Sweet and Sour Pork Kebabs

Finally a recipe from my new healthy cookbook that we love! Too bad it has to be grilled and that limits how often we will have it. :) This recipe was easy, delicious, and worth the few calories that were in it!

Here's the nutrition breakdown:

"Calories, fat, and cholesterol were reduced by..."
Reducing the amount of oil in the marinade
Using a leaner cut of pork, and less of it
Add bell peppers to compensate for less meat

Calories before...550
after...201

Fat (g) before...26
after...5

Sweet and Sour Pork Kebabs
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

Marinade and Pork
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 32 1'' chunks

Sauce
1/4 C ketchup
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T sugar
2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. dark sesame oil

Kebabs
2 bell peppers (red or green), cut into 32 1'' pieces
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks

In a large bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, red pepper, and salt. Stir in the pork. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Soak 8 10" bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes (to prevent burning). Thread a bell pepper, followed by a pineapple chunk and a pork chunk onto a skewer. Repeat 4 times on each skewer.

Grill over medium-hot coals. Turn the kebabs 3-4 times while cooking. Drizzle the marinade over the kebabs one minute before finished. Serve immediately.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

So another healthy recipe. I've made Mexican food a lot this week. I think it's healthy because the spices give it the flavor. This soup was good, but I wasn't full afterwards. I desperately wanted to make brownies! So much for cooking healthy! I haven't made it to the kitchen to make them yet. I might make it through the night without them...MIGHT! This soup was a little bland. I wonder if this has to do with the fact that I used cumin seeds instead of ground cumin.

This recipe was in the section of the cookbook titled "Relax while it cooks." This couldn't have been further from the truth for me tonight! I'm not saying that it will be for you though! First, it took me forever to chop my veggies! My food chopper wasn't cooperating and I reverted back to my trusty old knife and cutting board! Then, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth! Ugh! I always make my grocery list off of my menu for the week and somehow I missed this one! Luckily, Charlie worked from home today and he ran to Harris Teeter for me! Then...I was misreading the recipe. I thought she said to use a crock pot, which I thought was strange...and my chicken wasn't cooking in the 4 minutes it was supposed to. So 2 1/2 hours later we ate! At least I got some cleaning done during that 2 1/2 hours. AND! As I type this recipe I realize that this was supposed to have cheese in it! How did I miss that as well! I think I need to go to bed...obviously my brain isn't working today!

Charlie and I both put the cheese on our soup for lunch leftovers and found it much better!

My healthy tip I learned this time...when cooking veggies cook them in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray instead of oil. It worked wonders and saved calories!

Here's the breakdown on the healthy aspects of this recipe:

• Bake the tortillas instead of frying them


• Using reduced fat cheese, and less of it


• Eliminating the oil for cooking veggies

Calories before...402
after...275

Fat before...20
after...4

Per serving...serves 6


Chicken Tortilla Soup
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

6 corn tortillas (6" diameter)
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 C fat-free chicken broth
10 oz frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 tomatoes, chopped (we only used 1)
6 T shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Cut the tortillas in half and then in short strips. Lay in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with nonstick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Coat a large pot with nonstick spray and warm over medium-low heat. Add the chicken, peppers, carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes or the chicken isn't pink. Add the broth, corn and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and cook for 30 minutes.

Place a layer of tomatoes in a bowl. Scatter tortilla strips on top. Ladle the soup on top. Top with more tortilla strips and cheese.

Pineapple Upside Down (Cup)Cake

So in our movement to eat healthier I told Charlie I had to find a cookbook with healthy recipes that I would be excited about making. I've tried searching the web for recipes and I just end up frustrated. So I did some searching on Amazon and came up with this...
We went to Barnes and Noble and I looked through it to see if I thought it was worth it. I think I will LOVE this cookbook! It's great because the whole beginning of the book is about how to cook healthy with recipes you already have. Simple swatches in a recipe can make it healthy without losing the test. Now you may say that I didn't need a book to tell me that, but I do! She explains how you can't always substitute and keep the flavor. She gives tips on what substitutions work with what kinds of recipes. Like in this recipe, you don't want to replace all the flour with whole wheat for taste purposes. So you replace some. I really do love this book! Every recipe she has tells you what she did to make it healthier and breaks down the calorie points before the healthy switches and after.

