Something New

Hello friends and readers who have probably given up on me and my ability to post. Yes, it's been almost another month with no posts! Have I been making fabulous healthy (mostly) meals? Yes! Have I posted them? No! Have I taken pictures of them to post them? Some... Some of them were too tasty for me to take a break long enough to photograph.

I really am trying to be proactive at being a better blogger! I even read an article on food blogging tips that a wonderful friend gave me. I'm gonna start by committing to twice a week. At least one recipe post a week and the other could also include a recipe or some healthy eating/planning tips, possibly a favorite new product or snack, or maybe a DIY project! On the non-recipe post days I'll probably share my two week meal plan (which consists of 5 meals for 2 weeks usually) and if there are any recipes from that list you want, just let me know!

I have learned the value of friends, support, and community in everything, EVEN the eating healthy weight loss journey. I love love love getting ideas from people. I know I'm gifted in the meal planning area and I know I need to stop keeping my ideas to myself! I promise to share more. We need each other! I'm back on Weight Watchers and pushing forward on the journey to be healthier and in the process smaller. I, a lover of food, cannot do this healthy eating thing unless it's creative and yummy. Weekly I discover new amazing, healthy, yummy thing.

So today, to kick off my attempt at being a better blogger I share a simple sweet fix recipe.

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Mini Microwave Minute Cake

This is a super easy, versatile healthy cake fix! Our Weight Watchers coach told us you can mix an angel food cake with any box cake mix in a Ziploc and mix 1/3 a cup with 3 tablespoons of water for a single serving, sweet tooth satisfying, cake that is only 5 points plus! Great info that I of course ran with and made my own. I used an orange cake mix and the angel food, poured in the Ziploc, shook and shook a little more for extra fun and calorie burning and keep it in my pantry for a quick non-guilty indulgence! I keep frozen peaches (the no added sugar kind) on hand and it's strawberry season.... Perfect zero point cake toppings! I thawed 1/2 cup of peaches in the microwave and stirred in some sliced strawberries and Splenda. I let that get all happy and juicy while I mixed and fake baked my cake. I used a combination of unsweetened applesauce and water instead of all water. Even though there are very limited ingredients and it could be a one bowl dish, I wanted to turn mine out and not eat it in the dish, so I mixed mine separately and then poured it into a Pam sprayed ramekin, like this one that I got in a 4 pack set from Wal-mart for super cheap. You may want to put a napkin under your dish because mine overflowed a bit. I topped with a 1/2 tablespoon of fat free sweet condensed milk for an extra point (SO worth it). I poured over the happy juicy strawberries and peaches, then added 2 tablespoons of fat free cool whip (0 points) on the fruit. SO satisfying. 6 points total and a NICE portion! 

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For my version: 

• 1 Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake Mix (or cake mix of your choice)
• 1 Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix

Mixed and stored in air tight container. 

• 1/3 of cake mixture
• 1 tbsp of unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 tbsp of water
• 1/2 tbsp far free sweet condensed milk
• 1/2 cup thawed, frozen peaches
• 1/4 cup sliced strawberries 
• 5 Splenda packets
• 2 tbsp fat free Cool Whip

Mix strawberries and peaches with Splenda, let flavors combine and juice. Mix cake, applesauce, and water. Pour into sprayed microwave dish. Microwave for 1 minute. Top with condensed milk, fruit, and cool whip. 

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Tomorrow is grocery shopping day! I love that day. My list is made and my meals for the next two weeks planned. All recipes will be skinnied and weight watcher friendly!

1. Mexican Chicken Casserole & Black Bean & Salsa Green Salad

2. Crockpot Honey Bourbon Chicken, Healthy "Fried" Rice, & Edamame 

3. Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (with leftover Honey Bourbon Chicken) & Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls

4. Parmesan Tilapia, Roast Potatoes & Lemon Peppered Asparagus

5. Shepherd's Pie & White Cheddar Broccoli 

Like I said, I won't be posting all recipes! I'm being practical. I'm sharing meals plans to assist in your own creative meal plans. HOWEVER, I'm always willing to send a recipe your way. Feel free to comment, Facebook, or email me if you want a specific recipe listed. Thanks for being faithful! Stay focused, healthy eating is way better!

True Love

So...

I'm gonna avoid that awkward moment where we discuss what a bad blogger I've been.

