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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.