Slow-Cookin BBQ Chicken - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 174-175, 149 calories) I'm not sure what Diana did when she made this recipe but I personally love this one. I didn't have the same problems that Diana had. However, the first time I made this, I used low-sodium (no salt added) tomato sauce, red wine vinegar (that was all I had) and I added 2 tbsps of Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ Sauce. I cooked it on high for 4 hours and then I ate it on a wheat bun. I also ate the leftovers with Baked Tostitos.
I made this recipe again for my parents and they loved it. My Mom just made it for the first time, on her own, this weekend. She used the cider vinegar and said it was still a tasty recipe.
I would highly recommend this recipe.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Easy Oven-baked S'mores-stuffed Bananas
Easy Oven-baked S'mores-stuffed Bananas - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, pg. 166-167, 152 calories, recipe makes 4 servings) If you love smores and you love bananas, I highly recommend this recipe. I have made this several times--in my toaster oven and conventional oven. I do recommend that you take the cooked banana smore out of the oeel, out it into a bowl, and add cool-whip or vanilla ice cream. It is not the prettiest recipe but it tastes great.
Bursting Burrito Bowl
Bursting Burrito Bowl - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 136-137, 264 calories) We made this on a summer Hungry Girl night (which we forgot to blog). I can't really speak on the ease of this recipe since Diana made it while I played with Lex. I do know that she cooked the chicken in the crockpot. She used the "Slow Cookin Mexican Chicken" recipe, also in this book (pg. 182). After that, it was a matter of chopping up the ingredients and warming up the beans. Then you just piled all the ingredients together into a bowl.
In my opinion, this is better than the Chipolte Burrito bowls. I highly recommend this recipe and I plan on trying this again on my own.
In my opinion, this is better than the Chipolte Burrito bowls. I highly recommend this recipe and I plan on trying this again on my own.
Sweet N' Sassy Boneless Hot Wings
Sweet N' Sassy Boneless Hot Wings - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3. Pg. 126-127, 267 calories per serving) I have experienced this recipe twice. Diana made it once on a summer hungry girl night that we had--but forgot to blog--and then I made it again for my Mom when I was in Michigan. This is a really good recipe but it has a kick. And be careful when you go shopping--make sure you buy the sweet Asian chili sauce, not the regular chili sauce. Even the sweet Asian chilil sauce had a little too much spice for my Mom. I would like to try this recipe with a sweet and sour sauce or maybe the Panda Express sauces.
Expresso Cake in a Mug
Expresso Cake in a Mug - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, pg. 89, 147 calories) If you like chocolate cake with a caffeninated boost, this is the recipe for you. It is easy to make and ready in a matter of minutes. I chose to use Taster's Choice instant coffee for this recipe. I know this is supposed to be a dessert item but I think it would be a great morning or mid-afternoon snack--especially if you are female and enduring a visit from your monthly enemy.
Egg Mug Lorraine
Egg Mug Lorraine - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 75, 128 calories) This is a very easy breakfast to make and it is pretty tasty too. I discovered that at the grocery store (Ralphs, to be precise), you can buy egg beaters in a half cup serving so you can save yourself a few seconds of time by not having to measure out the liquid-egg substitute. And if you are anything like me, you like to have something different for breakfast so sometimes you don't use up all of the egg beaters in the 7 days so the individual servings are also a money saver that stops you from wasting food.
If you are short on time in the morning and you are looking for eggs with a subtle flavor, this is the recipe for you. Also, some claim that eggs are the best protein to eat in the morning. They will make you feel full longer and some claim that you are more likely to lose weight if you eat eggs for breakfast.
If you are short on time in the morning and you are looking for eggs with a subtle flavor, this is the recipe for you. Also, some claim that eggs are the best protein to eat in the morning. They will make you feel full longer and some claim that you are more likely to lose weight if you eat eggs for breakfast.
Cake on the Beach
Wow, we haven't updated this site in way too long. Sorry about that. Over the summer, I managed to try more recipes. One of my new favorites is Cake on the Beach.
Cake on the Beach - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 88, makes 3 servings, 136 calories per serving) This tastes like a pineapple upside down cake. I could eat this for dessert everyday. If you like Pineapple Upside Down cake, I highly recommend this recipe. It is very easy to make and worth the hour wait (you have to refridgerate the cake for an hour before serving).
My only suggestion is to use Prep bowls. Regular cereal bowls are too big. The second time I made this recipe, I used my Pampered Chef small square bowls. They were the perfect size. Just make sure that whatever bowls you choose to use, they are microwave safe.
Cake on the Beach - (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 88, makes 3 servings, 136 calories per serving) This tastes like a pineapple upside down cake. I could eat this for dessert everyday. If you like Pineapple Upside Down cake, I highly recommend this recipe. It is very easy to make and worth the hour wait (you have to refridgerate the cake for an hour before serving).
My only suggestion is to use Prep bowls. Regular cereal bowls are too big. The second time I made this recipe, I used my Pampered Chef small square bowls. They were the perfect size. Just make sure that whatever bowls you choose to use, they are microwave safe.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Mile-High Choco-Berry VitaTop Pie
Mile-High Choco-Berry VitaTop Pie (HG 200, pg. 318)
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
This was a pain in the butt to make. You do all this work to cut the VitaTops in half lengthwise, and then you're supposed to cut the whole thing in half vertically. As I was stacking the VitaTop halves, they were starting to slide around on the Cool Whip. Here's what I'm going to try next time. Forget all the freakin' layers. Just make two Whoopie Pie's and cover them both with the Cool Whip/Strawberry Preserves mix and top with mini chocolate chips.
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
This was a pain in the butt to make. You do all this work to cut the VitaTops in half lengthwise, and then you're supposed to cut the whole thing in half vertically. As I was stacking the VitaTop halves, they were starting to slide around on the Cool Whip. Here's what I'm going to try next time. Forget all the freakin' layers. Just make two Whoopie Pie's and cover them both with the Cool Whip/Strawberry Preserves mix and top with mini chocolate chips.
Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie
Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie (HG 200, pg. 315)
Dishes Used- 1
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I've made this twice, and I want to make more! What I like best about this recipe is that it tastes better if you make it at least a day ahead of time. It is difficult to cut the Vitatops in half, but it works. Very easy. Make several and then you have something to look forward to for dessert tomorrow.
Dishes Used- 1
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I've made this twice, and I want to make more! What I like best about this recipe is that it tastes better if you make it at least a day ahead of time. It is difficult to cut the Vitatops in half, but it works. Very easy. Make several and then you have something to look forward to for dessert tomorrow.
Cheesed-Up Pepperoni Pizza Scramble
Cheesed-Up Pepperoni Pizza Scramble (HG 200, pg.46)
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 1
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I really like this one and have made it many times. However, be careful when you are cutting the pepperoni. It is easy and most of the ingredients I usually keep on hand. It's more interesting than just making scrambled eggs. Make sure not to add too much cheese, it gets too salty and then just tasted like cheese.
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 1
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I really like this one and have made it many times. However, be careful when you are cutting the pepperoni. It is easy and most of the ingredients I usually keep on hand. It's more interesting than just making scrambled eggs. Make sure not to add too much cheese, it gets too salty and then just tasted like cheese.
