Skinny Takeout-Style Asian Dinner

I love takeout food. I blame all of my weight problems on cheap, delicious Thai food that can be at my doorstep with just the snap of a finger anytime I want. While you can defintely still enjoy eating out while watching your weight (I sure do), it's not something you want to make a habit of. Plus, you can easily make this dinner in less time than it would take to order in from a restaurant.

Skinny Ginger Salad Dressing

Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon

WW Points Plus Value: 1

1 cup carrot, roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon ginger, chopped

3 Tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend well and chill. Serve over romaine lettuce and fresh avocado slices.

Skinny Broccoli and Shrimp in Garlic Sauce

Serving Size: 1 cup

WW Points Plus Value: 3

1 bunch broccoli florets

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 lb shrimp, raw

1/2 cup fat free beef broth

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place broccoli on a baking sheet, spray with a light mist of cooking spray and salt well. Bake until tops are browned and crispy, about 30 minutes.
• Combine garlic, broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil in a large frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until thick, then add broccoli and stir well. Turn heat to low and place shrimp under a broiler and cook for 3 minutes per side. Add to broccoli when done and gently stir in. Serve over rice, with an egg roll, or any way your little heart desires.

Exercise + 2 Skinny Spring Recipes

It's been a while since I've posted (sorry), but I thought I'd make up for it with some of my thoughts on exercise and a couple of delicious asparagus recipes.

I've already written a post about my complicated history with exercise, but I wanted to elaborate on my recent weight loss, and the exercise that played a part in it. I'll call this my Guide To Exercise For People Who Hate To Exercise:

1. Walk...everywhere. Anywhere within 2 miles should be walked to, if possible. Walking is free and easy. I try to walk as often as possible. I don't have a car, so walking is my main form of transportation. If you live in a city where you need a car, I'm sure there are times when you drive a short distance you could easily walk instead. Try to walk more, you'll be surprised how good it feels.

2. Dance! Dancing is great cardio, and it's fun so you don't realize how much work you're doing. You don't even have to go out to dance, just put on some music when you're at home doing chores and bust a move (nobody has to know).

3. Yoga. Yoga is my new favorite form of exercise. It's a calm, relaxing activity that leaves you feeling happy and serene. Plus it's a great total body workout where you can't believe how sore you are the next day.

4. When you do some exercise, reward yourself (not with food). Go out to a movie, or buy a new outfit. Give yourself incentive to do a little bit of work during the week. If everytime you took a walk, there was something fun at the end of it, you'd walk a lot more.

Now that you've got some exercise tips, I'll reward you (get it?) with a couple of spring asparagus recipes. I'm so excited for spring vegetables (and warmer weather) this year! The first warm day of the year, I went out and bought a big bunch of asparagus which starred in a delicious dinner and lunch the next day. My new favorite method of preparing asparagus is ribboning it. You just take a vegetable peeler and peel the asparagus into thin little ribbons which can be eaten raw. I tried them on a pizza and then in a delicious salad. Here are the recipes:

Skinny Asparagus Sausage Pizza

Serving Size: 2 slices

WW Points Plus Value: 5

1 pre-made whole wheat thin pizza crust

1/2 cup part skim mozzerella

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 lb spicy Italian style ground turkey sausage, cooked

1 bunch asparagus, ribboned

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the asparagus in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil. Salt and pepper well, toss, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Top the pizza crust with cheeses, turkey sausage, and asparagus. Cook directly on rack in oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with a white wine, or Peroni.

Skinny Strawberry and Asparagus Salad

Serving Size: 1/3 recipe

WW Points Plus Value: 2

1 bunch asparagus, ribboned

2 cups strawberries, very thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Whisk together oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Would be great as a side, or on its own for a light lunch.

Skinny Irish Soda Bread Scones

Traditional Irish soda bread is a very simple bread served with dinner. It usually consists of just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. However, if you go to an American grocery store around St. Patty's Day, you'll find Irish soda breads which are sweet, and filled with raisins and caraway seeds. I decided to make a more American interpretation. They're less of a dinner roll and more of a scone/muffin hybrid, but aren't as sweet. I had them with a bit of light butter and they were delicious.

Skinny Irish Soda Bread Scones

Serving Size: 1 scone (1/6th recipe)

WW PointsPlus Value: 3

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon light butter
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 egg white
1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a muffin tin with butter flavored cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, then cut in butter until the texture resembles wet sand. Mix in remaining ingredients and pour into muffin tin.
• Bake for about 20 minutes and serve immediately. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Skinny White Chocolate Pudding

I've recently become obsessed with homemade stovetop pudding. It's quick, easy, and can be made in oh-so-many different ways. My favorite flavor I've tried so far is white chocolate with berries on top. It tastes so decadent, but is really low in points. You can easily vary this recipe by adding milk or dark chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or just leaving it plain vanilla.

