The GOOD, The BAD, and The HONGRY!

So Long ...Farewell...

2010-06-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

I decided to discontinue this blog and start posting my recipes on my main blog Ah Me So Hongry...The Misadventures of a Weight Watchers Repeat Offender. I made this decision based on the fact that bloggers can now add pages to Blogger blogs. So, if you are not a follower, you better jump on the band wagon. Thanks to those of you who followed...see ya on my other blog.

My Pizza Obsession . . . OLE!

2010-01-06T00:21:00.005-06:00

Using my Xpress Redi, Set, Go I made this scrumptious Mexican pizza.

First, I mashed a 1/2 cup of black beans and then spread the beans over a corn tortilla.

Next, I placed another tortilla on top and and covered that tortilla with 2.5 oz of ground turkey and 28 oz ounces of cheese.

After the pizza cooks for 5 minutes, remove from the RSG and top with lettuce and tomatoes.

My Overstuffed Avocado BLT Pizza

2010-01-06T00:08:00.005-06:00

OMG! I just ate the best pizza EVER. For $5 I purchased the WW cookbook, Hit the Spot, and boy did the Overstuffed Avocado BLT Pizza hit the spot!!

For the crust I used Joseph's Pita bread (1 pt.). After toasting the pita to my satisfaction, I spread 1 TBS of Miracle Whip Light on the pita.
Next, I layered the following ingredients: 2 slices low sodium turkey bacon, 2 oz. avocado, 1 diced tomato, and spring lettuce mix.

My Turn

2009-12-06T14:00:00.004-06:00

Remember my resurrection post? Well, if you recall, 3 coworkers and I decided to take turns bringing healthy lunches for each other. On Wednesday, my designated day, I decided to bring Weight Watchers' Heart Turkey Chili. Since our climate changed, chili seemed like a satisfying choice.

Weight Watchers Hearty Turkey Chili
POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 58 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1 tsp canola oil
	1 large onion(s), chopped
	2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
	2 medium carrot(s), thinly sliced into rounds
	1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
	2 Tbsp chili powder
	1 Tbsp paprika
	1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
	1 tsp ground cumin
	2 medium tomato(es), chopped
	1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce
	1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
	1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
	1 1/2 cup(s) cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
	1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
	1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
	1/4 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped

Instructions

Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and carrots; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.
Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with scallions. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Recycled Turkey

2009-12-06T13:37:00.003-06:00

Me, like so many other millions of Americans continued to eat leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Let's see, I made turkey sandwiches on Orowheat's Sandwich Thins, turkey pizza with portabella mushrooms, and this dish pictured here, turkey salad.

Recycled Turkey Salad
1 boiled egg white
3 oz. of turkey (shredded)
1 TBSP Miracle Whip
A few squirts of course ground mustard
2 chopped scallions
curry
ground red pepper
black pepper

Did someone say pizza?

2009-11-19T18:15:00.007-06:00

Pizza...pizza...pizza...my kryptonite! I could eat pizza morning, noon , and night! On this particular day, I created a pizza for breakfast.

I started by preparing 2 egg whites in my Redi, Set, Go.

I toasted a Joseph's brand pita in the oven until crisped to my satisfaction.

Next I placed my egg on to the toasted pita.

For sauce I used HEB's salsa. I chose to spread the salsa on the egg rather than the pita. I figured the sauce would make the pita soggy.

I added Morning Start Vegetarian Italian Sausage and 1 serving of Kraft's Mexican 2% Cheese.

Ooops, I almost forgot to add my HEB pico de gallo! Lastly, I baked the pizza in the oven for about 8 minutes.

I removed the pizza from the oven and devoured it. I wanted to add bacon instead of the veggie Italian sausage, but I forgot to pick up some veggie bacon during my weekly grocery gathering excursion.

Papas Caliente!

2009-11-16T22:07:00.008-06:00

During music class the other day, the teacher asked the students what game did they want to play next. In unison, the students shouted, PAPAS CALIENTE!" I thought for a second and then I said aloud, "Ooooooooooooo, hot potato." I then turned to the music teacher and requested, rather shouted, "PAPAS CALIENTE!"

Papas Caliente

4 oz. potato
3 oz. chicken breast
1 point worth of avocado
1/2 cup black beans
2 TB fat free sour cream
2 TB salsa
4 oz. pico de gallo

Bake or microwave potato and then cut into smaller pieces.
Top the potato with chicken, black beans, pico, and avocado.
In a small bowl mix sour cream and salsa to make dressing.
Pour the dressing mix over the potato.

Feel free to change the toppings to suit your taste. Thanks TJ for inspiring papas caliente!

Here's the loaded potato I made for my son.

What's Popping?

2009-11-15T16:39:00.005-06:00

...caramel corn that's what. My mom made some "waistline friendly" caramel corn.