For example, in this recipe she "reduced calories and fat by:"

• Using light butter in place of regular
• Replacing the oil with applesauce
• Using low-fat buttermilk instead of whole milk
• Using egg whites instead of whole eggs

Calories before...207
after...152

Fat g before...8
after...1

(per serving)

Too bad my favorite part of this thing is the top...the part with all the brown sugar and butter . :) These were not my favorite. Charlie liked them once he ate a couple, but it definitely wasn't love at first bite. I sent some to my brother's house...no word from them. And we gave some to friends who said they liked it, but I'm not sure if I believe them!

I think I'm just not used to "healthy eating." The tops were great, but the bottoms were too dry. Not moist like pineapple upside down cake should be! This was disappointing! I'm hoping the other recipes in this book are better!

Pineapple Upside Down (Cup)cakes
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

1/4 C packed brown sugar
2 T light butter, melted
6 maraschino cherries, halved
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C whole-wheat flour
2/3 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2/3 C 2% buttermilk
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 400. Lightly coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and butter. Divide evenly in muffin tin. Place one half of a cherry, cut side up, in the center of each muffin cup. Divide the pineapple evenly among muffin cups. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

In another bowl, combine milk, applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla. Pour into the flour well and stir until moistened.

Mexican Pasta Skillet

I get lots of emails with recipes from various sources. I usually skim them, look for something I would make, and either delete or star them for later. This one popped up from Betty Crocker around the new year when Charlie was asking me when I was going to start cooking healthy. We've had this conversation so many times in our marriage and we've only been married 6 months! :) But this week, I've really tried to pick things that are healthy. The first thing that caught my eye on this recipe was "healthified." So technically, they've taken something that isn't usually healthy and made some substitutions to make it healthier! YAY! That's my kind of recipe! This made a lot and was more than enough for dinner, lunches tomorrow, and at least one more night's dinner. We both really liked it too!

Mexican Pasta Skillet

Source: Betty Crocker

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 jar (16 oz) salsa

15 oz. tomato sauce

1 1/2 C water

2 C uncooked elbow macaroni

1 C frozen corn (I used 1 1/2 C)

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

Brown the ground beef. Add the salsa, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a boil. Add the macaroni and corn. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Top with cheese and let the cheese melt 1-2 minutes.

***According to Betty, there are 6 servings at 370 calories each.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Finally, another healthy recipe that we like! YAY!!! These were so easy and delicious!

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
Source: Delish

4 (1/2-inch thick) pork loin chops
1 tsp garlic powder
4 Tbsp shredded/grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place Parmesan cheese on a plate. Season the pork chops generously with black pepper & some salt. Sprinkle garlic powder evenly over pork chops. Coat the chops with the cheese, patting to adhere.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and do not move them. Allow pork chops to cook until golden brown & crisp, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer pork chops to oven and bake for 5-8 minutes in preheated oven. You want them cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Baked Aloha Chicken

When I was on my desperate search for healthy recipes a few weeks ago, my friend Julie came to the rescue and sent this recipe. I just got around to making it. Julie met her husband around the same time Charlie and I met and got married the day after us. Her and her husband are much healthier than Charlie and I. They do things like marathons together. Shh...don't tell Charlie...he might get some crazy idea in his head! :)

I made a similar recipe to this one in the crock pot and it was horrible! We barely touched our dinner and then threw it away it was so bad! So I was a little afraid to try this one, but it was very tasty! Also, I didn't have an oven proof skillet. So I transferred the chicken to a baking dish and it worked just fine.

Baked Aloha Chicken

Source: Julie Morgan and 1,000 Gluten Free Recipes

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

salt and pepper

2 T olive oil

8 oz. crushed pineapple

1/2 C dry white wine

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon or 1/4 tsp. dried

Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. In a 10" ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour oven the chicken. Cover and bake for 45 minute. Uncover and turn chicken. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Thanks Julie!