Slow-Cookin' BBQ Chicken
Slow-Cookin' BBQ Chicken (HG 1-2-3, pg.174)
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I prepared the ingredients and chicken the night before. In the morning before I left for work I dumped everything into the crock pot and set it to low. When I got home at 3 my apartment smelled REALLY good and made me hungry. I pulled out the chicken to shred. Most of the BBQ sauce was toasty and caked on to the bottom with a thick layer on the chicken. It looked sad, not like what I expected. I made ANOTHER mixture of her BBQ sauce and poured it in with the shredded chicken. I left it on low until Matt came home. It looked better, but neither Matt nor I cared for the taste of the sauce. If I did it again I would try it with the usual pre-made BBQ sauce we buy at costco and forget her sauce.
Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0
I prepared the ingredients and chicken the night before. In the morning before I left for work I dumped everything into the crock pot and set it to low. When I got home at 3 my apartment smelled REALLY good and made me hungry. I pulled out the chicken to shred. Most of the BBQ sauce was toasty and caked on to the bottom with a thick layer on the chicken. It looked sad, not like what I expected. I made ANOTHER mixture of her BBQ sauce and poured it in with the shredded chicken. I left it on low until Matt came home. It looked better, but neither Matt nor I cared for the taste of the sauce. If I did it again I would try it with the usual pre-made BBQ sauce we buy at costco and forget her sauce.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole or Chicken Pot Pie--You Decide!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 66, 260 calories per serving, makes 4 servings) - If you like tortillas in your chicken pot pie then this is the recipe for you.
Dishes Used - 2
Smoke Alarms - 0
Matthew Annoyance Level - 0
Babies played with - 1
First Aid Administered - 0
Tonight, we decided to try a recipe from the newest Hungry Girl cookbook. This is a very easy recipe to make but it was rather disappointing in taste. It didn't taste like an enchilada at all. It tasted more like a chicken pot pie.
We both agree that this is not a recipe that we will do again. But if you have ever wondered what it would taste like if you made your chicken pot pie crust out of tortillas then this is the recipe for you.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls - Take Two
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 36, 126 calories, 3 weight watchers points, recipe makes 8 servings) - Diana and I tried this recipe on our last Hungry Girl night and we just couldn't get it to work out. According to the recipe directions, you are supposed to roll out the crescent roll dough. Crescent roll dough is elastic so you could roll it out and then it would just bounce back to the original form. We tried so hard to get it to work but we couldn't. Then we put the rolls on a cookie sheet and during the baking process, they fell apart and most of the cinnamon mix fell out.
So I decided to try this recipe again. This time, I decided to roll the cinnamon rolls like crescent rolls. I wasn't going to waste my time trying to roll out an elastic dough. Once I rolled them into crescent form, I put them into a muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray. I figured in the muffin pan they would hold shape and keep the cinnamon mixture inside the roll. This worked perfectly. The rolls maintained their shape, kept all of the cinnamon mixture and they tasted great. I put the cream cheese mixture in the fridge while the rolls were baking so it would be nice and cool on the fresh cinnamon rolls. I do recommend eating the rolls while they are still warm if you are looking for that Cinnabun taste.
By rolling the dough crecent shaped and using a muffin pan, all past issues have been corrected. Now I can highly recommend this recipe
New Recipe from the New Hungry Girl Book
Hungry Girl just came out with a new cookbook--Hungry Girl 1-2-3. While my mother was in town visiting for Spring Break, we decided to try one of the new recipes. Since we are Italian and we love chicken, we made an appropriate selection.
Pan Fried Chicken Parm (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 60, 258 calories, makes 2 servings) - This recipe is basically the Italian version of the Fiber-ific Chicken. I did make this recipe pan fried as directed but the next time I make it, I'm going to bake the chicken. I personally prefer baked chicken over the fried versions--I also prefer it as a cooking method, frying makes the stove top all messy. I followed the recipe except I did substitute the tomato sauce with the no salt added tomato sauce that I added my own spices to. Overall, it was an OK recipe. We both liked it but it seemed to be missing something.
Next time, I think I will try adding my own spices to the fiberone mix and bake the chicken. It is definitely a good recipe to try.
Pan Fried Chicken Parm (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 60, 258 calories, makes 2 servings) - This recipe is basically the Italian version of the Fiber-ific Chicken. I did make this recipe pan fried as directed but the next time I make it, I'm going to bake the chicken. I personally prefer baked chicken over the fried versions--I also prefer it as a cooking method, frying makes the stove top all messy. I followed the recipe except I did substitute the tomato sauce with the no salt added tomato sauce that I added my own spices to. Overall, it was an OK recipe. We both liked it but it seemed to be missing something.
Next time, I think I will try adding my own spices to the fiberone mix and bake the chicken. It is definitely a good recipe to try.
Shake and Bake Hungry Girl Style
Fiber-ific Fried Chicken Strips (Hungry Girl, Pg. 112, 277 calories) - If you like Shake and Bake Chicken, you'll love these. I highly recommend this recipe to everyone. This recipe is for a single serving--8 chicken strips. The first time I made this recipe, it was a little bland. Now I add seasonings to the fiberone mix and put some bbq sauce in the egg mix. I also bake the recipe instead of frying it.
Being a single person and a stressed out teacher, I tend to make this recipe on Sundays. I make two chicken breasts and wind up getting three meals. I have the rubbermaid take-alongs with the dividers so I can make up a few meals for during the week. I like to combine the chicken with the butternut mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables. (For those who live in the LA area, go to Super King in Altadena for a wide assortment of fresh veggies at extremely affordable prices--so much better than Ralphs. Vons or Albertsons pricewise).
Being a single person and a stressed out teacher, I tend to make this recipe on Sundays. I make two chicken breasts and wind up getting three meals. I have the rubbermaid take-alongs with the dividers so I can make up a few meals for during the week. I like to combine the chicken with the butternut mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables. (For those who live in the LA area, go to Super King in Altadena for a wide assortment of fresh veggies at extremely affordable prices--so much better than Ralphs. Vons or Albertsons pricewise).
Bye Bye Wienerschnitzel!
Hot Diggity Chili Dog - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 111, 109 calories) Going on a diet usually means you have to give up your favorite fast food places. Last summer, as a broke teacher, I frequented Wienerschnitzel where they have their three for $3.00--two chili cheese dogs and chili cheese fries. They also have $.79 corndogs and $.99 root beer floats. It was a fast easy meal I could afford but when I discovered how many calories I was eating, I was shocked. Let's just say it was more than one person should eat in a day let alone one meal. Thankfully, Hungry Girl came up with a solution--the Hot Diggity Chili Dog (I add weight watchers shredded cheddar cheese as a topping). It's just like putting together a regular chili cheese dog and satisfies the fast food craving. I highly recommend this recipe if you like chili cheese anything.
More Fun with Butternut Squash
Yummy Butternut Home Fries - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 280, 58 calories per serving, makes 4 servings) This recipe smells amazing while it is cooking. I highly recommend this recipe if you like home fries for breakfast--or as a comfort food. It's very easy to make but make sure you have a large pan to cook in. I only had skillets and I had to switch to a pot since I don't have the right sized pan. It didn't exactly look like the picture but it was very tasty. I wound up eating two servings the first night and saved the other two servings as leftovers. Again, not a recipe for a single person unless you don't mind leftovers.
Sweet Potato Pie
I Can't Believe It's Not Sweet Potato Pie - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 164, 113 calories per serving, makes 4 servings)
After a stressful week, I was craving my comfort foods but not wanting to break my diet prevented me from fulfilling my cravings. I flipped through the originial Hungry Girl book looking for a good subsitute when I came across this recipe. Since Butternut Squash is now a staple in my house, I had all the necessary ingredients on hand. I pulled out my pyrex pie dish--since I was making pie--and proceeded to make the recipe. It was a fairly easy to make recipe.
