Tag Archives: craving

Turkey Meatball Sub

Posted on January 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Aack, so I forgot to update on friday again! I was so busy running errands, gazing at my newly acquired blood oranges, shopping for new 10 sided dice, gazing again at the blood oranges, that I completely forgot! Maybe a meatball sub will make it better? Oh I think so. Always a big old mess to eat but such a happy mess really. In this recipe I was going for a quick fix so I used store bought turkey meatballs. If you want to make your own turkey meatballs I would make them the same way I made my thintastic thai meatballs just use turkey meat, and skip the hoisin sauce in the mix. This was such a tasty indulgence…and without consequence. Sweet!

  • 2 sub buns
  • 16 lean turkey meatballs
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 tbl oregano leaves, dried
  • 1 tbl italian spice
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced (Garlic and I are best buds for evah!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 tbl parmesan cheese
  1. Saute the onion and garlic in a pan until golden. Add to crockpot.
  2. Add the meatballs, tomato sauce, oregano leaves, and italian spice to the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours.
  3. Serve 8 meatballs on each bun with a bit of sauce, top with 3 tbl of cheese. Enjoy!

Serve 2 hungry hobbits. I did not include the bun in the nutritional value since there is so much variation in what you can choose. I suggest a nice high fibre bun. I’m lucky to have a store local to me that makes a good fibre bun that pretends to be white bread. Tastes just like subway…or maybe even better! Each serving contains 217 calories, 7 grams of fat and 6 grams of fibre. You will have leftover tomato sauce from this. I suggest saving it for a pasta night. Delicious!!! Don’t have a crockpot? No sweat, you can do this stove top same way except you should leave it simmering for 30 minutes.

Leave a comment

Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Crockpot Creations, Dinner

Tagged , , , , ,

“Spaghetti”

Posted on December 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

I kept hearing about doing this, I was skeptical, but I had to give it a try…they were even on sale. It’s that whole idea of using spaghetti squash instead of noodles. Sure, I’ve seen rave reviews for doing this…but somehow to me they seemed like those diet people who go on and on about how they don’t crave fatty foods anymore…you know those sanctimonious folks, we’ve all heard them. Come on, we all want a little something naughty once and awhile…those are part of the things that make life worth living. It’s just about watching how much of those naughty things you indulge in…not denying yourself totally. ANYWAYS. I’ve heard things and now I’ve put them to the test. Overall, I did indeed find it tasty. They weren’t the soft noodles I tend to go for, but the squash flavouring actually went well with the tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. The fact that the squash is so low calorie and fat compared to the noodles also allowed me to pile on the cheese and sauce which I have to admit made me feel indulgent. It was definitely a filling meal and I finished it with gusto. It won’t replace noodles in my life but its definitely an option when I don’t have a lot of calories or fat left to spend but need a filling meal with a ton of veggie/fruit servings in it.

  • 1 small or medium spaghetti squash
  • 1/2 cup sauce of choice ( I use ragu)
  • 4 tbl paremsan cheese
  1. Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds.
  2. Place the two halves face down on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350F. To check if its done give it a poke with a knife. If the knife pierces the skin easily then it is definitely time.
  3. Allow the squash to cool a bit, just so you can handle it safely. Using a fork rake the flesh inside…sounds gruesome doesn’t it. Remove the “noodles” and place in your serving bowl.
  4. Top with the sauce of your choice (heated) and cheese.

So easy. I have a small one and it filled that bowl in the picture….and yes, I ate it all. My little piggy “pasta” party only cost me 255 calories, 9.4 grams of fat, and 7 grams of fibre. Not bad considering having the same amount with noodles would cost me double the calories, less fibre, and not as many veggie servings. As healthy meals go, definitely a tasty one I would do again.

Leave a comment

Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dinner, Lunch

Tagged , , , , ,

Calzone

Posted on November 19, 2010 | 2 comments

This isn’t much of a recipe but more of another way to approach a recipe I put up before. The other day I had been thinking about calzones and panzorottis. Oh so tasty they are. It didn’t help that I was watching a show where they were making a bunch and going on about how fatty and awesome they are. Well, this temptation simply would not go away! Ordering one is out of the question, not only are they super naughty but I can never seem to find a place willing to customize them and the fillings they offer are cringe worthy to me. So, here I had the other half of my Herbed Pizza Dough sitting in the freezer…I guess it was just a matter of time before I found another use for it.

Oh what a tasty use it was. The one pictured here was the one I made for my husband. His was stuffed with low fat monteray jack cheese, lean cajun chicken cold cuts, onions and a bit of jalapeno sauce. Doesn’t that look good? Apparently it was since he declared it better than takeout! Need a closer look?

Oh yeah. Good times. That’s the nice thing about making your own calzones, you can put whatever you want into them. Lean meats and low fat cheeses are so easy to find these days. Vegetarian? Even easier! No excuse really, especially when that dough keeps in the freezer so nicely. The actual calzone making took me about 30 minutes because I had the dough premade. How did I do it? Simple. This was done using the half of the dough you would have set aside after making the deep dish pizza.

  1. Split the dough in half. Roll out each half into a circle best you can. You don’t have to be exact. About 1/2 inch thickness.
  2. Take your toppings of choice and layer them on one half of the circle leaving about an inch of space from the edge. Beware of over stuffing. A little goes a long way in a calzone.
  3. Fold the half without the toppings over the other half. Pinch the edges together and fold them twice to form the rolled edge of the calzone. Like this
  4. Cut slits into the top to allow steam to escape. Spray pan and calzone with cooking spray. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes. Cut in half and serve!

