Open Faced Omelet

So I'm sick of having the same boring egg white omelet every morning. Since I love cheese, I usually end up not eating the top half since the cheese melted to the bottom part. So I decided to make an open faced one so I would it it all, and to my surprise I did! 

Ingredients:

-1/4 of liquid egg whites (I used egg scramblers)

- 1 slice of deli cheese (I used land o lakes white american)

- Mushrooms and onions

Directions:

Chop up the mushrooms and onions. In a small sized frying pan, begin to stir fry the vegetables. Once the vegetables are done cooking, set them aside and spray the pan with PAM. Pour in 1/4 cup of the eggs. Let it cook until the top has only a little liquid on it. Flip it like a pancake. Place the cheese on the egg, followed by the vegetables. I served mine with ketchup yummm!

Nutrition Facts for 1 Open Faced Omelet

Calories - 160

Carbs - 17

Fat - 7

Protein - 9

Sodium - 365

Fiber - 1

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Here comes another dessert! Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie...yum! I found this recipe on the calorie logging website I belong to (myfitnesspal) from the user polar5554. The picture is what sold it for me. Feel free to mix up the ingredients to create new flavors!

Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp of light butter (I used Smart Balance Light)
- Dry envelope of Jell-o Chocolate pudding mix
- 2 cups of fat free cool whip
- 7 tbsp of natural reduced fat peanut butter (I used smuckers)
- 7 reduced fat graham crackers
- 1 cup of skim or fat free milk (I used silk soy low fat vanilla milk)
- 12 cupcake liners

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crush up the graham crackers. Melt the butter. Mix the butter and graham crackers. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners. Fill the bottoms of the cupcake liners with the filling. Place in the oven for about 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and milk. Beat on low for about a minute. Once it has a smooth consistency, add the pudding mix. Beat on low again for another minute. Fold in the fat free cool whip. Spoon in the mixture to the cupcake liners.

Once all of the cupcake liners are filled with the mixture, place in the freezer for about 3 hours and serve! Be sure to top with fat free cool whip as an icing.

Nutrition facts for one pie:

Calories - 152
Carbs - 22
Fat - 5
Protein - 3
Sodium - 212
Fiber - 1

240 Calorie Veggie Lasagna

So who doesn't love Italian food? I absolutely love it! The only issue yet again is the high fat and calories! Olive Garden's lasagna has 850 calories and 47 grams of fat. Shame on you Olive Garden! By taking out the hamburg and replacing it with filling vegetables, switching out white noodles for whole wheat, and using a lower fat cheese, I was able to get the nutrition facts for my veggie lasagna down to 243 calories and 4 grams of fat for one huge serving. I made this lasagna 1/2 with hamburg and real cheese for my parents and the other half for me with low fat cheese and no hamburg which is why the pictures may look  half and half.

Ingredients:

- 1 jar of marinara sauce (I used Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic)
- 1 Zuchinni sliced thin
- 1 large white onion diced
- 1 cup of mushrooms diced
- 1 medium sized egg
- 1/2 cup of fat free shredded mozzarella cheese (I used kraft)
- 2 cups of fat free cottage cheese
- 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning
- 4 oz of whole wheat lasagna noodles. (You will need 6 for this recipe, I used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Wheat Lasagna Noodles)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice up the onion and mushrooms and cook in a frying pan. Slice the zuchinni with a potato peeler lengthwise like this...

In a mixing bowl, combine the sauce, cottage cheese, egg, and Italian seasoning. Mix well. In a casserole dish, spray it with PAM. Lay down around a cup of the mixture, top it off with the onion and mushroom mixture, and lay the zuchinni slices on top. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top and repeat for one more layer.

 Once you finish the second layer, top it off with the remaining sauce mixture and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 50 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. Allow it to cool and settle  for 10 minutes.

Nutrition Facts for 1 slice of Veggie Lasagna (This recipe makes 6 slices)

Calories - 240
Carbs - 37
Fat - 4
Protein - 18
Sodium - 873
Fiber - 6

Cheesy Sweet Potato Pancake Crisps

I found a recipe similar to this one online and i had to modify it (to be healthy of course) This recipe works great as an appetizer, breakfast, side, or snack - it's that great!

Ingredients:

- 1 sweet potato

- 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites

- 1/2 cup of shredded romano cheese

- pinch of salt and pepper

- pinch of garlic salt

- a few shakes of mccormick perfect pinch parmesan herb seasoning (you don't have to use this but it tastes so good!)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take a sweet potato and peel it. Begin to grate the sweet potato using a cheese grater. Once it is all grated (it may take a while since the potato will be hard), mix it with all of the ingredients and mix. It should look something like....