Skinny White Chocolate Pudding

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

WW PointsPlus Value: 3

2 2/3 cups skim milk

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 Tablespoons honey or agave nectar

2 Tablespoons white chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

Fresh berries, for topping

Directions:

• Whisk together milk, cornstarch, salt, and honey together in a saucepan. Cook over high heat for a minute then add chocolate chips and vanilla. Whisk until pudding thickens, then pour into ramekins, top with fruit, and serve hot. Or chill and serve cold, it tastes great both ways!

Skinny Cottage (or Shepherd's) Pie

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I've been experimenting with lightening up some traditional (and not-so-traditional) Irish recipes. One of my favorite easy dinner recipes is cottage pie. It's got your meat, veggies, and potatoes all in one dish, and it is delicious (note how much was eaten from the platter before I got the chance to take a picture of it)! I like to make this with lean ground beef, but you could easily swap it out for ground turkey or make it a shepherd's pie with ground lamb. I also swapped the traditional mashed potato crust for my own skinny version of mashed "potatoes" with a secret, healthy ingredient: cauliflower. It really does taste like potatoes, and is a great way to trick picky eaters into eating their vegetables. The first time I made it them, I served them loaded with garlic, with chives on top, and watched my veggie-hating boyfriend eat a huge serving of them. I asked him if he liked the "potatoes," and he said they were delicious! Muah ha ha ha ha (that's my maniacal laugh).

Skinny Cottage Pie

Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe

WW PointsPlus Value: 4

1 lb lean ground beef

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 onion, diced

1 head cauliflower

1 small potato

3 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon light butter

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, for topping

1 can tomato paste

Worcestershire sauce, to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Red wine

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil cauliflower and potato in a large pot until very tender. Drain, add butter, milk, salt, and whip using an immersion blender until the consistancy of mashed potatoes. Set aside.
• Cook the mirepoix in the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Then add garlic and ground beef. Cook until meat is brown, then add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and a glug of red wine. Simmer a few minutes, then transfer to an oven-safe baking dish. Top with mashed "potatoes" and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until top is lightly browned.

Skinny Kale Chips

When I first heard about kale chips, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, a leafy green as a substitute for potato chips? Come on. But I kept hearing about how great they were, and who doesn't want a healthy potato chip alternative? So I finally broke down and made them, and I have to say, they are fantastic! They get seriously crunchy, and when well salted, they really are a satisfying chip replacement. Plus, you can easily flavor them any way you like. They would be a great way to get they picky eaters in your house from your kids to your husbands/boyfriends (who are really just big kids) to eat their vegetables. So far, I've made them salted, and dusted with chipotle chili powder. Both ways tasted great. I used curly kale, but you can also use dinosaur kale which will come out flatter and more chip-shaped. If anyone tries with dinosaur kale, let me know how they come out!

Skinny Kale Chips

Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe

WW PointsPlus Value: 0

1 bunch fresh kale

Olive oil flavored cooking spray

Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wash kale and dry very well. Cut or tear kale away from the stem and into bite-size pieces and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Spray with a light mist of cooking spray, salt well, and bake for 20 minutes or until crispy. Flavor any way your little heart desires and enjoy!

Skinny Mardis Gras: Oven Baked Beignets

Diet friendly doughnuts. I won't bother commenting on them, as I assume you'll want to get straight to this recipe.

Skinny Oven Baked Beignets

Serving Size: 3 doughnuts (à la Cafe Du Monde)

WW PointsPlus Value: 3

1/4 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoon light butter , cold and cut into pieces

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, for topping

Directions:

• Put warm water in a small bowl and add yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
  
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is the consistency of wet sand. With a fork, stir buttermilk and egg into yeast mixture until blended, then make a well in the flour mixture and pour wet mix in. Stir until combined.
  
• On a floured surface, knead dough until it's smooth. Spray the large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Spray a couple cookie sheets with cooking spray (or line with a silicone baking mat), then on your floured surface, roll dough out until it's a 9x9 square. With a pizza cutter, slice dough into 36 squares. Place on cookie sheets and cover. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and there he dough rise for 20 minutes.
  
• Bake for 10 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm with cafe au lait. Happy Mardis Gras!