Running for Motivation

I did it.  I officially registered for a half marathon.  No more 10k's just to keep myself in shape and running.  A half marathon.  June 30.  I will actually have to train for this one.

As I've said before, my life has become WAY hectic, and it has been close to impossible for me to find time just to cook dinner - let alone write for my blog.  Right now, we have a couple of weeks of state testing at my school, so I have some much needed time to catch up on all my favorite blogs, and even write a few posts myself.  I really do miss cooking and writing HG reviews on a regular basis. 

One thing that has, in a way, replaced my regular blogging is running.  I was in desperate need of a way to get some new motivation.  I am less than 10 pounds away from my original goal weight of 145 pounds, but I can't seem to quite get there.  I am proud to say that, although the scale has gone up and down a few pounds, I have pretty much been maintaining my weight during the past 6 months or so.  But, I want to lose weight, damn it! 

So, I registered for a half marathon.  I've been running a few 10k's here and there, but I haven't done a half marathon since the Disneyland half in 2006.  More than five and a half years ago.  Pre-kids. 

I have been thinking about doing another half marathon for about a year now, but I just couldn't figure out how to find time for the training.  With working late Mondays and Wednesdays, and trying to spend as much time as possible with my two kids and husband, time is definitely limited now.  So, I run at night after the kids go to bed. And I run early Saturday morning before they wake up.  Here is my current running schedule:


Tuesday  - 5 mile speed run on treadmill (9pm)
Thursday - 4 - 5 mile hill run on treadmill (9pm)
Saturday - 8 - 11 mile long run outside (6am - 7:30am)


Crazy, right?  It's working, though, and that's what counts.  And even though it is so hard to run after a full day of work and kids, or to wake up at 5:30am on Saturday to get ready to run 8 - 10 miles, it has been worth it.  I feel like a runner again.  And the weight is starting to come off again. 

For kicks, I pulled out my running file where I have kept all my times from my previous races.  I had forgotten how fast I used to be, and it has given me even more motivation to train for this half marathon.  While I don't think I will get a new PR (personal record), it is something to strive for next time (and there will be a next time).  Here is my race history:

Pre-Baby:
San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon - 6/5/05 - 4:44:29
Long Beach Half Marathon - 10/16/05 - 1:57:28
Orange County Half Marathon - 1/8/06 - 1:55:29 - (my personal record, an 8:58 pace!)
Carneros Wine Country Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon - 7/16/06 - 2:26:21
Disneyland Half Marathon - 9/17/06 - 2:01:22

Post-Baby:
Apple Valley 10k - 10/24/09 - 58:38
Apple Valley 5k - 10/24/09 - 32:14
Calabasas Classic 10k - 11/8/09 - 1:14:43 (with friends)
Universal Studios 10k - 12/13/09 - 56:36
Calabasas Classic 10k - 11/13/11 - 1:04:46
Universal Studios 10k - 12/4/11 - 1:18:17 (with friends)
Victory 4 Victims 10k - 4/15/12 - 59:08

TBD:
Mojave Narrow Half Marathon - 6/30/12

I'm so excited to be back in the game, so to speak.  I feel good about my running, am comfortable running up to 8 miles so far, and know it will only get easier as I lose more weight.  I just hope my motivation will last this time and I will finally reach my goal weight once and for all!

Colossal Asian Veggie 'N Chicken Pack

Per Serving (1/4th of recipe, about 1 1/2 cups): 5 Points+
222 calories, 1.5g fat, 811mg sodium, 19g carbs, 3.25g fiber, 9.5g sugars, 30.5g protein 

The recipe: "300 under 300", pages 170 - 171
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1587 

As I've said before, I love making Hungry Girl foil packs.  They are quick, easy, and always turn out moist and yummy.  This recipe had TONS of veggies in it, which I love.  You get so much food for so little calories - awesome! 

My main complaint about this recipe was the lack of sauce.  For all those veggies, there was only 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, along with a little rice vinegar.  I like to be able to taste my sauce!  Plus, when everything is cooked in the foil pack, the veggies release quite a bit of liquid, watering down the already too-small amount of sauce.  In other words, this recipe needs more sauce! 

