eggs florentine

I have mastered the poached egg with a little help from a silicone cup.  I’ve tried several times in the past to poach eggs and they never come out as pretty as the cookbook pictures.  Usually mine have wispy egg whites throughout the water.

So I decided to try the silicone poaching cups that I have been seeing everywhere lately (okay, maybe not at the 7-11, but you know what I mean).  Ureka!  Here are some tips from the latest Weight Watcher’s Magazine about poaching:

• use fresh eggs
• keep the water at a simmer, not a rolling boil
• don’t stir or swirl the water while the egg is poaching

Place the silicone cup in the simmering pot, making sure the cup is filled with hot water.  Carefully crack the egg into the cup and wait until the egg white is set and the yolk begins to thicken but is not hard.  Mine took 5 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, lift the silicone cup out of the water.  I used a large metal serving spoon to remove the egg from the cup.  Blot with a paper towel and you are ready to go!!

This recipe is fantastic!  In the past 3 days I’ve made it for breakfast twice and for a quick and nutritious vegetarian dinner for our daughter.

Eggs Florentine

• 1 poached egg
• 1 slice toasted low-calorie whole wheat bread (I used Sara Lee’s 45 calorie/slice)
• Misto filled with olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
• salt and pepper

In a small nonstick skillet, spray Misto for 1 second.  Add onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add spinach, salt and pepper to taste, and a tablespoon of water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Place toast on a plate.  Top with spinach mixture, followed by the poached egg.

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers Magazine.

Using the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder, this recipe has 4 PointsPlus.

 

bacon-corn chowder with shrimp

This is another instance when I wish my picture did the soup better justice.  I’ve had this recipe in my queue since receiving it in the August 2011 Cooking Light Magazine.  It is under the “Super Fast 20 Minute Cooking” section and they didn’t lie.  Fast and delicious, this one will be a keeper.  And you know it’s a winner when your husband takes one bite, looks up and says “this is REALLY good!”.

“What do you eat during the day?” is a question I get asked a lot.  Here is a break-down of yesterday:

Breakfast:  8 oz Fage 0% (3 PointsPlus), berries (0 PointsPlus)

Lunch:  Morningstar tomato, basil and mozzarella patty with a Bun Thin (6 PointsPlus), lettuce, mustard; one package of pre-cooked beets (0 PointsPlus) with small drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Snack:  4 Wasa crackers (2 PointsPlus) and 2 Light BabyBel cheese (2 PointsPlus)

Dinner:  1 2/3 cup Bacon-corn chowder with shrimp (8 PointsPlus)

Dessert:  diet hot cocoa (1 PointsPlus) with 10 mini marshmallows (1 PointsPlus)

(I know this only added up to 23 PointsPlus, and my target for weight loss is 26, but I felt like I ate enough )  And I did get a 35 minute walk with Marc and Charlie, the Westie.

Bacon-corn Chowder with Shrimp

• 6 slices lean bacon, chopped
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups frozen (or fresh) corn kernels, thawed
• 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 lb. peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to pan; saute until bacon just becomes crisp.  Remove the equivalent of 2 slices of bacon and set aside.  Remove bacon fat from pan.  Add onion, celery, thyme, and garlic to pan and saute for 2 minutes.  Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth, bring to boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the corn mixture in a blender.  Remove the center piece of the blender lid (so the steam can escape), place lid on blender (why did I feel like I had to tell you that?).  Place a towel over the opening of the lid to avoid splatters and blend until smooth.  Return pureed corn mixture to pan.  Stir in shrimp and cook until done.  Stir in half-and-half and pepper.  Crumble reserved bacon over soup.  Yields 4 servings (serving size about 1 2/3 cup).

Using the nutrition stats supplied by Cooking Light, and inputting them into the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder, each 1 2/3 cup serving has 8 PointsPlus.

 

meal plannning

Down another 1.8 lbs!  Only one more to go to be in my goal range – Weight Watcher’s gives you a two-pound range above your goal to be considered “Lifetime”.  Yeah!  It kind of works if you kind of do it, it really works if you REALLY do it!

Here’s a breakdown of how I meal plan for success:

Breakfast:  I eat the same breakfast everyday.  I know that sounds boring, but it works for me.  I know that it will fill me up and keep me satisfied until lunch.  It’s high in protein and low in sugar.