Asian Beef and Noodles

This is another Weight Watcher's one. We really liked it! According to the source I got this from you could use chicken or shrimp with ramen noodles in those flavors. The beef was really good though. I didn't have sesame oil, so I used olive. Because of this, I also used both seasoning packets for the flavor. I'm sure all of this altered the points a bit. We like our stir fried dinners and I usually buy steak and cut it up. While shopping at Food Lion this week I found that they sell chopped up bits of steak, with very little to no fat, that are perfect for this kind of dinner. Don't confuse these with beef tips which are much bigger bites. And they are very cheap! This was a very inexpensive meal. If you're making it for more than 2 people I would definitely double it. I'm thinking of making 1/2 more next time so we can have leftovers for Charlie's lunch.

Asian Beef and Noodles

Source: Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes

8 oz lean steak, chopped

2 tsp dark sesame oil (or olive)

1 C green onion, sliced

2 C packaged cabbage coleslaw mix with carrots

2 packages of Beef Ramen Noodles

1 1/2 C water

1 T low sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak and green onions. Cook until steak is browned and appears to be done. Remove from skillet and keep in a warm oven. Heat remaining tsp of oil in same skillet. Add slaw. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Add to the meat in the oven. Add water to skillet with 1 (I used 2) seasoning packet. Bring to a boil. Break noodles in half and add to water. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the noodles are ready. Stir in the steak and coleslaw mixture. Mix together. Serve!

Makes 2-10 WW point servings

Cheese Stuffed Sliders

These were yummy and not at all disappointing. They were part of the healthy recipes I collected. Here's a warning though...they aren't exactly healthy! This is a Weight Watcher's recipe. These are considered "healthy" if you're counting your WW points and these are within your point limit. I mean everything can be eaten on WW. The trick is using your points wisely. I don't know that this recipe is following that model. Maybe if you've been really good all week and you save up your flex points. Also, you have to use the healthy ingredients or the points won't be right. I didn't do that. I also didn't get the amount of burgers out of my recipe that it said I should. So I'm sure mine had more points in them.


Cheese Stuffed Sliders
Source: Weight Watchers Magazine

1 lb lean ground beef (95%)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 C shredded low fat cheddar
1 onion chopped (I skipped this)
8 2" potato rolls
garlic powder (my own addition)

Mix all ingredients together. Make into 16 very small patties. Put a little cheese in the center of 8 patties. Top with the additional patties.

Spray a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Cook 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat. Cover. Turn 1 minute on each side.

7 pts for 2 sliders.

Chicken Pot Pie

Healthy recipe number two. We had a lot of leftovers from the pork loin and then went out another night. I really haven't had to cook much this week. So here is my second chance at cooking healthy. I wouldn't say this is super healthy because of all the milk and the crust, but I would say it's healthiER than your average pot pie recipe. Definitely better for you than Marie Calendar's!

This was tasty, although my favorite part was the crust (not from scratch). Charlie thought it was a little bland, so maybe next time I'll add more spice. I don't know. You can substitute the apple juice for a dry white wine. Funny how we didn't have wine, but did have apple juice. You'd think we have kids, but we don't. I got this recipe at the library last weekend from a magazine. I don't remember which one though...sorry!

Oh! and if you remember from the dill pork tenderloin I used too much dill because it was supposed to be fresh. This is the ratio for fresh to dried...3:1...so in this recipe I used 1 tsp. dried thyme instead of 1 T fresh.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb chicken breast

1 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, diced (I used half a small bag of baby carrots)

3 T flour

1/2 C apple juice

2 C milk

10 oz frozen peas

1 T fresh Thyme

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

9 in pie crust (the frozen kind you unroll)

Heat oven to 400°. Cook chicken in a pot of simmering water 10-12 minutes until cooked through (165°). Shred.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan on high heat. Add onions and carrots. Cook for about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to a low med-high (a 6 on my stove). Sprinkle with flour, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add apple juice and cook for 5 minutes. Add milk and cook for just a couple minutes. Stir in chicken peas, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Transfer to pie dish. Cover with crust and seal edges. Cut vents in crust. Bake for 35 minutes on a baking sheet.

