It's time to cleanse ourselves of all that high fat food we ate during the holidays so I thought I would post some of my all time favorite healthy recipes.

They are EASY and DELICIOUS

Vegetarian Chili (this recipe may be cut in half)

In a large Dutch oven sauté:

Onions (to taste)

Celery (to taste)

Garlic cloves (4-5 or to taste)

Green pepper(s) (to taste)

Add:

2 cans 28 oz tomatoes (I like crushed--you may add a little sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic)

2 cans tomato soup (small cans)

2 cans kidney beans (16-19 oz)

1 can chickpeas (16-19 oz)

1 can Romano beans (16-19 oz)

2 cans pork'n'beans (in tomato sauce only (no meat))

1 can each of any 3 beans (Pinto/kidney/black/great white), basically any bean you like

4 tbsp (approx--to taste) chili powder

Bring to a boil, stirring gently as to not break up the beans, lower to a simmer and cook 45-60 minutes more.  Thicken if necessary. Serve hot

1 cup serving = 3 to 31/2 WW points!

TURKEY GOULASH

1 lb ground turkey

salt to taste

pepper to taste

onion powder to taste

garlic powder to taste

1 16 oz can whole tomatoes, chopped

2 cans V-8 juice (4 cans V-8 juice)

1 green pepper (2 green peppers)

1 Tbsp minced onion

2 oz elbow macaroni (4 oz elbow macaroni)

(2 medium zucchini)

Brown turkey well with seasonings.  Add tomatoes, juice, green pepper, and onion.  Bring to a boil.  Add macaroni and continue to boil, uncovered, until macaroni absorbs all of the juice and is tender.  About 20 minutes.  Add zucchini near end. 

Original version is 4 servings, altered recipe serves 8.

Original recipe is WW 7 points, altered recipe = 4 points

CREAMY CUCUMBERS

Make the day before serving.

8 oz. plain non-fat yogurt

2 Tbls vinegar (any type)

2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup thinly sliced cucumber

½ cup thinly sliced onion

In small mixing bowl, combine yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

In separate bowl combine cucumber and onions.

Pour yogurt mixture over vegetables and stir gently to coat thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Dijon-Roasted New Potatoes

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings:  4
Preparation Time:  10 min
Cooking Time:  35 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Coating the potatoes in Dijon mustard and a small amount of olive oil helps make them crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Ingredients

• 1 sprays cooking spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 pound uncooked new potatoes, quartered

Instructions

• Coat a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together oil, mustard, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl; add potatoes and stir to coat.
• Transfer potatoes to baking dish and roast 15 minutes; stir and roast until tender on inside, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

Notes

• It your potatoes do not get crispy enough, coat them with cooking spray and then bake them for a few more minutes.

These sound good and tasty! I told dh today that I am making out a menu and we were going to stick with it! LOL!! It is just so much easier to grab something when you get off of work. So it will take self dicipline!

Later Jet

Perfect new topic!  I was thinking of something along these lines too since I have many pounds I need to remove from my purdell and other places too!

LOL!! I told dh that if the candy isn't gone by Monday that he's taking it to work for the guys there.......I don't think it will last that long though......

This weekend I'm making a big pot of vegatable soup and will eat on that for several days, after that its diet time! :)

Later Jet

A friend told me about this study.

Soup Up Your Diet

January 2, 2004

Tired of hearing about all those diets and expensive diet supplements? A study at Penn State might make dieting easier and cheaper than ever before.

You've heard that soup is good for you - but this study suggests that a first course of soup can be an effective weight loss tool.

Soup looks good and feels like a lot more food - and fills you up. It's an example of how our body and mind work together.

In the study, women chose either a 270-calorie appetizer of chicken rice casserole or chicken rice soup. Those that ate the soup consumed fewer calories at a buffet lunch that followed - by an average of 100 calories less.

The researchers tracked the women throughout the day and found that they did not make up those calories afterward or at dinner.

100 calories might not sound like a lot - but reducing your caloric intake by that much every day could translate into dropping 10 pounds in a year.

 5 powerhouse foods for 2008

Resolve to eat more of these powerhouse foods -- The Dallas Morning News

Come January, we all make a big shift toward Sensible Eating, believing we must atone for the guilty pleasures of the holidays. But getting back to a healthy eating groove doesn't mean wrapping yourself in rice cakes and celery.

To the contrary, some nutrition superstars can be turned into dazzling dishes that will make you feel as if you can celebrate guilt-free every day.

