Honey Dijon Glazed Salmon

I have been ridiculously bombarded with school work lately, so it was nice to stumble on an EXTREMELY easy recipe. I mean super easy. Only 3 ingredients!!! It's pretty yummy, too.
Recipe serves 4 at 3 ounces per serving (easy to cut down to 1 serving)
Weight Watchers 5 Points+
Preheat at 350 degrees
What you'll need:
Four 3 oz filets of boneless salmon
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp Pure Honey

Mix honey and dijon well. Place salmon a a baking dish or baking sheet. Brush honey and dijon glaze over salmon. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Brush with more glaze and check for doneness
ENJOY!!!!
Easy RIGHT?!
I hope you like it if you try it! PLEASE come back next week for another recipe!

More than 20 pounds gone and on my way!!!!

Pan-Fried Tilapia

These are two 2 ounce filets, equal to one serving

Well, this week was another tightly-budgeted week so, again, I had to work with what I had (AKA tilapia). This recipe is really easy, and really yummy! I made it a sandwich one day and it was delicious, too! I just serve this with whatever else I have lying around. I did buttery broccoli this week.
Recipe serves 4 at 4 ounces per serving (easy to cut down to 1 serving)
Weight Watchers 4 Points+
What you'll need:
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/8 cup white flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
16 oz tilapia (typically, four 4 ounce filets)

Pat dry tilapia with paper towl. Place flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in ziploc bag. Add fish and shake to coat. Heat EVOO over medium heat in skillet until hot. Add filets and pan fry 2 minutes each side or until cooked through.
ENJOY!!!!
Like I said, super easy.
I hope you like it if you try it! PLEASE come back next week for another recipe!

Almost 20 pounds gone!!

Stuffed Peppers

One of my favorite dishes growing up was my mom's stuffed peppers. For me the best part is the stuffing- dirty rice! I LOVE dirty rice. Seriously. I'm gonna marry it. Anyway, This recipe is pretty simple and REALLY yummy. And it's only about 6 points+ for one stuffed pepper.
Serves 4; Some rice will be left over (YUM!)
Here's What You'll Need
For the Dirty Rice:
1 Lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small bell pepper chopped (save 4 peppers to stuff)
1 cup of rice, cooked separately
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)
For the Peppers:
4 small- medium green peppers
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large skillet, brown meat and onion in oil. Add chopped celery and bell pepper and cook until tender- about 15 minutes. Add cooked rice, salt, and pepper. After adding rice, check to be sure there's enough liquid to keep it from burning. If necessary, add a tiny bit of water- maybe a tablespoon or 2. Stir well until everything is blended. Cover and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes. Add parsley and stir again. Let sit, covered, for a few minutes before serving.

For the peppers, cut and empty each pepper. To make them stand easier, slice the bottom very slightly to make it flat. While the dirty rice is cooking boil the peppers until tender. Spoon dirty rice into bell peppers. Stand them in a baking dish and add bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes- until the bread crumbs are brown.
ENJOY!
I hope you like this as much as I do. They really are delicious!! And no worries if you forget to boil the peppers, it doesn't change the taste at all- They're just a little harder to cut. I forgot the first time lol. Let me know what you think!!

Almost 20 pounds gone!!

Chicken Caesar Salad

This past week I got to see my best friend in New Orleans for the first time in over a month, and she was gracious enough to make me dinner. This isn't my recipe but it's super easy and delicious, and I will definitely make it soon! She gave me permission to post it, so here it is!!

It's 8 Weight Watcher Points+, and it is really filling!
What You'll Need for One Serving
3 oz piece of chicken breast (1-2 chicken tenders)
Cajun seasoning (Tony's is what I use)
Garlic powder
Romaine Lettuce
~2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
a few grape tomatoes
a few texas toast Caesar croutons (1 serving)
2 Tbsp Light Caesar Dressing

Lay chicken on a plate and season both sides with cajun seasoning and garlic powder. On a George Foreman grill- grill chicken for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked. Toss together lettuce, cheese, croutons, and tomatoes. Add chicken and dressing and ENJOY!!
I love this dish, and I'm not a huge salad fan. It's really good, and it's quick and easy- which is great for someone like me with a very busy schedule!
I hope you like it!

Baked Chicken Fries

Ok, time to switch it up a bit. Along with tilapia, chicken is a big part of my diet. I eat chicken all the time, so I get bored when it's always the same. I remember getting chicken fries in the cafeteria in grade school and they were sooooo good! But, trying to lose weight does not exactly permit for frequent indulgence in fried foods (too bad, huh?). Thankfully, I found a recipe for BAKED chicken fries that are just as delicious!! They're still not the healthiest thing in the world but they are MUCH better than the real fried stuff.