This recipe is not meant for a single person--the servings are big. It is great to eat one night but not 4 nights in a row. I would recommend making this when you know you are having company or you are going to a dinner party.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Attack of the HG Breakfast
Spinach, Tomato, Feta 'n Egg Wrap Attack (Hungry Girl 200 under 200 book, page 12, 168 calories)
Dishes Used: 3
Fire Hazards: 0
Injury Count: +/- 1
Matthew Annoyance Level: 2
This is delicious and I actually ended up making this several times. It's pretty easy. I actually used my little single serving egg pan to make the egg patty at the same time I was chopping and cooking the rest. Big tip that took Kelly and I time to learn is to read ALL the directions. Now, even though I think I do that I obviously don't. It is really important to prepare everything before you begin heating the spinach because it only takes a minute or so for the spinach to start wilting. I gave it the +/- 1 injury report because chopping the spinach is pretty tricky and I came close to cutting a finger. But hey, if you do no one will notice because the blood will blend in with the fire-roasted diced tomatoes. I had to ask Matthew to open the sun-dried tomato jar and in our tiny kitchen I was blocking the dishes while he was trying to make breakfast, but otherwise he was undisturbed. This is a great breakfast OR lunch option.
Cinnamon-Vanilla French Toast Nuggets (200 under 200 book, page 21, 151 calories)
Dishes Used: 2
Fire Hazards: 0
Injury Count: 0
Matthew Annoyance Level: 1
If you are dying for french toast, this recipe will do. I'm still wondering why the hot dog buns, but I did it that way and it tasted fine. Not enough to feel totally fulfilling with one serving. I couldn't find the coffee-mate brand creamer but I found a Ralphs' brand creamer that was the same. I did find the nugget shape and size fun to eat and this would make a great kids recipe (ie. Joey). I do recommend making more of the egg/creamer/cinnamon mixture than needed. You never want to run out of egg mixture before bread. Matthew gets annoyed by hot dog packages that have more dogs than you can buy buns for, so doing this recipe messes up that dog-to-bun ratio, so I bought my own buns and put the rest in the freezer.
-Diana
Dishes Used: 3
Fire Hazards: 0
Injury Count: +/- 1
Matthew Annoyance Level: 2
This is delicious and I actually ended up making this several times. It's pretty easy. I actually used my little single serving egg pan to make the egg patty at the same time I was chopping and cooking the rest. Big tip that took Kelly and I time to learn is to read ALL the directions. Now, even though I think I do that I obviously don't. It is really important to prepare everything before you begin heating the spinach because it only takes a minute or so for the spinach to start wilting. I gave it the +/- 1 injury report because chopping the spinach is pretty tricky and I came close to cutting a finger. But hey, if you do no one will notice because the blood will blend in with the fire-roasted diced tomatoes. I had to ask Matthew to open the sun-dried tomato jar and in our tiny kitchen I was blocking the dishes while he was trying to make breakfast, but otherwise he was undisturbed. This is a great breakfast OR lunch option.
Cinnamon-Vanilla French Toast Nuggets (200 under 200 book, page 21, 151 calories)
Dishes Used: 2
Fire Hazards: 0
Injury Count: 0
Matthew Annoyance Level: 1
If you are dying for french toast, this recipe will do. I'm still wondering why the hot dog buns, but I did it that way and it tasted fine. Not enough to feel totally fulfilling with one serving. I couldn't find the coffee-mate brand creamer but I found a Ralphs' brand creamer that was the same. I did find the nugget shape and size fun to eat and this would make a great kids recipe (ie. Joey). I do recommend making more of the egg/creamer/cinnamon mixture than needed. You never want to run out of egg mixture before bread. Matthew gets annoyed by hot dog packages that have more dogs than you can buy buns for, so doing this recipe messes up that dog-to-bun ratio, so I bought my own buns and put the rest in the freezer.
-Diana
Easy Burrito night
Dishes used: 8 dishes
Matthew annoyance factor: Very Low
Fire Alarm count: Zero
Baby injuries: Zero
It's been a while since our last Hungry Girl Night. We have both have had a lot going on in our lives so tonight we decided to get together and make it an easy recipe night.
Since we loved the Holy Moly Guacamole so much, we decided to repeat the recipe. I would have to say that this is one of our favorites. I know I have made it several times on my own and I have even brought to social occasions. Everyone always comments on how great it is.
7 Layer Burrito Blitz: (Hungry Girl original cookbook, Page 116, 277 calories) This recipe was so easy. We bought the ingredients, warmed up the soy crumbles, beans & tortilla then put it all together. However we didn't listen to the directions on how to roll the burrito, we did it the way we always do--tuck in the bottom then the side and roll. This is a good size burrito. We all enjoyed it and we would highly recommend this to anyone who craves a 7 layer bean dip. We even got Matt to eat it.
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Page 36, 126 calories) This was an OK recipe. It doesn't taste like a Cinnabon by any means but it is an acceptable dessert. This is a recipe that we definitely want to try again but we want to do it our way. We followed Lisa's instructions but using a rolling pin on Pillsbury Crescent Rolls was a waste of time. They are extremely elastic and every time we would roll it, it would slide back into the original shape. It did give us the giggles trying to get it to roll out to her specifications but it never stayed. So we followed the rest of the directions but midway through the baking process, the cinnamon filling seeped out the bottom and some completely unrolled. We thought we could try this two different ways. One would be to use a muffin pan so they don't unroll. The other way would be to keep the crescent rolls in their perforated state, spread on the filling and spray butter then roll it like a regular crescent roll. We care more about the taste them how it looks. We'll let you know how they turn out when we try this recipe again.
Overall, it was the easy, tasty food night we were striving for after the last few stressful weeks we have endured.
Matthew annoyance factor: Very Low
Fire Alarm count: Zero
Baby injuries: Zero
It's been a while since our last Hungry Girl Night. We have both have had a lot going on in our lives so tonight we decided to get together and make it an easy recipe night.
Since we loved the Holy Moly Guacamole so much, we decided to repeat the recipe. I would have to say that this is one of our favorites. I know I have made it several times on my own and I have even brought to social occasions. Everyone always comments on how great it is.
7 Layer Burrito Blitz: (Hungry Girl original cookbook, Page 116, 277 calories) This recipe was so easy. We bought the ingredients, warmed up the soy crumbles, beans & tortilla then put it all together. However we didn't listen to the directions on how to roll the burrito, we did it the way we always do--tuck in the bottom then the side and roll. This is a good size burrito. We all enjoyed it and we would highly recommend this to anyone who craves a 7 layer bean dip. We even got Matt to eat it.
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Page 36, 126 calories) This was an OK recipe. It doesn't taste like a Cinnabon by any means but it is an acceptable dessert. This is a recipe that we definitely want to try again but we want to do it our way. We followed Lisa's instructions but using a rolling pin on Pillsbury Crescent Rolls was a waste of time. They are extremely elastic and every time we would roll it, it would slide back into the original shape. It did give us the giggles trying to get it to roll out to her specifications but it never stayed. So we followed the rest of the directions but midway through the baking process, the cinnamon filling seeped out the bottom and some completely unrolled. We thought we could try this two different ways. One would be to use a muffin pan so they don't unroll. The other way would be to keep the crescent rolls in their perforated state, spread on the filling and spray butter then roll it like a regular crescent roll. We care more about the taste them how it looks. We'll let you know how they turn out when we try this recipe again.