To compensate, I ended up adding soy sauce to my serving.  Although it adds a lot of sodium, it doesn't really add any calories, and it was worth the added flavor this dish was desperately needing.  If you make this recipe, it might be worth it to add a tablespoon of lower calorie stir-fry sauce to each serving for more flavor.  I have found ones for only 20 calories a tablespoon that taste great.  The portion size alone is a good reason to make this dish, even though it needs a little help!

Pow! Sock! Bam! Jambalaya

PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, about 1 1/2 cups): 6 Points+
256 calories, 5.5g fat, 688mg sodium, 30.5g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 6.5g sugars, 20g protein 

The recipe: "300 under 300", page 242
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1603

The other night, I actually had some time to cook dinner for my family!  I chose this recipe because I thought it would be something different for a change - not to mention I love jambalaya.  Unfortunately, the recipe didn't turn out.  The photo above is the giving up point of this recipe.  Sadly, it wound up in the garbage after I rescued some of the sausage from the pot.  I was disappointed to say the least, since it was my first Hungry Girl recipe for the blog in quite some time now. 

My problem was the rice.  When I saw that the recipe called for uncooked rice, and that it was supposed to be cooked for 35 minutes, I had a feeling it would actually take much longer to cook the rice.  My rice NEVER got cooked, though, and I'm not sure what the heck I was doing wrong.  I covered it and reduced the heat to medium low, like the recipe said to.  Perhaps the heat wasn't up high enough?  It was hot enough to bubble the entire time, though.  The liquid in the pot got completely soaked up into the still-undercooked-rice, so I added some hot water, thinking that would help.  Nope!  After an hour and a half - yes, an hour and a half! - I gave up on the recipe and called it a day.  Luckily, I never did add the shrimp, so I didn't waste so much food.  But, I really hated having to throw everything away.  The rice was crunchy, though, and it is almost impossible to eat something with undercooked rice in it. 

I am not saying this recipe is hopeless, though.  The flavors were very good, and I could tell it would have turned into a nice and flavorful jambalaya.  It definitely had some heat to it, but I like spicy foods.  My recommendation is to cook the rice separately, and to use that in the recipe instead of uncooked rice.  There shouldn't be a problem with having too much liquid, since there wasn't enough liquid to cook the uncooked rice in the first place.   

Hopefully I will have more success with the next recipe!  I will try to make this again in the future and do a new review for it.  Next time I will be cooking the rice before adding it to the pot!

Spicy Chicken Crunchtastic Supreme

Per Serving (entire recipe): 6 Points +
240 calories, 3.75g fat, 897mg sodium, 33.5g carbs, 7g fiber, 3g sugars, 23.5g protein

The recipe: "300 under 300", pages 340 - 341
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/880

This recipe is supposed to be an imitation of a menu item you can find at Taco Bell.  I love Taco Bell, but I usually avoid it since there are very few healthy options to eat there.  I was pretty skeptical that this recipe would actually taste like a fast food dish.  Surprisingly, it did! 

I did not have a high fiber tortilla to make this with, so mine was probably an extra 50 calories or so.  But, I made another one a day later, and it tasted just as good with the high fiber tortilla.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that the final cooking process made all the ingredients warm, like the fast-food version you can buy, or the fact that the substituted ingredients are similar to the actual thing, but this really did taste like I was eating a fast-food meal.  I even felt a little guilty after eating it, and had to remind myself that it was not the same as eating the real thing. 

Since making this last week, I have made this two more times - both with a high fiber tortilla.  It tasted just as good each time, and I think this is going to now be on my list of favorites.  It definitely satisfied my Taco Bell cravings, so anytime I feel like Taco Bell again, I will make this recipe.  Yum!

Cheesy Pigs in Bacon Blankies

Per Serving (1/8th of recipe, 1 pig in a blanket): 4 Points+
164 calories, 6.75g fat, 877mg sodium, 16g carbs, 0g fiber, 3.5g sugars, 10.5g protein 

The recipe: "300 under 300", pages 178 - 179
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1495

Since I have been so busy recently, and am often not home to cook dinner, my husband actually pitched in and made this recipe for me.  Not bad, huh?  One of my kids' favorite lunches is pigs in a blanket.  So, I figured they would love this recipe.  For their pigs in blankies, we eliminated the bacon, but they loved the fact that there was cheese inside.


This recipe was fairly simple, with a nice twist on a classic favorite.  We added broccoli for a side and called it dinner, but you could definitely eat this for lunch or even a snack.  The calories were low enough where you could easily have two of these and not have overdone it.  These were easy to make, and worth trying.

