Skinny Whole Grain Mustard Crusted Salmon with Brussels Sprouts Sautéed with Chorizo

One great excuse (which I have used countless times) that a lot of people use to justify eating take-out and fast food on a regular basis is "working late/not having time to make dinner." It's not a great excuse, there are so many meals ready in under 30 minutes, and this recipe can be made in just 10 minutes. If you can find a restaurant that can deliver a delicious, healthy meal like this in 10 minutes, then go for it. Otherwise, take advantage of this speedy gourmet dish...you won't regret it.

Skinny Whole Grain Mustard Crusted Salmon

Adapted from Food and Wine

Serving Size: 1 Salmon Filet

WW PointsPlus Value: 4

1/4 cup whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

4 4 oz salmon filets

Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine mustard, olive oil, and chives then spread mixture evenly on each salmon filet.
• Season salmon with salt and pepper, then place on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Then broil 6 inches from broiler for 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.

Skinny Brussels Sprouts Sautéed with Chorizo

Serving Size: 1/4th recipe

WW PointsPlus Value: 2

Fresh Brussels sprouts

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 fully cooked chorizo sausage, diced

Salt to taste

Directions:

• Peel the outer layers from the Brussels sprouts, cut off the bottoms, and discard. Then chop sprouts until they're shredded.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Sauté garlic, sprouts, and chorizo until nice and browned. Season well with salt.
• Serve warm with the salmon, and curse whoever wrote the recipe (that all the moms in the world seem to know) stating that boiling Brussels sprouts is the preferred method of cooking them, when they're oh-so-delicous sauteéd with garlic. Even the pickiest eaters in your house will enjoy these. If only I'd known about this when I was a Brussels sprout-hating kid. Oh well...at least my mom used to put cheese on them. Yeah that's right, my moms knows what's up.

Skinny Southern Dinner: Pulled Pork Sandwich in South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce with Broccoli Slaw and Oven-Fried Okra

I think most people imagine that eating healthy is all steamed fish and boiled vegetables, and I have to admit that I used to be one of those people. There's a saying that's popular in a lot of weight loss programs: "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny"...but it's just not true! What about creme brûlée, and bacon-wrapped scallops...Belgian fries dipped in herb mayo and, and...BBQ pulled pork sandwiches? What about the pulled pork sandwiches?!?!

Thankfully, I've come to realize that there is a way to eat the food you love and still fit into your skinny jeans (okay, so they're stretchy jeans...okay! They're jeggings).

So here are a few of my skinny (and delicious...take that, Paula Deen!) southern tricks:

Skinny Southern Cooking Trick #1: I've already mentioned this one in a previous post...any time a recipe calls for mayo, use a 3:1 mixture of nonfat Greek yogurt to full fat mayo. You get all the flavor and creamy goodness without the fat.

S.S.C.T. #2: Anything that can be deep fried, can be baked...and a drizzle of oil or a light mist of cooking spray goes a long way.

S.S.C.T. #3: There are countless sweeteners besides sugar. If you're looking to eliminate sugar from your diet, Splenda and Equal are my favorite substitutes. If you hate the taste of fake sweetener, try agave nectar or honey.

S.S.C.T. #4: Light butter. That is all.

This recipe uses all of these tricks, while still doing every bit of comforting you'd expect from comfort food.

Skinny Pulled Pork in South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce

Serving Size: 1/4 cup

WW PointsPlus Value: 3

Pulled Pork:

2 pound boneless center cut pork loin roast

1 cup diet ginger ale

2 large onions, sliced

Mustard BBQ Sauce:

1 teaspoon light butter

1 small onion, grated

3/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons dry mustard

Pinch of chili powder

Salt to taste

Directions:

• Place half the sliced onions in the bottom of a slow cooker, then top with pork and the other half of the onions. Pour diet ginger ale into the pot, and cook on the low setting for 6 hours. If you don't have a slow cooker, then what are you doing reading this? Go out, buy a slow cooker, and come back when you've got one.
• To make the sauce, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add onions and cook for about 3 minutes. Then, add all other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick. Set aside until pork is done.
• After 6 hours in the slow cooker, shred the pork using two forks. Then add BBQ sauce and set to warm setting until ready to serve.

Skinny Broccoli Slaw

Serving Size: 1/4 cup

WW PointsPlus Value: 1

1 bag precut broccoli slaw mix (coleslaw mix would absolutely work as well...I just prefer the crunch of the broccoli slaw)

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon mayo

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1 Tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Whisk together yogurt, mayo, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Add slaw mix and gently toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Oven-Fried Okra

Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe

WW PointsPlus Value: 2

Bag of frozen okra, thawed

1 egg white

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
• In a large bowl, gently toss okra in egg white, coating well. Place cornmeal and the breadcrumbs in a large ziplock bag and shake until okra is nicely breaded.
• Spread the okra evenly on the baking sheet and lightly mist with cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes or until crispy. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• When everything is done, place BBQ pork on a whole wheat bun (only 2 WW PointsPlus if you opt for light buns), top sandwich with broccoli slaw, and serve the okra on the side. You can even dip the okra in ketchup...go ahead, I won't tell anyone (because I did it too). Enjoy with an extra large glass of iced tea.