Greek Omelet

I don’t always eat breakfast, and that’s not a smart thing to do. But I do enjoy a good omelet on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Watching my cholesterol intake means that I have to limit my consumption of egg yolks. Bummer. Egg whites are a good substitute, but I always feel like there is a little something missing. Then I remembered another favorite of mine, deviled hard boiled eggs. I thought, if I have to cut down on the yolks, why not enhance them to take full advantage? It worked out great.


The basic concept of this recipe is to use a few whole eggs and add egg whites. This cuts down on the fats and cholesterol. In order to enhance the few remaining egg yolks, I add mustard. Then, it’s just a matter of finding a healthy omelet filling.


Ingredient List (serves 2 – 4 people):
2 whole eggs
1 ½ cups egg whites
1 tablespoon mustard (I use Gulden’s)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 large olives (chopped)
¼ cup Greek Yogurt
Juice from ½ lemon


Put the frozen spinach, garlic, olives, and lemon juice in a microwave safe bowl and nuke it for a few minutes, enough to get spinach hot. Set aside.


Wisk eggs, egg whites and mustard in a bowl until thoroughly mixed. Spray oil into a large hot non-stick skillet and add egg mixture. Once the eggs are almost cooked through, add the spinach mix to half of the pan, then spoon the yogurt over the spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste (or leave the salt out and let them add it at the table.) Carefully fold the empty half over and turn off the heat. Cut into 2 or 4 servings, and serve.

One tip to get really fluffy omelets is to take a non-metalic spatula or spoon and stir the eggs as they cook, until they are about halfway done. Then stop so they can set into an omelet and don’t end up scrambled eggs.


The Stats:

	Calories	Fat (sat)	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Eggs (2)	150	10 g (3 g)	426 mg	126 mg	1 g	0	13 g
Egg Whites (1 1/2 cups)	180	0 (0)	0	575 mg	6 g	0	36 g
Mustard	15	0 (0)	0	150 mg	0	0	0
Yogurt (1/2 cups)	60	0 (0)	0	43 mg	5 g	0	10 g
Spinach	30	0 (0)	0	120 mg	3 g	1 g	2 g
Olives	60	5 g (0)	0	690 mg	0	0	0
Total	495	15 g (3 g)	426 mg	1704 mg	15 g	1 g	61 g
Large serving (serves 2)	309	8 g (2 g)	213 mg	852 mg*	8 g	0	31 g
Small serving (serves 4)	154	4 g (1 g)	107 mg	426 mg*	4 g	0	15 g

* Sodium is a bit high, mainly because of the egg and olive. Adjust sodium levels by removing either or both.


Bottom line: This is a really filling omelet, and a great compromise between whole eggs and healthy eating. A large portion is a full meal at 7 points. A smaller portion is only 3 points, leaving plenty of room for toast and juice.

Pumpkin Mousse

As a kid, I loved pumpkin pie. I had no idea that pumpkin was a squash, or that it was really good for you. I’m much older and a bit wiser now, but I still love pumpkin pie. So that’s why I love this dessert. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also so good for you, and extremely good if you are looking to keep the calorie count low. It’s full of vitamins A (including beta carotene) and D, calcium, and potassium.

The basic concept of this recipe was something I got from a TV show called From Farm to Table. The idea is simple, mix one part canned pumpkin with one part vanilla yogurt. I made enough for 4 hungry people, but you can adjust the amounts to fit your crowd (or lack of it.) I added some spices to make it a bit more savory and cut down on the sweetness of the vanilla yogurt. Of course, the spices I added also give it more of that pumpkin pie flavor, which I like.

Ingredient List (serves 4 – 8 people)

2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt (I used Weight Watchers brand for this)
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1 ½ teaspoon ground clove (optional)

Mix everything in a bowl and serve. It will be a creamy, not quite pudding consistency. Or chill it in the fridge and it will set up a tiny bit more. Add toppings, such as non-fat non-dairy whipped topping, to finish the presentation.