Eggs Bene-Chick Mug

Per Serving (entire recipe): 4 Points+
153 calories, 1.75g fat, 831mg sodium, 15.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 2.5g sugars, 20g protein

The recipe: "300 under 300", page 26
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1499

While I avoided the Hungry Girl egg mugs for quite some time (microwaving eggs seemed gross to me), I am now finding they are actually pretty good.  I love eggs benedict, so I gave this recipe a try.  This turned out nice and tasty. 

I was worried that the english muffin would turn out soggy or chewy, but, surprisingly, it didn't.  By lightly toasting it before nuking it, the muffin stays a nice texture.  There was the perfect amount of english muffin, egg, ham and sauce in this recipe.  So good!  I loved the hollandaise sauce as well.  It was nice and tangy, and made me feel as though I was truly eating Eggs Benedict.  A good substitute for a breakfast favorite.

Insanely Irresistible Corn Pudding

Per Serving (1/12th of recipe, about one 3-inch square): 3 Points+
116 calories, 2.25g fat, 235mg sodium, 20.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 6.5g sugars, 3.5g protein 

The recipe: "300 under 300", page 416

While this was definitely tasty, I would not say that it was "insanely irresistible".  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess I thought it would be more pudding-like and less corn bread-like.  To me, this just tasted like a moist cornbread.  Good, but I'm not sure if it was really worth the calories.  The serving size was fairly small as well.  While it looks like a nice-sized slice, it was very thin, so there wasn't much to it. 

Overall, I would rather just have a small slice of cornbread instead of this recipe.  Or, even better, save the hundred or so calories and skip it altogether.  If you are a cornbread fan, this might be worth a try, though.

Oh Honey! Walnut Shrimp

Per Serving (1/2 recipe, about 8 shrimp): 5 Points+
208 calories, 4g fat, 658mg sodium, 18.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 10g sugars, 24g protein 

The recipe: http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/show/2160

This recipe was featured in an email not too long ago, and it reminded me of a chinese food dish my husband loves.  Since I'm always trying to convince him that low calorie food CAN taste good, I thought this would be a good recipe to make.  Unfortunately, he came home late and had gotten fast food on the way home.  Definitely not healthy!  So, I got to eat this dish on my own.

While I am not as big a fan of the Honey Walnut Shrimp dish my husband loves, I did think it was pretty tasty.  This recipe, however, was definitely not as good.  And I don't think it was just because it was made to be lowfat.  The sauce on the shrimp was a little to mayonnaise-y for my taste.  I did taste honey a little, but the mayo overpowered the other flavors.  It ended up having a creamy taste to it, but not in a good way.  I added a little soy sauce to the dish, which helped with the overall flavor. 

Unfortunately, the HG email states that this dish does not refrigerate well, and to consume immediately.  Since I was the only one eating this dinner, there were some leftovers.  With soy sauce, though, the leftovers tasted just about as good as the original meal.  The breading was just a little bit soggy. 

Overall, I was not a big fan of this dish.  I would skip it and try one of the other HG Chinese food recipes instead.  There was even a new HG email out this week for an orange chicken recipe that I might try out in the future.

The Morning Waffle Dip

Per Serving (entire recipe): 8 Points+
299 calories, 5g fat, 1,075mg sodium, 43.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g sugars, 23.5g protein 

The Recipe: "300 under 300", page 78

On the weekends, I like to deviate from my usual breakfast of oatmeal and a banana, and try something different.  This recipe called out to me because it has both sweet and savory ingredients - one of my favorite combinations.  The idea of using waffles as the bread in a breakfast sandwich sounded like a fun idea as well.

This sandwich was very easy to make, and I was eating my breakfast in no time.  All you need is some Egg Beaters, turkey bacon, fat free cheese, and, of course, low fat waffles.  After you put that together in an already yummy sandwich, you then get to dip it in sugar free syrup.  So good!  And compared to the usual calorie amounts in a restaurant meal that includes waffles, eggs, bacon, and cheese, you can't beat only 299 calories.  Try this and enjoy!

