Both of these recipes were given to me by Laurie, the co-leader of the short term healthy lifestyle group called "Choose To Loose" that I've been attending. This group was started by Laurie and another gal named Victoria as a result of talking with some other ladies at their churches' Ladies Retreat. You see Laurie and Victoria had each lost a significant amount of weight (60 lbs + for Laurie) and they have each kept it off. Now they have gotten together to share what they have learned from their experiences with other ladies who also wish to get healthy. These meetings are held at another woman's house (thank you Ellen!) where we have a confidential weigh-in followed by a 'class' where these fit sistah's share some of what they have learned with different theme's each week. This particular session will meet a total of 5 times over I believe an 8 week period. Next Thursday will be our last weigh-in. There was a one time small fee to join the group and at the end the ladies with the top 3 percentages of weight loss will win cash prizes!!
"Quick and Creamy Mac N' Cheese"
(I call this Cheesy Butternut Pasta so my kids won't expect traditional mac&cheese)
16 oz medium shell pasta (whole wheat)
1 pkg frozen butternut squash, thawed
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (fat free)2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (reduced fat)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1. Cook pasta. Carefully remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water for later use. Drain pasta and place in casserole dish.
2. Prepare sauce. Place thawed squash in a saucepan, gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Add cheese; cook 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture retuns to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add nutmeg, salt and reserved cooking water. Stir until smooth. Add sauce to pasta, mix to coat.
3. You can put this into the oven for a few minutes to toast the top (especially if you decide to add extra cheese, panko crumbs, crushed light crackers, etc...).
4. Makes 6 servings, may top with a sprinkle of additional nutmeg.* Laurie topped hers with a little plain Panko crumbs.
* Hubby didn't love it as is, I added some shredded cheddar to his. Next time I think I'll make it with 1 cup Italian cheese and 1 cup cheddar.
** Even my boys enjoyed this!!!Personally, I found 1/6th to be too generous a portion for us so the nutritional values you'll see following are for 1/8th servings.
calories: 332.5
fat: 5.8
dietary fiber: 7
carbs: 57
protien: 20
cholesterol: 10
Southwestern Sloppy Joes
1 Tbs. Canola oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 carlic cloves minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb lean ground turkey (99%)
1 (11 oz) can of Mexican style corn, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) jar of Salsa (no sugar added such as Chi-Chi's)
1 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1 pkg Light Whole Wheat Hamburger rolls
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl the oil then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the chili powder and oregano and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add the turkey and corn and cook until the mixture is nearly dry, about 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the salsa and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thinchened and the turkey is cooked through, 4-5 minutes longer.
5. Spoon over the opned rolls and serve.
Can I just start by saying that I LOOOOOOVE this!! It is so yummy and I promise you that no one would ever eat this and think, "oh gosh, this is healthy stuff" - it's just delish!!
I have no tips or adjustments to make to this - it's perfect. I will say that the hubs added a little salt.
According to our serving sizes, we could get about 10 sandwiches out of this. The nutritional values below include the sloppy joe mix along with a light wheat hamburger roll.
calories: 205
fat: 3
dietary fiber: 3.46
carbs: 30.17
protien: 14.94
cholesterol: 28
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Laurie for these wonderful recipes!! Can't wait to try to make the others you shared. And thank you to you, Victoria and Ellen for all that you do to encourage us all to live a healthy life!!!
Those look awesome! Thank you for sharing and thank you for visiting my blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to make these! Like I'd make them right now if it wasn't 10:30 at night ;)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting recipes, Personally i liked Southwestern Sloppy Joes, Very few ingredients and easy to make.
ReplyDeleteWOW! These recipies look delicious. I am going to try them out on my family.
ReplyDelete