Take a table spoon and shape the mixture into little balls and flatten them out (roll it like you would with cookie dough.) Take a paper towel and squeeze some of the juices out. Place on a PAM sprayed cookie sheet, and repeat for the rest of the mixture. It should make about 12 per batch. It should look like this...

Spray the tops of the pancakes with PAM. Bake for around 20 minutes, being sure to flip them to evenly brown. They're done when they're crispy. I served mine with fat free ranch... yum!  Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts for 1 pancake (this recipe should make 12 servings)

Calories - 28

Carbs - 2

Fat - 1

Protein - 2

Sodium - 88

Fiber - 0

Southwestern Salsa

I think it's time for some salsa to go with that under 100 calorie margarita! This is a really easy recipe since all you need to do is chop and mix.

Ingredients:

- 1 onion
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup of canned corn (Rinsed)
- 1/2 cup of black beans (Rinsed)
- 1 lime
- Splash of vinegar

Directions:

Chop up the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes to your desired size (if you want chunky salsa, cut them  large) Combine the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes with the rinsed corn and beans. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juices into the mixture. Splash the mixture with vinegar. Take a potato masher and lightly press down on the mixture causing some of the juices to come out. How easy was that?!

Nutrition Facts for 1/4 cup - this recipe should make around 8 servings.

Calories - 23
Carbs - 4
Fat - 0
Protein - 1
Sodium - 42
Fiber - 1

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Under 100 Calorie Margarita!

Inspired by the holiday, I thought it would be nice to put up a recipe for some low calorie goodness! What better than to celebrate with a margarita? Not only does this taste delicious, but it's also full of vitamins (25% of your daily needed vitamin c) and it's made with real fruit! What's the secret you ask? Edy's no sugar added fruit bars. The  best part is each box comes with 3 flavors - lime, strawberry, and wildberry. 3 perfect flavors for margaritas!

Ingredients:

- 1-2 Edy's no sugar added fruit bars (I used wild berry - use 2 if you want a lot of flavor. Nutrition is for margarita with 1 bar.)

- 1 oz of your desired tequila

- 6 ice cubes

- lime wedge for garnish

- salt or sweetener for the rim

Directions:

In a blender, combine the fruit bar(s), tequila, and ice cubes. Blend until it is to your desired consistency. I added a few drops of water to help it blend easier. Take your margarita glass and wet the rim. On a plate lay out either salt or sweetener (I used truvia.) Roll the rim around the sweetener so that it sticks to the edges. Pour the margarita into the glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy the holiday!

Nutrition facts for 1 margarita

Calories - 94

Carbs - 6

Fat  - 0

Protein - 0

Sodium - 0

Fiber - 1

Another good substitute for a margarita is the Skinny Girl brand margarita. They sell it at most liquor stores and at some restaurants. It's a good substitute if you're going out and don't want to waste your calories on liquor. They come pre-made so it's a good drink for those of you that don't have the time. At 130 calories per glass, not bad!

160 calorie BLT!

My BLT - 160 Calories & 5 grams of fat

 Sonic's BLT - 500 calories and 29 grams of fat

I just love BLT's! The thing I hate about them is that they're usually high in fat because of the bacon and mayonnaise. Sonic's BLT has 500 calories and 29 grams of fat! To be honest, BLT's aren't even that filling, I sometimes even have them as a snack, so there's no reason why they should be so high in calories and fat! This sandwich is one of my favorite modifications because it tastes so much like the real thing!

Ingredients:

- 2 slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Oatmeal bread
- 1/2 tomato sliced
- Enough lettuce for one sandwich
- 2 slices of turkey bacon (I use butterball turkey bacon because it's the lowest in fat and calories)
- 1/2 tbsp of light mayonnaise (I used Cain's brand for this)

Directions:

Cook the turkey bacon as instructed on the package (it only took mine about 1 minute.) Toast the bread. Once the bread is toasted, apply the mayonnaise evenly. Add the bacon, lettuce and tomato. Easy and delicious!

Nutrition for 1 sandwich:

Calories - 160
Carbs - 23
Fat - 5
Protein - 8
Sodium - 417
Fiber - 3

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

This is a great recipe for a Mexican night in. When you eat it, you might wish you’re on a beach with an ice cold beer, and ya know what? Go ahead and drink the beer, because this dish is super filling but also low calorie, so you can splurge a little after a long day with an ice cold beer!