Just delicious. The nutritionals for the dough are with the original recipe, whatever you choose for toppings is up to you! Mine ofcourse wasn’t as exciting as my husband’s choice. I had tomato sauce, turkey pepperoni, skim mozzarella, and a couple of cloves of garlic. It definitely became my happy place for the evening though. It was so successful in fact my husband has requested I make another round of them this weekend. How can I say no to calzone…errr…I mean my husband. Hehehe.

2 Comments

Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dinner

Tagged

Dark Chocolate “Macadamia Nut” Crispy Bars

Posted on September 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

I can’t believe with all this low calorie and low fat cooking I’ve been doing that I overlooked the humble rice crispy bar. You know that one, most of us made them as kids. So simple to make…yet so plain. They are so low in fat and calories they just make for a natural sweet tooth fix, so let’s liven them up a bit. A few extra touches and you can gourmet up these tasty treats in no time! No, I’m not talking about tossing in some m&ms. Imagine the surprise on your gaming group’s face when you serve up these bad boys…o.k. you can even fluff some flour on your face and act exhausted like the commercial used to if you really want to. I won’t tell.Think I’ll bring these to Dungeons and Dragons tonight…if my husband doesn’t eat them all first.

  • 2 tbl butter, unsalted
  • 1 oz extra dark chocolate
  • 1 (7oz) jar of fluff (marshmallow stuff)
  • 2 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp macadamia nut extract or sugar free macadamia nut syrup
  • 6 cups puffed rice cereal
  • 2 tbl dark chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp cooking margarine
  1. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick.
  2. Melt butter and 1 oz of dark chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat. Once melted add the fluff, cocoa, and 1tsp macadamia nut extract. Stir until smooth.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in cereal until well coated.
  4. Press the mix evenly into the pan.
  5. Combine the chocolate chips, remaining extract, and margarine in a measuring cup. Microwave for 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle on top of the cereal mix. Should end up looking something like this:
  6. Pop into the fridge and allow to cool for atleast 30 minutes. Slice into 27 bars (I do nine vertical and three horizontal rows).

I can’t believe how much nummy chocolate flavour dark chocolate gives for so little. This makes 27 servings, each serving contains 54 calories, 1.7 grams of fat, and .3 grams of fibre. Once again we thank that delicious puffed rice cereal for another treat of awesomeness! Who knew getting a quick chocolate fix could be so easy and so not naughty?

Leave a comment

Posted in Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

Tagged ,

Sliders

Posted on September 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

I was making sliders again with our new little toy. It’s a slider patty maker from starfrit, cute!! Makes them all so pretty. It was after I was making these that I realized I never got around to posting my healthier slider recipe. I have an oven method which is a bit naughty but this grill method is a bit healthier. These aren’t the lowest fat meal you can have out there but they are a healthier indulgence than most burgers out there. These are awesome served on the potato buns I’ve posted about before. They are so full of flavour I find they don’t need any extra condiments at all. These are super fun to eat when watching Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle hehehe. Yes, we’ve done it. I have shown you my dork membership card right?

  • 1 lb extra lean ground beef
  • 2 pkg dry onion soup mix
  • 1 tsp margarine
  • 30 grams light cheddar cheese
  • 2 dill pickles
  1. Open the onion soup mix packages, carefully remove as much of the dehydrated onion as you can from each and set aside in a ramekin.
  2. Melt the margarine and add to the dehydrated onions in the ramekin. Stir and allow to rehydrate.
  3. Combine the meat and the remaining onion soup mix in a bowl.
  4. When thoroughly combined form into 10 small patties.
  5. Cook the patties on a grill to desired doneness. In the last few minutes of grilling top each patty with a bit of cheese to melt.
  6. Slice up the pickle into 30 slices.
  7. Place each burger in a slider bun (such as the potato buns) top with a half teaspoon of the rehydrated onions and three pickle slices.

This recipe makes 10 sliders. Each slider patty with cheese, onions and pickles contains 119 calories, 8 grams of fat and .2 grams of fibre. Definitely a fun meal during the summer and fall…or in front of a certain movie.

Leave a comment

Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dinner

Tagged , , ,

Pita Pizza

Posted on February 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

So on occasion I crave a little simple pleasure like pizza. For lunch though it can be so high in calories to get something truly tasty. My taste in pizza tends to run pretty simple…I like garlic, I like pepperoni, bring it on!
So I put together this fun concoction to solve the pizza cravings:

Really simple, a whole wheat pita, some low fat low cal pizza toppings such as turkey bites instead of pepperoni, and the broiler setting on the oven…then…tada! Tasty has been achieved. I even used a pizza cutter to cut mine into slices. My pizza that you see here came to 260 calories per saucy pita. The trick is to watch and measure each of your ingredients…you will be surprised just how far 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and one ounce of cheese will take you.

It helps that you get one serving of veggie from that tomato sauce too! Serve this with a tasty side salad and you have yourself a really tasty lunch that leaves you satisfied and full of veggies! Took me all of 5 minutes to make and bake….and no annoying kid claimed that they helped heh.

Leave a comment

Posted in Craving Buster, Lunch

Tagged