Yes. I know.

I know it's been since September. I also know you missed out on a lot of great recipes and excess rambling. But we're avoiding that, k? Okay, good.

I do think I'll do that thing I did last year, where I posted a list of all the recipes you missed and let you pick any that you'd like me to back track on. But aside from that, we're picking up now and moving along.

Now that we got that out of the way, I'd like to tell you the quite rambly-hyper-babbly-full of unimportant details story called today.

I was unusually hyper most of the day. It could have been because I had my second great hair day in a row. Or because I finally discovered my favorite coffee. Or because I dozed off early only to wake up and not be able to sleep until 3am and was actually confusing sleep deprivation with hyper. Whatever the case, it was an unexpectedly great day.

Today I had to be at work at 9am. I "accidentally" snoozed until 8:20. I needed to make coffee, pack a lunch,  and pack breakfast. I decided I did not have time for hair washing. So I predetermined and accepted it would just be bad hair day. But it wasn't! It's a fabulous hair day.

And then... something life changing and legendary happened.

Begin story interruption to pause for a brief interjection. I have been watching WAY too much How I Met Your Mother because I really wanted to use the word legendary way too many times by 10am this morning. I might have watched the entire first season on Saturday. End story interruption. 

To backtrack a bit, last night my RA visits and tosses something on my table. It was so casual, so not life changing. "Here, I got this for you." A free sample of Starbucks new blonde roast coffee.

Mundane. Free. I'll take anything that's free. Totally not legendary.

Since I woke up late and had no time to grind my normal (as of December) toasted pecan coffee beans, I reached for the already ground sample. While it brewed, I packed my healthy lunch and picked a cute outfit to go with my good hair day. I put on a sparkly owl necklace and my big over-sized sparkly owl ring. It was that kind of day. The kind where it's okay to wear big blingy over-sized sparkly owl rings.

And then... I poured the coffee. The color intrigued me. It was so... inviting. I measured out my creamer and added my sweetener of choice. I grabbed my purse and my work bag (which is just an excuse to have two purse-y things and carry even more unnecessary stuff around) and my lunch bag. Okay so I carry three bags. Don't judge me. Right before I walked out the door I took my first sip.

LIFE CHANGING!

I've never been one of those people who have a favorite coffee. I love Starbucks specialty drinks, which I could give you a list numbered  and bulleted with notes and seasonal details in order of which of those are my favorite. However, those are the cocktails of coffee. Even non-coffee drinkers can find one of those they like. Thus, I always felt like I was a minor league coffee drinker because I didn't have a favorite and couldn't tell the difference in normal brewed drip coffee. I mean don't get me wrong, bad coffee is bad coffee everywhere, but everything else tastes the same to me. Maybe a hint of this or that, but all in all, it's the same.

But today... My life changed. I officially have a favorite coffee. It felt like gold hitting my taste buds. So smooth and velvety. I am in love. Hyper. Rambly. Babbly. Dramatic. But in love. With a cup of coffee.

My good day and life changing, legendary coffee experience was so poetic it made me want to write and blog again. And you know me. I can't post a blog without a recipe. What goes best with life changing coffee? Scones! I'm back on the healthy wagon and putting away all those not so healthy holiday treat recipes until next year. But as you know, healthy is and can be yummy too! Thanks skinnytaste.com for always giving me modified "skinny" treats to satisfy my sweet tooth and scratch that I must bake at least once a week itch. I made her Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones to have for breakfast this week. Only 5 points each and really yummy! I followed the recipe exactly and oh how yummy one of these tasty little scones were with aforementioned legendary coffee.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year!

Nope. Not Christmas... AUTUMN! Okay... technically it's not until September 22nd, but almost! It's close enough for me to begin celebrating all things fall!! Living in the Louisiana (the land of few trees and even fewer than change colors) for the past four autumns, I forgot that Mississippi and places in the south can actually have autumn! Some of the trees are starting to change already. Driving down the interstate, a breeze of wind caught the leaves of a cute little yellow tree and they magically fluttered through the air. I actually got tears in my eyes and squealed "fall" in utter bliss with a big smile while driving in my car. So in my world, it is officially time to light the fall candles, put out the fall candy (it's so cute in a mason jar!), bake all the fall things, and hang my homemade fall wreath!