Apple Butter Pork Loin

Charlie's back on his we need to eat healthy thing. This is hard for me! I spent forever last week looking for healthy recipes that I thought sounded good and only came up with a few! I'm not sure that this recipe is actually healthy. The site claimed it was, but who knows. Either way it was yummy! We bought a huge jar of apple butter on our Honeymoon at the Mast General Store. If you ever go to Boone you should go to Mast. It really is a cool store! Our apartment smelled delicious between the apple and cinnamon. I'm so ready for fall!

Apple Butter Pork Loin

Source: All Recipes

1 Pork Loin (mine was 3 lbs)

seasoning salt

2 C apple juice

1/2 C apple butter

1/4 C brown sugar

2 T water

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350°. Season the pork loin with seasoning salt. Place in a 9x13 baking dish or small roasting pan. Pour apple juice over the pork and cover.

Bake for 1 hour. While the pork is roasting, mix together the apple butter, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves. After one hour, remove from oven and spread the mixture over the top.

Continue to bake until pork is done (165°). You need to cook 1/2 hour per pound of meat.

Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Mustard Sauce

In his first bite Charlie wondered what the taste of this meal reminded him of. I said, "It must be the dill." I didn't really know what I was talking about. Then he realized....a McDonald's Quarter Pounder. I took a bite and it reminded me of a Chick-fil-A sandwich. Finally, it clicked...DILL...like the pickle (get it...dill pickles)! I know, I'm not the brightest! :) So if you like pickles, or either one of the items mentioned above you will like this! This is an Atkins recipe, so if you make it according to the recipe it's healthy!


Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Creamy Mustard Sauce
Source: Atkins

2 T unsalted butter
1 whole pork tenderloin (about 1 lb), sliced into medallions
1 tsp chopped garlic (I used about 4 or 5 cloves)
3/4 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 c sour cream
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T fresh dill, minced (I used dried)
salt and white pepper (I used black)

Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until browned. Remove pork from skillet and cover to keep warm.

Add garlic to skillet and saute until aroma is released, about 30 seconds. Add chicken broth. Simmer liquid about 3 minutes until reduced slightly. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in sour cream, mustard, and dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Return pork to skillet along with any juices. Cook pork over medium heat with sauce for about 3 minutes.

***When using dried herbs from the pantry I think you're supposed to half the measurement when the recipe calls for fresh. I didn't do this. Maybe you should and the flavor won't be so powerful!

Makes 2 servings
Carbs per serving 3.5
Fiber 0.5
Protein 50.5
Fat 27
Calories 465

Garlic Lime Chicken Marinade

Charlie wants us to eat healthy. This really puts a crimp in trying to use all the recipes I've found recently. We dedicated this week "healthy week" and I went on a hunt for healthy recipes. This was a good marinade and our chicken was delicious! The flavor didn't over power the chicken at all. I was afraid I wouldn't like it when I made the marinade, but I will make this again! Kudos to Charlie for his awesome grilling skills!

I've loved cooking and getting to use all of my awesome kitchen items. If you attended any of my bridal showers you know I got a ton of kitchen stuff! I love it! Mom and Paul gave me a juicer attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer. I've been waiting for an excuse to use it. This was perfect!

The website I got this recipe from didn't have a photo. This meant I couldn't steal theirs and had to take my own! Oh no! I can only imagine my sister, Krystal, shaking her head in shame. :)

Garlic Lime Chicken Marinade

Source: Diet Recipes Blog

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1/2 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Marinate chicken in a bag in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Grill.

Nutritional Info for one chicken breast:
Calories: 162

Chicken Parmesan

I've made this recipe a few times and every time I love it! It's really easy and it's Weight Watchers! Everyone that eats it thinks it's yummy. I had friends over for dinner last night and decided to break away from trying new recipes every night for them. Wednesday night's dinner didn't get posted because it tasted terrible and I wasn't happy with 2 dinner recipes over the weekend. So I decided to play it safe and made something I knew was good! Chicken Parmesan
Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara

Preheat oven to 450°. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken. Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

***I don't cut my chicken breasts in half. So I guess I'm getting twice the points in a piece of chicken. Although one time I made this with chicken tenderloins. That would be a good alternative than making it with whole breasts and it would be truer to the points!

Calories per piece: 223
WW Points per piece: 5.5