Just another burger and a salad

Salad: baby romaine, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, pecans, and avocado topped with a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

Burger: BBQ sauce, onion, ketchup, tomato and avocado on a home made beef patty.

Buffalo Chicken Won Ton Bowls

Inspired by this recipe from Joyously Domestic. My won tons are filled with: shredded chicken, cottage cheese, diced tomatoes, and buffalo sauce.

After baking:
1 Weight Watchers Points Plus Values each.

After topping with cheese, ranch dressing, carrots and celery:
2 Weight Watchers Points Plus Values each.

Homemade Chicken Avocado Ranch Rolls

These are what I made with my improvised rolls! Approx. 10 points per, and worth every one!

"Improvised rolls"
+ chicken breast
+ cheddar cheese (broiled for melty goodness)
+ sliced tomato
+ sliced avocado
_____________
= YUM!

I'm sure crispy bacon and caramelized onions would punch the flavour up even more.

The Spaghetti Squash Experiment

I've made spaghetti squash in the past, but am always willing to try to get it to taste more like pasta. I didn't succeed this time, but gave it a valiant attempt with the topping. While the squash was in the microwave, I sautéed diced onion, minced garlic and diced tomato. To that, I added 1/2c pasta sauce,  1/4c 2% cottage cheese, and a few small home made meatballs (just extra lean ground beef with egg to bind it that I had premade, cooked, and frozen). Top it with a sprinkle of parmesan, and voilà! Supper!

Knockoff of Wendy's Baja Salad

I really quite enjoy Wendy's Baja salad. Lettuce, fresh salsa, guacamole, grated cheddar cheese smothered in piping hot chili. I was house-bound one day, and had some leftover chili on hand, so tried my hand at this.

It was also the first time I made guacamole, but certainly not the last! The guacamole was a bit of a mash up of a few recipes I found online. I basically mixed together mashed avocado, garlic salt, lime juice, diced onion and diced tomato.

Pepper Stuffed with Chili and Rice and Everything was Nice!

Mixed a 6-point serving of chilli with 1/2c. basmati rice (3 points) and spooned it into three pepper halves. Topped each with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and baked until glorious.

French Onion Soup

Mmm.... I don't remember when I first tried French onion soup - I know I was an adult - but now I can't imagine not having it! This is a lower point version of a more standard recipe that I find makes a deliciously filling and satisfying meal. When I'm hungrier, I add a salad or raw veggies as a side and/or a glass of milk to meet my dairy servings for the day. Usually, a bowl of this soup is about 6 points for me, depending on how much bread and cheese I add.

Recipe:
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 medium yellow onions, cut in half then sliced
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 box (900mL) chicken broth (I used Campbell's 30% less sodium)
• Stale/dried bread
• Grated cheese of your choice (I prefer old cheddar)

Instructions:

1. Put butter in a pot on low heat to melt while you slice the onions
2. Add onions to the butter and sautée until they start to caramelize (turn brown and smell sweet), stirring occasionally
3. Stir in the spoonful of flour
4. Pour the broth in and stir
5. Divide broth among four oven-safe bowls
6. Top with desired stale/dry/toasted bread followed by shredded cheese
7. Put into the oven at about 350F until cheese starts to melt, then broil until cheese bubbles

Nutrition information: 1/4 of recipe (before adding bread and cheese):
Calories: 95
Potassium: 333
Fat: 3
Carbohydrates: 14
Fibre: 3
Protein: 3
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 2

I add 1/2 to 1 slice of bread for another 1-2 points.
I usually add 20-40g old cheddar cheese on top for another 2-4 points.

Chicken Avocado Ranch Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Salad

For me, this meal is currently one of my favourites, but it takes some time to get ready. Something about it makes me think I should be enjoying it in California - perhaps it's the avocado...

The sandwich is made up of:

• Two pieces of Farmer's Market cheddar cheese bread

• 2 tsp butter (1 tsp spread on each outer side, for frying)

• 30g cheddar cheese

• A few slices of tomato

• 2-3 slices of avocado (I start with 1/2 an avocado, and put a couple slices into the sandwich, and dice the remainder and add it to the salad, so about 1/4 avocado in each)

• 3 oz chicken breast pieces

• 1.5 Tbsp Kraft low fat Ranch dressing

The salad includes:

• 2-3 cups baby romaine lettuce mix

• 1/2 medium tomato, diced (mostly, whatever was left after the slices went into the sandwich)

• About 1/3 granny smith apple, diced (I just nibble on the rest later)

• Approx. 1/4 avocado (I start with 1/2 an avocado, and put a couple slices into the sandwich, and dice the remainder and add it to the salad, so about 1/4 avocado in each)

• 2 slices of bacon, cooked extra crispy using my microwave tray, then crumbled

• Dressing of your choice (for this one, I used 1.5 Tbsp Farm Boy lemon garlic vinaigrette dressing)

Nutrition information: sandwich / salad

Calories: 512 / 166
Potassium: 385 / 386
Fat: 23 / 12
Carbohydrates: 38 / 17
Fibre: 4 / 7
Protein: 27 /  9
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 12 / 5

My rating: a filling and satisfying meal, mostly healthy ingredients, with healthy fats, plus the deliciousness that can only come from bread and butter (one of my weaknesses). The salad (or variation thereof) is on my menu at least weekly, but the sandwich is a rare delicacy.