One Pot Meal – Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Sometimes you just need a little comfort. That comfort can cost you in the waist line big time. This is one of my favorite comfort meals, and it is so healthy!

I also make it with only one appliance . My Instant Pot. I’m always surprised by the lack of activity on the Weight Watchers social media platform Connect about the Instant Pot. It is such a great tool and is probably one of the most important tools in my weight loss arsenal.

I always recommend reading a recipe first before even attempting it, but you really want to make sure you do that with this one. This recipe makes 4 servings, but you could double it and not make the mini loaves. I’ve never done it so I’m not sure on the timing, but I think your potatoes and carrots would be over done because you would need to lengthen the cooking time, and the carrots come out pretty soft as it is.

I like them that way, so be warned if you don’t!

This recipe will yield two mini loaves, 4 cups of mashed potatoes, and 4 – 4 oz servings of carrots.

Jul 12

Instant Pot Polenta?? Yes Please!

Easy Chicken Egg Rolls

Comments 12

As a serial Weight Watcher I know one of the biggest mistakes is to let yourself get stuck in a rut. You know what the Smartpoints are of certain foods/meals, so you eat them over and over again.

And you will get bored. I know a lot of people don’t like to cook like I do, but once you start turning out some really good dishes it becomes more fun. Also if you don’t get to use your creative side normally it can really come out in your cooking.

I like to consider recipes “guidelines”. I don’t think I ever follow any specific recipe. In the middle of it I always think, “oh but if I did this it would be really good.” Experiment with your food. Have fun!

So me experimenting with food got me to come up with this. It might be my favorite Weight Watcher friendly recipe yet. I mean it was damn good. And easy. And low in Smartpoints.

Winning.

Coming it at a whopping 3 Smartpoints these egg rolls are seriously filling. I ate two because I had a boatload of points and was stuffed, and trust me, I can EAT.

I used two of my favorite kitchen appliances to make this, but you could do it just with your oven and stove if you wanted. I’ll include both versions here.

Jun 09

Fettuccine Alfredo Lightened Up

Comment 1

For me there are two dishes that are my go to comfort foods. The Queen Fettuccine Alfredo and the Queen Mother homemade baked Mac and Cheese. I’ve seen a couple of different recipes for Fettuccine Alfredo that cut back on the Smartpoints using laughing cow cheese, but they were missing something.

I don’t play when it comes to my Alfredo.

Even before Weight Watchers there was a product I had to ban from my home because my ass was expanding at an alarming rate and I just wanted to eat it all the time.

This product easily makes an awesome Alfredo sauce – and it does it easily. I found that if I had it in my house I could have one of my favorite comfort foods in no time, so I stopped ordering it.

Then Weight Watchers happened, and once I felt secure enough I ordered some more to see if I could use it without all the butter and higher smartpoint ingredients.

I started this blog because of Weight Watchers Connect. I’d post pics of my recipes and people would want the recipe, and on Connect you can only post on your phone. I didn’t want this site to become a walking advertisement for my business, I already have a community for that, and I always try to put substitutes in so people can get the ingredients they need from the grocery store.

I don’t know if there is a sub for this one though. I’ve never used a powered mix for Alfredo before, but you could try it. You could also try the recipe without any powered mix at all, but it is so much better with it!

This makes 5 7 smartpoint servings. 9 if you add the chicken. I’ll tell you this now, it does not reheat well but never fear! Cut the recipe by 1/5 to make a single serving (just go with one laughing cow wedge) and it comes out just as good to make enough for one!

Ingredients:

1 cup fat free milk
6 The Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb Wedges
2 tablespoons Wildtree Alfredo Extraordinaire
1/8 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10 oz Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles

Put a big pot of salted water on high heat for the noodles and bring to a boil. In a separate sauce pan, add you milk and laughing cow wedges, stirring occasionally over medium until your wedges melt. Whisk in your Alfredo powder and add your pepper and Parm. Stir occasionally over low heat while you wait for your noodles to get done.

Once water is at a boil add your noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes. strain, put back in the pot, and add your Alfredo sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for a minute or so – until all the noodles are covered in sauce.

The chicken was just some left over chicken I had that I had marinated in roasted garlic grapeseed oil and our California style Garlic and Pepper blend. and baked. You could use your favorite chicken recipe if you’d like to add meat.

You get about a cup and a half a serving, or you can weigh it and it comes to about 2 1/2 ounces per serving. 7 smartpoints! That’s it! Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo is like 56 smartpoints and your first born child!

Is this as good as Olive Garden? No, but it’s damn good and stands on it’s own!

If you’d like to try Wildtree products you can visit my site here.

Click here to view my disclosure statement.

Jun 02

Chicken Quesadilla Muffins

Comments 3

I shared my recipe for all purpose Mexican Chicken the other day, and this is one of my favorite things to make with it! Weighing in at 5 Smartpoints it is delicious and different!

