Vegan Chickpea and Carrot Soup

A great soup to serve with a sandwich! Original recipe here.

Vegan Chickpea and Carrot Soup (162 Calories/1 gram fat/7.5 grams fiber/4servings)

• 15 oz can Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 9 oz fresh carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice ( I used pulp free)
• cumin to taste (about a tsp)
• chili powder (about a tsp)
• salt and pepper
• garnish of cilantro and almonds (optional.. not included in calories)

Saute garlic, carrots, and onion in a large stock pot until soft, about 10 minutes. Add broth, water, chickpeas, and spices, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add orange juice at the end. Eat rustic style, or pureee in blender for a smooth soup.

Salt and Pepper Baked Potato Chips

Super easy side.. Hopefully you have better knife skills than I do, as some where just right and others were a little on the thick side.. but still good.

Salt and Pepper Baked Potato Chips (80 Calories/1.5 grams fiber/4 servings)

• 3 medium potatoes, washed and sliced thin
• cooking spray
• salt and  fresh cracked black pepper

Coat potatoes in cooking spray (or if you don't have cooking spray you could use olive oil), sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 450F for 20-25 minutes on a cookie sheet.

I think next time I am going to try a little garlic powder or parm cheese.. yum!

Twice Baked potatoes

A tasty way to eat your potatoes!

Twice Baked Potatoes ( 154 Calories/ 3.7 grams fat/2 grams fiber/5 servings)

• 5 mediums sized potatoes
• 2/3 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup stock or broth ( I used chicken)
• 3 T FF sour cream
• season salt
• pepper

Wash and prick potatoes and bake in oven for about an hour at 400F. While they are still hot, take a spoon and scoop the whites out of the potatoes and put it in a bowl. mash whites with broth, sour cream, salt, and pepper. put mixture back into skins and top with cheese. Bake until heated and cheese is melted.

Super easy Carrots

How easy is this?? I will tell you.... really easy!.. and the little boy who yelled," I don't like carrots!" ate all of his portion!

Super Easy Cooked Carrots (75 Calories/1.5 grams fat/2.5 grams fiber/4 servings)

• 1 lb baby carrots
• 1-1.5 cups chicken broth ( or you could vegetable too.. since you are eating veggies!)
• 1 T butter
• 1 T honey

Throw it all in a pot and simmer on the stove until the liquid is reduced and the carrots are tender!

Mashed Potato Salad

A twist on a classic! original recipe here.

Mashed Potato Salad (3 points/146 Calories/8 servings)

• 6 medium red skin potatoes
  2 eggs; boiled, shelled, and mashed
  1/2 c Kraft Miracle Whip Light
  1/2 c. fat free sour cream
  2-3 TBSP sweet pickle relish
  ¼  c chopped onion
  1 TBSP lemon juice
  1 TBSP white vinegar
  1 tsp mustard

Cut potatoes into large pieces and boil in large pot until done (leave skin on). About 15-20 minutes. Drain water and put potatoes in large mixing bowl. Add the Miracle Whip, sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, and mustard. Mash potoatos. Stir in the relish, onion, and chopped eggs until combined. Put in refrigorator for at least an hour.

Brinner day 2: Beef Tapa and Sinagag

My 4 year old was so excited.. " Look daddy we are eating Filipino breakfast!" " I am Filipino!" So cute! I was in breakfast mode the last couple of days.. so here is brinner day two! Original recipe here.

Beef Tapa (8 points/322 Calories/4 servings)
1lb beef stew meat, cut into chunks
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
liberal amount of crack black pepper
half a head of garlic, peeled and chopped ( but if you wanted more go for it!)
Salt to taste
1 T oil

Put all ingredients, except oil, in a zip lock bag and swish it around.. Marinate in refrigerator for about 24 hours. Put oil and entire contents of bag in a non stick pan and cook on medium heat until beef is tender and marinade is evaporated.

Sinagag ( garlic rice) (2 points/ 110 Calories/4 servings) recipe
2 cups cooked brown rice (although this is usually made with white)
1 t oil
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 t garlic salt
pepper

Heat oil in pan, brown garlic until fragrant, add the rest of the ingredients and cook until heated through.

Lighter Side Mashed Potatoes

I know in the past when I would make Mashed potatoes I would just keep adding butter and milk until I liked how it looked. Yes, it was super creamy and delicious.. but I have no idea how many calories I was putting into my body, and well that's not really a great idea when you are try to lose weight! With this recipe, I didn't even miss all the extras. I think I will be making my mashed like this from know on! Recipe from Stephanie Cooks

Lighter Side Mashed Potatoes (2 points/130 Calories/4 servings)

4 average sized red potatoes, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth ( or vegatable)
1 T Promise buttery spread.
2 T FF sour cream
pepper
garlic powder

Boil potatoes until fork tender, drain,  put potatoes back in pot you boiled them in. Add broth, spread, pepper and garlic. Mash with hand masher until smooth and stir in Sour cream.