Overall, it was the easy, tasty food night we were striving for after the last few stressful weeks we have endured.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Diana: All on her own
Thursday night I (Diana) made the ez tomato-basil chicken (200 under 200, pg. 138, 175 cal). Highly recommend it. Very easy. I actually used a can of crushed tomatoes with italian dressing because I couldn't find the basil kind. It was great. I also tossed some Italian seasoning and basil seasoning on top before baking. You will need to make some side to go along with it for a meal. Matthew thinks it would be better with two big slices of Mozzarella cheese.
First aid, Fire Alarms and Chaos Galore!!!
Dishes used: 21
Fire Alarms: 1
Fingers burnt: 1 thumb
Igniting Stovetop Flames: 1
Matt's Annoyance Level: 4
Well, let's just say it was an interesting Hungry Girl Evening. Once again, we set off the smoke alarm. (Last time we did it while making the Fries). I burned my thumb when attempting to flip hash browns in a skillet. Hash browns don't flip. Diana almost set me on fire when she discovered the flammable properties of cooking spray. And Matthew looked at us in annoyance when he had to once again clear the smoke from the apartment.
Now I am sure you are wondering what recipes could possibly lead to such an eventful evening. We'll tell you: Snazzy Spanish Omelette, Butternut Hash Browns, and Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 278, 127 calories per serving) This was the only recipe that didn't give us any trouble. Everything worked out according to the directions except we did have enough to make 6 muffins instead of 4. Perhaps if you dice the apples instead of cutting them into cubes like we did, it will make the 4 serving recipe. They were good, nonetheless. We would recommend using foil muffin cups instead of paper cups.
Snazzy Spanish Omelette: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 60, 191 calories per serving) The sauce is simple to make but we felt we didn't need such a large portion. We would recommend adding some of the veggies to the omelette mixture instead of the sauce. Diana says she wouldn't even bother with the sauce. She would put all of the veggies in the omelette and just put the two tablespoons of salsa on top. So this was a fairly simple recipe. Of course we had an omelette pan that Diana's mother left behind on accident. It might be more difficult if you don't have an omelette pan.
Diana's advice: If you have a gas stove, don't spray the aerosol cooking spray near the open flame. You just might set your best friend on fire or at the very least scare the crap out of her.
We would also like to point out that one serving could actually feed two. This makes for one large omelette.
Butternut Hash Browns: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 92, 104 calories per serving) This was the most eventful and challenging recipe of the evening. Perhaps, in hindsight, we should have throughly read the recipe before we began. We missed the "tip" on shredding the butternut squash with a cheese grater. We used a vegetable peeler. It didn't affect the taste but it probably would have assisted with the ease in other parts of the recipe. We also discovered that you should attempt to make 3 recipes at a time or 3 servings at a time. You really need to do one serving at a time if you want to the recipe following the directions written in the book. After setting off the smoke alarm and burning my thumb while attempting to flip 3 servings of hash browns in a skillet, we decided to put it all into a pyrex dish and bake it in the oven. Diana set the oven at 350 degrees while I tended to my now blistering thumb. We baked it around 7 minutes--after we had already cooked a portion of it on the stove. So maybe bake it for 5 minutes, flip it, and bake for another 5 minutes.
Even though the recipe made for an interesting evening, it did taste like real hash browns. This is something I personally might try to do again to see if I can perfect it.
Fire Alarms: 1
Fingers burnt: 1 thumb
Igniting Stovetop Flames: 1
Matt's Annoyance Level: 4
Well, let's just say it was an interesting Hungry Girl Evening. Once again, we set off the smoke alarm. (Last time we did it while making the Fries). I burned my thumb when attempting to flip hash browns in a skillet. Hash browns don't flip. Diana almost set me on fire when she discovered the flammable properties of cooking spray. And Matthew looked at us in annoyance when he had to once again clear the smoke from the apartment.
Now I am sure you are wondering what recipes could possibly lead to such an eventful evening. We'll tell you: Snazzy Spanish Omelette, Butternut Hash Browns, and Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 278, 127 calories per serving) This was the only recipe that didn't give us any trouble. Everything worked out according to the directions except we did have enough to make 6 muffins instead of 4. Perhaps if you dice the apples instead of cutting them into cubes like we did, it will make the 4 serving recipe. They were good, nonetheless. We would recommend using foil muffin cups instead of paper cups.
Snazzy Spanish Omelette: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 60, 191 calories per serving) The sauce is simple to make but we felt we didn't need such a large portion. We would recommend adding some of the veggies to the omelette mixture instead of the sauce. Diana says she wouldn't even bother with the sauce. She would put all of the veggies in the omelette and just put the two tablespoons of salsa on top. So this was a fairly simple recipe. Of course we had an omelette pan that Diana's mother left behind on accident. It might be more difficult if you don't have an omelette pan.
Diana's advice: If you have a gas stove, don't spray the aerosol cooking spray near the open flame. You just might set your best friend on fire or at the very least scare the crap out of her.
We would also like to point out that one serving could actually feed two. This makes for one large omelette.
Butternut Hash Browns: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 92, 104 calories per serving) This was the most eventful and challenging recipe of the evening. Perhaps, in hindsight, we should have throughly read the recipe before we began. We missed the "tip" on shredding the butternut squash with a cheese grater. We used a vegetable peeler. It didn't affect the taste but it probably would have assisted with the ease in other parts of the recipe. We also discovered that you should attempt to make 3 recipes at a time or 3 servings at a time. You really need to do one serving at a time if you want to the recipe following the directions written in the book. After setting off the smoke alarm and burning my thumb while attempting to flip 3 servings of hash browns in a skillet, we decided to put it all into a pyrex dish and bake it in the oven. Diana set the oven at 350 degrees while I tended to my now blistering thumb. We baked it around 7 minutes--after we had already cooked a portion of it on the stove. So maybe bake it for 5 minutes, flip it, and bake for another 5 minutes.
Even though the recipe made for an interesting evening, it did taste like real hash browns. This is something I personally might try to do again to see if I can perfect it.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
All By Myself Meals
This past week was a bit of a hell week--Finals week. So as a teacher, I spent many late nights grading finals, projects and binders so I could get all my grades in by the deadline. I also started teaching at the Community College this week so I had very little time to do much of anything besides work. So with little time, I would usually go to Fast Food restaurants for dinner. Since I am trying to lose weight, that was no longer an option for me. Instead I decided to try some Hungry Girl recipes with the ingredients I already had.
Cheesy Beefy Quesadilla - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 172, 196 calories, 4 weight watchers points) Since Diana and I had previously tried the Cheeseburger Quesadilla, I decided to try this recipe to see how to two compared. The Cheeseburger Quesadilla tasted like it sounds--like a cheeseburger. It didn't have a mexican food flare to it. This recipe does. It tastes like something you could order at Del Taco or Taco Bell. (I actually used my Del Taco Mild seasoning for this one). So if you like Mexican fast food, I highly recommend this recipe. It's fast, easy to make, and filling.
Spicy Tortilla Pizza Mexicali - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200 Pg. 178, 196 calories, 3 weight watchers points) Since I had so many tortillas and Boca Burger patties leftover, this seemed like a viable option. Again, another easy recipe. I made this one in my toaster oven--which is becoming my standard way of baking these recipes. It's not exactly the mexican pizza from taco bell but it is a close second and so much better for you. I highly recommend this if you do like Mexican pizzas. I personally left out the extra spices and used the Del Taco seasoning but you can season it however you like.
