Phase 1 recipes

Good morning all,

I recently bought another South Beach cookbook and have a couple recipes to share. Both are really yummy! Surprisingly yummy. ;) The Creamed Spinach is really good and of course you feel like you've done well just because you had spinach. The brownies are good too. Now if you made real- full fat brownies and compared the two, there is a slight difference. But when you are watching your calories and carbs, this swap is AWESOME! Don't let the black bean part deter you.

Quick Creamed Spinach(makes 4 servings)

16 oz frozen spinach, thawed
3/4 cup fat free milk
4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese cut into chunks and softened
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese(1ounce)

Place the thawed spinach in a colander set over large bowl; squeeze to extract juice. Pour 2 tbsp of the juice into cup and reserve. Discard remaining juice. In medium saucepan, combine the spinach juice, mile, and cream cheese. Bring to simmer over low heat, stirring and pushing cheese against the pan to break up. (mixture should be well combined, but will not be smooth) Remove pan from heat. In large non stick skillet heat oil over med heat, add onions and stir frequently , until softened(about 3 minutes). Add spinach, stirring to coat. Stir in milk mixture and cook until bubbling(about 3 minutes). Season spinach with nutmeg and salt/pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve hot.

Good stuff!!

Per serving: 152 calories- 9 g fat-4 g sat fat- 10 g protein- 11g carbs- 4 g fiber- 313 sodium.


Black Bean Brownies(makes 36 brownies- 3 brownie per serving)

1 can black beans(15.5 oz) drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup granular sugar substitute
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder(preferably dark)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
36 small pecan halves or walnut pieces(about 1.5 oz)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a blender or food processor, combine the beans, eggs, oil, sugar substitute, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Process until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and arrange nuts in even rows, 6 across and 6 down. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cut into 36 squares with a nut in the center of each.

Per brownie- 34 calories-2 grams fat- 0.4 sat fat- 1 g protein- 2 g carbs- 1 g fiber- 66 mg sodium.

YUMMY!

Decadent Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe in a Suzanne Somers cookbook from the mid-nineties -- Eat Great, Lose Weight. I haven't made it, and I probably won't anytime soon, but I thought one of you ladies may like to give it a try. The picture of it in the book looks soooo yummy and chocolatey but it's definitely a once in awhile treat.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE CAKE
Serves 6-8

Cake:
7 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (no less than 60% cocoa)
11 T unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
1/3 C sugar (these days you could prob substitute Splenda)
1/3 C whole wheat pastry

Ganache:
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 C heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.
For the cake: Melt the chocolate and butter in a double broiler (or in a bowl or smaller saucepan placed over a saucepan of boiling water). Set aside to cool.
Beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until mixture is pale yellow. Fold in the melted chocolate. Sift the flour over the chocolate mixture until it just disappears.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 2 parts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (see Note).
For the ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Place the cream in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the hot cream to the chocolate and stir until it reaches room temperature, then poor it over the cooled cake and spread with a spatula.

Note For a thicker cake, double the recipe and bake for 35 minutes.

What I had for dinner

I took Blest's old recipe and spruced it up a bit, and boy was is yummy! I gave it a boring name for now, but maybe later I'll come up with something better. Or does someone out there have any suggestions?

The ingredient measurements are not exact (I just eyeball most of the time) so you may need to adjust where appropriate.

EGGPLANT BAKE

1 large eggplant
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1-2 cups spaghetti or pizza sauce
1 ½ cups grated mozzarella
½-1 cup grated Parmesan
Italian herbs (I used marjoram, thyme, basil & oregano and crushed red pepper for a kick)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thinly coat bottom of 9x13 inch baking pan with olive oil. Slice eggplant into ½ inch rounds. Lay eggplant rounds in baking pan, season with salt, pepper & herbs and drizzle or brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (Optional: I rubbed the rounds on both sides with garlic before laying them in the pan, then minced the garlic and mixed it with olive oil before brushing it onto the eggplant.) Bake eggplant for 15 minutes.