We asked registered dietitian and nutrition consultant Robin Plotkin to list her five top foods and tell us why they're special. Then we supplied recipes to show them at their mouthwatering best, racheting up flavor while racheting down the excess.

Here are Ms. Plotkin's picks, why she recommends them, and our additional suggestions on ways to prepare them at their most flavorful. (cont'd)

•Dried or canned, an excellent source of protein as well as soluble and insoluble fiber

•Naturally low in total fat, contain no saturated fat or cholesterol

•Provide nutrients such as folate, potassium, iron and calcium

•Can help control weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes

•Inexpensive; tremendous variety available

Cool beans: Indian and Mediterranean cuisines show off beans in dazzling ways, from slow-simmered Indian dals to Italian dishes such as Tuscan bean soup.

Blueberries

•Contain high levels of anthocyanins and phenolics, antioxidants that research suggests help reduce damage to cells leading to cancer and cardiovascular disease and help with memory

•Available fresh, frozen (unsweetened) and dried

•Naturally low in fat, calories and sodium

•High in fiber and manganese, and vitamins C and E

•Portable snack item

True blue: Try them with sliced bananas over cereal, in fruit smoothies or with cornmeal pancakes.

•Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which offer heart-healthy benefits as well as improvements in symptoms of arthritis and inflammatory diseases

•Excellent source of high-quality protein

•Contains vitamins A, D, B{-6} and B{-1}{-2}, niacin and riboflavin

•Canned salmon is just as high in omega-3s as fresh

•Fast and versatile, and available at supermarkets and restaurants

Succulent salmon: The Japanese developed teriyaki sauce to go with salmon, a terrific combination. And cedar-planking over a grill imparts subtle, smoky goodness.

•Excellent source of high-quality protein

•75 calories per egg, and each contains 13 essential nutrients, including zinc, iron, folate and choline

•Plays a role in weight management, muscle strength, healthy pregnancy, brain function and eye health

•Inexpensive, natural and unprocessed

•Versatile ingredient with wide appeal

Exciting eggs: Go easy on the cheese and let salsa light up huevos rancheros and migas. Watch the cheese, too, in vegetable stratas, a dish with infinite flavor variations.

Savory sweet potatoes: Try oven-roasting spears painted with hoisin sauce or preparing them baked-potato style, but go easy on the toppings.

•A 4-ounce, medium, skin-on sweet potato has four times the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A and almost 50 percent of the RDA for vitamin C

•Fat-free and high in fiber

•Provides folate, potassium and vitamin B{-6}

•Inexpensive and simple to prepare

•Naturally sweet

2 hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 fresh hot red chiles, thinly sliced

2 large handfuls of fresh mint

1/3 cup dates, split lengthwise and pitted

2 cups rice vinegar

4 teaspoons sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

4 (6-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets, without skin

4 tablespoons sesame seeds

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, chiles, mint and dates. Pour in vinegar, and sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Toss so the cucumbers are well coated with vinegar. The cucumbers will soften as they marinate, and the flavors will deepen. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the salmon with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Sprinkle the top of the salmon with sesame seeds. Press to make them adhere, if needed.

Put a large, cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet on the stove over medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil, and when it is nice and hot, lay the salmon fillets in the pan, sesame-seed side down. Sear the salmon for 3 minutes, then put the skillet in the oven and roast the salmon for 10 minutes, or until it's just cooked through. (Do not turn the fish.) Serve salmon, sesame-side up with a pile of pickled cucumbers. Makes 4 servings.

Hi Texas - how's it going?

I got this in my email today. It fits in with the theme...

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie - not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Doin okay Berny. Oh that's so cute. Have to copy and send to my cousin up in MN. She loves stuff like this. I didn't do my usual baking and cooking like I do over the holidays so can't say that I gained an ounce. I'd rather feel better and pig out though. Wish I had all the energy that you and others do. Maybe now that the new year has started new good things will come along with it. I'm enjoying the healthy theme. I really could eat healthier that's for sure. Hope you had a great holiday.

From Eating Well magazine. Dark, leafy greens, like Swiss chard, are particularly good for you.

1 lemon, preferably a Meyer lemon

1 large bunch Swiss chard

1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¼ cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slice off 4 very thin slices from the lemon. Keep the rest for another use. Cut the slices into quarters. Set aside.

Chop the Swiss chard roughly, reserving the stems for another use. Set aside.

Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large sauté pan. Add the cumin seeds and heat for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the garlic slices, then the chard, in 2 batches if necessary, letting the first wilt until you have room in the pan for the second. Add the broth and the honey. Cover and cook for a few minutes until the greens are tender. Season with salt and pepper.