Outside-In Cheeseburger Patty

Per Serving (entire recipe): 4 Points+
179 calories, 6.5g fat, 502mg sodium, 1.5g carbs, 0g fiber, 1g sugars, 26.5g protein 

The recipe: "Hungry Girl 1-2-3", page 15
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1251

This is one of the rare Hungry Girl recipes that actually calls for ground beef.  Usually, HG seems to use lean or extra-lean ground turkey in her recipes.  Since I don't eat red meat, I made these patties with lean ground turkey, which has similar stats to the extra lean ground beef (just a tad more calories and fat).  The main reason I picked this recipe is because my husband loves mushrooms and cheese.  What could be better than a cheese and mushroom-filled burger? 

To save time, and from having to flip the burger patty, I cooked mine on my George Foreman Grill.  I had quadrupled the recipe, and actually made four patties.  Although the cheese didn't necessarily ooze out of the burgers, you can visibly see the cheese trying to escape out of the patty in the picture above.  I tried my best to completely enclose the cheese into the meat, but it was just a little difficult to do. 

The good thing, though, was that there was a fairly large amount of cheese.  A whole laughing cow cheese wedge in the middle of a burger patty is a good amount to make it nice and cheesy.  The mushrooms and other seasonings made this burger have a yummy flavor.  Everyone in my family enjoyed these, and I would consider making them again.  Maybe next time I can perfect the art of completely enclosing the cheese in the middle!

Scoopable Creamsicle Crush Pie

PER SERVING (1/8th of dessert, about 2/3 cup): 3 Points+
112 calories, 0.5g fat, 284mg sodium, 25g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 15.5g sugars, 3g protein
 
The recipe: "Hungry Girl 1-2-3", pages 236 - 237
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1323

As usual, I was in the mood for dessert the other night, so I picked out this recipe to make.  I liked it because it didn't require any baking, and was easy enough so that my three-year old could help me make it.  His favorite part was crushing up the Nilla wafers.

I love the flavor of orange creamsicle, so I was excited to try this dessert.  The only drawback was having to wait an hour for it to set.  Yes, I am impatient when it comes to my dessert!  This turned out really good.  Everyone in the family liked it, and it was even better the next day.  I think the best bet is to let this sit for several hours before serving it so the flavors get a chance to set.

What I liked most about this is that it is only 112 calories per serving.  What a calorie bargain for a delicious dessert!  It was creamy, tangy, and sweet.  I definitely recommend giving this a try if you like the flavor of orange creamsicle.

Cheesy Broc Star Soup

Per Serving (entire recipe): 3 Points+125 calories, 5.75g fat, 796mg sodium, 11.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 4.5g sugars, 7g protein

The recipe: http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1102

It definitely feels good to be back writing my blog again.  I have so many recipes to review and notes to go through, that I should be busy for a while!  This soup I actually whipped up for dinner last night.  My husband is sick, so I was in the need of something quick and easy that I knew the kids would like.  Cream of broccoli soup has always been a favorite, so when I saw this email a while back, I made sure to print it up and set it aside. 

Usually, I make a cream of broccoli soup with reduced-fat Velveeta, milk, fat-free cheese, and of course, broccoli - but it is still not as low in calories as I would like it to be.  This recipe is only 125 calories for a bowl - a definite bargain!  While my three-year-old was intent on having cereal and a banana for dinner, I made myself a bowl of soup to share with my one-year-old.  I let the three-year old try a bite, and he then proceeded to tell me that he needed his own bowl.  The nice thing about this recipe is that it takes very little time to make, so I quickly made him another bowl.  And since you blend the broccoli-cheese mixture with cold soy milk (at least mine was cold), it cools it down to a kid-friendly temperature.  No need to wait forever for the soup to cool after blending it.  Just eliminate the final step of microwaving it to get it hot again and it will be a nice warm temperature for little ones.

I ended up blending the soup for about 15 seconds or so, until there were only a few little chunks left.  If I were making it strickly for myself, I might add even more broccoli to it and leave it chunkier.  This soup was a hit with the kids.  The three-year old ate his entire bowl, and the one-year old ate the majority of my bowl.  I ended up having to make myself a veggie burger later because I had hardly eaten any of the soup myself! 

I will definitely be making this again.  It has only three ingredients, take less than 5 minutes to make, and is cheesy and delicious.  A win, win, win situation!

Sorry to have disappeared on you like that, but...