Green Tea Creme Swappuccino - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 194, 75 calories, 2 points) I have already made this drink several times. I used to be a Starbuck regular and every time I would order a Green Tea Latte or Green Tea Frappacino. Now that I know how many calories I used to consume, I stick to the Skinny Lattes. But when I saw this recipe, I jumped for joy--I can have my Green Tea drinks once again. I do recommend this recipe but don't expect it to tast exactly like the Starbucks version. For me, the hardest part about this recipe is finding the Matcha Green Tea powder. I did find it at Whole Foods but it is $34 for a small can. Instead, I bought the liquid concentrate of the Matcha Green Tea at Ralphs. You do have to add more than one tablespoon since you are not working with the powder. The first time I did this, I just used one tablespoon and I barely tasted the Green Tea--it was more like a Vanilla shake. A good vanilla shake but still a vanilla shake nonetheless. So I made it again and added around 4 tablespoons. So much better. It's still not green like the Starbucks version but I don't care about the color, just the taste. If I do eventually find a cheaper matcha green tea powder, I will report back with the results of the comparison between using the powder and the liquid.
Cheesy Beefy Quesadilla - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 172, 196 calories, 4 weight watchers points) Since Diana and I had previously tried the Cheeseburger Quesadilla, I decided to try this recipe to see how to two compared. The Cheeseburger Quesadilla tasted like it sounds--like a cheeseburger. It didn't have a mexican food flare to it. This recipe does. It tastes like something you could order at Del Taco or Taco Bell. (I actually used my Del Taco Mild seasoning for this one). So if you like Mexican fast food, I highly recommend this recipe. It's fast, easy to make, and filling.
Spicy Tortilla Pizza Mexicali - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200 Pg. 178, 196 calories, 3 weight watchers points) Since I had so many tortillas and Boca Burger patties leftover, this seemed like a viable option. Again, another easy recipe. I made this one in my toaster oven--which is becoming my standard way of baking these recipes. It's not exactly the mexican pizza from taco bell but it is a close second and so much better for you. I highly recommend this if you do like Mexican pizzas. I personally left out the extra spices and used the Del Taco seasoning but you can season it however you like.
Green Tea Creme Swappuccino - (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 194, 75 calories, 2 points) I have already made this drink several times. I used to be a Starbuck regular and every time I would order a Green Tea Latte or Green Tea Frappacino. Now that I know how many calories I used to consume, I stick to the Skinny Lattes. But when I saw this recipe, I jumped for joy--I can have my Green Tea drinks once again. I do recommend this recipe but don't expect it to tast exactly like the Starbucks version. For me, the hardest part about this recipe is finding the Matcha Green Tea powder. I did find it at Whole Foods but it is $34 for a small can. Instead, I bought the liquid concentrate of the Matcha Green Tea at Ralphs. You do have to add more than one tablespoon since you are not working with the powder. The first time I did this, I just used one tablespoon and I barely tasted the Green Tea--it was more like a Vanilla shake. A good vanilla shake but still a vanilla shake nonetheless. So I made it again and added around 4 tablespoons. So much better. It's still not green like the Starbucks version but I don't care about the color, just the taste. If I do eventually find a cheaper matcha green tea powder, I will report back with the results of the comparison between using the powder and the liquid.
Hungry Girl Weekend #3
Tonight, we decided to make it a Manwich night--Hungry Girl style. We picked three recipes - Sloppy Janes, Zesty Italian Pita Chips, and Freezy-cool whoopie pie.
We made our grocery list and set out to get everything we needed. We specifically went to Vons because we needed VitaTops (Muffin Tops) and their website said they carried them. No one there had ever heard of them. So then we went off to Whole Foods--they had never heard of them either. So it looks like we are going to have to order these from the VitaTops website and save the recipe for another time. Thankfully we found everything else that we needed for the other two recipes.
Sloppy Janes (Hungry Girl, Pg. 130, 271 calories) - Diana and I both agreed that we highly recommend this recipe. It is very easy to make. We do suggest that you use the whole can of the no-salt-added tomato sauce. It's weird to just leave a small amount in the can. We didn't want to let it go to waste. We also suggest adding a little chili powder to give it a little more flavor. Overall, it's a great recipe that serves five so you can freeze if you are single like me, or get the whole family to eat it if you share a home with someone besides your cat.
Zesty Italian Pita Chips (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 125, 163 calories, 3 weight watchers points) - This was the perfect subsitute for Potato Chips to go with our Sloppy Janes. Our suggestion would be to make a little more of the spread or dip the pitas in salsa. We dipped them in our leftover tomato sauce and that just didn't do the trick. We agreed, along with Diana's husband, that we should try these with some salsa. This is definitely something that is easy to make and would be good to have at a gathering of sorts.
We made our grocery list and set out to get everything we needed. We specifically went to Vons because we needed VitaTops (Muffin Tops) and their website said they carried them. No one there had ever heard of them. So then we went off to Whole Foods--they had never heard of them either. So it looks like we are going to have to order these from the VitaTops website and save the recipe for another time. Thankfully we found everything else that we needed for the other two recipes.
Sloppy Janes (Hungry Girl, Pg. 130, 271 calories) - Diana and I both agreed that we highly recommend this recipe. It is very easy to make. We do suggest that you use the whole can of the no-salt-added tomato sauce. It's weird to just leave a small amount in the can. We didn't want to let it go to waste. We also suggest adding a little chili powder to give it a little more flavor. Overall, it's a great recipe that serves five so you can freeze if you are single like me, or get the whole family to eat it if you share a home with someone besides your cat.
Zesty Italian Pita Chips (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 125, 163 calories, 3 weight watchers points) - This was the perfect subsitute for Potato Chips to go with our Sloppy Janes. Our suggestion would be to make a little more of the spread or dip the pitas in salsa. We dipped them in our leftover tomato sauce and that just didn't do the trick. We agreed, along with Diana's husband, that we should try these with some salsa. This is definitely something that is easy to make and would be good to have at a gathering of sorts.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Embracing my "French" Canadian Heritage
On Friday, I ordered Red Robin takeout with my friends. I never realized before how hard it was to find a meal under 500 calories. I settled for their dinner salad and French Onion Soup. I love their French Onion soup but it was over 500 calories. I only ate half of the soup to keep in line with my diet. So when I was flipping through my Hungry Girl book, looking for new recipes to try, I found the Hungry Girl French Onion soup. I was curious to see how it would measure up to the restaurant version so I heade out to buy all of the ingredients.
Freakishly Good French Onion Soup: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 48) I was surprised how good this was. One serving is 113 calories (as opposed to the 525 calories at Red Robin). I also noticed it was not as salty as the restaurant versions. I'm thinking I am going to make this in bulk in my crock pot, letting it slow cook to perfection. Then I can divide it up into individual servings for quick meals during the week. I highly recommend this recipe if you like French Onion Soup.
Freakishly Good French Onion Soup: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 48) I was surprised how good this was. One serving is 113 calories (as opposed to the 525 calories at Red Robin). I also noticed it was not as salty as the restaurant versions. I'm thinking I am going to make this in bulk in my crock pot, letting it slow cook to perfection. Then I can divide it up into individual servings for quick meals during the week. I highly recommend this recipe if you like French Onion Soup.
In honor of STORMWATCH 2010--Mudslides!!!
I live in Los Angeles, specfically the area that was ravaged by the Station Fire last August. This past week, we actually had a "Mudslide" Day, evacuating all the schools north of Foothill. So I thought I would make myself a mudslide drink on Mudslide day.
