Sweet and citrusy, cold and refreshing – a great way to top off any summer meal.
Orange Sorbet
12 servings
93 calories per serving
2 1/2 c water
1 c sugar
Orange rind strips from 2 oranges
2 2/3 c fresh orange juice
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
Grated orange rind
Mix the water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil Add the orange rinds and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the mix into a bowl and get rid of the solids. Let cool to room temperature then add the juices and stir well. Refrigerate for an hour or more. Pour into ice cream maker and follow your maker’s instructions. Then freeze for one hour. Garnish with orange zest.
These are a delightfully plain cookie – sometimes all I want is just the flavor of a simple vanilla baked good without any pomp and circumstance. This is it ! And at only 21 calories a cookie, I can have 5 without any guilt. Dip them in coffee, serve with some yogurt of some fat free, sugar free pudding – or just indulge in their simple elegance.
Vanilla Rounds
24 servings
21 calories per serving (1 cookie)
2 eggs, separated
½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
¼ c sugar
2 t vanilla
¼ t grated lemon zest
½ c flour
Confectioner’s sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites until foamy. Mix baking powder, salt, and sugar and slowly add to egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Mix yolks, vanilla and zest and beat with a fork the fold into egg white mix. Sift flour over egg mix and fold until smooth. Use about 2 t of batter to make each cookie and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes. Cool on sheets a few minutes and then move to racks. Cookies will crisp as they cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar once completely cool.
Sometimes it’s the simplest things – and that is the case of this ‘recipe’. By adding a dusting of powdered sugar to already sweet fruit, you get a super taste sensation that the kids will gobble up. Try serving with some yogurt for a great breakfast.
Cantaloupe and Strawberries
4 servings
92 calories per serving
2 c strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 T powdered sugar
1 cantaloupe, seeds removed and cut into chunks or made into balls
This is a great side to ham and other pork dishes. It’s sweet, but not too sweet and the grilling brings out all the great pineapple flavor – it’s pineapple to the 10th degree ! 🙂
Grilled Pineapple
4 servings (2 slices per serving)
123 calories per serving
1 small fresh pineapple, peeled and cored – about 8 slices
(most supermarkets have fresh pineapple already peeled and sliced available in the produce section near the fruit salads)
Cinnamon
Heat grill or a grill pan on medium. Spray with Pam. Heat pineapple in the grill until light brown, about 10-15 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with cinnamon so it ‘melts’ in.
This quick cream sauce can be used on just about any pasta dish – added to the flavored fettuccine from FiberGourmet and topped with sauted shrimp – mmmm, mmmmm good !
Fettuccine and Shrimp
4 servings
346 calories per serving
8 oz. FiberGourmet Fettucine (without it you have to add 80 calories per serving) – I used a pepper flavored pasta and it was so awesomely spicy
2 T butter
½ c thinly sliced shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 lb. cleaned, peeled shrimp
½ t red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
½ c fat free half and half
1/3 c chopped parsley
1/3 c thinly sliced basil leaves
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Melt butter and sauté shallots 4 minutes then add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add shrimp to skillet and sprinkle with spices and cook until shrimp is just about done. Add tomatoes , parsley and basil and cook another minute. Then add half and half and keep warm on low temperature. Pour over pasta and serve immediately.
A little of this, a little of that – all on a roll … and you get a sub sandwich. This is a great mixed meat sub that is filling and a great take a long lunch.
Sub Sandwich
1 serving
394 calories per serving
1 small Club roll
1 T low fat mayonnaise
1 T mustard
½ c chopped lettuce
2 slices tomato
4 slices thin deli roast turkey (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
4 thin slices deli ham (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
1 slices low fat swiss cheese
Mix mustard and mayo and spread on the inside of both sides of the roll. Place all meats and cheese on roll and top with lettuce and tomato.
Prime rib is definitely not a low cal meat – but either in very small portions or having it on cheat day, I just gotta do it every so often. It has a flavor unlike any other cut of beef.
Prime Rib Roast
3 oz. serving = 250 calories
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rub liberal amounts of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder onto all sides of the roast. Place in a roasting pan and cook 20 minutes per pound for medium. Remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.
This dish is great served warm or chilled. I use this as the ‘surf’ portion for my Skinny Surf and Turf – it is so flavorful and fresh ! Shrimp is so low cal – it makes a perfect dinner.
Lemon Shrimp
6 servings
146 calories per serving
3 T minced garlic cloves
2 T olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
1 1/4 lb. cooked shrimp
Heat skillet and add oil. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and parsley and heat 1 minute. Stir in shrimp and cook 1 minute to heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper just before serving.
What a great change to your regular hotdog. The kids will gobble these up ! If you use a low fat bun and non fat hotdogs, you can get this calorie count down quite a bit.
Bacon and Cheese Hotdog
1 serving
330 calories per serving
1 low fat beef hot dog
2 slices cooked turkey bacon, crumbled
1 whole wheat hot dog bun
1 slice Kraft fat free cheese
1 T barbeque sauce or ketchup
Grill or boil the hot dog. Place cheese in bun and add hot dog. Top with sauce and bacon crumbles.
There are lots of pudding pie recipes out there, but this one is my favorite because it has a bit of everything – bananas, chocolate, shipped topping, peanut butter, nuts – this is decadence at its best 🙂 High on the calories, but still under 400 and if it’s your only snack of the day along with other 400 calories meals, then definitely allowed !
My Favorite Pudding Pie
10 servings
357 calories per serving
1 Nilla Pie Crust (pre-prepared pie crust made with Nilla wafers – much like a graham crust)
1 1/2 squares Bakers semi sweet chocolate
1/2 c peanut butter
2 bananas, cut lengthwise in half, then make long thin slices
1 3.4 oz. pack of sugar free vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 c skim milk
2 c Lite Cool Whip
2 T salted peanuts, chopped
Take half of one chocolate square and grate it with a coarse cheese grater to make chocolate flakes for the top of the pie. Take the rest of the chocolate and microwave 1 minute then add the peanut butter and microwave for another minute, until completely melted. Put banana pieces in the crust and add the chocolate mix. Whisk pudding and milk for 2 minutes and then fold in 1 c of the Cool Whip and spread over the bananas. Spread the rest of the Cool Whip on top and then garnish with peanuts and chocolate flakes.
