Lemon-Sauteed Green Beans with Parsley

I can finally walk like a normal person!  It's AMAZING.  As of this morning, there was no pain and no tightness in my calves, and I've got a spring in my step.  Clearly this got me uber excited for some healthy cooking.  Digging into the fabulous Weight Watchers cookbook (courtesy of my amazing friend Lauren), I found this tart green bean recipe and couldn't wait to dig in.
I left my beans long, and used dried parsley rather than fresh; I do think this would taste even better with fresh herbs, though.  When subbing dried herbs for fresh, you want to quarter what the recipe calls for.

Makes 4 servings
Points+ value:  1

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 pound green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp water

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil.  Saute the beans until bright green, about 3 minutes; add the parsley.  Cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice and water.  Reduce the heat and cook, covered, 2-3 minutes.  Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes longer.

Busy Weeks Call for Shorter Blogs!

I don't have much time tonight...we're leaving tomorrow for a weekend dive trip to Tioman and Aur, Malaysia!  But I need to report my Crunch Attack progress, and throw in some new recipe ideas!

So...Week 1 of Crunch Attack went well.  I'm not as crunchalicious as I thought I would be, but that will change in time.  Somehow managed to misplace my measuring thingie, so I'll report next week about my waist n' hips n' thighs :)

Weds:
50 crunches (30 center, 10 right side, 10 left side)
10 leg lifts
6 sun salutations (this was meant to be an arm workout)

Fri:
30 crunches (10x10x10)
10 tap n' rolls (these are tough and even tougher to explain...)

Sun:
50 crunches (30x10x10)
Mon:
2 center planks (30 sec. each); 2 side planks (30 sec. each side)
15 center crunches
30 cycle kicks (also tough to explain)

Week 1 Lessons Learned:
Any sort of ab workout or push-up attempt after spin class is ROUGH

So this week I'm not upping the anty - just continuing the effort.  Go me ;)

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I've been slacking on the new recipes and cooking lately, so this week I decided to try something new!

BBQ Chicken with Sauteed Veggies - 4 Points

From Cooking Light

 I got this BBQ Chicken recipe from CookingLight.com (a great website with tons of fabulous recipes!).  Here I served it with sauteed veggies, but it would go quite well with potatoes, cole slaw, or a salad.  I included a side of baked beans (1/2 cup = 2 Points) for some added protein and yummy flavor!

For the veggies:
Heat a skillet over medium heat; spray with olive oil spray.  Add your favorite chopped veggies, sprinkle with Kosher salt, and cook until desired doneness.
This week I chose onion, zucchini, and carrots.  Dee-lish!

15-Minute Fish and Veggies

How often do you end up working late?  You get home, hurry to the gym, have an amazing work out, and by the time you reach home again, you're exhausted and starving?  The last thing you want to do is slave in the kitchen, and you especially don't feel like cleaning dishes!

How about some 15-Minute Fish and Veggies?  My go-to fish dish happens to be Gina's Broiled Fish with Garlic.  It's simple to make for one person (with some slight adaptations because I love garlic), and takes no time at all!

Broiled Fish with Garlic for One - 4 Points

Adapted from Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes - www.skinnytaste.com

• 1 5-ounce fish fillet (I used Cream Snapper, which is similar to Tilapia - note that using different fish may alter the Points)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Freshly ground pepper
• Kosher salt
• Lemon wedges/slices

Preheat broiler.  Line a pan with aluminum foil.
Rinse fish and pat dry; place on foil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste (I give a few good shakes).  Then sprinkle with oregano and parsley (Gina's recipe calls for a set amount, but I like to shake it on there to taste - depending on what I'm in the mood for).
Drizzle olive oil on top of fish, and top with garlic.
Broil for 7 minutes, or until cooked through; be careful not to overcook the fish.  Squeeze lemon juice over fish, and you're ready to eat dinner!

While your fish is broiling, saute some veggies on the stove for a quick and tasty side dish.  I chose to make Roni's version of Sugar Snap Peas (1 Point per cup), but you could use this technique for other vegetables, like asparagus or zucchini (these would be 0 Points).

Simply heat olive oil spray (I use Pam Olive Oil) over medium heat in a nonstick skillet.  Add sugar snap peas, sprinkle with Kosher salt, and toss regularly until cooked the way you like it!  So easy...and so good!

Yum Yum Yum Yum!

I had one hell of a weekend, to say the least.  Aside from the extreme party at the US Embassy on Friday night, hosted by the Marines, with numerous canned Bud Lights (so gross now that I drink Sapporo and Asahi constantly) and a double whammy of Jager Bombs, the weekend could be described as intense.  Saturday night we attended a friend's Fondue Party, only after I hosted pre-drinks and an assortment of dips (including a hummus recipe which I proudly perfected) at my place.  Needless to say I was feeling like a fatty times seven when I woke up on Sunday morning!

