When You Don't Have Time to Eat at Home......Eat at Chic - Fil- A

Currently, I am unemployed - but I hope to find a job in the very near future.  While I have been out of work, cooking 3 meals a day for my hubby and for myself has been rather easy.  Frankly, I have all the time in the world.  I know, however, that for most people it isn't so easy.  When you have a full time job, children, and extracurricular activities to attend, you might find yourself throwing your hands up and going out to dinner - simply because you do not have time to cook.  Jason and I love to eat dinner out as well, and with all of the healthy options out there now, it's easier than ever to enjoy a dinner out.  Here are some of my favorite suggestions!

Chic - Fil - A

1. Char-grilled Chicken Sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes.  ( I usually pull off the tomatoes and eat those separately simply because I don't like tomatoes on sandwiches.  These sandwiches come with a Honey Roasted BBQ sauce that is delicious, but it's one point per packet.  Therefore, I usually eat mine with a few packets of hot sauce and one packet of their low fat mayo.  I'll even bring fat free mayo from home to the restaurant to eat so that the sandwich is only 6 points.  If you add a bbq packet or mayo packet, don't forget to add the points.)
2. Side Salad with cheese and one packet fat free honey mustard (3 points).  This salad is really delicious and goes great with the sandwich as cited above.
3. Roasted chicken noodle soup (4 points).  Delicious, filling,and a more than enough for a serving. Goes great with a salad.  They even had a soup and salad combo on their menu now.
4. Chicken Nuggets (The 8 pack is only 7 points.)  This goes great with a side salad as well.
5. Large salads range from 4 to 6 points.  Bring your favorite dressing from home or order a fat free version from the restaurant.
6. Sauces:  Buffalo is 0 points per cup.  Each cup of barbeque is 1 point.  The fat free honey mustard dressing could be used as a dipping sauce, and it's one point.  All others are 3 or 4 points each so avoid those.
7. Fruit Cup is 0 points and goes great with the sandwich, soup, or salad.

When the craving hits, you just have to think outside the box!

So, last night as I was lying in bed trying to sleep and ignore my husband's snoring, I saw a commercial for a local restaurant.  They were advertising their mozzarella sticks filled with oooey, gooey, cheesy goodness! At 1:00 am, the craving hit me.  I wanted some mozzarella cheese sticks.  I rolled over in the bed, convinced myself that I could wait to figure out what I would do about this craving after a good night's sleep, and went off to dream land.  I literally dreamed this recipe up.  There I was, in my dream, standing in the kitchen making my own healthy version of the snack that I fell asleep craving.  This morning, for breakfast, I ate some raisin, date, and walnut oatmeal with Fat Free Half and Half and Brown Sugar Splenda, and then I went about making my morning snack - mozzarella cheese sticks!

"Faux" Cheese Sticks
Okay, here is what I did.  First, I pulled two low fat cheese sticks out of the fridge and opened them.  I then split each cheese stick into fourths - long ways.  I coated each in egg beaters (you could use an egg white if you have one of those instead).  Next I crushed up 2 tablespoons of cheddar flavored french fried onions in my food processor and rolled my cheese in the crumbs.  I baked them on 425 until the cheese began to melt.  YUM, YUM, YUM!  I ate mine plain, but you could eat them with some pizza sauce in the jar.  The two cheese sticks with the eggbeaters and onions were only 3 points.  YUM!

In the Swing of Things...

I do believe that last week was the quickest moving week of all time.  I haven't blogged in about a week, and for that I am sorry.  Sometimes life just gets in the way when we get busy living.  Over the past few days, I have cooked some delicious meals - all of which I will tell you about below.  Happy reading and delicious eating!