And so this weekend, the official weekend of the end of summer, I fully welcomed autumn with all the love I could deliver! How you might ask? A party with the kitchen, a few cans of pumpkin, and me! I'm so thankful for this season coming now! After a month of all the chaos that is the beginning of a school year in the higher education world, I'm finally back. Life has been so busy, three weeks of training, and the first hectic week of school and students moving in. I haven't been able to workout or eat properly at all! The good news, I didn't gain! The bad news, I didn't loose anything but my motivation. The coming of the season I love was just what I needed to find my motivation. I literally haven't cooked or planned a meal in a month (food provided, eating out, lots of cereal, etc.). This week, that all changed. I planned meals for the next three weeks and had a pumpkin/autumn extravaganza!

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Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese

I took this recipe directly from my favorite recipe blog skinnytaste.com. I didn't have agave nectar, so I added 3 extra tablespoons of brown sugar instead of the 2 tablespoons of agave. She mentioned that agave was sweeter. So, I started with 2. It wasn't quite sweet enough, so I added 1 more. It's SOOO good. I've been eating it with apples, but I can't wait to try it on bagel thins as well. The recipe makes a little over a cup. It's made with 1/3 less fat cream cheese and 1 point per tablespoon. I am fairly certain I will keep this in my fridge until spring reappears! 

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Pumpkin Butter

This recipe also came directly from skinnytaste.com . I didn't make any changes at all. She suggests 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, according to your taste. I LOVE pumpkin pie spice, so I used two. She says you can use apple cider or juice, I used juice. 2-3 cinnamon sticks, I used 3. I used Libby's canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling). Can I just tell you, this is amazing! In the comments on her blog post people asked how long it would last in the fridge, and she says 3 days. It makes A LOT, like 4 cups a lot. I plan on using it past 3 days though. I did some research and most places said you could use apple and pumpkin butters longer, up to 3 weeks. BUT still, there is no way I'd use 4 cups, so I am freezing some in ice cube trays for individual portions to store in a freezer ziplock bag. I do believe I will eat this for breakfast every day this week! It would be fabulous on pancakes, waffles, biscuits... Oh my gosh... MUST MAKE BISCUITS! My mouth is watering thinking about this yummy spread on biscuits. It's only 3 points for a 1/4 cup! This yummy pumpkin butter is also a the key ingredient in....

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Pumpkin Spiced Lattes

Another recipe straight from my favorite! Anyone else anticipate the re-release of Starbucks' pumpkin spiced latte every year? Or the pumpkin spiced coffee creamer that only comes out around the holidays each year. I am ecstatic when this happens every autumn! Gina (Skinny Taste's author) to the rescue again! I followed the recipe exactly, except... It makes 2 serving and I definitely drank all of it! 3 points a serving (or 6 if you drink both like me). You need this! I also looked up how to make espresso in a coffee pot. 1 tablespoon of coffee per 1/4 cup of needed espresso. So I brewed 2 cups of water + 8 tablespoons of coffee. I'll save the rest for another batch tomorrow. 

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And then, with all the yummy sweet pumpkiny things. I had to have an equally yummy fall dinner right? What better way to do that than in the crock pot?! My crock pot, Tyler Duff Crock Pot to be exact, is my favorite cooking tool for autumn and winter. It's just so warm and cozy! Chicken was on sale at Sam's, which isn't a typical crock pot meat, but I worked with what I had and threw some stuff together that came out really yummy!

Fall in a Crock Pot Chicken

For sounding more professional, in the picture I named it Autumn in a Pot. But doesn't fall in a crock pot sound so funny? Funny image for sure. But really, the ingredients kind of did fall in the crock pot! 

Ingredients:

-1 large sweet onion

-3 sweet potatoes, cubed

-3 boneless skinless chicken breast

-1 cup dried cranberries

-3 or 4 small Gala apples, sliced

-1 package chicken gravy mix

-chicken broth
-McCormick Smokehouse Maple Seasoning

-salt

-pepper

I tossed the onions in first, cut in half, quarters, and then once more. Threw the cubed potatoes on top of that. Sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and the McCormick seasoning. Seasoned the chicken breast on both sides with the same seasonings. Sprinkled the gravy mix over all of that. Tossed the apples and cranberries on top, poured over 1 cup of chicken low sodium, fat free chicken broth. I finished it with a little more of the maple seasoning, some nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick. Put the lid on, cook on high for 4 hours, and don't touch. It was really yummy! Very much an autumn meal: cozy, warm, and filling. 