After eggplant is finished baking, remove from oven and top with about ½ cup of spaghetti sauce (enough to spread so it barely covers the eggplant but not necessarily pooling onto the bottom of the pan). Sprinkle with about ½ cup mozzarella. Add mushrooms, onions and bell pepper then top with rest of the spaghetti sauce (in total, I used half a can of sauce, but didn’t measure so not sure exactly how much I put). Top with remainder of mozzarella & Parmesan. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted, slightly starting to brown, and the sauce is bubbling along the edges.

Served with salad, this can easily feed 4 very hungry people! It’s so yummy that my meat and potatoes dad loved it and actually had two servings!

Blueberry Apple Pancake Shake-Up

I fixed a recipe out of the Hungry-Girl cookbook last night, a blueberry apple pancake recipe, and they were pretty good.

I was craving pancakes for dinner so I decided to try those out and I was pleased.

I posted the recipe on my blog, check it out.

Yummy Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

The other day I made an oatmeal chocolate chip loaf for a sick friend. As it was cooling, Bird looked longingly at it and asked, "is that for us?" Not only was it not for us, but he has been following Weight Watchers lately and even if I did make a loaf for us, it would cost him a dear 6 pts. per slice! So I decided to look for a recipe that would be a little bit more "points friendly."

This recipe has no oil so I was skeptical. But these muffins are surprisingly moist and very satisfying. I also like the fact that they are made with whole grains. The only change I made to the original recipe was to use a whole egg in place of 2 egg whites and to add 1/2 C chocolate chips at the end. With chocolate chips, I believe that each muffin is 3 pts. I totally thought I would leave these for him; assuming that I would not be crazy about them. (I usually don't care too much for low-fat stuff.) But I love these. Enjoy!

The original recipe is here.

Jalapeno Swappers

Ingredients
5 fresh whole jalapenos
1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup fat free liquid egg substitute
1/4 cup fat free cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese
Optional: salt, black pepper, garlic powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Halve the jalapenos lengthwise and remove the seeds, stems, and membranes. Be very careful when handling jalapenos. Wash your hands frequently and well, and avoid touching your face and eyes. Wash halves and dry them very well. Set aside.

Stir together cream cheese and shredded cheese. If you like, season cheese mixture with salt, black pepper, and/or garlic powder.

Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. If you like, season crumbs with salt, black pepper, and/or garlic powder. Place crumbs in one small dish and egg substitute in another.

Stuff each jalapeno with the cheese mixture. Next, carefully coat both sides of each jalapeno half, fist with egg substitute and then with Fiber One crumbs.

Place jalapenos on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray and place in the oven. Cook for 25 minutes (for very spicy poppers) to 30 minutes (medium-hot poppers).

Makes 2 servings.

PER SERVING (5 poppers):
126 calories, 1g fat, 425mg sodium, 22g carbs, 8g fiber, 4g sugars, 14g protein
POINTS®value 2

hg's de-pudged pigs in a blanket

Here's a recipe you can use for Super Bowl Sunday. You can check out what it looks like here.

NOTE: For those of you needing some healthy recipes for Superbowl Sunday, check out the rest of the recipe pics on the Hungry-Girl website. If you find one you'd like the recipe for, leave a comment under here and I'll post the recipe for you.

Ingredients
8 fat-free or nearly fat-free hot dogs (40 to 50 calories each)
1 can (8 servings) Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls refrigerated dough

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each dog into 4 even pieces.

Take 1 of the 8 triangle-shaped portions of the dough and stretch or roll it out slightly, making it into a larger triangle. Then cut this piece of dough into 4 long, narrow triangles. Beginning at the base of each of these triangles, roll 1 hot dog piece up in each triangle until the point of the triangle wraps around the center. Place your blanketed pigs on a large, ungreased baking pan and repeat entire process 7 more times with remaining dough and hot dog pieces. Be sure to evenly space them, as the dough will expand while baking.
Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes, until dough appears slightly browned and crip.
Enjoy!
Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING (4 pigs in a blanket):
134 calories, 5g fat, 652mg sodium, 16g carbs, 0g fiber, 3g sugars, 8g protein
POINTS® value 3

WW Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend of mine and they are oh soooo yummmmy!

