Caribbean Jerk Chickpea Burgers with Mango Slaw. Amazing.

 

So, the weekend, yadda, yadda…bad food choices, laziness. However, on Friday I made this lovely dinner and it’s the star of today’s show.

Mango Slaw (4 servings, 0 points per serving)

Ingredients

1/2 a bag Broccoli Cloeslaw Mix  
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped  
1/2 medium mango, peeled and chopped  
2 Tbsp SPLENDA® SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener  
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar  

Instructions

In a bowl combine broccoli coleslaw mix, onion and mangos.

In a cup dissolve Splenda in vinegar, add to cabbage and toss. Serve cold.

Caribbean Jerk Chickpea Burgers (4 servings, 4 points per serving)

Ingredients

15 oz canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup parsley, fresh
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped  
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped  
2/3 cup Panko crispy bread crumbs - plain  
1 egg, lightly beaten     
1/4 cup Lawry's Caribbean Jerk Marinade  

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas and parsley until finely chopped.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the bread crumbs, onion and cucumber. Stir the egg and Jerk marinade into the mixture and form into 4 patties.

Cook the patties in a large skillet or grill pan for 4 minutes per side until done. Serve with 1/3 of a cup Mango Slaw on top.

You know I love the Lawry’s Marinades. They are affordable and great in moderation. This is the one to look for.

The burgers fall apart a little, so try not to move them much when cooking. I used my Foreman grill.

I enjoyed eating vegetarian dinners so much, that I’m going to go for week 2…well, I will probably opt for pepperoni on Tuesday, but mostly vegetarian! ;)

Meatless Monday – Black Bean Cakes with Avocado Salsa

Tuesday – Pepperoni Polenta Pizza

Wednesday – Grilled Vegetable Panini 

Thursday – Greek Chickpea Burgers

Friday – Leftovers

I overslept this morning so I’m not kicking the week off with a work out and that bums me out. However, I am going to making the choice right now to make this a good week.

I hope you all had great weekends and are ready to have a great week!

Eggplant Parmesan and Usual Friday Hubbub

 

I love eggplant parmesan. It’s one of my favorite dishes. Some people like to layer it and bake it, some fry it, there are a million ways to make it, here’s how I make mine!

Eggplant Parmesan (6 points per serving, 2 servings)

Ingredients

1 medium raw eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces lengthwise  
2 egg whites  
1 Tbsp water  
1/2 cup Panko crispy bread crumbs - plain (seasoned with your favorite spices
8 oz canned tomato sauce
1 cup chopped frozen spinach  
1/2 cup Kraft Reduced fat Italian style shredded cheese blend  

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a cooking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk together egg whites and 1 tbsp of water. Dip eggplant slices into egg mixtures and then bread crumbs coating lightly and place on baking sheet. Cook for 22 minutes flipping once, until golden brown.

While eggplant cooks, heat tomato sauce with frozen spinach on the stove top over medium- high heat. Add any spices you desire (I like S&P, Italian Seasoning and Crushed Red Pepper flakes) and allow to heat on low until eggplant finishes.

When eggplant is removed from oven, top each slice with cheese and place under broiler until melted. Serve with sauce poured on top.

I like my eggplant to be crispy when I eat it, that’s why I don’t layer and bake, although it is good that way too!

If you’re not very familiar with cooking (or eating for that matter) eggplant, it may be beneficial to salt the eggplant first. Eggplant can sometimes taste a little bitter. So if you cut the eggplant into slices, lay it in a colander in your sink, sprinkle some salt on it and allow it to sit for 30 minutes, turning once. Then, rinse the excess salt off and pat the eggplant dry, then start making the recipe. This will remove some of the bitterness from the eggplant and also remove excess moisture.

Weigh In

Weight Last Week: 157

Weight This Week: 155.9

Difference of: –1.1

This makes my total loss since January 2009 right at 54lbs.

High/Lows

Highs

• I have LOVED eating vegetarian meals this week. I have had some great food and haven’t felt deprived of anything.
• I ran! For the first time in 4 weeks and it was awesome!
• I was more active this week.
• I was able to help some friends this week. I think it’s always a high point to help others!
• Losing a pound is an awesome loss, that is a high for sure!

Lows

• Work continues to be a point of constant stress and exhaustion. That’s led me to a lot of late night comfort eating. I know shouldn’t be doing it as I’m reaching for the 3rd or 4th snack of the night, but I continue to get it anyway.
• I didn’t track much this week. I have to get better about that.
• I’ve had a lot of “I don’t know how I’m going to keep this up over the summer” thoughts and thoughts about just going “off plan” for the summer. I have been having lots of “talks” with myself.
• Like last summer (due to work, etc.) I’m starting to become introverted and hermit like.

I think for the next week, I have a lot of work to do on myself in the mental department. I also need to stop being hard on myself. I know this is a crazy-busy time of year for me and I know it lasts at least 3 months. It happens every year. Things won’t always be smooth and obstacles will constantly be thrown in my way. I need to roll with the punches.

Tonight I am making Caribbean Jerk Chickpea Burgers with a Mango ‘Slaw and I will be sure to post the recipe! I am excited to fool around in the kitchen after work. It’s such a huge stress reliever for me.

Ok, this has been a LONG post! Sorry ‘bout that! :)

What was your High and Low this week? Got any fun weekend plans?