Chilly Chocolate Mudslide: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 245) This is an easy drink to make. Just combine all the ingredients into your blender or Magic Bullet and you are good to go. It's not exactly the same as the Mudslides you would get at TGIFridays (It's missing the Kaluha). It's not bad. It was a little too chocolatey for me so I added a scoop of Fat Free Frozen Vanilla Yogurt. That added 45 calories to the 158 calorie drink. I would definitely recommend this for a night in--a rainy night waiting for the mud to slide down the hills.
Chilly Chocolate Mudslide: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 245) This is an easy drink to make. Just combine all the ingredients into your blender or Magic Bullet and you are good to go. It's not exactly the same as the Mudslides you would get at TGIFridays (It's missing the Kaluha). It's not bad. It was a little too chocolatey for me so I added a scoop of Fat Free Frozen Vanilla Yogurt. That added 45 calories to the 158 calorie drink. I would definitely recommend this for a night in--a rainy night waiting for the mud to slide down the hills.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Great Meal For Hormonal Moods
Tonight I was feeling hormonal, craving junk food. But since I didn't want to break my diet I searched through the Hungry Girl books and found the solution. A milkshake and pizza--perfecto!!
Perfect Pepperoni Pizzas: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 108) For this recipe I bought the Weight Watchers english muffins and cheese. I used Prego sauce (which means "you're welcome" in Italian). And I baked it in my Toaster Oven. That is the beauty of being single, you can survive with a Toaster Oven over a conventional one. (I do have one of those but like Carrie Bradshaw, I use it for storage).
I LOVE this recipe. The Turkey pepperoni tasted like the regular stuff but without all the grease. I highly recommend this 190 calorie meal. It was very filling.
Cravin' Cap N' Crunch Shake: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 189) Obviously you have to like Cap N' Crunch cereal to really love this shake. This is 192 calories and 4 Weight Watcher points but it definitely satisfies the junk food cravings. I made this in my Magic Bullet and loved every last drop. I would recommend testing this out on your kids, if you have any. I would be curious to know what they think.
Perfect Pepperoni Pizzas: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 108) For this recipe I bought the Weight Watchers english muffins and cheese. I used Prego sauce (which means "you're welcome" in Italian). And I baked it in my Toaster Oven. That is the beauty of being single, you can survive with a Toaster Oven over a conventional one. (I do have one of those but like Carrie Bradshaw, I use it for storage).
I LOVE this recipe. The Turkey pepperoni tasted like the regular stuff but without all the grease. I highly recommend this 190 calorie meal. It was very filling.
Cravin' Cap N' Crunch Shake: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 189) Obviously you have to like Cap N' Crunch cereal to really love this shake. This is 192 calories and 4 Weight Watcher points but it definitely satisfies the junk food cravings. I made this in my Magic Bullet and loved every last drop. I would recommend testing this out on your kids, if you have any. I would be curious to know what they think.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
First experience with Tofu Shirataki Noodles
Tonight I decided to try a Hungry Girl recipe that appeals to my Italian roots--Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo (Hungry Girl, Pg. 257). This recipe calls for the use of Tofu Shirataki. You can find this is the tofu section of the grocery store. I have to admit I was a little put off when I saw it in a bag filled with liquid. It looked alien but since I have liked all of the other Hungry Girl ingredients, I tried to keep an open mind.
So I followed the directions by opening the package and pouring the contents into a strainer. It said to wash thoroughly to get the smell out--that was not appealing. Then I reminded myself that I do the same thing to Saurkraut. So I continued. Then you put the noodles into a microwave safe bowl and cook for one minute. Then you pour out the access water and dry the remaining noodles by patting them. It said to dry thoroughly. I used paper towels and it seemed never ending, trying to get them "thoroughly" dry. Then I figured it might be ok to leave them slightly damp.
I added in the remaining ingredients and popped it in the microwave. Aside from the drying of the noodles, it is very easy to make.
However, I felt the taste was bland and the noodles were a strange texture. Maybe you really do have to make sure the noodles are completely dry. I'm not really sure. I added in a little bit of garlic salt for flavor but it was still missing something that I haven't figured out yet.
Unfortunately I didn't get to eat too much of the Fettuccine. I got a phone call and set my bowl on my couch to answer the call. My Cat was on the top of the couch, leaning down to sniff the contents of the bowl when she lost her balance and landed butt first in my bowl. Since I don't find Cat Ass fettuccine appealing, I had to throw away the contents and settle for cereal for dinner. So I will have to try the Tofu Shirataki again. As of right now, I am not impressed but I'll keep an open mind for other recipes.
So I followed the directions by opening the package and pouring the contents into a strainer. It said to wash thoroughly to get the smell out--that was not appealing. Then I reminded myself that I do the same thing to Saurkraut. So I continued. Then you put the noodles into a microwave safe bowl and cook for one minute. Then you pour out the access water and dry the remaining noodles by patting them. It said to dry thoroughly. I used paper towels and it seemed never ending, trying to get them "thoroughly" dry. Then I figured it might be ok to leave them slightly damp.
I added in the remaining ingredients and popped it in the microwave. Aside from the drying of the noodles, it is very easy to make.
However, I felt the taste was bland and the noodles were a strange texture. Maybe you really do have to make sure the noodles are completely dry. I'm not really sure. I added in a little bit of garlic salt for flavor but it was still missing something that I haven't figured out yet.
Unfortunately I didn't get to eat too much of the Fettuccine. I got a phone call and set my bowl on my couch to answer the call. My Cat was on the top of the couch, leaning down to sniff the contents of the bowl when she lost her balance and landed butt first in my bowl. Since I don't find Cat Ass fettuccine appealing, I had to throw away the contents and settle for cereal for dinner. So I will have to try the Tofu Shirataki again. As of right now, I am not impressed but I'll keep an open mind for other recipes.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Hungry Girl Weekend #2
This weekend we decided to have a theme--mexican recipes with American flavor. We chose all of our recipes from the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 recipe book.
We chose an appetizer--Holy Moly Guacamole; a meal--Cheeseburger Quesadilla; and a dessert--Strawberry Shortcake Bites.
Holy Moly Guacamole: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 112) This tastes just like guacamole but it is only 78 calories per serving and 1 weight watchers point. The secret ingredient--peas. You still add an avocado but the majority of the mixture is peas. I know because I mashed them up. Diana and I vowed not to tell her husband Matt since he doesn't like vegetables. He ate the guacamole. I even tested it out on some other friends and they all loved it. They couldn't believe I used peas. So this is a definite score--a must have for parties and Wii Weekends.
Cheeseburger Quesadilla: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 182) Another amazing recipe where you would never guess the ingredients unless you were the one who made it. It tasted like a cheeseburger wrapped in a tortilla. I even added ketchup to further decieve my tastebuds. A 186 calorie cheeseburger made without meat--Amazing! I don't know about you but whenever I used to see the Boca Meatless burgers in the grocerer's freezer, I thought they looked scary. What is a meatless burger? I still don't really know but it tasted good. So try this recipe and don't tell your friends, family, or significant others what you used. See what they think? See if you can decieve their tastebuds.
Strawberry Shortcake Bites: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 256) This is an 88 calorie dessert that tastes like one of those strawberry ice cream/frozen yogurt bars. The only thing that we would suggest is using mini muffin cups. In the large muffin cup, the cool whip mixture engulfs the vanilla wafer that is supposed to serve as the crust. So this one we still want to play around with and see what we can do to fix the recipe, to get it to stay on the vanilla wafer. Overall, it is tasty, just gets messy when it starts to thaw.
We chose an appetizer--Holy Moly Guacamole; a meal--Cheeseburger Quesadilla; and a dessert--Strawberry Shortcake Bites.
