The avocado is unexpected and that makes it twice as good ! Mixed with the lemon and yogurt, this makes a very light yet creamy dressing.

Mixed Greens with Avocado Dressing

4 servings
106 calories per serving

1 avocado, cut into chunks
¼ c plain low fat yogurt
½ t grated lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 T water
½ t salt
4 c sliced romaine lettuce
4 c watercress or endive

In a blender mix the avocado chunks, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and 1 T water until smooth. Put dressing in a bowl and add greens and mix well.

Stuffed zucchinis are a great side dish. You can change up what you ‘stuff’ them with and that makes it easy to pick complementary flavors. This one is great next to Italian flavors and Italian inspired dishes.

Stuffed Zucchini

4 servings
162 calories per serving

2 medium zucchini
½ c onion, diced finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t oil
½ c chopped green bell pepper
½ c chopped peeled eggplant
½ c chopped tomato
¼ c Egg Beaters
1 t basil flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
20 Ritz crackers, divided
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Pam
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers leaving just a shell. Reserve 1 c of the insides and chop it up. Heat a skillet and add oil and sauté onion and garlic 4 minutes. Add pepper, eggplant, tomato and zucchini and cook 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in basil, salt and pepper, and eggs.

Break 15 crackers and stir into the veggie mix and then spoon the mix into the zucchini shells and place on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Crush the other 5 crackers and mix with the parmesan and sprinkle over the zucchini boats. Spray the crumbs on top of each of the zucchinis with the butter spray so that they brown a bit. Bake 25 minutes or until hot.

Often times the best thing about a salad is not the lettuce, but all the other stuff ! And this salad agrees No lettuce – - just all the good veggies in a great lemony dressing. If you have extra broccoli, throw it in. If you are out of celery, don’t’ sweat it ! Make this salad anything you want

Veggie Salad

4 servings
82 calories per serving

1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, shredded or sliced
6 radishes, sliced
1 T chopped parsley
2 T lemon juice
1 T oil
½ t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss tomato, cucumber, celery, carrots, radishes and parsley. Combine juice, oil, salt, pepper and garlic and mix well and then pour over salad and serve immediately.

So lemony, so garlicky, so very good and so very good for you !

Roasted Broccoli

4 servings
127 calories per serving

1 large head broccoli, cut into long florets
2 T oil
10 cloves garlic
½ t red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice on one lemon

Spray a baking sheet with Pam and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place broccoli and garlic on pan. Sprinkle with red pepper, salt, and pepper and then drizzle with oil. Cook 10 minutes and then stir. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon when you remove it from the oven.

This is my ‘recipe’ for a salad that contains ‘everything but the kitchen sink’. Sometimes it’s the best unplanned dish of the week.

By the end of the week I have a bunch of bits and pieces of veggies left over – so I use them all in a salad – whatever I have, it gets thrown in. And because the salad is so full of flavor from all the veggies, I use NO OIL. And that makes for one LOW CAL, LOW FAT salad !

Sometimes I even put in bits of other prepared salads I had made – this picture shows a salad where I added in some left over cucumber and radish salad – and even some black beans. Try it – it makes salad eating so much more pleasurable !

Kitchen Sink Salad

1 serving
30-80 calories per serving

2 c field greens or any other leftover lettuce you have
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t oregano flakes
Vinegar (balsamic, red wine, anything)
Citrus juice – up to a tablespoon of lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice – whatever floats your boat
1 c Veggies – cucs, broccoli, carrots, celery, jicama, zucchini
1/4 c Beans – black beans, chick peas, cannellini beans
1/4 c Fresh herbs – parsley, cilantro, basil

Mix it all up and enjoy !

This is sooooo close to my original Caesar Salad dressing and it is just a fraction of the calorie cost due to the reduction in oil and the removal of the egg yolk. This has that biting garlic and anchovy taste that makes a Caesar salad one of the best things on earth !

Anchovy and Bibb Lettuce

4 servings
45 calories per serving

2 anchovy fillets, mashed
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 ½ t lemon juice
1 T oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head Bibb lettuce (Boston, Romain or Green Leaf will also do nicely)
½ c packed parsley leaves

Whisk lemon juice, garlic and anchovies. Add in oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Tear lettuce and toss with dressing and parsley. To make the dressing preparation go quicker, drop the garlic and anchovies in a small food processor and process until well minced. Then add lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and process until frothy and well mixed.

Cucumbers done in a white vinegar dressing is a dish in many cultures…they are just meant to be paired. At only 20 calories per serving, this zesty side salad is a definite ‘go-to’ recipe of mine !

Cucumbers and Onions

4 servings
20 calories per serving

2 cucumbers
½ onion, sliced thin (try red onions for their mellower flavor)
½ c white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the cucumbers and then slice in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds (or use English cucumbers which are pretty much seedless) and then slice very thin. Place in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour.

This is great next to light soups and stews. And all you need is a toaster oven !

Cheesy Bread

1 serving
72 calories per serving

1 slice 45 calories whole wheat bread
10 sprays I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray
Sprinkle of oregano flakes
1/4 t garlic powder
1 T parmesan cheese

Spray bread with butter spray. Sprinkle with oregano, cheese and garlic powder. Place in toaster oven until lightly browned.

The garlic sauce makes ordinary potatoes come to life ! And the steaming creates a really nice consistency for the potatoes – almost creamy without being mushy or mealy. This is a great side dish when entertaining.

Steamed Potatoes with Garlic Sauce

4 servings
237 calories per serving

Water
8 small potatoes, unpeeled
2 heads garlic (whole heads)
2 t skim milk
1 t oil
1 t light margarine
2 t chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Place a steamer basket in a medium pot and add 1-2 inches of water. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the steamer basket – you want the potatoes to steam, not boil. Place potatoes in the steamer basket. Separate the cloves of garlic from the head, but do not remove the paper thin skins then scatter the garlic in with the potatoes. Cover and steam 20 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.

Remove garlic from pan and remove skins by squeezing the garlic up with your fingers and pushing the pulp out. Mash pulp with milk, oil and margarine and warm slightly over low heat. Remove potatoes from pan and cut in half and toss well with the sauce and parsley, salt and pepper.

The nutty flavor of the wild rice really mixes well with the mushrooms and makes this a great side for just about any dish.

Mushrooms and Wild Rice

6 servings
156 calories per serving

1 c wild rice or wild rice mix, cooked
2 T oil
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T chopped parsley
1 T lemon juice

Cook rice according to package instructions. Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat and add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and cook until mushrooms are browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds and then stir in cooked rice and remove from heat. Add parsley and lemon juice and stir well. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.