Wow, have I missed everyone!!!  I have been thinking about my blog on a daily basis, and it is killing me that I have been unable to write anything.  I wanted to stop in and let everyone know that I am fine, but that my life suddenly got so busy that I have hardly had time to think.  I've alluded to the fact that my husband has been in and out of unemployment over the past three years.  Mostly, it has been great.  He is a wonderful stay-at-home Dad, and I actually enjoy having him home with the kids instead of working all the time. 

However, the financial reality of him being out of work for so long is finally hitting us hard.  As a result, I have had to take an additional night-school teaching position at my work, as well as teach classes on Saturday mornings.  Because I now have a 55 hour work week, that leaves little time for anything other than a few precious hours of family time during the week.  Along with trying to squeeze in the occasional treadmill run at 9pm, and maybe some relaxation time (what's that?!), it has been nearly impossible to write my blog.

Never fear, though!  I am still cooking Hungry Girl recipes, and have several that I will soon be posting reviews for.  My goal is to start posting again next week.  Things are calming down at work now that I am getting settled in, and I should start to have some free time to post reviews again.  I also have a lot of catching up to do with everyone else's blogs!

Although it is challenging being so busy with work, I do have to take a step back and realize how fortunate I am.  Not many people even have the option of taking on extra hours at work.  Most people are lucky to just have a full-time job.  Even though my husband is still out of work, I am thankful I have the job I do, and that the kids do not have to be in daycare right now. 

So, I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine of blogging again.  See you next week!

Mexi-Licious Pot Stickers

Per Serving (1/6th of recipe, 4 pot stickers): 4 Points+
175 calories, 3g fat, 459mg sodium, 21.5g carbs, 1.75g fiber, 1.5g sugars, 13.5g protein

The recipe: "300 under 300", pages 370 - 371

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.  Did everyone manage to stay on track with their diet?  Not me!  Baking delicious Christmas cookies for two days straight was a disaster for me.  At some point, I gave in to temptation and ate so many cookies I lost count.  I read somewhere that the average American gains 8 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's.  If I don't stop eating all these darn cookies, that will definitely be me.  On the plus side, I am planning on continuing my boot camp class through January, and my husband got me a Body Sculpting iFIT card for my treadmill, which I am super-excited to try out.  On top of all that, I won an iPod shuffle at my work holiday party, which I was in desperate need of a new one.  In other words, the exercise gods seem to be working in my favor, which I am hoping will help me lose any weight I may have gained over the holidays.  Well, on to the review:

The other night, I made these pot stickers, in the hopes of finding a new and exciting way to eat Mexican food.  They turned out so good!  They do take a little bit of time to assemble, but it is well worth it.  The filling is very tasty - similar to a meat, bean, and cheese burrito filling.  Cooking it in a won ton wrapper makes it fun to eat, while keeping it low-calorie. I ate mine with sour cream and salsa on the side, but they are so good that it is definitely optional.

The only negative thing about these is they are only meant to be an appetizer, rather than a meal.  You would obviously have to eat something else to be full.  But, you could easily eat two servings of these for a meal, and still stay under 400 calories for your dinner.  Add a salad to that and you should be nice and satisfied. 

Chicky Pad Thai

Per Serving (1/2 of recipe, about 2 1/2 cup): 7 Points+
285 calories, 4g fat, 625mg sodium, 32g carbs, 9g fiber, 13g sugars, 34g protein

The recipe: "300 under 300", pages 222 - 223
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1595

I'd first like to start off by making an early apology for being slightly absent for the next few weeks.  I am currently off work for the next two weeks, so my blogging might be a little sporatic.  I am still cooking Hungry Girl recipes almost every day, but it has been more difficult for me to get to the computer, what with having visitors and being busy with holiday stuff, etc.

As for this recipe, I did not use the Tofu Shirataki noodles, as suggested by HG.  I am well aware that this adds a ton of extra calories to the recipe, but if I plan right, I can usually fit these calories into my food for the day.  This blog on Tofu Shirataki noodles explains why it is well worth it to me to use regular noodles instead.  For this recipe, I actually used Japanese Udon noodles, which have about the same calories as regular pasta noodles do.  Since it is an Asian dish, I didn't think it would work as well using Fettuccine noodles as a substitute for the Shirataki Fettuccine noodles.