Holy Moly Guacamole: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 112) This tastes just like guacamole but it is only 78 calories per serving and 1 weight watchers point. The secret ingredient--peas. You still add an avocado but the majority of the mixture is peas. I know because I mashed them up. Diana and I vowed not to tell her husband Matt since he doesn't like vegetables. He ate the guacamole. I even tested it out on some other friends and they all loved it. They couldn't believe I used peas. So this is a definite score--a must have for parties and Wii Weekends.
Cheeseburger Quesadilla: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 182) Another amazing recipe where you would never guess the ingredients unless you were the one who made it. It tasted like a cheeseburger wrapped in a tortilla. I even added ketchup to further decieve my tastebuds. A 186 calorie cheeseburger made without meat--Amazing! I don't know about you but whenever I used to see the Boca Meatless burgers in the grocerer's freezer, I thought they looked scary. What is a meatless burger? I still don't really know but it tasted good. So try this recipe and don't tell your friends, family, or significant others what you used. See what they think? See if you can decieve their tastebuds.
Strawberry Shortcake Bites: (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 256) This is an 88 calorie dessert that tastes like one of those strawberry ice cream/frozen yogurt bars. The only thing that we would suggest is using mini muffin cups. In the large muffin cup, the cool whip mixture engulfs the vanilla wafer that is supposed to serve as the crust. So this one we still want to play around with and see what we can do to fix the recipe, to get it to stay on the vanilla wafer. Overall, it is tasty, just gets messy when it starts to thaw.
All on My Own
During the week, I decided to try out some of the Hungry Girl Recipes on my own. Since I was determined to perfect the Butternut Squash fries, I bought another Butternut Squash. I made the fries in my toaster oven this time, broiling them for 20 minutes. They were perfect. But since I am one person, I didn't make the entire recipe. I cut up the entire Butternut Squash and searched the original Hungry Girl book for more Butternut Squash recipes.
Maplelicious Butternut Squash Mash: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 277) This is a way of making something similar to sweet potatoes for 109 calories. I also tried the recipe without the maple syrup and it tasted like regular mashed potatoes--one of my comfort foods. It was so simple since I already had the squash cut up. You just microwave it for 6 minutes then mash--amazing!!
HG's Famous Bowl: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 98) If any of you love KFC's Mashed Potato bowl like I do, this is a must make. You make the Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes, Shake and Bake style chicken with the FiberOne Cereal (Italian seasoning to flavor), Green Giant Steamed corn and Fat Free Chicken Gravy. The Chicken takes the longest time to prepare but I made 2 Chicken Breasts so I could cut up some of the Chicken and eat the rest the following day. For 288 calories, this is a very filling meal. I love it, all my comfort foods combined in a bowl without all of the calories. (The world's best PMS food, in my humble opinion).
Rockin' Tuna Melt: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 68) I made this to go with my Butternut Squash Fries. This is a 212 calorie treat. Of course you have to like Tuna to enjoy it. And if you have a cat like I do, they will stay by your side while you prepare and eat your meal. I left out the tomatoes and carrots when I made this and substituted them with chopped celery.
I would highly recommend all of these recipes.
Maplelicious Butternut Squash Mash: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 277) This is a way of making something similar to sweet potatoes for 109 calories. I also tried the recipe without the maple syrup and it tasted like regular mashed potatoes--one of my comfort foods. It was so simple since I already had the squash cut up. You just microwave it for 6 minutes then mash--amazing!!
HG's Famous Bowl: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 98) If any of you love KFC's Mashed Potato bowl like I do, this is a must make. You make the Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes, Shake and Bake style chicken with the FiberOne Cereal (Italian seasoning to flavor), Green Giant Steamed corn and Fat Free Chicken Gravy. The Chicken takes the longest time to prepare but I made 2 Chicken Breasts so I could cut up some of the Chicken and eat the rest the following day. For 288 calories, this is a very filling meal. I love it, all my comfort foods combined in a bowl without all of the calories. (The world's best PMS food, in my humble opinion).
Rockin' Tuna Melt: (Hungry Girl, Pg. 68) I made this to go with my Butternut Squash Fries. This is a 212 calorie treat. Of course you have to like Tuna to enjoy it. And if you have a cat like I do, they will stay by your side while you prepare and eat your meal. I left out the tomatoes and carrots when I made this and substituted them with chopped celery.
I would highly recommend all of these recipes.
Hungry Girl Weekend #1
Last weekend was our very first Hungry Girl Weekend. We used my new Hungry Recipe Cards and we picked out a few recipes to try. (These recipes are also found in the Hungry Girl books). We decided to try Lord of the Onion Rings, Ooey-gooey Chili Cheese Nachos, Bake-tastic Butternut Squash Fries, and Gimme Gimme Smores Sandwich.
Lord of The Onion Rings: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 104) This recipe requires crushing up original FiberOne Cereal. Since many Hungry Girl recipes require this, it would be best to crush up all of the FiberOne cereal and store it in an airtight container. It takes a while to crush up. It's probably a lot easier to use a food processor (which I don't have). I do have one of those little Black n' Decker choppers, that really works. Using the Pampered Chef chopper takes too long and doesn't grind it into a fine powder, like to you need for this recipe.
Another suggestion for this recipe, wear safety goggles. Chopping up the Onion will make you cry.
As for the actual taste, they weren't bad. They were a little bland but Ketchup solves that. Next time I'm going to try adding some Italian spices in with the FiberOne for a little more flavor. But for only 153 calories per serving (fast food onion rings are 450 calories), it's worth the effort. And I think you burn a lot of the calories just making it.
Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 99) This recipe is fairly easy if you can find the right kind of Turkey Chili in the store. Diana and her husband Matt couldn't so Matt just made the Turkey Chili for us. But once you make the Chili and Cheese sauce on the stove, the rest is so simple. You just put the alloted amount of baked tortilla chips in a bowl, add the cheese sauce, add the chili, and optional toppings (like fat free sour cream). This would be a great meal option on Super Bowl Sunday for only 216 calories per serving.
Bake-tastic Butternut Squash Fries: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 100) This one was a bit more challenging. Once you get past laughing over the shape of the Butternut Squash --yes, we revert to being teenage girls--then you have to peel the whole thing. Make sure you have a sharp knife when you start cutting into it.
The problem we had with this recipe is the time listed. It says to bake for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, the smoke alarm went off because some of them started to burn. Apparently we cut them too thin. We cut them to look like normal fries--or carrot sticks. If you cut them thin like we did, then cut the time in half. And the recipe says it is 2 servings but it could definitely feed more. The three of us couldn't finish all of the fries. But they were good--the ones we didn't burn, that is.
I redid this recipe a few days later but broiled them in my toaster oven for 20 minutes, they were perfect. They tasted like real fries but with a sweeter taste.
And for those of you who are worried about using Butternut Squash. All I have to say is that Matt doesn't like vegetables and we got him to eat the Butternut Squash fries and he liked them! And the best part, they are only 125 calories per serving.
Gimme Gimme Smores Sandwich: (Recipe found in the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 book, pg. 260) We didn't actually get to make these on our Hungry Girl Weekend night so I tried them on my own. Extremely simple to make. Just remember to get the mini-semi sweet chocolate morsels. I bought the regular ones and it was a little too much for me (I'm not a big fan of chocolate). But I must say, I loved these desserts. It tasted like an ice cream sandwich. I even made a few with just the fat free cool whip and graham crackers. Tasty, tasty. And only 133 calories--even less if you leave out the chocolate and marshmallows
Lord of The Onion Rings: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 104) This recipe requires crushing up original FiberOne Cereal. Since many Hungry Girl recipes require this, it would be best to crush up all of the FiberOne cereal and store it in an airtight container. It takes a while to crush up. It's probably a lot easier to use a food processor (which I don't have). I do have one of those little Black n' Decker choppers, that really works. Using the Pampered Chef chopper takes too long and doesn't grind it into a fine powder, like to you need for this recipe.