I then proceeded to make Egg McSarah's...English muffin, topped with scrambled eggs, a slice of SmartBeat American (if you happen to be lactose intollerant), and one MorningStar Farms "sausage" pattie.  A whopping 7 points and worth every single bite!  Brian got real bacon, but I'm not complaining.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking and sweating out the previous night's food and drink intake at the Japanese and Chinese Gardens.  I had never been, and it was fabulous!
Me and Brian at the top of the pagoda in the Chinese Gardens

That night I tried out Zucchini Casserole, which was a huge hit!  Brian doesn't usually comment on my food without me prying for his opinion.  That night, mid-bite, he looked over and said, "This stuff is friggin' good, baby!"

We also chowed down on some Cuban Beef Picadillo and a failed attempt at Italian and Greek style tomatoes.  Once I've got those where I want 'em I'll post the recipe for your enjoyment!

This is me slaving in the kitchen (still sweaty from the gardens) to make the picadillo.

And this is the finished product! 

All said and done I managed to maintain 135.5 - despite the weekend extravagance.  And of course this week I have the appetite of a horse and Cold Storage has Reduced Fat Wheat Thins.  Dear God, those are totally my weakness.  Well, that and anything delicious.  I also splurged on the Snack Packs, but went ahead with the Fat Free Chocolate just to be safe.  Ahh hell, I got the Triple Layer Chocolate Caramel ones too.

Keep your fingers crossed for next Tuesday morning's weigh-in.  Only 14 days until Phuket and I'm starting to freak out...mega time!

Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic

I make String Beans with Garlic all the time, but I've been looking for a good way to mix things up (and lighten things up a bit).  Then I found something on Plan To Eat that got me thinking!  What about tomatoes???  It's shocking, I know!  Sarah...eating tomatoes?!
Thanks to Brian, I eat 'em!  Definitely not raw - eew.  But cooked, bring it!

Adapted from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes - String Beans with Garlic and Oil (see link above)
Servings:  4
Points:  1 per serving

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, slivered (depending on your taste)
• cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (use however many you want!)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Steam green beans until tender; remove from pot and briefly run under cool water.
Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet; saute garlic and tomatoes.  Shut off flame, add green beans, and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.

YUM!

Quinoa and Spinach

I just discovered quinoa this weekend when I tried this recipe.  The best word to describe it is unique.  I've never had anything quite like it...and I think it's pretty good!
Lucky for me, quinoa happens to be incredibly healthy, high in fiber, gluten-free, and SO easy to make!

From Weight Watchers
Servings:  8
Points:  1 per serving

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional - I used them!)
• 4 cups baby spinach, packed, coarsely chopped (I didn't chop it)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add quinoa to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until quinoa starts to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Add broth, black pepper and red pepper flakes to skillet; bring to a boil.  Cover skillet and reduce heat to low and simmer for 13 minutes; stir in spinach.
Cover skillet and cook until spinach and quinoa are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 3 to 5 minutes; season with salt.

Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Pump That Iron!

I'm going to start off with a little bragging today :)  My wonderful and amazing friend Lauren weighed in last night...she lost 5.6 pounds this week!  FIVE POINT SIX POUNDS!  Congratulations, Lauren!  Keep up the good work - you are motivation for sure!

Every Thursday night I have Body Tone - it's a weight lifting class similar to Body Pump, and I love it!  It's been a couple weeks since I've been, so I'm sure I'll be sore as hell by Saturday, but whatevs.  Martin (the instructor) worked our chest pretty hard last night.  I don't think I've ever done so many push ups!  I love that I can feel myself getting stronger each week, though.  Every time I go to class, I can do more of everything!  More squats, more abs, more lunges, more triceps...MORE MORE MORE!
Anyway, my (fantastic) boyfriend Brian was at my apartment waiting for me when I got home :)  He had done my dishes and thrown my sheets in the wash and everything!  I had a new crock pot recipe cooking away, and then I threw together Jamaican Carrots, which were super tasty!  I've recently discovered a new love of carrots, and I'm so happy that I tried this recipe.

As a side note:  The Jamaican Carrots recipe link shows 2 Points per serving.  When I plugged the recipe into WW online, it came out to 1 Point per serving!  So...count it as 1 Point, rather than 2.

The crock pot recipe was from Weight Watchers...a totally new set of flavors for me, and pretty friggin tasty!  I couldn't even finish my entire serving...and I'm totally pumped to eat my leftovers for lunch today :)

Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew
Points = 6 per serving
Yield = 4 servings; 1.5 cups per serving (including some cooking liquid)
Prep Time = 15 min; Cook Time = 7 hours

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound lean pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes with green chilis
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 medium scallions, chopped (green parts only)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1.  Place potatoes, pork,  tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin, and pepper in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on LOW setting for 7 hours.
2.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more.

Happy cooking and enjoy!