Waistline Friendly Caramel Corn: serving size 1 cup

6 Caramel Squares
1/2 tsp Water
2 TBSP Corn Syrup
10 Cups Popcorn

Air pop 10 cups of popcorn. Or you can use the popper from Target pictured below.
Next, place the caramels, corn syrup and water in a microwaveable cup or dish.
Microwave for 40 seconds.
Stir.
Microwave for another 30 seconds until melted.
Place the popcorn in a glass or ceramic dish.
Carefully pour the HOT caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat.
Spread the caramel coated popcorn on a cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes at 350º.

What a perfect snack to take care of cravings for sweets!

Resurection...

2009-11-12T20:55:00.006-06:00

I decided to resurrect this blog with a new post. This summer I cooked some amazing and sometimes creative dishes. As of late, I felt my current dishes failed to measure up to my summer cuisine, so I chose not to post.

BUT... then I thought about my decision. Regardless of where my dishes fall on the fabulous meter, I decided to post them anyway.

So, on my other blog Ah Me So Hongry, I wrote about my participation in a lunch experiment. Here's the post:

Last week, a co-worker called me and proposed a novel idea. She suggested that myself, as well as 3 other teachers take turns bringing lunch for each other. So, in other words, I only worried about packing my lunch 2 days this week:

Monday: Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes...7 points. I paired raw carrots with mine.
Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup...4 points. I paired cucumbers with my portion.
Wednesday (my turn): My mom prepared Enchilasagna from Devin Alexander's cookbook The Most Decadent Diet Ever! 8 points for the entire portion, or 4 points for half. I devoured the entire portion. For my veggie serving I ate cucumbers.
Thursday: Taco Bake...not sure of the points, but I requested the recipe. I paired the taco bake with green beans.
Friday: Since only 4 of us agreed to this experiment, Friday we're on our own.

My only reservation about this lunch experiment...the lack of control. Although the ladies use Weight Watchers cookbooks to prepare the meals, I worry about the ingredients, specifically salt. Like I said this is an experiment, and we shall she what the results yield. But you must admit, it's a great idea with awesome benefits.

So, this week for my turn I decided to make Chicken Stroganoff in the crock pot....super simple.

Mix FF sour cream and 1 pack of Lipton onion soup mix together.

Throw some chicken breast and the sauce mixture in a crock pot and BAM...Chicken Stroganoff!

I regret to inform you that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product...my bad. You can pair the chicken with either whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Bon Appetite!

The Roof...The Roof...The Roof is on Fire!

2009-10-06T20:29:00.008-05:00

...the roof of my mouth that is. Okay so a few weeks ago I made some personal pizzas in my Express RSG. Well, the pizza looked so mouthwatering, I failed to allow proper cooling time and just dove in.

FAIL (as my kids say)! The hot pizza burned the crap out of the roof of my mouth.

I used ready made pizza dough. I wanted a true pizza experience and wanted nothing to do with the whole wheat crust I usually make.

I also cut and prpared my toppings.

I placed the dough in my Express Ready Set Go and added the toppings.

More toppings...

Yum!!!

FLT

2009-09-24T22:39:00.006-05:00

For days I craved a BLT, so using my facon (Morning Star Farms Veggie Bacon) a.k.a. fake bacon I created this FLT (Facon, Lettuce, and Tomato)!

Trina's Cantina

2009-09-21T21:05:00.007-05:00

So the other day during lunch a couple of teachers walked into the teacher's lounge and declared, "Man, it smells good in here!" Another teacher answered, "That's Trina's lunch!" The Redi-Set- Go (RSG) strikes again!

First I threw some onions and bell pepper into the RSG.

Next, I threw in some shrimp and added a little seasoning.

And last, I wrapped the shrimp and veggies inside these marvelous low point tortillas, thanks to TJ. You can eat 4 of these babies for 3 points. SHAZAAM!

Now that's what I'm talking about: quick, easy, and tasty.

Recession...Smession

2009-09-20T23:24:00.011-05:00

Although this recessions continues to restrict frivolous purchases, my weight loss financial backer (a.k.a. my Mother) managed to scrape some funds together to purchase this bad boy.

Recession, smession. If you can scrounge up $60 bucks, purchase an Express Redi-Set-Go. Anyway, on to my new dish, Crab Stuffed Mushrooms.

First start with 1/2 cup of imitation crab. Chop up the crab into little chunks.

After you chop the crab, add 1 teaspoon of mustard. I used course ground mustard.

Next add 1 tablespoon of mayo. I used Miracle Whip Lite.

Next I added some chopped onions, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Wash and remove the stem from 6 mushrooms.

So I thought the next step consisted of stuffing the mushroom and placing them in the Redi-Set- Go. WRONG! Actually, I filled each well with the stuffed crab mixture AND THEN...

THEN...I placed each mushroom on top of each filled well.

I waited 7 minutes and then BING!

In order to remove the mushrooms, place a saucer on top of the mushrooms and flip over the removable wells pan.

I decided to add a little cheese.

Quiet mouth Trina...quiet mouth...

2009-09-19T17:11:00.010-05:00

I teach Special Education and sometimes when our students eat various yummy foods they make sounds as they chew. So we (the paraprofessionals and I) sometimes say, "Quiet mouth...quiet mouth." Most of the time the students comply. Saying all that to say, last week I cooked the most tasty okra EVER!

