Watermelon Breeze

Looking for an easy low calorie cocktail for sipping on the deck? Try out this watermelon breeze! Yum!

Ingredients:

-1oz watermelon vodka
-1 oz watermelon pucker
-Diet Raspberry Ginger Ale
- Ocean view (optional)

Directions:

In a medium sized glass, fill half way with ice. Pour the vodka and pucker over the ice. Fill the rest with the raspberry ginger ale. Mix and serve! Ocean view is optional but highly suggested!

Nutrition Information for 1 drink:

Calories - 135
Carbs - 13
Fat - 0
Protein -0
Sodium- 0
Fiber - 0

*Please ensure that you and whoever you are serving this to is 21 or older!

Greek Orzo Summer Salad! 259 Calories Per Serving!

I made this recipe for a family get together on the beach. It was so refreshing and delicious! Everyone went back for seconds and some even went back for thirds! You could eat this as with a meal or a side. This was so pleasing that I made it twice in one week!

Ingredients:

- 1 box of orzo pasta
- 1/2 container of red cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 container of yellow cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 purple onion
- fresh basil leafs
- 1 cup of pesto
- 1/2 cup of corn relish (sometimes this is hard to find - check near the regular relish. Stonewall kitchen has their own brand as well.)
- 1 cup of frozen peas (or pigeon peas)
- 6 oz of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Cook the orzo pasta as instructed on box. While the pasta is cooking, begin to chop up the tomatoes (yellow and red), onion and basil leafs. Once pasta is finished cooking, drain and place in a mixing bowl. Add the pesto and corn relish and mix well. Add the chopped up tomatoes, onion, basil leafs and frozen peas. Mix well. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Once you are ready to serve, mix up the mixture and garnish with the crumbled feta cheese. Yummmy!

Nutritional Information - (This recipe makes 10 servings. Nutrition information is for 1 cup)

Calories- 259

Carbs -  42

Fat - 5

Protein - 9 

Sodium - 201

Fiber - 4

***If you are making this recpie and adding it to your My Fitness Pal food diary, I have added it to the food database under "lowcalcook Greek Orzo Summer Salad" to make it easier to add!

Funfetti Cake Batter Dip

The pictures honestly say it all...yum! I spent the weekend in Maine at the beach house with my boyfriends family and my family. We all made appetizers and ate them on the front porch overlooking the ocean with a few glasses of sangria in hand ;) . I wanted to be able to make a somewhat healthy dessert to compensate for all of the alcohol calories consumed so I did some research. I found a similar recipe on Stuck on Sweet's blog but wanted to add my own stamp on it so I modified the recipe a little bit. This recipe was honestly finger licking good! It didn't even make it to the table without a few "samples" taken. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 box of pillsbury funfetti cake mix

- 1.5 cups of fat free vanilla yogurt

- 1 cup of fat free cool whip

- 1 package of Jello cheesecake sugar free mix

- 2 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles for garnish

Directions:

Combine the cake mix, yogurt, cool whip and Jello mix in a mixing bowl. Mix well until all ingredients are well mixed and the dip becomes thick. Garnish with sprinkles. If you are making this ahead of time, be sure to wait to add the sprinkles until the very end as they may melt and dye the dip. Serve with your favorite fruit or cookie. I served with fresh strawberries and mini Nilla wafers. Yumm! This dip was so good and sweet that it could also be used as frosting :)

Nutritional Information - (For 1 serving = 1/20 of recipe - about 2-3 tablespoons)

Calories - 98

Carbs - 19

Fat - 2

Protien - 1

Sodium - 163

Fiber - 0

Summer Shrimp Salad - 286 Calories

This recipe is great for summer! It cool, refreshing and chilling! I love how easy it is to make, just chop and mix! It leaves more time for laying by the pool and getting together with old friends! This would be perfect for a backyard cook out, because let’s be honest, who wants to slave over an oven all day? Not me!

Ingredients:

-          Shrimp Cocktail (18 Medium Shrimp)

-         ¼ of a white Vidalia onion

-         ¼ cup of garbanzo beans rinsed

-        1.5 oz of light Italian salad dressing

-        ¼ of a medium avocado cubed

-        8 cherry tomatoes

-        Sprinkle of cracked pepper and sea salt

Directions:

Chop up the shrimp cocktail and onion. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Rinse the garbanzo beans. Mix together the cut up shrimp, onion, tomatoes, beans. Add in the salad dressing and sprinkle the cracked pepper and sea salt. Mix well and serve! So easy! Now go enjoy your Summer Shrimp Salad out by the pool!

Nutrition Information (This recipe only makes 1 serving. If you want to make more, just modify the recipe!)