Raisin,Date, and Walnut Oatmeal
At last, I have found another flavor of oatmeal that I enjoy.  I bought the Publix brand raisin,date, and walnut oatmeal just for kicks - thinking that I would hate it.  BUT - I love, love, love it!  Here is how I made mine.  I took 2 packs of the oatmeal.  I topped the dry oatmeal with about 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar Splenda and stirred in almost one whole cup of boiling water.  I then tossed the oatmeal in the microwave for about 1 minute and 15 seconds.  I took the oatmeal out and stirred in 1/4 of a cup of fat free Half and Half.  Yum, yum, yum - hearty, delicious, and very filling! (8 points total)

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza
First, I pulled out a Artistan Flatbread (that I bought from Publix) and tossed it in a baking pan.  I set the oven on 425 so that it could preheat.  I mixed together 2 tablespoons of ketchup with 2 teaspoons of mustard.  I spread about 1/2 of this mixture all over the top of the flat bread.  I then took the remaining sauce and stirred in 2 ounces of ground turkey breast that I browned and drained the other day.  I added the turkey to the pizza.  I then topped the pizza with 2 tablespoons of low fat shredded cheese, 2 tablespoons of the real bacon bits, 2 tablespoons of Cheddar flavored french fried onions, and 2 tablespoons of diced pickles.  I baked the pizza for about 8 minutes at 425!  Delicious! (8 points total)

Spinach and Garlic Saute
First of all, let me say that I love spinach.  Love it, love it, love it!  As a child I wouldn't go near it, and now I cannot figure out why I hated it.  Maybe because I didn't like that cartoon "Popeye" - but I digress.  Anyway, I love it.  My favorite way to eat it is as follows.  First I take 3 cloves of garlic.  I peel them and dice them up.  I toss them in a pan that has 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.  To the pan, on top of the garlic I add about 4 cups of spinach, a little salt and pepper.  I saute the spinach and garlic over medium high heat until the spinach wilts.  Enjoy! (1 point total because of the oil) * Spinach is filled with fiber, and garlic is a heart healthy food.  I eat this almost everyday with my lunch.  I buy 3 or 4 bags of spinach a week, but don't tell Popeye or Olive Oil because I'm not trying to fight anyone. hehe


Baked Sweet Potatoes
First, I preheat my oven to 450 degrees.  Then I take sweet potatoes (medium, one per person) and scrub them clean. I then wrap them in foil and throw them in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours.  I then remove the potatoes from the oven and throw away the foil.  Next, I slice the potato in half and mash it up.  I top the potato with about 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar Splenda (yes,yes,yes - they make this.  Praise the Lord!) and Healthy Squeeze butter ( I used to be able to find this everywhere, but now I can only find it at Bi -Lo.  It's in a regular sized squeeze bottle with a green sticker.  If you use it, you will never miss "real" butter.  If you can't find this butter, the butter spray works okay.) The whole potato is 4 points with the toppings, and it is so delicious!

Baked Tomatoes
This dish is my absolute favorite side dish.  It goes great with anything,and it is - without a doubt - one of the easiest dishes to make.  First, I wash some plum tomatoes (about 3 to 4 per person).  Next, I slice the bottom off the of the tomato and then I slice the tomatoes length wise. (Just like you would slice a baked potato.)  Next I place the tomatoes in a pan, flesh side up.  I top each with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.  I then place one basil leaf on each tomato half.  Then I top the whole dish with grated Parmesan cheese ( about 1/8 of a cup per person).  Then I bake these in the oven uncovered at 450 for about 35 minutes.  These are delicious.  (6 to 8 halves is about 1 point)  I cannot begin to even describe how delicious they are.  You simply must try them, and let me know what you think!


BBQ Boneless Chicken
Pull out about 5 ounces of defrosted boneless, skinless chicken per person.  Chop the chicken into big chunks and brown in a pan on the stove.  To brown your chicken, first turn a pan on medium high heat and spray the pan with cooking spray.  Salt and pepper the chicken and add it to the pan.  Leave it alone.  Let it cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.  If you only flip it once and leave it alone, it will brown nicely.  After browning the chicken, coat both sides in your favorite barbeque sauce (low points of course) and put it in a baking dish.  Cover and bake for 20 minutes in about a 425 degree oven.  Remove lid and bake about 5 minutes more.  Serve and enjoy!