As I ate the okra I caught myself making the same sounds as my students, "Hmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmm." I literally told myself, "Quiet mouth Trina." What made my okra so magically delicious? Well for starters my my "cooked down" some farm fresh okra from Louisiana. Do not ask what "cooked down" means. AND my mom gave me a bag of fresh Gulf shrimp from Louisiana. The shrimp tasted so wonderfully fresh and delicious, and rather than shrink in size like most shrimp when you cook them, they stayed the same huge size.

So guess what I plan to prepare this week minus the fresh Gulf shrimp? You guessed it...O-O-Okra!

I'm Baaaaaack....Redi, Set, Go!

2009-09-10T22:55:00.014-05:00

Since I returned to work a few weeks ago, I struggle daily to find balance in regards to preparing nutritious meals. Well, SHAZAAM y'all I received my Xpress Redi Set Go, and NOW in 8 minutes or less, I create healthy, quick, and easy meals.

BREAKFAST IDEAS:

Eggsters: 3 egg whites, Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes, and Green Onions

Mix ingredients and pour into mini wells...

5 or 6 minutes later! SHAZAAM Eggsters!

O so cute...almost toooo cute to eat! But I ate them anyway!

Huevos Rancheros: 1 tortilla, salsa, cheese, and 3 egg whites.

8 Minutes later...SHAZAAM! Huevos Rancheros!

Lean Green Eggs and Ham Cups...That Sam I Am

2009-08-18T18:38:00.008-05:00

This recipe hails from the Abs edition of Oxygen magazine:

Preheat oven to 350° F. The green of the lean green eggs and ham cups...green onions.

This recipe serves 2. Whisk together 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites with a bunch of green onions. The recipe called for 1/3 chopped chives for a serving of 4. I chopped and chopped. I love green onions or onions period.

Next, spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Then, take 97% fat free ham slices and mold them into a muffin tin. After molding the ham into the muffin tin, evenly divide your egg mixture amongst the ham cups.

Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Top with cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.

Remove your cups from the muffin tin and voila...Lean Green Eggs and Ham Cups. Now you may experience a little seepage off the eggs into the muffin tin, but everything should just pop out of the tin.

I paired the ham cups with some leftover beans w/salsa and mixed fresh fruit.

Rerun...Alas the time has come...

2009-08-16T22:45:00.006-05:00

If you follow my other blog Ah Me so Hongry! The Misadventures of a Weight Watchers Repeat Offender, yes this is the same posts.

Well folks, as of 12:00 AM my Summer officially ends :-( Tomorrow, the teaching staff must report back to work(Actually, I went to work last Friday to jump start my room preparations.).

This past week I walked around in a funk in anticipation of my return back to work. Don't get me wrong, I am more than grateful to be gainfully employed, but I can't help but feel a tinge of remorse as I enjoy my last few hours of Summer. My back-to-work funk interfered with my weight loss endeavor, and knocked me off the wagon. I only worked out once last week, but i managed to make somewhat sensible food choices. Even though I worked out once, my week kept me super busy and active.

Despite residing in Funkytown last week, I managed to drop 2.4 pounds bringing me to a total of 32.6 (something like that) pounds removed! This week I plan to get back on the wagon and ride it till the wheels fall off. GAME ON!

So tonight, I contemplated writing a post about my weekend OR last weekend's end of STATS class celebration OR my mom's red boots, BUT instead I decided to create a photo montage celebrating my first summer off. I hope you enjoy my montage SUMMA-TIME 2009:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And the award goes to...

2009-08-15T00:42:00.005-05:00

ME! Thanks to Solace at Reduced To Ashes, I recently received the One Lovely Blog Award. So in the spirit of the One Lovely Blog Award I must:

Acknowledge the giver
Pass the award to 15 other blogs I love:

GOD'S FAVORITE SHOES
Queen of my Domain
For the Love of the Run
It's Not a Diet, It's a Weigh of Life...
The Ivy League
Trim the Fat
Project Hot Mommy
Scientific Nature of the Whammy
Hollie's Weight Loss Blog
Fat[Free]Me
Prior Fat Girl
The Masked Mommy (Check out the Jello Fire Fighter's Hat)
Witness This Fitness
Eat Move Write
Little Miss Hungry

Ants-On-A-Log

2009-08-13T18:11:00.009-05:00

One of my most favoritest (not a real word, but it is now) snacks in the whole wide world: Ants-On-A-Log!

Yes...real true live PEANUT BUTTER! I tried a few healthier alternatives, but none of them can hold a candle to Peter Pan's Honey Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter, salmonella and all.

I tried Better'n Peanut Butter, but it should be renamed to Better'n Paste. Better'n Peanut

Butter is better suited as paste for art projects or to seal envelopes.

There IT (Better'n Peanut Butter) is on the side of the miracle whip, in front of the cheese. By now the Better'n PB is probably sporting a fur coat. Hmmm...I better go and check.

What a JERK!

2009-08-12T23:51:00.004-05:00

My Mom made some homemade jerk seasoning. The Recipe....COMING SOON!

MOM, send the recipe. Thanks.