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AND since I'm determined to eat healthy this week, I whipped up some fruity chicken salad to use for lunches. I usually do good with breakfast and dinner but not so good with lunch unless I have leftovers or plan! Breakfast this week will be full of pumpkin goodness! Since canned chicken was also on sale at Sam's, chicken salad sandwiches will make my lunches happy!

I don't use any full fat mayonnaise! I use a tad of fat free mayo and for the rest of the "wet" I use fat free sour cream.  A big can of chicken, dried chives, ground sage, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste. Red seedless grapes and 1 gala apple chopped. Perfect as a sandwich and yummy on crackers too! 

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Stay tuned tomorrow for Brownie Batter Dip, Strawberry Fluff, and Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Homemade Caramel Sauce! Also, if you haven't heard of pinterest.com, you are missing out! It's a virtual pin board! You can "pin" things you find on the web and like or things you make yourself (I've started pinning all my recipes). BUT the best part is browsing other pins. Everything from food, to DIY projects, to clothes, to crafts, EVERYTHING! You should follow me: pinterest.com/kasialindsay!

I hope you can enjoy and celebrate fall too! Or mourn the last official weekend of summer, if you must. (If you are one of *those* people, hehe kidding, I love you even if you don't love the coming season as much as me!) Happy healthy eating!

Make the Most of Summer!

If you know me, you could blurt out my favorite season without thought! I am absolutely head over heals in love with autumn. If you've ever been around me during a hot Mississippi/Louisiana summer, you've also probably heard me say how much I hate summer. Though the summers in the places that most people who read this live are flaming hot and ridiculously humid, I'm reluctantly willing to accept that summer has it's good sides too. This summer I've learned to appreciate summer for other reasons! Don't get me wrong, summer and I are still not bffs, BUT parts of it have grown on me. Any guess?? The food offerings to cook, bake and create with! (Pool time and vacations aren't so bad either.)

The summer is full of fun food. From the sweetest fresh fruits to the crispest fresh garden vegetables to a succulent red ripe garden tomato and even to those favorite dishes and grilled things we spoon on our plates at the many summer BBQs, parties and holiday celebrations. For those healthy eaters out there (that I've now become), we can be lead astray by some of those summer favorites. Salads packed and layered with mayo, desserts decadent with cream, butter and sugar. BUT we don't have to be trapped. Healthy does not at all have to mean a lack of flavor!

Potato Salad

Who doesn't love it? Whose Mamaw doesn't make the BEST one? It's good! No way around it. Unfortunately, most of our grandmother's recipes for potato salad are full of fatty mayonnaise. Skinny taste to the rescue again: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/06/baby-red-potato-salad.html! I was on call for 4th of July and couldn't attend the family BBQ, so my brother drove up and we had our own little cookout. He made ribs and I made the sides and dessert. It took a little convincing for me to talk him into letting me make a potato salad that wasn't like our Mamaw's, but he loved it! He said he even liked it better than normal potato salad. That speaks volumes, especially since he's not even on a diet! I made the recipe exactly like hers. For the very minimal mayo I used Kraft 50 % less fat olive oil mayo. Make sure to let it sit. It tastes so much better if it rests for at least 30 minutes.

Grilled Peaches and Apples

The fruit summer offers is too good to not take advantage of! You've seen my previous posts with summer fruits like the strawberry cookies and strawberry trifle. But the dessert I made for our cookout was with peaches and apples! I roughly used skinny taste's grilled peaches recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/grilled-peaches.html.

I used 1 peach and 1 apple, I prefer gala or fuji. Sprayed them with parkay spray butter, sprinkled them lightly with brown sugar. My brother grilled them, the peach was soft, the apple was not, but I like it that way. I mixed 1/2 cup of non fat plain greek yogurt with about 2 tbsp of honey. Then I mixed in 1/4 cup of fat free cool whip and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and mixed it into the mixture. I topped each half with a couple tablespoons of the mixture and drizzled honey on top. I also used my cinnamon sugar grinder to sprinkle cinnamon on top. 

Our very first cookout with no help from parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles was a success!

