Bee Bandwagon unstuffed cabbage rolls

Remember I told you I saw this recipe somewhere on the internet and thought it was a good idea and that I could make it much lower in calories than the one shown.  Well here it is.

1 lb. ground turkey breast

1 sweet onion

Saute until done.

Add:

1 chopped small head of cabbage

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 c uncooked rice

1 can water

Any seasonings you want, I used:

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 shakes Tabasco

You could use garlic, Italian seasoning, whatever you think.

Simmer about an hour.

Done!

It was really good too!

So yesterday I did all the sheets and towels and got everything put away before I did over an hour in the pool.  It was sunny and hot and it was lovely.  I just love my life, I really do.

Tonight is poker, hope I do good like last week.  Have a great day in your world and I will too...

Yesterday I made this soup and I want to tell you it is seriously delicious.  I mean you would not believe there was no cream in it at all.  I cut back on the water and the oil and a nice sized bowl is only 40 calories.  Very filling too.  I can't wait to try it chilled!  Oh, and I found Vidalia onions so I bought a big bag of those and that's what I used.  If you are on the bee bandwagon please give this a try:

Two onions simmered (covered) until soft in a tablespoon of oil and a bit of water, then add one head of cauliflower with core removed and cut into pieces, 3 1/2 cups of water, pinch of salt and pepper, simmer the whole thing until soft.  Whir in blender (several batches) and it will burn you if you don't hold the top of the blender down with a towel.  Don't ask me how I know.

Today is canasta and poker.  After last week I really can't expect to win again but that's okay, it all evens out in the end I think.  And if I do win, all the better.

Have a great Tuesday y'all.  I will too, you can count on that!

Quinoa salad

Well this sure looked good in the recipe but honestly I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would.  I think quinoa would be a great addition to soup in place of a starch but that's about it.  Does anyone love it or have a recipe they love for quinoa?  I'd try another one I think.  Just in case.  Anyway this one has cooked and cooled quinoa, lemon juice, olive oil, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, salt and pepper.  

So yesterday I was sitting at my desk playing with some beads when the sun came out and I grabbed my bathing suit and got down there as quick as I could.  I did about 15 minutes and it started raining again.  Well I guess 15 minutes is better than nothing so I came back upstairs, got my shower, got on my gown and danced!  Why not?  It's good exercise, it's fun, it's free, and I like it.  Plus no one could see me so I didn't care if I didn't dance like a rock star.

Today is grocery day and I'll get to see the duck.  Maybe we'll have lunch too, we'll see.  He's been back on his diet pretty good too.  After his thyroid problem he had to adjust his diet and the medication until it was controlled properly but it seems he has it under control now.  Him and Dr. Wacks that is.

And now I wish you a lovely Sunday and one for me too...

Bee Bandwagon Apple Pie!!!

I saw a photo of these somewhere, don't remember where but thought it was a great Bee Bandwagon idea.  145 calories, pretty, healthy, and delicious!  

1 medium apple - 80 calories

1" strip refrigerator pie crust - 50 calories

1 teaspoon sugar - 15 calories

1 teaspoon lemon juice - 0

dash cinnamon - 0

Cut the top off the apple and using a melon baller (carefully) remove apple leaving about 1/2 inch of apple.  Cut up fine, and then add the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to cut up apple and place back in apple, piling it up a bit to use it all. 

First of all don't ask what a "strip" of pie crust is.  I took one of those rolled up refrigerator crusts and cut about an inch of it and cut that into 3 strips and broke each of those in half.  (see photo)

Place strips of crust on top and bake at 350* 45 minutes until browned, bubbly, and tender.  Then when cool you can eat the whole thing!

Oh, and please notice the pink and green dishes above!  Score at Bed Bath and Beyond!

Fish tacos and fun!

Is my world beautiful or what?  I love to sit on the terrace at sunset and just watch the changing sky.  It seems to change by the minute.

I also love fish.  I mean I really LOVE fish.  I decided to make some Bee Bandwagon fish tacos because I also love tacos but I don't love lots of calories in them.  Here is what I did...

I baked one tilapia filet at 350 for about 14 minutes.  I only added a tiny bit of salt and some black pepper to the tilapia.  I heated the shells for the 8 minutes they say during this time in the oven.

When done I divided the fish into three portions and added a tablespoon of my cole slaw and some wonderful avocado.  They came in at 470 calories for three.  They were just delicious and extremely healthy.  I will definitely make these again.  There is good fat, healthy protein, and taste!  

Other things you could add:  lemon juice, salsa, shredded lettuce.  I would not add cheese because I don't eat cheese on seafood.

Prep time, 10 minutes, total time, 25 minutes.  Score!

Have a great Saturday y'all.  I am playing canasta today so I know I will too!

Bee bandwagon banana muffins - mmmm

Feel free to leave out anything you don't like.  This is like a pina colada!

