who is doing WW has been maintaining for 2 weeks and asked me if I thought she should eat more. First question? Are you at least eating ALL your daily points and maybe some of the flex points. “No.” Well then eat them for goodness sake! Why do we get into the mentality that working out a whole lot and not eating very much is a good thing to do?
I have no idea Helen – and when I did WW at work, the leader didn’t come until 2 in the afternoon, and people wouldn’t eat or drink anything before then – so crazy!
I love sliders. So nice to have a little taste of something really delicious and not walk away from the meal feeling stuffed!
– Beth @ http://www.DiningAndDishing.com
That bread looks delicious – homemade bread is my downfall. The smell is too overpowering to say no! 🙂
Have a great day!
I have been wondering how long it’ll take before they ask you as an official WW cook or something. We’ll see. 🙂
Me, I will go to work with Best Buffalo Chicken Chili today.
One of my sister’s co-workers made my buffalo chicken chili and it took 1st place out of 20! 😀
http://mybizzykitchen.com/2010/02/06/best-buffalo-chicken-chili/
Looking good Bizzy – the loss and [of course] your gorgeous food.
Any loss is a good loss and you are going to have a lot of new best friends when you start sharing the recipes. YAY!
So many yummy looking meals! 🙂 Congrats on the loss! I limit my WINE to usually 2 glasses a week. I could pour a glass each night but I need to hold off. Its good to look forward to it. lol I also save most of my weeklies for Sat/Sun when I end up eating the most…but hey it works! 🙂
PS can you FAX me a slice of that bread? lol
Yum, those little sliders look so good! I love the hummus addition. Glad you had such an awesome week too 🙂
Your fellow WW members are going to love you – big time. I thought the sliders looked awesome too. Mmm.
Those mini burgers look amazing!! I so have to try that!
I am saving that carrot soup recipe too, it sounds SO good! I LOVE soup. I’m the only one in the house who eats homemade soup though. Everyone else is boring and eats out of the can. Yuck!
After I eat canned soup I feel like I’ve licked a salt rock – eew! Let me know what you think of the carrot soup! 😀
Any loss is great! 🙂 That high protein bread looks amazing and doesn’t sound too hard, maybe I’ll try it this week and not tell Ray what is in it either. haha Hope you have a great Monday!