Dinner: Ginger Garlic Roasted Pork Loin, Baked Potato & Veggies

This is a tasty dinner we had a few nights ago.  We picked up some pork loin at the local grocery store and I asked the butcher to slice up half of it into chops and leave the other half whole.  After returning home I cut the fat off the sides of the chops, rinsed them and put them into the Knorrs Garlic Ginger roasting bag. I sprinkled the pork on each side with the garlic ginger seasoning and opted to add in some sliced onion and a bag of baby carrots.

The package didn’t call for anything other than the pork to be added to the bag … but I love vegetables with my food so I added them.  Plus ginger garlic carrots sounded amazing.  It was quite simple to throw together, tie the bag shut with the plastic tie and pop it in the oven for 35 minutes and done-so!  The seasoning itself was 1 points plus per serving.

I served the meal up with cooked potato (I went the easy way out and steamed them in the microwave) as well as some fresh steamed green beans.  My pork was 3 ounces, plus the seasoning made it 5 points plus. My entire plate was only 9 points plus and delicious.

QUESTION:

Do you like using cooking bags to make a quick, tasty and easy meal?

Trader Joe’s Curry Simmer Sauce

While shopping at Trader Joe’s I noticed the Trader Joe’s Curry Simmer Sauce so I picked up a jar to give it a try.  I enjoy all kinds of curry but typically when having Indian food I order curry or tikka masala.  I decided I’d whip it up for dinner and use some vegetables to possibly cut the heat – which I am grateful I did because the sauce is on the spicier side.

According to the jars directions it states to use the jar of sauce, plus 1 cup of water with 1 pound of boneless chicken, fish or vegetables, etc. and let the mixture simmer on the stove top until cooked through.  I opted to do it a little differently. I added a teaspoon of olive oil to a pan, added in my chicken tenderloin and cooked it on both sides to let it get some color.  I then added in one medium onion sliced and let it cook down together with the chicken for a few minutes before adding in the sauce and water. Mixing it all together, I then added in about ¾ pound of garden fresh green beans.  I let everything simmer together for about 15 minutes or so before turning off the flame.

If I didn’t add the vegetables it would have been more authentic to the way Indian food is served in a restaurant – meat with a lot of sauce. But I felt my dish needed the vegetable, particularly because it’s how I enjoy my food – with a bit of veggie mixed into the dish. The onion and green beans helped bring down the spice a tad, even though all together it was still a spicier dish.  It was definitely enjoyable and something that was quick and easy to pull together – with the combinations being endless.

I did end up stretching the sauce into four meals, simply dividing out the meat equally and serving with helpings of vegetables and sauce.  I also served up plates with ½ cup of brown rice and ½ garlic naan.

There are 3 ½ servings in the jar, with 1/3 cup sauce being a serving.  Each serving has 70 calories, 3 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein.  A serving of sauce is 2 points plus. 

QUESTION:

Have you tried the Trader Joe’s curry simmer sauce?

Dinner: Baked Eggplant Cutlets w/ Meat sauce & Carba-Nada

This was one of the delicious dinners I pulled together using the baked eggplant cutlets (see here) and the meat sauce (see here) I had made.  I wanted to enjoy the taste of the fresh eggplant without loading it up with a bunch of sauce and cheese.  I planned on making eggplant parmesan with some of the leftovers – but with it fresh out of the oven, simplicity was the best route.

I cooked up a 1 ½ cup serving of Carba-nada pasta and tossed it with ¼ cup meat sauce when done.  I then served that with my 3 slices of baked eggplant cutlets and topped it with ¼ cup meat sauce.  It was a perfect combination and a delicious meal. Filling, yet light.

The entire plate shown was only 8 points plus values!  Not bad for a take at a classic Italian meal at home.

Hello … my name is Shannon

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Hello.  My name is Shannon and I’m a self-proclaimed Carboholic.  I also am attracted to things with the word “New” on them.  The “New” thing doesn’t get me into trouble as much as carbs do.  Okay, so not even carbs of all kinds … I’m most importantly talking about, bread!