The chicken recipe is Staple Meal – All Purpose Mexican Chicken

For the Corn Muffin:

4 cups water

1 cup corn meal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 eggs

3 tablespoon milk

1 cup 2% cheddar cheese

May 29

Easy and Fast Veggie Stir Fry

Comments 4

So I work a lot. Like a 40 hour work week is a vacation for me. At our meeting this week someone mentioned how much we eat out now.

We never ate out when I was a kid in the 80’s. Unless it was someone’s birthday or an anniversary we ate home cooked meals, and none of us had weight problems. We ate dessert every night for God’s sake!

I fell into the take out routine in my 30’s, and it’s also when I packed it on. Even when you are trying to eat healthy they add so much salt and oil and the tears of puppies that even if you don’t eat huge portions (which they usually are) you don’t have a hope in hell of maintaining or good God losing weight.

I’m hungry when I get home, and if I haven’t prepped something, or I don’t want to wait an hour for something to be done, or sometimes I’m just to damn tired to cook I make this. This is my go-to recipe on those nights when I’m hangry and just over it.

I can have this from prep to my plate in 10 minutes, and it’s GOOD. I keep brown rice in my fridge at all times – just to be prepared and because I eat this at least once a week!

The most important thing about this is to have everything ready to go and measured out. I put my seasonings in a ramekin, and have everything else out with the measuring spoons.

What is completely awesome about this is you can adjust your rice or your oil or your egg beaters if you have a lot or a little points.

May 23

Staple Meal – All Purpose Mexican Chicken

Comments 5

At 1 Smartpoint and ounce (or 4 Smartpoints for 6 ounces!) this chicken is something I keep on hand at all times. I call it all purpose because it can be used for Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salad….this list goes on and on.

This is easily frozen before cooking time, so when chicken is on sale I’ll make me up a couple of bags of this for the freezer.

It is also easy to pack up for lunches or a quick dinner when you have just ran out of time.

The best part is you can have this done in about 12 minutes in the Instant Pot, or throw it in the crock pot. Super, super easy.

This chicken is full of flavor and spice. I made tacos with this for a Weight Watching friend with cheese and sour cream. It came in at 6 points, but he said if they were 15 points it would be worth it.

They are that good.

I had quesadillas last night, and they were fabulous. With the low point chicken I splurged and had some honest to goodness cheese on them:

You can wrap it up in a tortilla, bake and have a burrito. It is amazing on a salad with some tomatoes, onions, black olives, and a dab of sour cream!

May 09

Low Smartpoint Chicken and Noodles

Staple Meal – Stuffed Pepper Soup

Comments 2

So would you believe me if I told you this Stuffed Pepper Soup is 2 Smartpoints for a cup? I didn’t believe it and put the ingredients in the recipe builder over and over and over again until I had to accept it.

I can’t tell you how many times this recipe has saved my Weight Watcher life! With the fiber from the Bulgar and the protein from the meat it is very, very satisfying! I’m including directions for both the Instant Pot and the stove top, but if you have a pressure cooker it is so much more flavorful made that way!

Makes 13 1 Cup servings

Ingredients:

1 lb 93% Ground Beef
28 ounce can diced tomatoes (use petite if you like smaller chunks)
1 small onion, chopped
3 Green Peppers
1 Red Pepper
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Bulgar Wheat
1 tablespoon Wildtree Ranchers Steak Rub (Montreal Steak Seasoning is a good sub)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I use Wildtree’s California Garlic and Pepper blend to cut down on the sodium)

Method of Preparation:

Instant Pot:
Turn pressure cooker on saute mode, and once it reaches “HOT” status add your ground beef and onions. Season with steak seasoning. Saute until beef is cooked through. Remove from Instant Pot and add olive oil. Put in your peppers, season to taste with salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put everything back in the pool. Add broth, tomatoes, and Bulgar and give it a good stir.

Lock on lid and cook on manual high pressure for 7 minutes. Let naturally release for 10, then release the rest of the steam.

On the Stove Top:

In a large skillet heat until hot and add your ground beef and onions. Season with steak seasoning. Saute until beef is cooked through. Remove from skillet and add olive oil. Heat oil and put in your peppers, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a stock pot add all ingredient together, giving it a good stir. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer. Cook for at least 40 minutes to up to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

I use Wildtree products in a lot of my recipes, but I always try to give a substitute. If you’d like to check out Wildtree, you can visit my site HERE.

Apr 29

Fettuccine with Meatballs and Red Sauce

Comments 5

So I found this new food find, which I posted about here. Carba-Nada Fettuccine Noodles just may be my Weight Watchers saving grace.

I love pasta. LOVE IT. A cup of pasta is 6 Smartpoints, which who eats just a cup of pasta, and more than that takes up way to much of my 30 Smartpoints. Yeah, I have my extras, but those are for things like popcorn at the movies and let’s be honest here, alcohol.

When I first got them I tried a simple cheese sauce with these 3 points for a cup and a half wonders, and it was fab. I wanted to try something different with it when I had more time, and I made this dish that had my stomach full of comfort food goodness with less Smartpoints that just what regular pasta would have been….Plain!

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Category Archives: Lunch/Dinner