Oui, oui, Monsieur: Stuffed French Toast Sundaes!

2009-08-06T12:02:00.021-05:00

Bonjour Mes Amis! Yes, I took French in high school. Oui oui monsieur, bonjour mes amis (Hello My Friends), Où est la plage? (Where is the beach?) and Où est la bibliothèque? (Where is the library?) sums up the extent of my French vocabulary. So if by some chance we end up in Paris together, we're pretty much limited to the beach and the library.

As I previously mentioned, I enjoy the show Cook Yourself Thin. So much so, my Mom and I ordered the cookbook.

Yesterday I decided to make Stuffed French Toast Sundaes. Too bad I didn't cook the Stuffed French Toast Sundaes on Sunday. If I had, my post title would read "The Perfect Sundae to Start Your Sunday!" Pretty creative post title huh...too bad I read it in the cookbook.

The Ingredients:

I also provided the link to print the recipe towards the end of my post.

The sundaes took about 20 minutes to make. Start by cutting the crust off the bread.

Next I mixed 2 egg whites, 1 TBSP 2% milk (Recipe calls for skim but I used what I had on hand.), 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon honey. The recipe provides directions to make 2 servings, but I cooked 1 serving. None of my kids wanted to participate in my french toast sundae experiment.

Now, dip the bread into the egg mixture.

After dunking the bread in the egg mixture, spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Then, mold the soggy bread into the muffin to resemble a bread bowl. Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes or until crisp.

While your bread bakes, prepare your fruit. I chose strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. The recipe calls for blackberries and raspberries, but I didn't feel like picking blackberry seeds out of my teeth for the next 6 hours.

After you prepare your fruit mix 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese until creamy.

After 12 minutes remove your bread from the oven. Disregard my foil muffin tins. Since we used to eat out frequently, there was no need to invest in real cookware.

Pop those babies out of the muffin tin and BAM...sundae cups! How cute are those?

Fill your bread cups with ricotta and fruit. Voilà...Stuffed French Toast Sundaes!

Their sundaes vs. My sundae...I WIN!

After you stuff your sundaes, drizzle syrup over them. The recipe calls for pure maple syrup, but that crap costs $6000 bucks a bottle...not really. At the store I went to, the cost of pure maple syrup ranged from $6.99 to over $10 bucks a bottle. Uh...uh...no ma'am. So, I used my Smucker's sugar free syrup.

I took so many pics...I had a french toast photo shoot going on in my kitchen.

Cooking Myself Thin: Potabella Tuna Melts

2009-08-02T00:07:00.011-05:00

So my new favorite show...Lifetime's Cook Yourself Thin...I noticed that I start a lot of my sentences with so. Sooooooooooooo...a few months ago a WW member mentioned the show Cook Yourself Thin at a meeting. I remember racing home so I could search the Comcast guide for the show and to no avail I found nothing! Well as most of you know I kicked Comcast to the curb for AT&T's U-Verse (which I love). Anywho... One day I sat on the couch flipping through channels and BAM...Cook Yourself Thin on the Lifetime Real Women Channel.

So real quick, the premise of the show entails three cooks, providing makeovers of your 3 favorite high calorie, high fat dishes. After your food makeover you receive a basket with all of the ingredients necessary for you to create the made over meals at home. Weeks later the three cooks visit your home to see if you cooked yourself thin. Most of the ladies lose at least one dress size.

After watching a few episodes I quickly developed a list of recipes I want to try. Well I now present my attempt at preparing Cook Yourself Thin's Portabella Tuna Melts.

Here are the ingredients: portabella mushroom caps, Albacore tuna, big ole tomato, parsley, lemon juice, swiss cheese, celery, (not pictured) salt, pepper, and EVOO.

I used low sodium Albacore tuna. The items below were mixed with the tuna. FYI...my instructions seem a bit vague, which is the reason why I provided the link for you to print the recipe.

Next I scooped the gills, cut the stems and washed the mushrooms. I need more practice at gill scooping.

I placed the mushroom caps on a pan and broiled them for 10 minutes.

After broiling the caps, I divided the tuna amongst the 4 mushroom caps.

...and I then placed a slice a Swiss cheese on each cap and broiled them again for too long. My cheese melted quickly...toooooo quickly.

Voila, Portabella Tuna Melts!!!

My Melt vs. Their Melt: I win!

UMMMMM...YUUUUUUM!!!!

Blog Smorgasbord...food finds, simple meals, and other crap...

2009-07-31T15:23:00.014-05:00

Food find #1: While searching high and low for these sandwich thins, I yielded NO results. My mom walks into Kroger the other day and BAM...sandwich thins!! 100 calories for one thin. I tried one last night with some Albacore tuna...delish! I first saw these on Marisa's blog Trim the Fat.

Food find #2: My mom found this NO Salt Seasoning at Big Lots. Due to the risk of developing hypertension, I must stay away from salt or limit my intake. I sprinkle this on everything, salads, beans, meat, etc.

Food find #3 and simple meal #1: I found these while shopping at HEB. Wal-Mart doesn't carry whole grain macaroni and cheese.