I love bread. Always have. Bread, like almost any child, is a staple from a very early age. Toast, peanut butter and jelly, sandwiches, French toast, etc.  They all begin with bread.  Three of these were introduced to me as a child, minus, peanut butter and jelly.  Yes, I had my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my teenage years (I want to say I was 15 or 16 ) and I had it out of sheer curiosity. I know! When I say this to people I get sideways glances. But truth be told, I just never really wanted one … I mean as a child in my mind peanut butter was meant to be eaten on crackers, not bread!

I remember my mom coming home with a fresh stick of hot Italian bread from the local bakery. The smell would draw me (and my nose) in.  I would eat it either plan or with butter on it. To this day, if someone has a stick of hot bread in their house I’m going to sniff it out. I’m like a hound dog – it’s crazy. And it drives me absolutely insane when my local grocery store takes the fresh bread out of the oven because I swear they pump that smell through the ventilation system. My stomach starts growling and suddenly I want to make subs for dinner. Forget the groceries in the cart, subs! That’s when I breathe through my mouth and quickly find my way to the checkout aisle – sans stick of hot bread.

Since starting my weight loss journey I’ve sideways tackled the bread obsession. If I do have bread, its light bread, light wheat or multigrain slims. I buy pita bread from the local Lebanese bakery if I want pita bread – or I buy the wheat flax pita from the grocery store.  I admit the breads that I buy for myself aren’t a trigger for me. I don’t love light white bread.  BUTwhat I found this past week was that I subconsciously reach for bread to incorporate with meals that I may not necessarily need with a meal.

For instance, the week before last I was out of my element dog/cat/house sitting for my aunt and uncle while they were on vacation. Due to this I had to pre-plan every meal to a T. My usual staples weren’t at my fingertips so I had to eat what I brought with me.  Looking back at that week I was kind of subconsciously following the simply filling technique by eating more power foods (see here), and found I was satisfied and full after meals. If I had bread, it was a multigrain slim or light bread and it was with one meal – either with my egg salad or with a hamburger, etc. at dinner.  That week when I stepped on the scale my reward was a pretty hefty loss (nearly 5 pounds).  I was shocked.

Fast forward to going back home, being in my element and eating the way I tend to eat at home. I realized I wasn’t as satisfied as I was the week prior. By 5-days in, I felt I was a little bit bloated. Looking back at my week there were some days where I had a sandwich for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and I may have had a piece of bread to go along with dinner. I also wasn’t having my fruit salad as my nightly snack as I was the week prior.  It was definitely a learning lesson and one that has made me create a goal for myself this week.

My goal this week (as the weeks to follow) is to be more conscious when making choices surrounding bread. I want to try to have 1 serving of bread a day, but I’m not going to be overly strict on myself because I don’t like rules. I break rules. But I am going to question myself “Do I need to eat this as a sandwich?” and if the answer is no, I’m going to try it without the bread and see how I like it. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but I honestly like bread, I like sandwiches and I’ve lost weight eating them. But I’m trying to make healthier choices for myself. If I skip on the bread, I could provide my body with more protein at dinner or at lunch. Which means being satisfied longer … and that’s what I’m aiming for.

QUESTION:

So what is one goal you’ve set for yourself this week or month?

Meat Sauce

One thing I really enjoy making is homemade sauce.  It’s pretty simple, it comes together on its own and I’m able to control what I put in it, which in turn controls the overall points plus value when the sauce is complete. I do make a few variations (meat, no meat, vegetables, etc.) but this is my staple “go-to” when it comes to meat sauce.  I find I can have an entire pot of sauce cooked and ready to roll in under 1 hour or I can let it simmer for a few hours.  Plus, the great thing with sauce is that it truly tastes better as it marinates in the refrigerator.

When I make sauce I make a huge batch (because why else make sauce?) and usually have folks over for dinner.  I always use some of it towards dinner, the remainder is used in other dishes during the week or I end up freezing it to take out whenever I need it.

Serves 24. ½ cup serving.  2 Points Plus Values.