Make the most of the rest of summer! Grill everything! Watermelon is lovely grilled as are pineapple, peaches, apples, and every vegetable. Eat fruits like they are going out of style! Because they soon won't be as luscious and cheap. Mix 2 tablespoons of Nutella with 1 splash of milk to thin it out and dip strawberries in it! Best dessert and snack ever! And healthy! Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon our recipes will be filled with pumpkin, aromatic spices and winter squashes. 

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I LOVE strawberries. As soon as spring arrives and the cost drops you better believe they will be in my refrigerator. They are a "free" food on weight watchers and like candy! I was browsing recipes to make for community group and didn't want to purchase any ingredients. I wanted to work with what I had and happened upon a strawberry shortcake cookie recipe! Um.. yes please?! If you want the full fat recipe (which is totally acceptable sometimes particularly when feeding other, hehe) you can find the one I based mine from here. I adapted the recipe quite a bit to make it Weight Watchers friendly!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Ingredients with points: 

6 tbsp Brummel and Brown yogurt butter (6 points)

2 tbsp fat free sweet condensed milk (3 points)

little less than 1/2 cup of fake buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar) (3 points)

2 tbsp sugar (2 points)

1 cup whole wheat flower (8 points)

1 cup all purpose flour (8 points)

1/2 cup sugar (8 points)

"Free" Ingredients: 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp splenda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the splenda and set aside. In a large bowl (or stand mixer mixing bowl with flat paddle) mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Spoon the Brummel and Brown into the flour mixture 1 spoon at a time until you have coarse crumbs. Add fat free sweet condensed milk and 1/2 cup of fake buttermilk to the bowl and stir until the dough starts to come together. Gently fold in the strawberry mixture. If the mixture is too dry add more of the fake buttermilk, but not much! I used 2/3 and it was too much, they were too moist. 

Spoon a tad over 1 measuring tablespoon of dough onto a prepared baking sheet or cooking stone. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool for a few moments then transfer cookies to wire racks to continue cooling. The cookies are best the day they're made, but can be kept in an airtight container for 1 day.

38 points / 3 dozen / 1 point each

A little side note. Don't know what to do with the rest of that fat free sweet condensed milk? Add a tablespoon for 1.5 points to a bowl of sliced fresh peaches, nectarines or strawberries or add it to your iced coffee! A decadent treat!

Make Ahead Sweet and Savory Breakfast Muffins

I've seen the idea a lot lately, from friends, food blogs, the Food Network, and Weight Watchers meetings and materials of making breakfast early in the week to eat the whole week. I was hesitant to give it a try until recently. Why you ask? Because I am so predictable and OCD organized that I sometimes fight against adding more rituals. So I didn't want to be boring and eat the same thing for breakfast everyday! (Also, something I mix up my shower routine on purpose just to convince myself I'm not predictable). I was scared I'd tire of eating the same thing and then it would go to waste and that's a big no no! But, in Weight Watchers our instructor gave us a bran muffin recipe that actually looked edible!

Fiber One Strawberry Bran Muffins (click me) 

I loved them! I used Kroger brand strawberry yogurt. And that should be 1/4 cup of Parkay Spray margarine. I used the optional oat, splenda and cinnamon topping and they were pretty! I plan on experimenting with these by making pumpkin bran muffins! I'll update you when I do :). These are just 3 points a piece and not your typical cardboard bran muffins.


So, these opened my mind to the prepare breakfast for the week idea, which lead me to today's creation! I'm not sure whether to call them Egg Muffins or Crustless Quiche. Looking at recipes I saw both. I encountered the concept from a friend doing South Beach Diet. They are apparently a big South Beach Diet thing. Weight Watchers version were called Crustless Quiches. I think I like that better because it sounds fancy! These could easily be served as a party food too. I based my recipe off of this recipe, but completely made it my own. I didn't use wonton wrappers and my recipe is 1 points for 2!!

