Eggs Benedictwich

OK, let's be honest. This sandwich has no right to be claimed as "healthy" so I'll just admit that I cheated big time by eating this sandwich. It was SOOO worth it though. The sauce really makes the sandwich so don't skip it. You'll just need about a tablespoon of sauce per sandwich though so you'll probably have extra. If you want to refrigerate it, you can reheat it, add a little more lemon juice or water, and blend it again to reuse it the next day. Trust me, you'll want a repeat the next morning!

Eggs Benedictwich

serves 4

Sandwich Ingredients: Hollandaise Sauce Ingredients:

4 slices of country ham or 12 slices of bacon 2 egg yolks

2 cups fresh spinach 2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice ⅔  teaspoons Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper 2 teaspoons hot sauce

4 large eggs ½ stick butter, melted and kept warm

4 english muffins

1. Cook ham or bacon until golden. Set aside.

2. Toss spinach with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. 

3. Fry the eggs in the skillet until cooked to desired doneness (preferably with the yolk slightly runny).

4. Meanwhile for the sauce: blend together egg yolks, lemon juice, dijon, and hot sauce for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly add  melted butter and mix until well blended and thickened. 

5. Stack the sandwich as follows: english muffin, ham, spinach, egg, sauce, english muffin top.

Chile-Lime Flanksteak

Flanksteak is one of my favorite cuts of meat because it's so tasty with just a little simple seasoning. This chile  and lime combination adds just the right about of flavors while letting the meat shine through - something that can be hard to accomplish sometimes! Plus, it's really easy :)

I served it here with some roasted potatoes and my Corn and Red Bell Pepper Saute. The recipe calls for it to be grilled (which would be the most flavorful) but I cooked it in a skillet this time since it was raining. Either way works great.

Chile-Lime Flanksteak

Serves 2  

10 ounces flanksteak

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon lime zest

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Poke flanksteak with a fork on both sides to create several holes. Drizzle lime juice over steak and let sit.

3. Meanwhile, combine chili powder, lime zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub onto steak and let sit until the grill is ready.

4. Spray grill rack and add steak. Grill 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut across the grain and serve hot.

5 Weight Watchers Points+

Zucchini Couscous

I meant to post this a while ago but I probably just forgot to take a photo so I didn't post it. Either way, here you go!

This dish has become a staple side dish since we tried it about a month and a half ago. It can go with a ton of stuff but we love it with marinated, grilled meats and a simple salad or some green beans.

Tips:

    1) If you are already grilling, you should grill the zucchini. It'll add just a bit of grill flavor and some great grill marks. If you do, just cut the zucchini in half and brush on some olive oil mixed with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Grill until tender and there are grill marks. Then cut into small chunks when cool enough to handle.

    2) Make sure to squeeze a lemon and use fresh lemon juice (rather than bottled). It makes a BIG difference! I did it once with bottled lemon juice because I forgot to buy the lemon and it wasn't nearly as flavorful. 

Zucchini Couscous

serves 2

1/2 cup couscous

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 medium zucchini

1 small tomato, chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley

1. Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add couscous, stir, and take off the heat. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.

2. Cut zucchini into quarters. Coat a skillet with cooking spray and add garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook zucchini until tender and lightly browned.

3. Toss the couscous, zucchini, tomato, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition (1/2 recipe of couscous):

    146 Calories, 3g Fat, 27g Carbs, 2g Fiber, 5g Protein

    4 Weight Watchers Points+

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

Here's a refreshing smoothie that gives you two servings of fruit with minimal calories. It's only about 1 point on weight watchers and is great after working out. I usually add a splash of whatever fruit juice I have in the house (usually V8 Light Mango) for a little extra flavor.

Strawberry - Banana Smoothie

5 fresh strawberries, quartered
1 banana, cut into chunks
1/3 cup diet 7-up
1/2 cup crushed ice

Blend together until smoothie and enjoy while cold!

Champagne Vinaigrette

I cannot say enough good things about this salad dressing!! I know that sounds a little overdramatic :)

Fratesi's Italian restaurant in Jackson, MS has the best vinaigrette ever made and of course now that I don't live there, I never have it. This dressing however is going to take it's place in our household. It's so light, flavorful, and versatile that you can really use it a lot. I'm actually making 2 batches at a time and keeping it in a jar in the fridge (I found a cute this jar that I just love).

I served it here with chunks of avocado, crumbled bacon, and avocado. Next time I may add some sunflower seeds too.

I can think of tons of combinations I want to try!

Champagne Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

Salt and Pepper

½ cup olive oil

1. Stir together mustard, garlic, vinegar, and salt and pepper.

2. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil until well emulsified. Toss over salad.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Lately I have been eating lettuce wraps for lunch whenever I can. They have several advantages:
1) iceberg lettuce is SOO cheap
2) no unnecessary carbs
3) they are so tasty - most important of course!

So far I have two favorites: Turkey BLT and Buffalo Chicken Wrap. The Turkey BLT is less of a recipe (sliced deli turkey, 1/2 slice cooked bacon, 1/2 tablespoon fat free cheddar, tomato slices, and mashed avocado) and I haven't taken a photo so for now I don't think I'll give them their own post. These buffalo ones are great and are super easy to make ahead of time. I like to spend a little time making a big batch of the chicken mix so that it's easy to wrap up each day. I can easily eat this whole recipe for one lunch and not have to feel guilty about it!

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Makes 4 wraps

1 oz (2 tablespoons) light cream cheese,

         softened

2 tablespoons celery, finely diced

2 oz cooked chicken breast, shredded (about 3 oz uncooked)

1 tablespoon buffalo sauce

2 slices bacon, cut in half and cooked

2 tablespoons light sour cream mixed with 

          Ranch powder

4 large lettuce leaves

1. Stir cream cheese, celery, and shredded chicken breast together. Stir in buffalo sauce.

2. Divide Ranch sour cream between the four pieces of lettuce. Divide buffalo mix among the four leaves. Top each with one half piece of bacon. Wrap to serve.

if you don't like ranch then you can omit that part and take off 1pp. Just watch out because it might get hot so I do recommend either Ranch or sour ream. 

Nutrition (whole recipe):

    6 Weight Watchers Points+

Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls

I made these last night and they were delish! I'm sure that you could sub out different vegetables depending on what cuisine you're eating but the combination of zucchini, red pepper, and red onion was not only tasty but also seems pretty versatile.Whatever vegetables you use, make sure that they are about the same size so that they'll cook evenly.Enjoy!

Balsamic Glazed Steak Roulades

Makes 2 servings

8 oz flank steak, sliced thinly and cut into approximately 3in x 2in strips

Salt and Pepper

1½ tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 garlic cloves, smashed

½ red bell pepper, julienned

1 medium zucchini, julienned

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons shallots, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup beef broth

1. Tenderize flank steak strips until thin. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce over steak and marinate about 30-45 minutes.

2. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high. Saute garlic until golden brown. Add red pepper, zucchini, and red onion and saute until starting to soften. Season with italian herbs. Set aside.

3. Divide sliced vegetables evenly between the flank steak strips. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

4. Cook steak in a pan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Saute until browned and cooked through on all sides.

5. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat. Saute shallot until soft and lightly browned. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar, and beef broth. Boil to reduce by half and until slightly thickened.

6. Serve the hot steak roulades with the balsamic glaze drizzled on top.

    7 Weight Watchers Points+ for 1/2 a recipe