Another suggestion for this recipe, wear safety goggles. Chopping up the Onion will make you cry.
As for the actual taste, they weren't bad. They were a little bland but Ketchup solves that. Next time I'm going to try adding some Italian spices in with the FiberOne for a little more flavor. But for only 153 calories per serving (fast food onion rings are 450 calories), it's worth the effort. And I think you burn a lot of the calories just making it.
Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 99) This recipe is fairly easy if you can find the right kind of Turkey Chili in the store. Diana and her husband Matt couldn't so Matt just made the Turkey Chili for us. But once you make the Chili and Cheese sauce on the stove, the rest is so simple. You just put the alloted amount of baked tortilla chips in a bowl, add the cheese sauce, add the chili, and optional toppings (like fat free sour cream). This would be a great meal option on Super Bowl Sunday for only 216 calories per serving.
Bake-tastic Butternut Squash Fries: (Recipe found in the original Hungry Girl book, pg. 100) This one was a bit more challenging. Once you get past laughing over the shape of the Butternut Squash --yes, we revert to being teenage girls--then you have to peel the whole thing. Make sure you have a sharp knife when you start cutting into it.
The problem we had with this recipe is the time listed. It says to bake for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, the smoke alarm went off because some of them started to burn. Apparently we cut them too thin. We cut them to look like normal fries--or carrot sticks. If you cut them thin like we did, then cut the time in half. And the recipe says it is 2 servings but it could definitely feed more. The three of us couldn't finish all of the fries. But they were good--the ones we didn't burn, that is.
I redid this recipe a few days later but broiled them in my toaster oven for 20 minutes, they were perfect. They tasted like real fries but with a sweeter taste.
And for those of you who are worried about using Butternut Squash. All I have to say is that Matt doesn't like vegetables and we got him to eat the Butternut Squash fries and he liked them! And the best part, they are only 125 calories per serving.
Gimme Gimme Smores Sandwich: (Recipe found in the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 book, pg. 260) We didn't actually get to make these on our Hungry Girl Weekend night so I tried them on my own. Extremely simple to make. Just remember to get the mini-semi sweet chocolate morsels. I bought the regular ones and it was a little too much for me (I'm not a big fan of chocolate). But I must say, I loved these desserts. It tasted like an ice cream sandwich. I even made a few with just the fat free cool whip and graham crackers. Tasty, tasty. And only 133 calories--even less if you leave out the chocolate and marshmallows
The Beginning of Hungry Girl Weekends
In the spirt of making New Year's resolutions, I resolved to lose the weight that I gained after my surgery to remove Endometrial tumors 4 years ago. I used to be a size 8 and I would workout at the gym 5 days a week. I was in the best shape of my life. But once I discovered I had Endometriosis, I used that as an excuse to stop going to the gym. I have had a few tumors burst on me and I convinced myself that if I worked out full throttle like I used to, I would pop more but in the middle of the gym instead of in the comfort of my own home.
So here I am four years later, a size 12 and 35 pounds heavier. I didn't recognize the person I saw in the mirror anymore. And when my best friend announced at Christmas Eve dinner that she was down 40 pounds and a size 6-8 (after having a baby 6 months ago), I realized it was time to get healthy again.
For Christmas, my parents bought me the Wii console and the Wii Fit--my new in-home gym. They also bought me the Hungry Girl recipe cards. I already had the 2 Hungry Girl cookbooks. So now I had no excuse anymore.
On January 6th, I started my Wii Fit/Hungry Girl weightloss plan. I created my Mii and did my first body test. The balance board said "Oh My" when I stepped on. Then it proceded to tell me I was overweight and hoe much weight I would need to lose to reach a normal, healthy BMI. I had a BMI of 28, anything over 25 is considered to be overweight. So I set my goals and started my first workout session with Hula Hoops, Step Aerobics, Balancing Penguins and Yoga.
The great thing about the Wii is that it has an activity log, step log, and waist size log so you can monitor your progress. I pulled out my pedometer and I wear it daily so I can keep track of my daily step count. (It's really hard to do 10,000 steps a day). I also fill out the activity log every night so I can see how many calories I have burned. I also bought myself little pocket notebooks so I can write down my daily caloric intake so I can make sure I burn off more than I eat.
I told Diana what I was doing and she wanted to join in. We decided that we would make every weekend a Hungry Girl weekend--trying out different recipes in the Hungry Girl cookbooks. I have also been trying recipes during the week. My mom and sister wanted us to keep track of the recipes we were trying and what we thought about them. So since I have been into blogging lately, I decided to create a blog about out Hungry Girl weekends and the recipes that we try (Julie & Julia but without all the calories and fat). So feel free to follow if you want to keep up with our Hungry Girl weekends.
If you need motivation then let me tell you this. After 10 days of doing Hungry Girl recipes and using my Wii Fit, I am down 6 pounds. By the way, I am in no way shape or form associated with the Hungry Girl franchise. I just like their recipes, I subscribe to their newsletters, and I really really want to lose weight without starving myself.
So here I am four years later, a size 12 and 35 pounds heavier. I didn't recognize the person I saw in the mirror anymore. And when my best friend announced at Christmas Eve dinner that she was down 40 pounds and a size 6-8 (after having a baby 6 months ago), I realized it was time to get healthy again.
For Christmas, my parents bought me the Wii console and the Wii Fit--my new in-home gym. They also bought me the Hungry Girl recipe cards. I already had the 2 Hungry Girl cookbooks. So now I had no excuse anymore.
On January 6th, I started my Wii Fit/Hungry Girl weightloss plan. I created my Mii and did my first body test. The balance board said "Oh My" when I stepped on. Then it proceded to tell me I was overweight and hoe much weight I would need to lose to reach a normal, healthy BMI. I had a BMI of 28, anything over 25 is considered to be overweight. So I set my goals and started my first workout session with Hula Hoops, Step Aerobics, Balancing Penguins and Yoga.
The great thing about the Wii is that it has an activity log, step log, and waist size log so you can monitor your progress. I pulled out my pedometer and I wear it daily so I can keep track of my daily step count. (It's really hard to do 10,000 steps a day). I also fill out the activity log every night so I can see how many calories I have burned. I also bought myself little pocket notebooks so I can write down my daily caloric intake so I can make sure I burn off more than I eat.
I told Diana what I was doing and she wanted to join in. We decided that we would make every weekend a Hungry Girl weekend--trying out different recipes in the Hungry Girl cookbooks. I have also been trying recipes during the week. My mom and sister wanted us to keep track of the recipes we were trying and what we thought about them. So since I have been into blogging lately, I decided to create a blog about out Hungry Girl weekends and the recipes that we try (Julie & Julia but without all the calories and fat). So feel free to follow if you want to keep up with our Hungry Girl weekends.
If you need motivation then let me tell you this. After 10 days of doing Hungry Girl recipes and using my Wii Fit, I am down 6 pounds. By the way, I am in no way shape or form associated with the Hungry Girl franchise. I just like their recipes, I subscribe to their newsletters, and I really really want to lose weight without starving myself.
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