The last few busy days left little time for real cooking so I threw this meal together. I intended to make this meal for my kids and prepare something different for myself before I went to school. But I ran out of time and ate this instead: oven "fried" chicken, whole grain mac & cheese, and side salad.

Simple meal #2: Salad. Again pressed for time, I threw this salad together. Those raspberries livened up the salad. O and I added my Oriental crunchies from Trader Joe's.

Other crap #1: I went to the movies to see Hangover...FUNNY! I stowed this snack away in my purse: H2O , almonds and raisins.

Food find #4: Did you know McDonald's serves a Southwest Chicken Salad?

Simple meal #3: Baked potato with pico, 1 serving of cheese, and a pat of Smart Balance, chicken breast, and cherries.

Trader Joe Hoe!

2009-07-30T22:33:00.007-05:00

I see all you bloggers flaunting your Trader Joe's goods. Unfortunately, H-Town is Trader Joeless. NO FREAKIN TRADER JOE'S. However, I managed to get my hands on these: BAM!!! Check it out:

If I DO NOT lose this week...BLAME these Sea Salt & Pepper Crisps!!!!!! I would do anything for these crisps. I guess that makes me a Trader Joe Hoe!!! LOL at myself.

I love these too....also another scapegoat for failed weight loss. I put these on top of my salad or I found my hand submerged inside the bag just eating them as a snack.

Most of my goods are of the snackish persuasion. I shall tell you why. My Mom went on vacay to San Fran and I harassed her repeatedly to visit TJ's. She said TJ's reminded her of Whole Foods but a WHOLE lot cheaper. Since my Mom and husband traveled by plane, packing the frozen dough Marissa used to make her BBQ calzones was out of the question. On the bright side packing the dough in her suitcase would result in a nice loaf of bread upon arrival. I'll keep you updated as I try each product and believe you me, I look forward to trying each and every one!!

Since I love the pepper rice crisps and the Oriental rice crackers, I plan to take a trip to Hong Kong Food Market to see if they carry either product.

Everthing is BETTA with FETA!

2009-07-24T15:38:00.005-05:00

Today's breakfast: Eggs Florentine. Sounds fancy huh? Impressed? Well now you too can impress your friends by informing them YOU made Eggs Florentine.

Spray your pan with cooking spray and saute a cup of baby spinach until it wilts. I used Swiss chard.
Whip 4 egg whites in a bowl and pour over spinach. I used 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites
After eggs cook, remove from pan and add 2 Tablespoons of Feta cheese to the eggs. BAM...Eggs Florentine!

I paired my Florentine with my mom's homemade whole wheat bread and fruit(strawberries and peaches).

I AIN'T COOKING TODAY!

2009-07-23T20:51:00.011-05:00

I spent a majority of the day running my churrin (children) around the city. The Duke Boys (my boy's nickname) auditioned for a dance crew a month ago and made the cut. So, for the past few weeks the boys attended rehearsals to learn routines for their first show in October. The dance crew performs various styles: hip-hop, breaking, house, urban jazz, and soon a lil salsa. So You Think You Can Dance here we come.....!

Saying all that to say...I AIN'T COOKING TODAY!

Lunch: 5 spicy tuna rolls, mixed berries (i.e. strawberries, blackberries, and cherries), and "salad" with feta crumbles.

Dinner: I ate a slice of the boy's Red Barron Pizza: Buffalo Style Chicken and Four Cheese, zuchinni and carrot sticks with ranch dip, and mixed berries...AGAIN. I weighed the pizza and ate about 1/2 of the suggested serving size. I guesstimated each slice to be around 3 points.

OLÉ!

2009-07-16T21:22:00.005-05:00

Today's special: Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Tacos...Mmmmmm...fiberlicious!

A lil something I threw together...

2009-07-16T19:01:00.004-05:00

...I needed to complete my weekly grocery shopping. So, in the meantime I threw this together: Morning Star Italian sausage, marina sauce, spinach fettuccine on a bed of Swiss chard

Blood Pressure: 400/200...

2009-07-15T23:05:00.010-05:00

Yesterday....
So following Marisa's recipe, I created my own flat bread pizza crust. Well...I followed the recipe, but failed to execute the recipe correctly. As I measured and poured the salt into the bread flour, I realized I used 1/2 tablespoon of salt instead of a 1/2 teaspoon. Major faux pas...MAJOR. I shrugged off my mistake, dressed the dough with my favorite toppings, and slid the pizza in the oven to bake. As the pizza baked, I broke off a little piece of the crust to taste. Uhhhh...3 words...extreme saltine cracker.

Today...
So following Marisa's recipe AGAIN, I created my own flat bread pizza crust. This time I followed the recipe and successfully executed the flat bread pizza crust to my satisfaction. Since I like my pizza crust crispy, I baked the crust first for10 minutes and THEN I added my favorite toppings: sweet onions, diced bell peppers, portabella mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, 2% mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce. After I added the toppings I popped the pizza in the oven until the cheese melted....I think another 10 minutes. 2 words...Mamma Mia!

Good Lawd...I Loves Swiss Chawd!