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. reduced fat creamy peanut butter
1 c. chocolate chips
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder


Mix all the ingredients. Makes 24 cookies, 2 pts each. Bake at 325 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I ran across this recipe on this blog and tried it; these muffins are pretty good tasting. They're actually pretty similar to another recipe on our OWOA recipe archive. I posted the recipe on my blog and I thought I'd post on here as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients -
1 cup oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup water

Directions -
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Line muffin tray

3. Combine mashed bananas, apple sauce, egg whites, vanilla extract, ground flaxseed and walnuts in medium sized bowl. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

4. In large bowl combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Add wet ingrediants to dry and combine well. Stir in 1/4 cup of water.

5. Pour mixture in muffin tray.

6. Baked for 20 mins.

7. Remove muffins from tray and place on cooling rack.

Servings: 12
Points Value: 2

New Recipe

I found this recipe for Cannellini Bean and Sausage Stew with Tomatoes and Basil over on Kalyn's Kitchen and I'm going to be trying it today. I'll let you know what I think, but having oohed and ahhed over the pictures and description, I reckon I'm going to like it!

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Care to share?

Pumpkin Soup

I agreed with my mum (Elly) that I would type this recipe up for her about 2 weeks ago (when it was the food Friday soup recipe thing!) and unfortunately never got around to it. She's coming back from a few days away today, so I guess I'd better type it up quick!

serves 4-6
cooking time: 35-40 mins
preparation time: 10-15 mins

60 ml Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp sage
1.25 kg pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
1 carrot, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
Red chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp ground allspice
A pinch on cinnamon
2 litres water (we're not entirely sure about this - it ended up pretty runny, but then my mum isn't sure we had as much pumpkin as they suggested, so perhaps use your own judgement when adding the water!)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onions. Sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onions have started softening. Add the garlic and sage, and cook for a while longer until the onions have started releasing their sugars and the garlic has started filling the kitchen with a lovely smell.

At this point add the rest of the aromatic vegetables, the carrots and celery, with the pumpkin, chilli, cinnamon and allspice. Season generously with a few teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper and throw in a couple of bay leaves.

Carry on sweating the vegetables until the pumpkin has started to soften. Pour over the water and bring to the simmering point.

Simmer the vegetables until they are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Blend with a stick blender to create minimal washing*.

We served the soup with a few roasted hazelnuts and grated cheese on the top.

* Be careful with the blender, because if you get distracted, disastrous things can happen. Not that we'd be talking from experience, or anything.

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto

This recipe is from January 2001 Cooking Light magazine.

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 c. chopped prosciutto or ham (about 2 ounces)
1 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. chopped celery
3/4 c. chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c. water
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, undrained
2 bay leaves
1 (15.75-ounce)can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 TBL minced fresh parsley
2 TBL sherry (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the prosciutto, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; saute for 2 minutes or until soft.
Add the water, beans, bay leaves, and broth, and bring soup to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer soup for 20 minutes.
Add the parsley, sherry, and black pepper; cook for 1 minute. Discard bay leaves.

Split Pea Soup

(vegetarian and a bit spicy)

Saute in large pot until nearly limp:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

generous 1/3 tsp. Ground thyme

in:

I T butter

add:

8 C water

1 lb. Split peas

3-4 large carrots, shredded

1 ½ tsp. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

1/2-1 tsp. Salt

Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Simmer, covered about 2 hrs, stirring occasionally. (A Crock Pot works well too.) It's done when the peas are mushy and falling apart. If too thick, thin with water, broth or milk. I usually serve soup with homemade bread. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

2 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can rotel
3 cans black beans, undrained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Simmer carrots, celery and onions in broth until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
Serving size= 1 cup, 1 WW point per serving

Tomato soup

I have an abundance of tomatoes. While most everyone I meet has complained about their lack this year, God blessed us with more than I know what to do with. I've frozen them (take them out of the freezer, place under warm water and the skin comes right of...takes the place of stewed toms), I've canned tons of salsa, I've canned bbq sauce with them and I've dehydrated them with plans of putting them in oil. Despite all of these efforts, I still have more. So, my dilemma was what else can I do. We're not big marinara people so that would be a waste. My solution, tomato soup. Now mind you, I used to hate the stuff but lately...complete love. I thought I'd share my recipe for it.
Cream of Tomato soup
2 c. chicken broth
5 c. diced and seeded tomatoes
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. 1% milk