Aside from the noodles, I did not like this recipe much.  I thought the sauce was way too tangy, and wasn't thick enough for the noodles.  I ended up with most of the sauce left over at the bottom of my bowl of noodles.  The amount of spice was perfect, but that is the only positive thing I can say about it.  I also thought there were too many bean sprouts, and I love bean sprouts.  Sadly, I will not be making this recipe again.  I was hoping I had found a delicious Pad Thai recipe that I could make again and again, but this is definitely not the case.  I would skip this one and try one of her better stir fry recipes instead.

All-American Egg Mug

Per Serving (entire recipe): 4 Points+
173 calories, 4g fat, 730mg sodium, 7.5g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 2g sugars, 22g protein

The recipe: "300 under 300", page 24
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1499

Until today, I have yet to write a review on one of the Hungry Girl egg mug recipes.  I always thought it was weird to cook eggs in the microwave, and have always cooked them in some way over the stove or in the oven.  Long ago, I tried an egg mug and wasn't all that impressed.  However, I figured if I am going to review Hungry Girl recipes, then I can't ignore a whole group of recipes just because of my fear of microwaved eggs.

So, I started with a pretty basic egg mug recipe.  Egg Beaters, veggie sausage patty, syrup and cheese were the only ingredients in this egg mug.  I do have to say, it came out surprisingly good!  I thought the eggs would turn out rubbery, having been cooked in the microwave, but they didn't at all.  I think stirring the eggs in the middle of the cooking process helped enormously. 

I liked the way this tasted, with the syrup creating a nice sweet and savory flavor combination.  I did take HG's advice, and immediately soaked the mug in water after I was done eating.  Crusted-on cooked egg did not seem like it would be fun to clean up later.  By soaking it, I didn't have any problems when I went to wash the mug a little later. 

I am now less of a skeptic about the egg mugs.  Next time, I might try something a little lower in calories.  I am not going all out yet and saying I am a fan, though.  It might take a few more egg mugs to convince me that the microwave is a true option for cooking eggs.

Lord of the Onion Rings

Per Serving (entire recipe): 4 Points+
153 calories, 1g fat, 379mg sodium, 41g carbs, 16g fiber, 7g sugars, 9g protein

The recipe: "Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies...", pages 104 - 105
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1398#onionrings

This is one of those Hungry Girl recipes that is referred to over and over again in her emails and even on her show, so I thought it was about time I tried it out.  I have read all the tips and tricks to make these come out good, and made sure to follow what she said.  Using tongs, I dipped the onion rings in egg substitute, shook off the excess, and then coated them with the Fiber One breadcrumbs. I added a little salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to my breadcrumbs to give them a good flavor.

After about four onion rings, the breadcrumbs started to clump up and stopped sticking to the onion rings very well.  It got worse and worse as I made more, and I finally gave up after about 10 onion rings.  I needed to either make new breadcrumbs, or just stop and cook what I had.  Since I had an impatient three-year-old and one-year-old waiting for me to be done, I decided to just cook the 10 onion rings I had. 

I honestly have no idea how she makes her onion rings look so good.  My guess would be that she probably uses fresh breadcrumbs every few onion rings or so.  Even with shaking off as much egg as possible, residual moisture still gets into the breadcrumbs and causes them to clump up. 

As for flavor, the ones I made turned out great with the seasonings I had added to the breadcrumbs. It was definitely fun to eat what is normally a fattening food.  I ate mine with a little ketchup on the side, and even though I only had 10 of them to eat, it was still a big enough portion to satisfy my craving for onion rings.  I even felt a little naughty eating these, even though I knew they were not the real, fattening thing.

Have any of you tried these?  How did yours turn out?  I would love to know!

Citrus-y Stir-Fry Shrimp

Per Serving (½ of recipe): 7 Points+
282 calories, 3.5g fat, 1,125mg sodium, 26g carbs, 5g fiber, 11g sugars, 38g protein

The recipe: "Hungry Girl: Recipes & Survival Strategies...", pages 90 - 91

Since I love shrimp, and I love citrus-based sauces - like orange chicken or the Glaze of Sunshine Apricot Chicken I made a while back, I figured this recipe was worth a try.  I liked that the recipe called for freshly-squeezed orange juice as one of the ingredients in the sauce.  I thought it would have plenty of orange flavor in the sauce, but unfortunately, I was wrong.  The sauce was not all that exciting, and I could barely tell it was a citrus-based sauce. 