2009-07-12T15:22:00.008-05:00

...Swiss Chard that is. I intentionally misspelled Swiss chard for rhyming purposes

...good lawd...Swiss chawd.

Never mind. So, I tried Swiss chard for the first time, and the taste reminded me of spinach. 2 thumbs up for Swiss chard! I sauteed the chard in EVOO and added some baby portabellas.

To complete my meal I added watermelon and mango.

O look...it's our friend Chicken Charm making a guest appearance.

Chicken Charm-esan

2009-07-12T15:17:00.002-05:00

Yes...Chicken Charm-esan. My dish charmed my stomach so much that I ate chicken charm the next day for breakfast. Well...actually...I stayed up late watching Dexter (yet again) and over slept.

Of course I used the recipe from my Eating for Life cookbook:

I love this cookbook just for the simple fact it contains simple instructions and vivid photos. I am a visual and auditory learner, so pictures help A LOT!

Knock Knock...Who's there? Lettuce...Lettuce who? Lettuce eat more healthy foods!

2009-07-08T22:51:00.020-05:00

...LOL @ myself! Inspired by the lettuce wraps TJ made a few weeks, I decided to make some wraps of my own for lunch today.

To start, I chopped up some onions, bell peppers, carrots and jicama. The jicama gave the wraps a nice CRUNCH!

Next, I threw my veggies in a pot with chicken breast.

I sauteed my goodies and stuffed the results in some nice green leaf lettuce. YUMMERS!

Knock Knock! Who's there? Turnip. Turnip who? Don't look for any dishes with turnips on my blog because I loath turnips. If I could rid the world of 3 things it would be:

World Hunger

Global Warning

Turnips

Seriously...Knock Knock! Who's there? Turnip. Turnip who? Turnip at the gym and you will see the pounds melt away. You can find more funny knock knock jokes here.

"Stuffed Peppers A La Me!"

2009-07-07T23:44:00.009-05:00

What the heck is a peck? You know...Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers... Well, my peck consisted of 4 peppers. I plucked these lovely peppers from the free "Farmer's Market" a.k.a. my mom's backyard.

With my organically grown produce I made stuffed peppers. I started by mixing black beans, brown rice, baby portabella mushrooms and homemade salsa together.

I then spooned the mixture in to the peppers and sprinkled cheese on top.

I baked the stuffed peppers for about 30 minutes and BAM...stuffed peppers!

"My Italian Renaissance"

2009-07-04T01:13:00.009-05:00

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

Well my "Italian Renaissance" marks my phase of change as well, specifically my eating habits. Part of the change in my eating habits I contribute to the book Skinny Bitch. This book shed some light on the processes involved in the big business of FOOD glorious FOOD! But, with everything I read I take it with a grain of salt. Skinny Bitch encourages a vegan lifestyle, and I have no plans in the near future to become a vegetarian or vegan for that matter. Why you ask? For starters, me and soy milk ain't gonna happen, and I loves me some seafood. I did however start obtaining eggs from a real farm and I purchase vegan cheese from time to time.

Another change attributed to reading Skinny Bitch...I started exercising my option to eat a variety of vegetarian meat products.

Pictured below, Morning Star's Italian Sausage on a Whole Wheat bun with sauteed onions.

On a separate occasion I cooked these Italian Turkey Meatballs you see here. On this particular day of this particular week, I challenged myself to use food found on hand, rather than run to the grocery store. Pictured: Turkey meatballs, corn on the cob (or as I like to call it kern-on-the-kurb), and cucumbers.

OUT with the OLD...IN with the NEW!

2009-07-02T00:22:00.007-05:00

The post title refers not to my long ago abandoned New Year's Resolutions, but to my recent food preferences.

Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast...Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Instead of oatmeal, I found these Central Market Whole Wheat Flax Waffles at HEB. I topped the waffles with sugar free syrup and a pat of ICBINB. In addition, I paired the waffles with fruit (bananas and strawberries) and 1 Morning Star maple flavored vegetarian sausage patty.

By yesterday, I was so over those black beans. I decided to whip out the ole' cookbook, Eating for Life by Bill Phillips, and cook...no not cook... create "fried" chicken strips and oven fries.

Voilà le pièce de résistance!

Pictured above, a close up of my divine oven fries.

Pictured below, my chicken strips.

I made enough for today's lunch. Mmmmm...still delish. Each week when I make my pilgrimage to the grocery, I purchase one new food and/or beverage item. Examine the picture the below. Can you guess what I purchased this week? No, it's not a potato.

Fellow bloggers and blogees, I failed to watermark my pics. These pics are sole property of mesohongry, and any unlawful duplication without permission will result in blah blah blah legal mumbo jumbo blah blah blah legal jargon blah blah blah. You get the picture and thanks for following me.

Black Bean Revolution

2009-06-30T23:49:00.014-05:00

My life this week...all things black bean. So faced with the challenge of cooking with black beans, I came up with the following meal solutions:

For breakfast...Black Bean Tacos. Talk about a bang for your buck...this fiber rich breakfast, only 3.5 points. Extra added bonus...satisfaction: 2 count em' 2 Mission Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortillas, 1/2 c. black beans, 2 egg whites, bell pepper, onions, 1/4 c. Rotel.