Add all of the ingredients BUT the milk to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer until all veggies are soft. At this point I threw it into the food processor. I didn't completely puree it because I like a little chunk...makes me think hearty. Place the soup back into the pot, bring to a low boil and add milk. I continued to cook at a simmer for roughly 30 mins. This helped to reduce which creates a slightly thickened base. You could salt and pepper to taste...I personally avoid added salt. Also, basil would be a wonderful additive however I used dill this time around. I would say that this recipe makes 4 servings and when plugged into the calorie counter only comes out with around 67 calories. Not too shabby eh? This soup is paired up wonderfully with a salad and a yummy whole wheat biscuit. The soup is perfect for phase 1. My husband was out of town when I made this so I ate a bowl and then placed the other 3 servings in individual baggies and froze. It will be a perfect thing to pull out when I don't feel like cooking or when we forget to make Jeff's lunch.

Food Friday! - The South Beach Phase One edition

Since I'm sitting eating veggie curry for breakfast and typing this post (yes, wrong in so many ways, but I only have 12 minutes before I have to head out of the door) I obviously need to link to my (in)famous veggie curry recipe.

However, unlike me, Nikki probably doesn't want to survive a couple of weeks on phase one just eating curry, so... what have you got?!

(I'll try to post another recipe later, cos I feel like this is a bit of a cop out).

Also, new competition/challenge launching soon (Once I've got my head around it!). There will be exercise stuff and other food/life/God related challenges. (Just to make it really confusing!)
Since I'm rules out of exercising at the moment, I'll be judge ;). I'm not sure about the entrance fee/winnings side of it at the moment.
Leave me your ideas in the comments. Pretty please.

Hmm, 6 minutes left. Better get back to eating curry...

Psst, Nikki...

Kalyn has a post up which is a round-up of phases one recipes from around the blogosphere this past month. You might like to check it out.

Phase One Recipe

I don't know if you like curry, Nikki, but I thought I'd share the phase one recipe that arrived in my inbox this morning from South Beach Daily Emails.
Just click over to see the recipe..
Indian Vegetable Curry

Anyone else have a phase one recipe they would like to share? Let's have that as a theme for Food Friday this week. (I know not everyone is doing south beach, so please don't get mad at me, think of it as helping out a friend!)

(and even if the recipe has been shared before on the old site, you can share it again here, cos I still haven't finished tagging the recipe archive, so it's a bit hard to find recipes when you're looking for them. If you are trying to hunt down a recipe on the archives site, let me know and I can give you a hand)

For Nikki

Top Ten Positive Things About Phase One

10. You don't have to think much about what you will eat...there aren't too many options to confuse you.

9. You are forced to learn how to cook and eat lots of vegetables.

8. You have few to no cravings for sweets (after the initial 3 day detox.)

7. Although the initial detox is kinda hard, at least you've got a lot of junk out of your system.

6. Increased energy.

5. You start losing immediately.

4. Your clothes start fitting better immediately.

3. South Beach Cookbooks are really cool.

2. Steak, grilled onions and mushrooms and salad is a really yummy dinner.

And the number one positive about Phase One of South Beach is...................

(drum roll, please...)

1. Brussels Sprouts With Garlic! A recipe that I never would have tried unless I had done Phase One of South Beach. And I LOVE it!! :-)

We're in this with you, Nikki! You can do it! :-)

*Link added for the Brussel Sprouts Recipe*

Pumpkin Pie latte

Oh mylanta! I found an absolutely yummy recipe over at Livin Our Love Song earlier this week. Being a latte and pumpkin freak I had to try it. It was so yummy I inquired if I could share with you and was happily given permission. I know that some of y'all out there like your latte too so this is being shared with you in mind.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Pumpkin Pie Latte

1 heaping T. canned pumpkin
2 T. Vanilla syrup
1 t. Ginger Spice syrup (or sub 1/4 t. ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
1 cup milk
1-2 shots espresso (1/4 C. espresso or 1/2 C. strong brewed coffee)
To make a pumpkin latte at home: In a small saucepan, stir pumpkin puree into milk. Add syrup and cinnamon. Heat gently until steaming, stirring occasionally.
Blend on high for 20 second until foaming. Pour flavored milk into a tall glass and pour coffee over. Dust with ground pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg.Serves 1.

Thank you Ash for letting me share your recipe and for letting me use your picture!