Ingredients:

-  1 lb of chicken breasts

- 1 cup of salsa

- ½ package of reduced sodium taco seasoning

- 1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

- ½ cup fat free sour cream

-1 cup of black beans rinsed

- 1 cup of canned of corn rinsed

- ½ onion chopped

- ½ green pepper chopped

Directions:

Add the raw chicken to the slow cooker and place it on low. Sprinkle the chicken with the taco seasoning. Pour in salsa, soup, sour cream, onions, peppers, and rinsed beans and corn. Mix all of the ingredients together and cover. Cook in the crockpot on low for about 6 hours or until the chicken is cooked. You can serve this over Spanish rice or eat it as a burrito in a whole wheat wrap topped with low fat cheese. I just eat it plain, since it’s so darn good!

Nutrition facts for 1 serving (1 cup) - This recipe makes around 5-6 cups

Calories - 210

Carbs - 30

Fat - 4

Protein - 22

Sodium - 976

Fiber - 4

Add one ice cold Bud Select 55 Beer to top it off with – only 55 calories and 2 carbs! That’s only 265 calories total for the beer and 1 serving! Heck, throw in a second beer for a total of 320 calories!

Honey BBQ Chicken, Coleslaw, and Sweet Potato Fries.

It is a beautiful day today! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the grass is green. Hello Spring! I was thinking, what better way to rush along the season than to fire up the grill! Normally, right now I would be craving Applebee's honey barbecue boneless wings, french fries, and a side of coleslaw. I did my homework and this meal has 1813 calories and 90 grams of fat! (And you wonder why they make this meal half off after 9 PM!) This doesn't even include the blue cheese dressing that I use to dunk my chicken in. Since this meal isn't even an option for me, I decided to make it healthy with substitutions. I usually prep everything before dinner, so that when it comes time to cook it, it will only take around 20 minutes.

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of coleslaw mix (located next to the bagged lettuce in your grocery store)
- 1 tbsp of real mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp of light mayonnaise
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/2 tbsp of sweetener (I used truvia)

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. That's it! I usually let this sit in the refrigerator for around 2 hours to let the flavors blend.

Nutrition Facts for 1 serving (1/2 cup) - This will make around 8 servings
Calories- 31
Carbs- 0
Fat - 2
Protein - 0
Sodium - 25
Fiber - 0
Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients: 

- (2) 3-4 inch sweet potatoes
-EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- garlic powder
-Pam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Slice the potatoes to be in the shape of french fries. Be sure to evenly cut them in width. Once they are all sliced, place them in a mixing bowl. Drizzle them with EVOO (very little because the more you put, the more fat you add) , salt and pepper, and garlic powder. I usually use a lot of garlic powder to give it loads of flavor. Mix well. (This is the step that I usually stop at for prepping) From here, take 2 cookie sheets and spray them with PAM. Evenly lay out the potatoes, being sure that they do not overlap. Spray the tops with PAM. Place them in the oven for around 20 minutes. Be sure to flip them to evenly brown each side. Sometimes I place the oven on the broiler option for the last two minutes to make them extra crispy. Serve! (I like to dip them in ketchup like real french fries!)

Nutrition Facts For about 1/3  of a batch
Calories - 103
Carbs - 24
Fat- 2
Protein - 2
Sodium -  280
Fiber - 4



Honey BBQ Chicken


Ingredients: 

- 1 lb of chicken breasts
- 1 container of Sweet Baby Ray's honey BBQ sauce

Directions:

Throughly rinse the chicken. Place in a bowl. Pour the Honey BBQ sauce over the chicken and mix. Let the chicken marinade for at least 3 hours. (I let mine sit for about 24 hours, because the longer you let it marinade, the better it tastes!) Place the grill on high and let it warm up for about 5 minutes. Lower the grill to medium heat and place the chicken on the grill. Cook each side for about 3 minutes, or until there is no more pink in the middle.

Nutrition Facts for 4 oz chicken with marinade
Calories- 170
Carbs- 17
Fat - 1
Protein - 22
Sodium - 410
Fiber - 0

Total Nutrition for 1 meal (1/2 cup coleslaw, 1/3 batch of Sweet Potato Fries, and 4 oz of chicken)
Calories - 304
Carbs -  41
Fat - 5
Protein - 24
Sodium 715
Fiber - 4

And that's how you save 1509 calories and 87 grams of fat :0) Feel free to have seconds!