Sunday, I cooked black bean soup for those "I Don't Wanna Cook Moments". Yesterday, I paired the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich...6 points for the entire meal. Best part about this meal...1 point for 2 slices of Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

Okay what you see here is a black bean omelet cooking in my GT Express 101. The GT Express 101 now resides in the dumpster. Well first of all, the GT lay dormant in the cabinet for a little over a year. I pulled it out to cook my omelet and I noticed the non-stick surface, not so non-stick. So, I sprayed the crap out of the GT with non-stick spray. After the omelets cooks in the two wells you see pictured below, they should have popped out into two perfect semi-circles.

My results, a pile of eggs. Whatevs...still a tasty treat.

So what spurred my my desire to bust out the GT Express 101...the informerical for the new and improved...DRUM ROLL PLEASE...Xpress Readi- Set- Go!

With 2 payment of $19.95 plus shipping and handling, the X-press Redi-Set-Go is as good as mine *insert sinister laugh and mustache twirl here*.

Ballin on a Budget!

2009-06-24T07:22:00.013-05:00

Ballin: To live the good life. (Used in a coherent, non-Ebonics sentence) "I'm still ballin!" To ball on a budget means to live the good life within my means...not tying to keep up with the Joneses or anyone else.

With my kids home for the summer, I find myself trying to prepare inexpensive meals that stretch. Even more of a challenge, creating inexpensive HEALTHY meals. We all know, healthy foods put a dent in the ole' pocketbook, so please share any money saving tips and dishes in your "meals on a dime" repertoire.

Displayed for your viewing pleasure, meals with components that stretch to create leftovers:

Grilled drumsticks go a long way, minus the skin of course: drumstick, 1/2 c brown rice with gravy, and 1/2 c frozen green peas.

Our friend the grilled drumstick making another appearance. Also pictured, homemade coleslaw that stretched for 2 days (coleslaw recipe: Eating for Life cookbook by Bill Phillips). Lunch: drumstick, 1/2 c coleslaw, and 3/4 c strawberries.

A bag of chicken breast produces a variety of meals. Take a look at my chicken quesadilla: 2 Mission Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortillas, 4 oz chicken breast, 28 oz Kraft 2% Mexican Cheese and of course pico from HEB.

A repeat performance by none other than: grilled chicken. I call this dish pictured below "Jambalaya."

Jambalaya

Boil brown rice in reduced sodium chicken broth.
While cooking rice, saute shrimp in onions and olive oil.
Add leftover chicken.
Add a can of Rotel or spicy diced tomatoes to the shrimp and chicken mixture.
After rice cooks, add to shrimp and chicken mixture.
Mix. Voila, Jambalaya!

Using the last of the chicken breast, I concocted a salad. Of course I made my own dressing.

After peeling shrimp for Jambalaya, I bagged the remaining shrimp and cooked "Shrimp Scampi" the next day using the recipe from Bill Phillips' cookbook, Eating for Life.

If you decide to use my pics, please site http://mesohongry.blogspot.com/ as your source. Honesty is the best policy.

Chick-Fil-Who?

2009-06-20T15:20:00.019-05:00

Who needs Chick-Fil-A when you can create one of these?

Morning Star Veggie Chicken Patty (How do they make the patty taste like chicken...amazing?), 2 egg whites, Melissa's Soy Slices Jalapeno "cheese", and Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Bun...

It just so happens, this week's Weight Watchers (WW) meeting topic focused on breakfast...the most important meal ot the day. My main intent for today's meeting...gain new and fresh ideas for breakfast meals. Well, new and fresh ideas were few and far in between. Everybody kept talking about different crap to pour into yogurt and cottage cheese. WTH? I swear about 5 people offered a variety of crunchy crap to compliment yougurt: crumble nature valley bars, plain uncooked 1 minute oatmeal, fiber one (you know, the cereal that resembles twigs or cat food), and so on, and so on, and yadda yadda yadda. ENOUGH!

I wanted to stand up and shout, "Does anyone eat real food for breakfast...huh? Well...do ya?" I cannot speak for anyone else, but I eats me some real food (intentional bad grammar). For anyone wanting NEW and FRESH breakfast ideas feel free to look at my post Fast Breakers.

Needless to say, I walked out of the WW meeting disappointed. The spell check went wonky on me so, some words may be mispelled.

Bun Busting Burgers!

2009-06-15T14:04:00.008-05:00

Whooooo doggie...take a look at this burgah!

Grilled Turkey Breast Burgers (4 oz.), lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, Nature's Own %100 Whole Wheat Sugar Free Buns, and Melissa's Soy Slices Jalapeno Cheese.

Accompanying the burger, Alexia's All Natural Gourmet Olive Oil, Rosemary & Garlic Oven Fries. I also made coleslaw using the recipe from Eating For Life by Bill Phillips.

Fast Breakers!