1 C self rising flour 455 calories

1/4 C sugar 75 calories

1 tablespoon oil 115 calories

1/2 C pineapple in pineapple juice 60 calories (like a small container from a 4 pack)

1 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla)
1/4 C walnuts chopped fine 180 calories ( I put them in the food processor)
1 egg 70 calories
1 small really (really) ripe banana so it's really sweet 75 calories

makes 8 muffins at 130 calories each

mix the egg, oil, coconut extract (or vanilla), banana, and pineapple with a fork, add sugar, nuts, and flour and stir until moist, do not beat.

bake in cupcake papers at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes or until slightly browned.

Chocolate cupcakes, beewagon style...

1 cake mix - 12 cupcake size

(do not follow box directions, instead add the following)

1 teaspoon coconut oil or whatever oil you use

1 cup coffee

1 container egg beaters

bake at 350 degrees 21 minutes

Frost with some fat free cool whip

and you have a 

95 calorie cupcake!

They are moist and delicious.  I froze the rest so I can take one out any time and dab some topping and have a treat.  It's nice to have cake in the house!  Cake makes me happy.  Very happy.  But you already know that!

Boy howdy yesterday I did my 30 minutes of water jogging just as this woman I didn't know got in the pool so we started talking and I kept jogging, well I did it for another 30 minutes without thinking about it.  It felt soooooo good!  And she was a very nice lady from Toronto.  

Today is my grocery day but I don't need much.  I already have cake!  Have a lovely day my friends... you know I will too!

Wednesday is Mahjong!

I love this brand of chicken and can get it in the Walmart

Remember I roast my chicken upside down.

The breast is so moist and tender then!

I also strain the broth and refrigerate it and then take off all the fat.  It makes wonderful soup!  All the little bits of chicken go in there too.  But for now I have the good parts to eat first.

What do I put on my chicken?  Why I am so glad you asked.  1/2 teaspoon of salt.  That's it.  I like it rather plain but feel free to stuff it with veggies and add seasonings too.  Just not me.

Today we are playing Mahjong at the club because the party room is being used so we'll have lunch there first.  They have a new menu and I love the new salads.  They used to be so huge and now you can get a smaller one if you want and they are plenty.  

I seem to be on quite a plateau as far as the scale goes but I'm not worried, it'll start moving soon.  It's just a tiny bit discouraging when I know I am exercising and eating 1200 calories a day.  This too shall pass.

I won again last night at poker but not nearly as much.  At break I was ahead about a hundred and a half but at the end of the night I was only up thirty bucks.  Anyway a win is a win and I like it.

So have yourself a wonderful Wednesday.  I know I will!

Tuesday and other stuff...

I roasted onions, peppers, and mushrooms

for some vegetarian figure friendly fajitas.

I know I showed you this before, they are so delicious.

Corn tortillas are less calories than flour.

Just add salsa and enjoy, no oil, only spray.

I yesterday I got up and got my bathing suit on and went downstairs to swim and what?  Cold!  Well 73 but that's too cold to swim.  Then it rained.  I came back upstairs and cooked instead.  

Today I have canasta and poker so I won't have to cook, just heat and eat.  I have lots of things already prepared in my fridge now.  All healthy things.  All low calorie things.  All delicious things.  That's the way to succeed.  Are you with me?

When you really want pizza...

Sometimes you get a craving that you just have to have a certain thing and nothing else will do.  If you try to avoid it you will probably just eat other stuff until you finally give in and then you have had way more calories than if you just had it in the first place.  But you can lighten it up, oh yes you can!

I got a small (4 pack) of crescent rolls (100 calories each) and made two pizzas by pressing it out really thin.  So each crust is 200 calories.  This foil is the non stick kind.  

I added jarred pizza sauce and red peppers because that's what I had on hand.  Add any veggies you want, I wish I had mushrooms but I already ate all of those!  The roasted onions would have been delicious too.

Some low fat Mozzarella cheese and into the oven at 425 for about 12-14 minutes or so.  This was in a preheated oven for exactly 13 minutes.  Honey it smelled so good cooking I almost swooned!

Voila, a 325 calorie pizza, well two of them so you can share.  And you can eat the whole pizza!  The last time I had a slice of pizza I even blotted the grease and it still made me sick.  This did not. And lucky me, I had one for lunch and the other for dinner with a salad.  I didn't even reheat it, just ate it room temperature.

I don't know what happened to the weather man yesterday but it never got over 73 degrees so no pool for me.  I was already in my suit and ready to go too.  It was damp and chilly.  But no fear I found things to do.  I always will too.  

Tuna - it's what's for dinner!

Have you tried the mayo with olive oil? 

Only 35 calories per tablespoon.

I don't really measure but it's not too mayo'y.

Is that a word?

Anyway I'd say about 100 calories for 1/2 cup with everything.

But if you pop it in a tomato

and add lettuce

and pickles - two kinds

a few olives

some carrots

and some celery?

Maybe a 1/2 serving of Special K crackers?

Well my friends -

You have a 250 calorie delight!

I'm sorry if it's cold where you are but it's really warm here and I just didn't want to turn on the oven so that's why I made the above salad.  

I don't have cards today so I'll be "you know where" enjoying myself.  

