Save The Earth, One Bottle At A Time

Check out the link below, and make the pledge to start filling up a reusable water bottle with water that you filter at home. Think of all the plastic bottles that won't be filling up our landmines because you've done your part. :)

Ginger Veggie Noodle Soup

This is a really quick super low calorie soup that's great as a lunch or starter. Make two large servings. I calculated the WW points as 1 point per serving. (FYI- This is a totally thrown together soup, so all measurements are approximate.)

Ginger Veggie Noodle Soup

2 cups vegetable broth
1 package Tofu Shirataki (spaghetti shape) or 1/2 package Yam Noodles
1 oz shredded carrots
1 oz finely sliced shitake mushrooms
1 oz shredded cabbage
2 Tbsp soy sauce (low sodium would be a good idea here)
freshly grated ginger (about a 1/2-1 tsp)
1 clove garlic, grated or very finely chopped
cayenne pepper, to taste (1/8 to 1/4 tsp)

• Add all ingredients, except noodles to a medium saucepan over low heat.
• Rinse noodles well, drain, and pat dry. Cut noodles up into a manageable size, if you wish.
• Once veggies have softened and soup has almost reached a boil, add the noodles, and cook until they are heated through.
• Serve with a wedge of lime and enjoy!
  

Angel Food Cake with Berries and Orange Creme

This is a quick fat-free dessert that has almost zero prep time, and is pretty yummy. Comes to 3-4 WW Points. (This is an estimate. I didn't actually calculate yet.)

Angel Food Cake with Berries and Orange Creme
Serves 1

1 piece angel food cake (about 2"), torn into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries, thawed
1/2 cup 0% Greek yogurt
zest of 1/2 an orange
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 tsp raw sugar

• Mix together yogurt, sugar, orange zest and juice. Set aside.
• Toss berries (with their juice) with cake pieces.
• Top with orange yogurt creme.
• Enjoy!

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Carrot Oat Bran Muffins

I've been on a healthy muffin kick lately. Here is my latest recipe. These come out to 2 WW points each and are supper yummy like carrot cake, but healthier and chock full of fiber. (And would be delicious with some low fat cream cheese icing-- just saying....) FYI-- This recipe makes twelve muffins.

**Note-- this is the first time I made these and they were good, but: next time I would increase the baking powder to a tablespoon, as they did not rise as much as I would have liked.

You could also throw in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans, but note that this will affect the point/calorie count.

Carrot Oat Bran Muffins

3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup Fiber One (original)
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1 Tbsp. olive oil (ordinary)
1 egg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup soy flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 Tbsp. raw sugar (for sprinkling)

• Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare a muffin tin by lining with paper liners sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray (or you can do what I did which is grease/flour/pray).
  
• Pour the boiling water over the oats and Fiber One. Let this hang out for 8-10 minutes.
• Combine everything including and up to the baking soda with the oats/Fiber One mixture.
• Gently fold in raisins, carrot, and zucchini.
• Scoop batter evenly in muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean.
• Enjoy!

*Sorry there is no photo! It was accidentally deleted! I will update when I make these again!*

Double Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

These muffins are wheat, dairy and almost fat free, and oh so yummy! According to my calculations these are three points each! (Please know that I am in no way an employee or representative of Weight Watchers. I do point calculations for my own use on most recipes, and so I share that info. Please recalculate yourself to be sure.)

Double Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

3/4 cup soy flour
1/3 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

1 cup raspberries (frozen will work fine here if not in season)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

7 almonds, slivered (or 1 Tbsp. packaged slivered almonds)

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a muffin tin by lining with 6 paper cupcake liners, and spraying lightly with a nonstick cooking spray.
  
• Combine all except the last three ingredients quickly in a bowl with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be very stiff.
  
• Fold in raspberries and chocolate chips.
• Spoon evenly into 6 muffin cups.
• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the slivered almonds.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
• Let cool thoroughly, then remove from muffin tin. These have a shelf life of 3-4 days when stored at room temperature (up to two months frozen).
• Enjoy!

(FYI- This photo does not do these muffins justice. It is incredibly hard to take a good photo of a chocolate muffin with normal household lighting.)

Chicken with Quick Sweet and Salty Pan Sauce

This is a really super quick and easy meal with lots of flavor and minimum fuss. I served it with steamed string beans, to get some veg in and a bit of green on the plate. Serves two. (FYI- 9 WW points for 1 cup of pasta with half the chicken and sauce.)

Chicken with Quick Sweet and Salty Pan Sauce

1 pound thinly sliced chicken breast
2 anchovy fillets
1 clove garlic, peeled and slightly smashed, but left whole
1 Tbsp sultanas (golden raisins)
6 oil cured olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp raw sugar
1 cup stock (beef, veg, or chicken-- your choice)
6 ounces capellini
1 tsp

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the capellini. Cook according to time on box (usually three minutes).
  
• Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over a medium high flame. Add garlic, and saute chicken a few minutes on each side, until slightly browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
• Add anchovy fillets to pan, stirring with a wooden spoon until anchovies are dissolved.
• Reduce heat to low and add broth, sultanas, olives, and sugar. Let it cook and mingle for a few moments, and then...
• Plop the pasta straight from the pot into the sauce. Add chicken back to the pan, and let it all cook together for a minute or two.
• Plate and serve. Enjoy!