5 ounces Fage 0% Greek Yogurt with 1 1/2 cups unsweetened mixed berries, 2 cups black coffee (2 PointsPlus)

Lunch:  While I am kicking it into high gear I am having the same lunch every day.  I will vary the fresh fruit, type of soy burger or flavor of water

Morningstar Tomato and Basil Pizza Burger with a sandwich thin loaded with lettuce and fresh tomato slice, 1 pear, 24 ounces water flavored with Crystal Light (6 PointPlus)

Snack:  I do vary my snacks, but I make sure they are 3 PointsPlus.  Today I had Vitatop Chocolate Chunk (3 PointsPlus), 12 ounces hot tea.  I also like 2 BabyBel Light cheese with 2 Rykrisp crackers.

Dinner:  Now that dinner comes around, I still have 18 PointPlus left.  I aim for a dinner with 10-12 PointsPlus.  Tonight, since we had another pick and snack, was 2 ounces thin sliced turkey on 2 slices of Orowheat Light 100% Whole wheat bread with 1/8 cup cranberry chutney and lettuce (5 PointsPlus), one can Amy’s low sodium, low-fat Cream of Tomato soup (5 PointsPlus).

Dessert:  I’ll look at my daily Points and decide what to have after dinner.  I have a few favorites that I will choose from, depending on how many points I want to use.  Sugar-free jello cup (0 PointsPlus),  Homemade microwave popcorn (3 PointsPlus),  Weight Watcher Fudge Bar (3 PointsPlus), Weight Watcher Latte Bar (2 PointsPlus), 1 box of Sugar-Free Fat Free Jello Pudding (3 PointsPlus), 1 almond butter chocolate chip cookie (3 Points Plus), 1 whole wheat pumpkin muffin (4 Points Plus). Today I’m choosing the popcorn.

Total PointsPlus for today:  24

 

today’s menu

I went to a Weight Watcher’s meeting, the first meeting I’ve made since August.  No surprise to me, but I am up 8 lbs. above my goal.  Looking back on the past 2 months, the biggest mistake I made was not making time for my weekly meetings and weigh-ins.  I had maintained my goal weight for a year with tracking and weekly meetings.  Since I don’t weigh myself at home, I didn’t notice when one pound over goal turned into two, three, four……  Plus, I stopped tracking

So I am back on the Weight Watcher’s PointsPlus plan and it feels great!  It really comes down to planning for me.  Planning which meeting to attend, planning my meals for the week and planning my snacks.  All it takes is a few minutes every day to write down in my tracker what I am going to eat and I have set my self up for success.

Here is what I am going to eat today:

Breakfast:  6 oz. Fage 0% Greek yogurt with one cup of mixed berries (frozen, from Costco); black coffee (2 PointsPlus)

Snack:  3 fresh figs (0 PointsPlus); black coffee (0 PointsPlus)

Lunch:  Tomato and Basil Pizza Burger from Morningstar and 1 Orowheat Sandwich thin, lettuce, tomato and onion; Honeycrisp apple; 24 ounces water flavored with CrystalLight Lemonade powder (6 PointsPlus)

Snack:  BlueBran Vitamuffin; one cup 40 calorie vanilla flavored almond milk, steamed with cinnamon (3 PointsPlus)

Dinner:  Vegetable enchilada (1/6th of a 9×13 pan); green salad with balsamic vinegar drizzle; water (7 PointsPlus)

After Dinner:  licorice tea or decaf coffee

Total:  20 PointsPlus

Since I get 29 PointsPlus a day, I still have 9 that I could use if needed.  Some things I have in my house that I could add:

2 Tbsp. popcorn kernels (popped in microwave)  (2 PointsPlus)

1 Light Babybel cheese with 2 Ry Krisp Seasoned crackers (2 PointsPlus)

Kashi TLC Pumpkin Pecan Fruit and Grain Bar (3 PointsPlus)

Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Caramel Coconut Fudge bar (3 PointsPlus)

Kellogg’s Special K strawberry fruit crisps (2 bars= 3 PointsPlus)

If you are tracking your intake, what’s your meal plan look like?  What kind of snacks and meals are your go-to meals?  I’d love to see your ideas in the comments!