Crustless Mini Quiches

Ingredients with points: 

1 cup egg beaters (4)

3 tbsp bacon bits (3)
3 tbsp reduced fat Parmesan grated topping (3)
1 can (1 1/2 cups) fat free evaporated milk (12)
6 slices deli honey smoked turkey (1)
2 slices fat free american cheese (2)

"Free" Ingredients:
1 small vidila finely chopped
1/4th tsp salt
1/8th tsp pepper
1/8th tsp onion powder
1/8th tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chives
1 tsp parsley
(I actually have no ides on the measurements of the spices and herbs, so just do it to taste and look!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions until just almost translucent and set aside to cool. Whisk together egg beaters, milk, spices and herbs. Add bacon bits and Parmesan cheese, whisking together. Finely chop deli turkey and stir in. Stir in cooled onion. Finely chop 2 slices of fat free american cheese and sprinkle in (you could sub any cheese you like or have). If you have mini muffin liners, use them! If not, be sure to spray your pan well. I didn't have them and they came out fine! Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are puffed up and golden brown.

Let them cool in the pan for just a few minutes. They will deflate a little. Run a butter knife around the edge of each to remove and place on a cooling rack to cool. It makes 36 mini muffins. Made like this, they are only 1 point for 2!! They keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, reheat well and freeze well!

Zucchini Noodle "Alfredo" Lasagna

So, I'm not sure if technically speaking we can call this lasagna. I am a nerd and looked up to definition. Lasagna does specifically refer to the pasta, BUT other people call it that so we can too!

I was inspired by a friend who tried something similar, the fact that I had a HUGE fresh zucchini from my Pawpaw's garden and Hungry Girl's recipe. I pretty much used her recipe as a big base and made it my own. I used sun dried tomato basil laughing cow cheese wedges instead of just the swiss. I didn't use any noodles at all. I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I added ground turkey instead of mushrooms and spinach (because it's what I had). Lastly, I topped it with just Parmesan and no mozzarella (because I didn't have any).

So I give you what I'm calling...

Zucchini Noodle "Alfredo" Lasagna

Ingredients with points:
4 sun dried tomato laughing cow cheese wedges (4) or substitute any of the low fat Laughing Cow varieties
1 cup FF cottage cheese (3) or can substitute 1 cup fat free ricotta (5)
3/4 cup fat free sour cream (3)
1/4 cup egg beats (1) or can substitute 1/4 cup liquid egg whites / 1/4 cup egg beaters (1)
1 lb ground turkey (24)
6 tbsp reduced fat grated Parmesan topping, divided (6)


"Free" ingredients:
1 extra large zucchini or 3 small zucchini, end removed
1 medium vidilia onion
2 small bell peppers (I used 1 yellow and 1 green)
2 tsp. chopped garlic, divided
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp pepper, divided
1 tsp Italian seasoning


Directions:
Preheat oven to broil on low. Slice zucchini. I used my mandolin on the thin setting slicing length wise. You can also cut it in half widthwise, and then slice each half lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick strips. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and begin broiling zucchini slices in batches to get a lot of the moisture out. 


While zucchini is broiling add thinly sliced onion, bell pepper, and 1 tsp of garlic to a heated pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray (if you aren't counting points like I am, you can use olive oil, just be aware it will rise the nutrition facts). I added a couple of tablespoons of water to help the veggies cook down. I also sliced my onion and bell pepper on thin with my mandolin. You can also chop them if you'd like. I just like how pretty the round thin slices are. Add 1 tsp of Italian seasoning and sprinkle with salt. Add lean ground turkey. I used 85/15 BUT I rinsed it with warm water after to get the extra oil out. Drain (and rinse if you didn't have the leanest meat) and set aside. 


In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg beater (or egg whites), other tsp of garlic, oregano, basil, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Stir in ground turkey and set aside. To make the sauce, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine sour cream with cheese wedges, breaking cheese wedges into pieces as you add them. Stir in 2 tbsp. Parm-style topping, remaining 1/8 tsp. salt, and remaining 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Microwave in 30 - 45 seconds intervals, stirring in between until very warm. Stir until smooth and set aside. 


Change oven temperature from broil to 425. Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with nonstick spray. Blot your zucchini slices to remove any excess moisture. Evenly place 1/3rd of the cooked zucchini strips on the bottom. Spread half of the cottage cheese-turkey mixture on top. Evenly top with a thin layer of zucchini, followed by 1/3rd of the sauce. Repeat layering with the same amounts of zucchini, cottage cheese-turkey mixture, and sauce. Evenly top with remaining zucchini, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 4 tbsp Parm-style grated topping. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, until bubbly and cheese starts to brown.

You can add salt and pepper to taste if you'd like. I served it with a side salad. 

6 servings / 7 points a serving!