I did like that there was a large amount of snow peas and mushrooms in the stir-fry.  I love snow peas and my husband loves mushrooms, so we were both happy.  We ate the stir-fry over a serving of rice, and it made for a very satisfying meal.  I love when the recipe makes a large amount of food, and a serving is half of the recipe.  So much food!  Yeah!  I will probably not make this again, though, just because I wasn't thrilled with the sauce.  If you are looking for a good stir-fry sauce, try the one from the Kung Pao Chicken recipe I made a while back.  I have made this sauce several times since making this recipe, and it is so good!

If you are looking for a yummy shrimp dish that has lots of snow peas, I would recommend the Asian BBQ Shrimp Salad instead.  Yes, it is a salad and not a stir-fry, but you can always eat the shrimp with rice instead of lettuce, and it will feel like you are eating a stir-fry instead.  Overall, skip this recipe and try some of the more yummy Hungry Girl stir-fry options out there.

Jammed with Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Per Serving (entire recipe): 7 Points+
263 calories, 6g fat, 860mg sodium, 42g carbs, 5.25g fiber, 4g sugars, 19g protein 

The recipe: "Hungry Girl 1-2-3", pages 292 - 293 

I was in the mood for a sweet breakfast over the weekend, so I checked out the French Toast chapter in the "1-2-3" book for inspiration.  This recipe was pretty easy, and I had all of the ingredients, so here we are.  I made a sandwich for both myself and my three-year-old, and we both loved it.  


I originally thought the recipe would call for fat-free cream cheese, but was surprised to find that it actually called for Laughing Cow cheese - something I never would have thought to use in a stuffed french toast with jam.  It turned out delicious, rich, and creamy, though.  It is a fairly simple recipe.  Just spread half a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese onto each of two pieces of bread, and then spread two tablespoons of sugar-free jam on one piece.  Sandwich together, dip in Eggbeaters with cinnamon and vanilla, and cook.  Pretty easy and delicious!


The only complaint I have is the amount of calories for a fairly small sandwich.  I was hungry a little earlier than usual for lunch, but I had used more calories than usual for breakfast.  I did leave out the margarine to save a few calories, since I didn't think it was necessary for cooking the french toast (I just used cooking spray instead).  And normally I would have sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top rather than use the sugar-free syrup (I had run out, though).  You can choose to cook this how you want, but either way it will be around 250 calories for a small breakfast sandwich - that tastes really good.  You can choose if it is worth it or not!

Oatstanding Veggie Patties

PER SERVING (1 patty): 2 Points+
70 calories, 0.5g fat, 585mg sodium, 16g carbs, 5g fiber, 3g sugars, 4g protein 

The recipe: "Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies...", pages 72 - 73
or http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/699

The first thing I am going to say about this recipe is that it took FOREVER to make.  Maybe it's just because I was in the mood to make something quick and easy, or because I didn't realize this would take so long to make until there was no turning back.  But, it just felt like I was in the kitchen for way too long!  First of all, there are four different vegetables that you have to chop up.  I chopped mine up fairly small, knowing that if everything was chopped up too large it would not stick together as well.  Secondly, after finally mixing everything together, you then have to let it chill for several hours in the fridge to help the patties set.  Several hours?!  Who has that kind of time to wait around for dinner?  I sure didn't, so I ended up chilling them in the freezer for one hour.  It seemed to work just as good.


I used my George Foreman Grill to cook these, since it requires no flipping.  Most of the Hungry Girl homemade patties are fairly delicate, so the less movement of them the better.  Plus, the George Foreman cooks them in half the time since both sides are cooked at once.  Out of the five patties, only one truly held it's shape and looked like a nice burger patty - see above photo ;).  The others were either a slightly odd shape, or fell apart some when removing them from the grill.  


As for taste, my first reaction was, "Whoa, too much pepper!".  My husband's reaction was, "Whoa, too much salt!" (he loves pepper).  If you do plan on making these, try using half as much pepper and a little less salt.  Other than that, I was overall pretty disappointed with how these turned out.  I knew they would be a little delicate with all the veggies in the recipe and not much to hold them together.  But, I was truly hoping they would at least taste good.  

The only saving grace for these is the fact that they are only 70 calories each. However, there are plenty of  frozen veggie patties that you can buy for about the same amount of calories - not to mention that they taste much better!  I will definitely not be making these again.  If you really want to see for yourself how bad these are, make sure you start making these early if you want to eat at a decent time.