Ingredients:

–          1 1/8 93% ground beef

–          1 medium onion, diced

–          1 heaping tbsp minced garlic

–          2 (29 oz.) cans Contadina Crushed Tomatoes

–          1 (14 oz.) can Contadina Tomato Sauce with Italian Herbs

–          1 (14 oz.) Hunts Fire Roasted, Diced Tomatoes, slightly drained

–          1 (14 oz.) Hunts Diced Basil, Garlic & Oregano Tomatoes, slightly drained

–          1 (6 oz.) Cento Tomato Paste

–          1/3 cup Reduced Fat Parmesan

–          2 tbsp brown sugar

–          Salt, pinch

–          Black Pepper, pinch

–          Red Pepper Flakes, pinch

–          2 tsp garlic powder

–          1 1/2 tbsp Oregano

In a large non-stick sauce pan, over medium-high heat, add ground beef and onion – season with salt and pepper. Cook the mixture breaking up the ground beef as finely as possible. Make sure to stir frequently so beef cooks evenly.  When half cooked, add in minced garlic.

When the beef has browned and cooked through, begin adding in your sauce. Crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes.  Stir to combine.

Add in parmesan cheese, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined.

Allow mixture to come to a slow simmer either covered or uncovered.  After roughly 20 minutes of simmering, slowly blend in the tomato paste. Make sure to blend the tomato paste in well to avoid large clumps.

Sprinkle brown into the sauce, and stir. As sauce thickens, taste and adjust seasonings. Typically I have to add more oregano, garlic powder, and salt.

Sauce can be simmered for 20 more minutes or up to 1 hour.

Baked Eggplant Cutlets

I had an abundance of fresh eggplants from my uncle’s garden after house sitting for a week, so I decided to make baked eggplant cutlets with them.  I used to fry up my eggplant cutlets, but I find I enjoy them a lot more baking them.  It cuts down on the fat, is non-greasy and you can control how much you want them to crisp up in the oven.  With these, the outside is crisp and the inside is softened and depending on the freshness of your fruit it can be a little sweet.

I started making my eggplant in batches and continued until I had a whole tray worth out.  I ended up making another batch with a small eggplant a few days later just to use up all the eggplants I had.

Serving sizes will ultimately vary depending on how thin or thick you cut your eggplants. I was able to get 3 eggplant cutlets (breaded) per serving – 4 servings per batch.  By the time I was done making my eggplants, I was able to make 3 batches of this – simply adding in the ingredients into each bowl 3 separate times until all eggplants were dipped.  Of course as I got to the smaller eggplants, I was able to have more slices per serving.

Serves 4. 3 Cutlets per serving. 2 Points Plus Values.

Ingredients:

–          1/3 cup fat free egg substitute

–          ½ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, seasoned

–          1 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese

–          Pinch of Salt

–          1 tsp black pepper

–          1 tsp garlic powder

–          2 tsp oregano

–          1 small-medium eggplant

–          Baking spray (like Pam)

In a medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.  Stir until mixture is well combined.

Place egg beaters in a bowl.

Wash eggplant then slice to desired thickness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Dip eggplant slice into egg mixture, drop egg dipped eggplant into breadcrumbs and coat. Place coated eggplant on baking sheet.  Repeat until no more egg and breadcrumb mixture is available.

Spray the top of the eggplants on the baking sheet, then place into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip each eggplant then return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Let the eggplants cool for roughly 5-10 minutes before serving.

Edy’s Limited Edition Slow Churned German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream

I’ve seen this Edy’s Limited Edition Slow Churned German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream in the market time and time again, but had not picked it up until last week. I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate ice cream, but I’m a big fan of German chocolate cake – so I figured why not try a different taste in regard to ice cream instead of the staple vanilla?

What sold me initially was 1) the name and 2) the mention of coconut and caramel in the description. I’m a sucker for coconut desserts.  According to the container it’s a chocolate light ice cream with a caramel coconut swirl and brownie pieces.  Opening the container it looked like regular chocolate ice cream with a few brownie pieces lingering throughout and an occasional caramel swirl.  Taste wise it tastes exactly like chocolate coconut, but this coconut flavoring does dissipate as you eat your ice cream and I was left with a mere chocolate flavor.  The caramel swirls are rather few and far between … they are in there, but there isn’t much.  Now the brownie pieces are more prominent but they’re not overwhelming.

I was quite pleased with the ice cream. I will say, after finishing my half cup serving the general sweetness of it really lingered with me.  Anymore than a half cup, I believe I would have felt sick just because of the sheer richness of it.