The Stats:

	Calories	Fat (sat)	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Pumpkin (2 cups)	160	2 g (0 g)	0	20 mg	36 g	20 g	8 g
Yogurt (2 cups)	240	0	10 mg	320 mg	42 g	6 g	16 g
Salt, Allspice, Clove	0	0	0	1110 mg*	0	0	0
Total	400	2 g (0 g)	10 mg	1440 mg*	78 g	26 g	24 g
1 cup serving (4)	100	0.5 g	2 mg	360 mg*	20 g	7 g	6 g
½ cup serving (8)	50	0	1 mg	180 mg*	10 g	3 g	3 g

* Salt is optional. I’d leave it out completely if you need to watch your sodium levels.

Bottom line: This dessert is packed with vitamin goodness. 1 cup has a full day’s supply of vitamin A and beta carotene. It’s got a lot of fiber, making it quite a filling dessert. And best of all for my friends counting points, a cup of this dessert is 1 point. Half cup of this is 0 points! Free dessert, how can you not love it?

Peru-Rican Chicken & Beans

I chose this recipe to start things off with because it really represents my cooking style: experimental, creative, and lately, of course, much healthier than my "fat food". At the time, I was looking for a way to use up some oven roasted chicken breasts I had left over from a previous meal. Not to mention I wanted something quick and easy.

The Puerto Rican component to this dish acknowledges my teen years in Ponce, PR. I fell in love with some of the rich flavors of the island while growing up down there. Sofrito was the sauce for red beans, hands down. The Peruvian component is completely experimental. I saw this jar of pepper sauce / paste in the market, and had to try it. The pepper paste has medium heat, and a sweet, rich, earthy flavor. I thought it would be a great extra layer or dimension to the rich flavor of the sofrito. I was surprised at how well they play together.

Ingredient List (serves 2 - 4, depending on appetite):

1 Can of Kidney Beans
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts
2 Tablespoons of Aji Panca (I used Inca Foods brand)
2 Tablespoons of Sofrito (I used Goya brand)
Water

I rinsed the kidney beans (the liquid it's packed in has way too much sodium) and put them in a medium saucepan. I added the Aji Panca paste and Sofrito, and enough water to cover the beans, and put them on medium heat. I chopped up the cooked chicken breast into 1 inch cubes and dropped them into the pot. I added a bit more water to make sure everything was covered in liquid and brought it to a boil. After a few minutes, I took a wooden spoon and started mashing up the chicken cubes. This is optional, of course, but when I saw they were starting to fall apart, I couldn't help myself. I love shredded chicken as a taco filling. Once the chicken was shredded pretty well (leave it a bit chunky), I removed it from the heat and let it cool a bit while I heated up some corn tortillas.

The Stats:

	Calories	Fat (sat)	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber
Chicken (8 oz)	380	8 g (2 g)	200 mg	170 mg	0	0
Beans (15 oz)	315	1.5 g (0)	0	1330 mg*	18 g	7 g
Sofrito and Aji	50**	0	0	0	0	0
Total	745	9.5 g (2 g)	200 mg	1500 mg*	18 g	7 g
Per Serving (2)	373	5 g	100 mg	750 mg*	9 g	3.5 g
Per serving (4)	186	2.5 g	50 mg	375 mg*	5 g	2 g

* The bean’s sodium level is very high. This is because of the liquid it was packed with. I rinsed the beans off to reduce the sodium, but I left the high counts in to remind people what it is if you save the liquid. In future, I’ll look for beans with less sodium.
** Sofrito and Aji - the labels indicate very little, but add about 50 cal to be safe since we use a good amount.

Bottom line: This was a great way to not only use up left-over chicken, but to add a bit of fiber in with the main protein dish. My WW points counting friends will be happy to know that a small serving (4 serving count) is only 4 points, while a larger portion (2 serving count) is only 7 points.