Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken

So, I LOVE BBQ!  But so many different recipes are so high in calories.  So I decided to give it a chance.
For date night last Saturday night, I decided to make crockpot pulled bbq chicken, and my boyfriend and I LOVED it!

Crockpot Pulled BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 large Chicken Breasts
• 16 oz of the BBQ sauce of your choice (just remember, this will affect the calories for the recipe. I used Carolina Tangy Gold BBQ sauce).
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• About 16 oz of water

In your crock pot, mix all the ingredients.  Set on low for 3 hours.  Then on high for about 30-45 mins (until the chicken is cooked all the way through).
Then with 2 forks, shred the chicken into wonderful pulled yumminess for the best pulled pork ever!

Total Serving: 12-15 (each serving is about 1/3 of a cup)
Total Calories:  164 Calories per serving

You can pair this with nice steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, or low-cal buns.

So here is to losing it...
Slowly, but surely!
Cana Elene

Foodie Friday: Cauliflower Helper

I'm a huge fan of Hamburger Helper.  Yet the problem with that is it is full of fat, sodium, and a LOT of carbs.  This could throw your eating plan for a whirl.  So what are you to do?  Create something!  I personally love cauliflower, and I buy a head or 2 at a time.

Cana's Cauliflower Helper!

• 2 lbs of cauliflower (a large head)
• 1 lb of ground turkey (try and find the lowest fat content if possible)
• 8 oz of reduced fat cheese, shredded.
• 1 cup of green peas, frozen
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened, plain almond milk

Steam the cauliflower & peas together until tender (I believe this took about 20 minutes).  While steaming the veggies, brown turkey and season it with your choice of seasonings.  Drain both veggies and turkey.  Then mix in a large pan, with heat on medium.  Add almond milk and cheese.  Stir until completely mixed.

This recipe serves about 5 people each 11 oz servings.  And each serving is 6 WWPP.  How great is that?  I think it is beyond awesome!

What I did was I used cajun seasoning for the turkey, and I used reduced fat mexican-style cheese.  It had the perfect amount of heat and creaminess that I love from Hamburger Helper, without the large amount of fat, sodium, and carbs!

Enjoy!

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely!
Cana Elene

Foodie Friday: Pizza!

Who doesn't like pizza?  I know this kid LOVES pizza.   So I started working on stuff that would be good for me and would help prevent binge eating.  Thus my wonderful pizza!

Rustic White Flatbread Veggie Pizza!

• 1- Flatout Thin Crust Flatbreads Artisan Pizza in Rustic White
• 1/4 cup of fresh mushrooms, cut into slices
• 1/8 cup of fresh spinach
• 1/4 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of Ragu pasta sauce of your choice (I picked Garlic and Onion... Trying to keep the vampires away :P)
• 1/4 cup of shredded 2% Mexican Blend Cheese.  
• 1/2 of a Weight Watchers Chicken Burger (seasoned to your taste).  

  

  
  

  

  This was a last minute add to the recipe.
  I prefer meat on my pizzas, so I had to think of a good one to add.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  

Pre-bake your pizza crust for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the pizza crust from the oven and fix your pizza as you want.  

Then bake your pizza for 4 minutes.

Eat it!  (And it was DELICIOUS!!!!)

Total points for it is 9 points!  I know, for some of us that is a bit much, but it is yummy and a wonderful treat after being VERY GOOD in the previous week :).  

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely! 

Cana Elene

Food Friday: Date Night Food!

So, I'm a huge fan of meatloaf.  To me, it's a comfort food, like chicken & dumplings and cornbread with boiled cabbage.  I love it and can't resist it.  But they are so high in points, so greasy, and so bad for you.  Which is so sad for me.

But I've found a way to fix that!  My yummy date night meatloaf.  Now, there are no pictures because, (1) I forgot; (2) I wasn't cooking it at home; (3) and because Mike and I devoured it :-).
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Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra-lean ground turkey breast (93% lean if possible)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (note that this can change the point value depending on what you use.  I used Krafts Spicy Honey BBQ)
• 1 Tbsp of Garlic paste/2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup of ground up oatmeal
• 2 Tbsp of Six Italian Cheese
• 2 tsp of Mrs. Dash Onion & Herbs seasoning

First, I took my dad's food processor and pulsed the oatmeal a bit until most of it was powdery, but the rest was just broken up.  I liked using this instead of bread crumbs because I already had it and it gave the meatloaf a different flavor which I really enjoyed.

Start preheating the oven for 350 degrees.  Then mix in all ingredients in a bowl and then place in a well sprayed pan.  Place in the oven for about 40 minutes.  Once it was done, I let it cool just a bit before serving.  It is 3 servings, and each serving is 8 points.  I served it with yummy golden mashed potatoes and green peas, which made the whole meal 12 points.  But, you can adjust the sides to lower the points for the meal.
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I promise, next time I make it, I'll post pics!  I definitely think that this is a repeat meal!  So, go ahead and try it.  Let me know what you think.

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely! Cana Elene

Update: Week of April 8 through April 14, 2013

So I lost 3.3 lbs this week.  I figured I have about 96.7 lbs left to loose to get to my final goal.  I'll post a picture when I hit my 20% weight loss goal (221.2 lbs).

To help me keep up the good work, I started to work out good ways to keep my food fresh and fun.  Which leads me to today's lunch.

Rustic White Flatbread Veggie Pizza!

• 1- Flatout Thin Crust Flatbreads Artisan Pizza in Rustic White
• 1/4 cup of fresh mushrooms, cut into slices
• 1/8 cup of fresh spinach
• 1/4 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of Ragu pasta sauce of your choice (I picked Garlic and Onion... Trying to keep the vampires away :P)
• 1/4 cup of shredded 2% Mexican Blend Cheese.  
• 1/2 of a Weight Watchers Chicken Burger (seasoned to your taste).  

  

  
  

  

  This was a last minute add to the recipe.
  I prefer meat on my pizzas, so I had to think of a good one to add.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  

Pre-bake your pizza crust for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the pizza crust from the oven and fix your pizza as you want.  

Then bake your pizza for 4 minutes.

Eat it!  (And it was DELICIOUS!!!!)

Total points for it is 9 points!  I know, for some of us that is a bit much, but it is yummy and a wonderful treat after being VERY GOOD in the previous week :).  

So here is to loosing it... Slowly, but surely! 

Cana Elene