A ½ cup serving is 110 calories and 3 Points Plus Values. Quite worth it for an ice cream the whole family can enjoy without it being deemed the dreaded “diet food” term.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Trader Joe’s Salt Water Taffy

This was a rather impulse buy from Trader Joe’s.  I am a huge fan of salt water taffy, but I’m a little picky about the brand. Usually I only get some when we’re at the beach and it’s being made inside the candy shop. This way I can get a few pieces and I’m on my way.  But when I saw this I had to get it, it was $2 I believe, or definitely under $3.

The five flavors listed on the package immediately sold me: Cherry, Strawberry Banana, Red Licorice, Sour Apple and Watermelon.  Some of my favorite flavors, plus a few I had never tried before.  The package states a serving size is 7 pieces, which in my opinion is far too many pieces to eat in one serving, let alone in one day.  Salt water taffy is very sweet for me … I have 2 pieces and I’m good for the day. Anymore than 2 pieces and I’m cringing at the sugar rush.

The taffy itself is firm enough that it doesn’t turn into a wad of sticky mush in the wrapper. Once removed from the wrapper, you can feel how soft it is and once you eat it, you can tell how fresh and chewy it actually is.  I quite enjoy it and typically find myself really only having one because they are terribly sweet, as all taffys are, but once in a while I will have 2 but I cannot have more than that.

A serving is 170 calories which is equal to 5 points plus values.  My usual serving of 1 or 2 is 1 points plus value. Not bad for a nice cure to the sweet tooth.

QUESTION:

Do you like salt water taffy?

New Favorite Snack! Yogurt Parfait

This has been my newfound favorite snack and occasionally on those days where I’m not terribly hungry in the morning, my breakfast.  I do switch up the yogurt flavors depending on my mood but usually it’s either Yoplait’s Vanilla Greek Yogurt (2ppv) or Dannon Light & Fit Coconut Vanilla Greek Blends(2ppv).

Back in my hay-day I used to order the McDonald’s Parfait because I felt that was a healthier choice to go along with my McDonald’s breakfast (which consisted of McDonald’s sandwiches). I realize most parfaits come with granola but I tend to skip on that step. I haven’t found a granola that is point comfortable for a satisfying enough serving size. Yet even without it, the parfait is satisfying and filling.

I sprinkle a layer of fresh blueberries and strawberries into the bottom of a bowl.  A few times I’ve had to use frozen no-sugar added strawberries which I let defrost for a little while before layering.  I then add in my single serving of Greek yogurt (either coconut or vanilla) followed by additional blueberries and strawberries.

It’s totally delicious because it’s light, satisfying, delicious and refreshing.  The greatest part is its only 2 points plus.

QUESTION:

Do you make yogurt parfaits at home?

Fit For You Mushroom Bleu Top Sirloin @ 99 Restaurant

My boyfriend and I decided we were going to go out to eat one night, so we opted for the 99 Restaurant – which is a local chain restaurant that can be found scattered around the East Coast.  The 99 happens to be one of my boyfriend’s favorite chains, so when we do go I tend to order off the “Fit For You” menu, which offers meals under a specific amount of calories.  The 99 does offer their nutrition information on their website, which is helpful in aiding me in deciding what I’m going to eat when we go there.  I have to admit, some of the dishes are completely shocking so I tend to go with what I’m craving that day.

On this particular night I really wanted a piece of steak so I ordered the Fit For You Mushroom Bleu Top Sirloin.  According to the menu the dish is 420 calories and is “a 6 oz. top sirloin steak is flame broiled and crowned with fresh sautéed mushrooms and a sprinkle of bleu cheese crumbles. Served with a grilled tomato and fresh broccoli.”

Seemed like it would be delicious and it was – although I believe next time I will order it with the bleu cheese on the side. The cheese gave the steak and mushrooms a nice kick, but I’m typically sensitive to salt and the natural saltiness in the cheese was more than enough to make me shiver. The sirloin was delicious, cooked perfectly and relatively lean.  The broccoli was perfect, as it always is and the grilled tomatoes were really a unique twist on a naturally cold side.

The whole dish was 10 points plus. Well worth it for a meal out on the go.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite dish to order while eating out?