Less than two weeks until the bloggers cruise.  The duck is so excited.  I got an email from John Heald yesterday, he is so sweet.  He said he was thinking about us.  I never knew anyone like him, the most caring person, he is Carnival's spokesperson and Senior Cruise Director and we can't wait to see him again.  Last time Sarge and I got to have dinner with him one night and that is a great memory.

Well have a wonderful day y'all.  I sure know I will1

Beans and potatoes with ham...

Fresh green beans

Piece of lean low sodium ham

Cut up potatoes

Pepper/tiny bit of salt

Water to cover bottom of pan

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 2 hours

200 Calorie meal!

Now I realize Yankees only cook fresh green beans two or three minutes but in the south we cook them and they are delicious.  This made three meals for me but would feed a family if you added bread or another vegetable or maybe a salad.  And for some reason I like my green beans whole, I have no earthly reason why, I just do.

Years past I would make this with a ham hock but I really don't like all that fat now, this way is much better.  Sometimes I also use cabbage instead of green beans.  I like it just as much and it's just as filling and healthy and low calorie.

If you aren't liking the cooking stuff I'm sorry, I'll try to tell you other stuff so you'll be interested too but us Bee Bandwagoners are on a roll y'all!  Happy and healthy we are!  2013?  Bring it!

The omelet...

Remember those roasted mushrooms and onions I kept aside?

Well here they are, repurposed for a delicious omelet!

Warm them first and then pour the egg/egg beaters slowly over them.

Cook until set and fold over the edges.

Add 40 calorie wheat toast, some jam, and some salsa.

250 calorie plate!

Yesterday the duck and I went out for an early supper to the Cheesecake Factory.  Since they now have those wonderful skinnylicious things it's easy to eat there.  I had the best salad of my life, it had chicken and black beans and all kinds of wonderful things and I was able to stay on target with it too.  It was so big I actually ate until I got tired!  I never did finish it either.  Too bad the dressing was already on it because I couldn't bring it home, it would have been all soggy if I tried.  Anyway it was wonderful and I will have it again next time.

Happy Wednesday everyone, I'll be at the pool today!

Some more on food...

Okay some of you asked me about the roasted vegetables.  I thought I wrote about it before but I might be wrong.  If so, skip this if you want.  

I use non stick foil, spray it, add whatever vegetables I want to use at the time and spray the top of them.  Add a tiny bit of salt and as much pepper as you like.  I roast them for one hour - the first 25 minutes at 425 and the last 35 minutes at 350.  

The reason I turn down the oven is when I put in the chicken breasts they roast at 350 for 35 minutes.  Everything is done at the same time then.  I hope this made sense.

The photo above does not have mushrooms but I usually add them too.  Red peppers are good, celery, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, onions of course and really whatever else you like.  This pan is about 3 meals worth for me.  I know I told you I like a lot of food!  They do shrink down some when they cook.  They go from brobdingnagian to normal.  (That's a Sheldon word.)

Last night I had leftovers so I don't have anything new to show you today.  Soon I'll be cooking again.

So yesterday I subbed in a canasta game and I won ten bucks!  I'm playing next Saturday too.  

And they were having an auction upstairs at the club.  They had a bunch of stuff from drug busts and stuff like that.  Of course we went and looked before cards.  I found a gold rolex with 8 carats of diamonds with a minimum bid of $15000.  You have no idea how close I came.  It was appraised at $80000.  It was bee-u-tee-full!  I mean really beautiful.  But then I though, where in the world do I go to wear it?  So, sadly, I walked away and went downstairs to the card room and that was the end of that.

Today it's Publix and if it's not too cold swimming but I'm doubtful.  I'll just walk more.  Hope your Sunday is lovely.  I know mine will be!

It's what's for supper...

Okay Bee Bandwagoners... I told you I like a lot of food.  I guess I'm like hungry girl or something. Anyway this is last night's supper.  

The lower right is baked chicken, I only eat a half a chicken breast, on the left are roasted root vegetables, onions, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms and on the top is steamed broccoli and cauliflower.  That was quite a plate of food and it weighed in at less than 300 calories.  This kind of cooking is how I can stay on 1200 calories a day. 

For a snack I had fruit and before bed a decaf latte and a small biscotti.  I want to show you more of my meals if you are interested.  

This very healthy meal is extremely low in fat (I only used spray on the veggies when I roasted them) and very low sodium.  It only took about 10 minutes to prepare, an hour to cook in the oven for the vegetables and the last 35 minutes I put the chicken in, and there you go.  Now I have two more meals already prepared because today I have canasta and when I come home I can "heat and eat".  There is also enough chicken for a sandwich in the next few days.  Nothing will be wasted.

Did you wonder why I roasted the vegetables for an hour?  I know they are done sooner but I use non stick foil and spray the bottom of the baking sheet and if you leave them in that long they brown up so nicely.  The onions taste just like they are fried but they are not.

Also some of the roasted onions and mushrooms will be delicious in an omelet made with egg beaters or one egg (I like either) and some salsa on top and a bit of fruit on the side.  Be creative, think ahead at the produce stand, plan, cook and LOSE weight!  Oh, and feel wonderful while you are at it.

And if you need to be on the Bee Bandwagon and aren't, why not?