I just ran…

 

No meat since a little on a sandwich for lunch on Monday, still doing fine! I would love to make meat a specialty item in my diet. Something I only have once or twice a week instead of so regularly. I think I might be able to get there! However…

I was leery of last night’s vegetarian meal. I had selected two new recipes to try, Caitlin’s Perfect Baked Tofu and Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese from The Biggest Diabetic Loser’s site. Luckily, it turned out pretty well!

I was most concerned about the Tofu. I didn’t think it was going to have any flavor based on the short time in was in the marinade, but it turned out great! Even if a bit over done. The only change I made was to use vegetable broth instead of olive oil to cut back on the calories.

The SS Mac and Cheese was YUMMY! I did use reduced or no fat milk, cheese and butter, I didn’t use jalapenos (I used crushed red pepper flakes) and I added garlic and onion powder to the milk. I also added a little more squash, I probably used close to 10 oz of cooked squash.

The squash, I may make again with some adjustments, but the tofu will for sure be a keeper! I may make it again for lunch today actually. I think the fact I over-cooked it a little made it even better. It was crunchy! :)

The big news of the day is…I RAN! I did a short run for my first one, I don’t want to reinjure and right now I’m icing my knee, just to be on the safe side. I’m not diving back head first into running, but I was elated to be doing it again! I ran this on the treadmill.

Well, it’s Thursday…my very wonderful day off. I’m going to go enjoy it! The husband is off today too!

What do you like to do on your day off?

Change of plans…

 

So last night’s dinner was supposed to be baked Tofu and Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese…but there was a slight change of plans. At the last minute I was asked to dog-sit for the evening for my friend Kelly. Our dogs are just beginning a very tentative friendship, so I really wanted to keep an eye on them. Since they are the Hounds of Hell and all…

Lilly Beans and Chaser the Wonder Schnauzer

Ok, maybe not the Hounds of Hell. They are stinkin’ cute though, aren’t they? However, I did want to leave the two of them alone and up to mischief while I focused and worked in the kitchen for an hour. Trust me, they look cute, but they are plenty sneaky and crafty.

I had leftover Polenta Muffins and a Sweet Potato. It was delicious, and even the dogs thought so. They both had a little bite of sweet potato.

We had a nice relaxed evening and played outside for a bit. Both of them were very well behaved, but it made me think about how difficult healthy cooking and eating could be for people with kids! After last night, I couldn’t imagine. MAJOR KUDOS to you healthy-living parents! :)

That’s the nice thing about leaving my Friday nights free for leftovers or what have you; If I have to skip a night of my meal plan, I just shift things back a day! So, tomorrow will be Baked Tofu and Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese, Thursday will be Eggplant Parmesan and Friday will be Caribbean Jerk Chickpea Burgers!

I know this post wasn’t much of anything except, “look how cute the dogs in my life are!” but hey, they are pretty darn cute and who couldn’t use a little cuteness from time to time?

In other news…I think I might try going for a run tomorrow. Tomorrow makes 4 weeks. My knee is better. It hurts only occasionally. Just a short, slow run. We’ll see. Yoga after work tonight and then tomorrow is my favorite day of the week! Thursday! My day off! :)

Do you have any pets? If so, how many? I think we’re going to stay a 1 dog family for awhile. Although Lilly Beans is welcome over anytime!

A meatless week? You don’t say.

 

I hope you guys had great weekends! I did. I had a lot of laid back time, I spent some time with friends. I made it to the gym. I did a lot of reading. I’m reading the Sookie Stackhouse Novels…yeah, I’ve been living in a vacuum for about 4 days. I had to force myself to put it down to cook dinner last night!

I have decided to challenge myself to have a week full of meatless dinners! I’m a little nervous, but excited. I’ll share the good recipes with you! Speaking of which…

Last night I made Polenta Muffins! I love polenta but I have never made it myself so I was a bit nervous. There weren’t any fancy ingredients, it seemed simple enough.

Polenta Muffins (6 servings, 4pts per serving)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups hot water
16 oz. (1 bag) broccoli florets, thawed, drained and chopped
1/4 of an onion minced
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cups 1% milk
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder (to taste)
1 cup uncooked stone-ground yellow corn meal
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp butter

Instructions

Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, combine water, milk and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce health to medium-low and slowly add a little bit of cornmeal at a time whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stiring frequently until the polenta has the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Stir in vegetables, butter and 3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese. Spread polenta mixture evenly into the 12 prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle the reamining Tbsp of Parmesan cheese on the top and place in oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Cool for 25 minutes, serve at room temperature.

Packed full of vegetables, 2 of these muffins=1 serving. I made 6 servings, I figured I could have them for lunches or have 1 as a side dish to a meal later on in the week. Adapted from the WW Deep-Dish Polenta Pie recipe.

Now, these sound time intensive, but they are SOOOO worth it. Absolutely tasty and very filling! I can think of a ton of different vegetables to try mixing in. Which is a good thing, since I now have a bag of corn meal to use. :)

Here are the meals for the rest of the week! So, stay tuned! ;)

Tuesday – Baked Tofu with Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese

Wednesday – Eggplant Parmesan (I have to document how I make it)

Thursday – Caribbean Jerk Chickpea Burgers (This I will be doing on the fly)

Friday – Leftovers, I’m sure there will be some!

I needed to mix things up a little bit! I think this will be fun.

I just got back from the gym, I did 45 minutes on the stationary bike, with a book in hand! I find that reading on the stationary bike makes the time fly by. A terrific start to Tuesday!

What’s your favorite meatless meal? I’m always looking for new ones to try! :)