2009-06-15T13:09:00.015-05:00

My son asked the other day, "Why is breakfast called breakfast?" I replied, "Breakfast, breaks the fast. When you sleep at night your body fasts. When you wake up and eat, you break the fast." His reply, "O." My fast breakers from the last 3 days:

Friday: Mini omelet with sweet onions and tomatoes, cherries, 1 serving of hash browns and 2 slices veggie bacon...5.5 points

Saturday: Breakfast tacos containing 1 egg and 1 egg white, 1 serving of potatoes O'Brien hash browns, 1/8 c. cheese, and cherries...6.5 points.

Sunday: Oatmeal and bananas with a lil pat of ICBINB (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)...4 points.

Get IN My Belly...! (GOOD)

2009-06-11T12:32:00.020-05:00

What movie comes to mind when you read my post title? Since I have nothing but time these days...NO excuses for not cooking my meals. I present a small compilation of my edible creations. Enjoy...I did!

I usually start my morning with a Weight Watchers smoothie before my workout. This morning I chose Wild Berry. In addition, I added 1/2 a banana. The 1 point smoothie serves as 1 milk serving, 2 servings when mixed with milk. I mix my smoothie with water because I don't want to spend the remainder of the day on the toilet. Milk and I are frenemies.

My breakfast choices this week consisted of Cheerios (or as I like to say Chairy-os) and oatmeal.

This week I tried something different...peaches on my oatmeal. Yummy for my tummy!

For lunch I made a shrimp salad: 6 shrimp, cucumbers, tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, homemade pita chips, and self-made pita chip dip. Pita chip dip: 1 TBSP whipped cream cheese, and 2 TBSP roasted salsa from HEB. I created my own salad dressing by mixing random ingredients I found in the pantry: white cooking wine, EVOO, and apple cider vinegar.

Finger Licking Good!

2009-05-28T19:11:00.006-05:00

Pictured: Lazy Sandwich Dinner: deli sliced turkey, pumpernickel bread, WW cheese, green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, fat free (FF) pringles, baby carrots. Mixed Berries: fresh strawberries and blackberries. Vegetarian Lunch: okra, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers/tomatoes. Spring Break Lunch:pita with portabella mushrooms, 1015 onions, and avocado, fresh strawberries, cucumbers.

Thanks God's Favorite Shoes for the tip on creating the mosaic

I scream...you scream...we all scream...for ...(HONGRY)

2009-05-28T17:48:00.005-05:00

After an afternoon packed full of fun in the sun this refreshing summer treat hit the spot:

(3pts.)

Tired and Lazy...(HONGRY)

2009-05-26T19:54:00.007-05:00

As I dragged myself through the door this evening, I decided to eat the Lean Cuisine Mushroom pizza in the freezer.

I ate leftovers (kabobs and grilled corn)for lunch, but I wanted something else for dinner.

I settled on the pizza. I usually shy away from frozen processed dinners due to the excess sodium; however, I keep back-up frozen dinners to reduce my chances of visiting the drive-thru when I don't feel like cooking.

Temptation 1...Me 0 (BAD)

2009-05-25T18:51:00.006-05:00

Score 1 for temptation...I gave in to my cravings and gobbled down 1 cinnamon roll. Just look at it. Do you possess the will power to resist this scrumptious temptress?

The Marvelous Macro Setting (GOOD)

2009-05-25T14:31:00.009-05:00

I stumbled upon a another blog which displayed the most beautiful photos. In the FAQ section of the blog I discovered the macro setting on digital cameras enable such vivid photos. FYI Macro photography is close-up photography. Enough of that...my first macro shot...

Look at that picture...makes you want to reach into the screen and grab a strawberry. Oh by the way...the picture above displays today's breakfast potato and egg tacos and fresh strawberries: 2 whole wheat tortillas, 1 farm fresh egg (yes from a real farm) and 1 egg white. 1 serving of hash brown potatoes (87 g).

A few of my favorite things...

2009-03-24T23:00:00.007-05:00

A fellow blogger, GOD'S FAVORITE SHOES, requested a weeks worth of blog entries detailing my daily menu. No problem I replied, but I quickly discovered a daily blog detailing my food intake requires a lot of work: planning, remembering to snap photos, uploading the photos...not to mention writing and publishing the blog. Since my food journal blog thoughts lay dormant in my mind, my fellow blogger settled for daily emails.

Well...I present...drum roll please... the good, the bad, and the hongry. I decided to display and discuss foods prepared by me, rather than a daily food journal. Believe me when I say, I am by no means a cook. But, my mother says, "If you can read, you can cook."

In addition, I want to share fabulous healthy (the good) food discoveries, and not-so fabulous (the bad) food finds. The picture shown above displays a breakfast prepared by yours truly. On the weekends, I enjoy splurging on breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. During the week, the day-to-day hustle and bustle prevents me from preparing and siting down to enjoy a decent breakfast. Pictured: pancakes (1/3 cup pancake mix), egg whites (2) with salsa and garden fresh cilantro (my Mom's garden), 1 tangelo), 1/8 cup syrup and a hot cup of mango tea (not pictured). The next time I cook pancakes I plan to choose a healthier pancake mix and a more natural syrup.