The story behind our blog began last December when we received the announcement that our eldest son Randy, had become engaged to be married. All of a sudden we realized that we had three weddings to attend this year, all black-tie events with the final wedding, Randy and Deborah's, being held in Manchester, England this November.
With the prospect of having to attend three formal events, and all of the ancillary parties associated with those events, all in the proper attire, Judy and I decided to make a life altering change.....LOSE WEIGHT!!!
So on January 1st of this year we joined Weight Watchers. Prior to joining WW, as we call it, we had been in the habit of eating out four to five times a week. When we joined WW we both decided that staying home and cooking for ourselves offered us the best opportunity to control what we ate and thereby gave us the best chance to lose those extra pounds that we wanted to lose.
Unlike diets that restrict what one may eat WW is simply a lifestyle change that teaches us we can eat anything we like so long as we control the portions. We've even learned that eating five or six small meals every three hours or so throughout the day is much better than eating the traditional three meals. I'm all for that!!
The problem was, although we love to eat all types of cuisine, we hadn't really attempted to cook much of it previously. As it turns out, we have had the best time cooking newly discovered dishes from all parts of the globe. We are creating new recipes and and adjusting others to maintain control of the "points value" of what we are making. We're having a blast in the kitchen, and in the meantime I have lost nearly 50lbs and Judy has lost more than 30lbs.
Cooking D'Lites will offer recipes and instruction along with photos and the occasional video of the dishes we have made and loved throughout the course of our lifestyle change.
We won't make any assurances that you will lose weight simply by following our recipes, as that is not the sole purpose of our blog. We only want to share what has become our love of cooking and ultimately eating what we have cooked, all in a new and fun way. We hope you enjoy. And, feel free to join us on this epicurean journey.
Our first recipe is, coincidentally, the first dish we prepared after joining WW.Rolled Turkey Breast with a Spinach and Ricotta stuffing.
This is very much like an Italian Involtino, but with a lighter stuffing. And easier to prepare. BTW, Ristorante Forli in Alamo, CA makes the best Pollo Involtino
Ingredients
5 tsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Shallots, or Onions, minced
10 oz. Spinach, cleaned
1/2 tsp Table Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup Part skim Ricotta cheese
1 Large egg white
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest Note: We got a new Microplane Zester/Grater for this and LOVE it!!
1 & 1/2 Pounds of boneless, skinless Turkey Breast, four 6 oz. pieces, pounded to 1/4 in thin
1/2 cup Water
Instructions
In a large non-stick skillet over moderate heat, warm 2 teaspoons of oil. Add shallots and cook until shallots begin to turn brown, stirring occasionally, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Cook Spinach in microwave according to package directions, set aside.
Mix Salt and Pepper together in a small bowl, set aside.
Mix Spinach with Shallots. Add cheese, egg white, zest, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper mixture, stir to combine.
Sprinkle turkey cutlets with remaining salt and pepper mixture. Divide Spinach mixture among cutlets and spread evenly over the top, leaving a 1/3 inch border. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.
wipe out skillet. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and cook cutlets over moderate heat until browned and almost cooked through, about 17 minutes. Add water and continue to cook until cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove to a serving plate, remove toothpicks (Very Important) and scrape up some of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour pan sauce over Turkey and serve.
Note: For an Italian flair heat approx. 14.5 oz can of No Salt added Diced tomatoes, season with a pinch of Italian Seasoning and 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder, pour over Roll ups prior to serving. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
Yields 1 Turkey Roll up per serving. Weight Watchers PointsPlus value of 7 per serving (Italian style - add no points)
Total prep time 20 min. Cooking time 23 minutes. Level of Difficulty is Moderate.
Well, this is our first day on the blog. We hope you enjoyed it and will follow us as we journey forth in search of healthy, delicious and fun recipes to prepare with a eye for low calorie, low fat and high fiber.
Weight Watchers is a registered trademark of Weight Watchers International, Inc..www.
This is fantastic! Love the Bride & Groom x
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