Calories – 286

Carbs – 17

Fat – 4

Protein – 5

Sodium – 160

Fiber - 4

Low Calorie Mexican Quesadillas!

Mexican is by far, one of my favorite comfort foods. Cheese and salt – yes please! My friend and I have ladies night every Tuesday night. We  go for a walk, catch up, watch chick shows,  drink wine and cook dinner. We take turns cooking and tonight is my night. We are both on a path of living a healthier lifestyle so we always cook healthy meals. Last Tuesday, she cooked one of my favorites – Hungry Girl Mexican Chicken! This week we still have a craving for Mexican, so I figured who doesn’t love quesadillas? They’re filling and easy to make! The best part about quesadillas is that there are endless options, so feel free to be creative and have fun!

Ingredients:

•           4oz of chicken
•          1/3 cup of shredded taco blend cheese
•          2 white corn tortillas (I bought the smaller ones for lower calories)
•          ¼ cup of black beans
•           2 tablespoons of mild salsa
•           ¼ of a Vidalia onion
•          PAM or non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Cook up the chicken according to instructions on package and cut it up into bite size pieces (I use a George Foreman Grill because it’s quick and easy.) Slice the onion to desired size and fry up in a medium frying pan with non-stick spray. Open the can of black beans and rinse them well. Now here comes the cool part. I have a Quesadilla maker which can be found at target for about $20. It makes it quick and easy with minimal clean up. If you do not have a quesadilla maker, use a large frying pan. Spray one of the tortillas with non-stick spray and place face down on your frying pan or quesadilla maker. Sprinkle your cheese, cut up chicken, beans, salsa and onion. Cover with the remaining tortilla and spray the top with non-stick spray. If you have the quesadilla maker, secure it shut at this point and let it cook until the edges are crispy and light brown. If you are using a frying pan, flip like a pancake once the bottom is light brown and the cheese is melty. Let the other side brown and get crispy and it’s finished. Cut it up like a pizza and serve! I like to garnish mine with light sour cream and guacamole – sometimes even salsa!

Nutrition Information – (This recipe makes 1 serving – does not include garnish of sour cream and guacamole)

Calories: 470

Carbs: 37

Fat: 14

Protein: 38

Sodium: 495

Fiber: 7

Super Easy Parmesan Crusted Chicken – 184 calories Per Serving!

My Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Steamed Brocolli & Brown Rice - 334 Calories & 9 grams of fat!

T.G.I. Friday's Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Tomato Salad & Tortellini - 790 Calories & 54 grams of fat!

I tried to make a copy-cat of the T.G.I.F’s Parmesan Crusted Chicken. I absolutely love theirs but looked up the calories and fat and almost fainted! I’d say it came pretty close to tasting like it, only I didn’t feel like I was in a food coma after eating it! I served mine with broccoli and brown rice and it was super filling and delicious!

Ingredients:

16oz of chicken breast (I like the ones that are cut thin – that way they don’t get chewy and dry when baking them)

-4 Tablespoons of light mayonnaise

-3 tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan cheese

-2 tablespoons of Italian style or seasoned bread crumbs

- A sprinkle of Greek seasoning (or any other kind of mixed-spice to sprinkle on top)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cheese and bread crumbs and mix well. Lay out the chicken on a non-stick sprayed casserole dish. Cover the chicken in the mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Garnish with a sprinkle of Greek seasoning on top and serve with your favorite sides. Now how easy is that?!

Nutrition Information – (For (1) 4oz. serving, this recipe makes 4 servings.)

Calories : 184

Carbs: 2

Fat: 7

Protein: 29

Sodium: 350

Fiber: 0

Garlic Shrimp and Rice - 356 calories

This delicious  meal is quick and yummy!

Ingredients:

- 21 Jumbo shrimp (I used shrimp cocktail)
- 1 container of rice pilaf original - 3 cups (I use the Near East brand)
- 1 cup of raw mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of minced fresh garlic
- 3 tablespoons of fresh Parmesan grated cheese

Directions:

Cook the rice pilaf as directed on the package. In a medium sized cooking pan, add the mushrooms and cook on medium. Once they are cooked through, add the minced garlic and tail shucked shrimp. Lower the heat to low. Once the rice is done cooking, measure out 1 cup of the rice and place it on your individual serving plate or bowl. Top with 1/3 of the shrimp mushroom and garlic mixture. Top with 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and serve!

Nutrition Information - (This recipe makes 3 servings - the nutrition information is for 1 serving)

Calories - 356
Carbs - 44
Fat - 7
Protein - 26
Sodium - 1077
Fiber - 1