Skinnytaste Turkey Burgers with Zucchini

I found myself falling into a food rut ... and food ruts are no fun because I get bored and nothing is even worth making/eating. I had an extra zucchini in the refrigerator and decided to make some sort of burger out of it. Then I remembered I saw something on Pinterest where turkey burgers were made. So I pulled up the recipe and decided to give the Skinnytaste Turkey Burgers with Zucchini a shot.

The burgers themselves are very simple to pull together. The only thing I altered from the original recipe is eliminating the onion and adding a little McCormick hamburger seasoning to the mixture. The recipe makes 5 pretty generous sized turkey burgers, which once cooked up, leave for a very moist and flavorful burger. I made a batch to have as prepped lunches for the week and shared one with a coworker and one with my mother and both raved about how delicious it was. I'm such a fan that I've made this recipe again to have as rotating lunches for a few days. Adding the zucchini to the poultry certainly makes it a much more satisfying meal.

If interested in recreating this, you can find the recipe here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/turkey-burgers-with-zucchini.html

A serving, 1 burger is 161 calories or 4 points plus values.

Scrambled Egg w/ Peppers and Onions, Hash Brown & Bacon Breakfast Wrap

Back in the day, I used to occasionally order a McDonald’s Sausage Burrito before heading into work.  It was 300 calories worth of egg, sausage, peppers and cheese on a white tortilla. Now that’s the calories for 1 sandwich (which is awfully small might I add). So because of its size I would typically order 2, plus a side of hash browns. The sandwiches were “filling” in the moment, but 2 or so hours later I felt hungry again.

These days I create healthier alternatives to breakfast items at home (which I have also been known to eat as a lunch). The sandwiches can be eaten when prepared and/or even brought out with me on the go.  The greatest part is they’re filling, healthier and I know exactly what’s in it.

These wraps are made on Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas. The filling is made with ½ cup fat free egg substitute (Egg Beaters) tossed with diced onion and green pepper, 2/3 cup Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes, and 1 ½ slices of bacon.  Topped off with sriracha for an added bit of spice/flavor.

The entire meal (both tortillas) are only 7 points plus. Not bad for a filling and delicious meal!

Don’t play with your food … well, unless it smiles at you!

First of all, how cute is this?! It was almost so cute that I didn’t want to eat it. But … I admit that I did.

I really wanted peanut butter, but since I didn’t want a peanut butter sandwich, I decided to make a peanut butter banana and peanut butter apple sandwich.  Admittedly this is not something I normally make but it’s nice to step outside the box.  Plus it was so delicious, I’ve decided this is going to be a dish I make more often.

I started by slicing up a fuji apple into thick slices and removed the core.  I then peeled my banana and sliced it down the middle.  I measured out 2 tablespoons of PB Crave CoCo Bananas peanut butter and smeared it onto the banana and stuck the top on, then smeared it over the apples and made a sandwich out of them.  It resembled an adorable happy food face.

The greatest part was it was filling, I got 2 fruits in for the day, and I got a serving of healthy fat all for 5 points plus values. Yummo!

QUESTION:

Do you like PB Apple or PB Banana sandwiches?

Brinner: Cinnamon Raison French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Hashbrowns & Bacon

Talk about a brinner (breakfast for dinner) for champions! This is the meal I whipped together after my Weight Watchers meeting. Breakfast is a meal I enjoy, but cooking a full course breakfast isn't something that happens often. So, since my boyfriend and I enjoy breakfast we typically have it for dinner. This way we get our favorites, or exactly what we're craving, without any time restrictions. The great thing about breakfast foods is they are relatively easy and quick -- so this dinner was done in under 20 minutes.

We had some Country Kitchen Light Raisin bread (you can see that post here) and since my boyfriend planted the french toast seed, I really wanted it. So I whipped up some regular french toast (using whole eggs) for him and my french toast using Eggbeaters. I dredged my bread in Eggbeaters - but I didn't season it this time since the bread is already flavorful. I ended up using a little more than 1/3 of a cup to dredge the four slices of bread. If you're interested in seeing how I make my french toast, you can see that recipe here.

I went the "easy way out" and cooked my bacon in the oven. This is quite possibly the easiest way to cook bacon ... the only part that takes effort is making sure not to burn it because it can go from good to horrible in a matter of unwatched minutes. While the bacon and french toast was going I added the shredded seasoned hashbrown potatoes to a non-stick skillet. I seasoned them additionally with some black pepper and a bit of garlic and let them cook. Then after cooking my french toast, I scrambled up my eggbeaters seasoning them with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Easy, peasy!

My whole meal, as pictured, was 10 points plus. That's 3 slices of Light Raisin bread (4 points plus), 1 1/2 tbsp sugar free maple syrup (0 points plus), 1 cup eggbeaters (3 points plus - note: I used a portion of this 1 cup to dredged my bread in and the remainder I used to scramble), 2 slices of turkey bacon (1 points plus), and 3 oz of hashbrowns (2 points plus).

QUESTION:
What is your favorite breakfast item?

Filling Simple Breakfast

I’ve learned to really love and enjoy breakfast.  Prior to joining Weight Watchers, breakfast was a distant memory. I never ate breakfast and if I did fall into a breakfast habit it was always a McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts specialty.  These days McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts breakfasts are a distant memory and filling and point friendly breakfasts are on the menu.

This particular meal was a product of a few leftovers. Jimmy Dean breakfast sausages from “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) the night before and a serving of Trader Joe’s Roasted Potatoes with Peppers and Onions.  To tie it all together, I scrambled up ½ cup of egg substitute, seasoned with pepper, salt and spices.

The greatest part about this meal is the fact that aside from it being filling, it was only 4 points plus values!  One of the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage patties is 1 points plus, a serving (3/4 cup) of Trader Joe’s Roasted Potatoes with Peppers and Onions is 2 points plus values and the ½ cup of egg substitute is 1 points plus values.

QUESTION:

What is one of your favorite breakfasts?

Hot Dogs and Beans

Hot dogs and beans are a classic combination which I have always enjoyed.  I’ve learned quickly that sugary baked beans can quickly add up in not only fat and calories, but more importantly Weight Watchers points plus values!  I prefer homemade baked beans hands down, but when you’re in a pinch classic B&M (or even Bush) baked beans do the trick for me.  If I want to save a few points plus values, but still get the classic flavor of baked beans I purchase vegetarian baked beans.  They offer the same flavor, just without the bacon and usually the extra sweetness from added brown sugar.

I had a few Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs leftover so I sliced them up and heated them through in the microwave.  I also heated up the can of beans in the microwave and lunch was done and ready to eat in under 3 minutes.

I had ½ cup of B&M Vegetarian baked beans (3 points plus) and 3 Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs (3 points plus) alongside some reduced sugar ketchup and spicy brown mustard.  It was a delicious, quick, easy and only 6 points plus dinner.

QUESTION:

Do you like hot dogs and beans?