They're 8 Weight Watchers PointsPlus for 4 ounces of chicken.
Here's what you'll need
Chicken breast cut into long thin strips (I use tenderloins and just cut them up)
EVOO
chicken/poultry seasoning
1-2 eggs depending on the amount of chicken (I've used egg beaters which still work fine, but fresh eggs work much better)
Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl add in sliced chicken strips. Mix in EVOO, seasonings, salt and pepper- mix well. Break eggs in a small bowl and beat well. Spread breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip strips in egg then coat generously in breadcrumbs. Place on foil-covered baking sheet (I use nonstick reynolds wrap). Bake 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked and brown.
ENJOY!
I usually eat these by themselves, but they're also good with some simple mac and cheese (unfortunately not so great for us dieters) or some buttery broccoli (I used green giant broccoli steam packets).

Thanks for visiting! I'd love to hear how you liked it!!

Almost 18 pounds gone! I should be more than halfway to my goal by May!!!

More Tilapia!

As a broke college student, I am on a very tight budget. Some weeks are easier than others- none of them are terribly hard, though (thanks to my WONDERFUL mother!) However, this week I was on a bit of a tighter budget than usual to make sure I could afford my drive to New Orleans and my valentine's things for Will. So, since I had a lot of frozen tilapia left in my freezer I decided to make it again for dinner to avoid spending money unnecessarily on groceries.

I'm a southern girl, and that means I love fried food. Unfortunately, fried food doesn't exactly like me back. The baked tilapia I made last week was delicious! But, I needed to switch it up a bit. Although this is not a Weight Watchers recipe, it is a healthy one that is diet friendly! I got the recipe from the SparkRecipes App on my iPhone (from Sparkpeople.com). It's delicious and only 5 points for a big filet! This Delicious Dish Tuesday (as brought to you by Full Time Mama) is Crunchy Oven "Fried" Tilapia!

Makes 4 servings
What you'll need:
4 four ounce tilapia filets (1lb)
3 egg whites (I used egg beaters this time. It worked fine, but regular eggs work better in my opinion)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cajun seasoning (Tony's is by FAR my favorite)
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Fat Free Butter Spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In one bowl, whip egg whites until somewhat frothy. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and seasonings. Dip each filet first in the egg whites and then coat evenly with crumbs. Spray a cookie sheet with butter spray (or use reynold's non-stick foil), then spritz the top of the fish as well. Bake 8-10 minutes on 400 until fish flakes easily with fork.
Than, Viola! Crispy like the fried stuff without all of the fat and calories!

I served this with a simple side of pasta- with just a little bit of butter, olive oil, seasoning and sprinkles of breadcrumbs- and it was delicious! I will definitely be making this regularly!

Weight is falling off slowly but surely! Thanks for all the support!
Let me know how you like it! ;)

Ready to See a Change

Like many others my new years resolution is to get in shape again and be a healthy weight. I'm doing this not only to look better but also feel better- physically, mentally, and emotionally.

As I have said, I've been using the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program. It is fantastic! I knew I would do well with it because it worked for me before, and the best part is I can still pretty much eat whatever I want... in moderation, of course.

I know that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to do it in a healthy way at a slow pace. But this pace is too slow for my liking. I know I'm not the only one who is dreading spring break (less than 3 months away!). Although I'm excited for the beach and time with friends, the thought of getting into a bathing suit makes me want to both cry and vomit simultaneously.

This semester- especially til March- is really busy and hectic and I can seldom find time or energy to work out. I don't even have time to watch TV- and anyone who knows me can tell you that that is especially odd. If I can't make TV time you can bet your bottom dollar that workout time is even slimmer. However, I need to see some change. As nice as it is having my friends tell me that I'm looking thinner- I don't see it at all, and the scale only sees it a little bit at a time. I've got to get some heavy-duty workouts in soon if I want to avoid getting sick at the thought of a bathing suit. So, I'm hoping to at least get 3-4 high-powered workouts in a week (motivation appreciated). After I come home from Atlanta in a couple of weeks I'll have the big Zumba workout (thanks Mom!!) so that will at least be something. Until then I'll have to find something else- and fast. This fat won't burn itself off.

Stay tuned for my progress- and I'll let you know what workouts work best for me! Please give any suggestions!!! They're very much appreciated!

Weight Watchers Baked Tilapia

This is so easy and delicious! And best of all it's only 3 Weight Watchers PointsPlus for 2 filets (or whatever equals 1/4 of a pound)!! So here it is:
Makes 2 Servings
You'll Need: 1/2 pound tilapia filets; 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard; 1 Tablespoon light mayo; 1/4 teaspoon sugar; 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1/8 teaspoon onion powder; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; dash of cayenne; paprika

Preheat oven at 500 degrees
1. Place filets in sprayed baking dish, and coat filets with non-stick spray.
2. Combine remaining ingredients (EXCEPT paprika) and spread over filets.
3. Marinate 30 minutes
4. Sprinkle filets with paprika and bake 10-15 minutes or until flaky

Also, I had to add a good bit of salt. Even though the salt does not affect the points value of the meal, the WW recipes never include enough (if any). So, just salt to taste.

It's really good and nice and easy- especially if, like me, you're just cooking for one person.
Let me know how you like it!

ENJOY!
P.S. weight watchers works! I'm down 15 pounds since I started my weight loss journey. Still plenty to go but I'm taking it a week at a time.

Delicious Dish Tuesday Recipe Link-up from Mama Chocolate