Archive | March, 2010

Weight Watchers Cooking Take 1: Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds

31 Mar

While I found a number of sites that have Weight Watchers Point Values listed with their recipes, there are very few curated recipes that say which ones are actually GOOD.  (I want an AllRecipes.com style sorting for recipes with points!)  One of the few places I found was a thread on Chowhound that discusses some good and bad recipes.  It was here that I found a recipe that sounded right up my alley.  I love chicken with fruit. 

I browned the chicken cubes in whole wheat flour which really added a great extra flavor to the chicken.  I also used cooking spray instead of oil since it’s 0 points.  But watch your cooking spray! I learned that more than 5 seconds of spray means you have to add a point.

When I added the apricots to the chicken, it smelled great. 

We had leftover rice (from the stir fry) so I added half a cup to my meal (2 points). 

Honestly, this recipe was absolutely sensational. I would make this even if I’m not on a diet! It is so delicious and perfectly balanced. 

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RECIPE
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Chicken Tagine with Apricots: 5 points (6 pts. if you decide to add oil to cook the chicken, I went with cooking spray)

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz. dried apricot halves
  • 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes
  • 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour (I actually used whole wheat flour which was VERY tasty!)
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1/4 cup slivered or sliced toasted almonds
  • 1/8 tsp. salt or to taste
  • 1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper or to taste

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth and apricots to a simmer and then set aside.
  2. Toss chicken with flour
  3. Coat a large, nonstick saucepan with cooking spray and place over high heat
  4. Sautee chicken until coated chicken until golden brown – about five minues
  5. Add diced onion, reduce heat to medium low and cook until onions are soft, about 10 mins.
  6. Add cinnamon and honey
  7. Stir in apricots, broth and almonds
  8. Season to taste with s&p.
  9. Simmer 5-10 minutes

Serves four (I found the servings a bit small on gym day, so I went with a serving and a half and put down the 7.5 points that time… still easy amount of points to work with!)

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Kodama – Take 182

29 Mar

I’m typically not the type of diner who goes back to places multiple times, so the ones I frequent are a short list.  Kodama Sushi, however, remains my favorite affordable sushi joint in the city. It’s such an easy and delicious pre-theatre meal and you know you can be in and out quickly.  Hard to beat.  It also helps that it’s just a few short blocks away from where I live!  I’ve already written about it at greater length, so this will be short and just two quick pictures.

Go. You won’t regret it.

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A Turning Point

28 Mar

On Thursday, March 11th, 2010, everything changed…  NYC Nom Nom, lover of food, especially baking and butter, joined Weight Watchers.  It was a big deal for me as while I was never a really bad eater, I had certainly put on weight and was having a complete inability to take it off (even after cutting out lots of foods, cutting portion sizes, and going to the gym 4-5 times per week).  When my doctor suggested I try Weight Watchers, I’m not going to lie… I cried a little.  Then when I marched myself to a meeting nearly 2 weeks later, I honestly felt like I was marching off to jail.  Food jail. 

The meeting felt exactly like what I expected… a cross between a AA meeting and a self-motivation class.  But I could kind of see why it would be helpful to hear others’ stories and be able to get advice along the way.  If I decided I hated it in my cynical New Yorker way, I could always step-down to the online only program and track points that way… but if I was going to food jail, I was going all the way!

I went home that night and I ate edamame.  I had absolutely no idea how to do this and thought I would go through all my points in a heartbeat and starve.  The next day at work, I didn’t eat until 3pm because I just didn’t know WHAT to eat. I wound up going to the grocery store around the corner to get a frozen meal so I would know exactly what the point value I was eating.  I was pretty paralyzed by the fear.

That afternoon, I decided that was it.  I was going to do this and I was going to do this 100%.  I looked up some recommended Weight Watchers recipes that sounded up my alley and made a Fresh Direct order… 

It is now about two and a half weeks later and I can honestly say that, so far, it has been easy. And delicious! Sure,  meals require more forethought than before, but I have not been really hungry or felt at all deprived. In fact, the idea that I can have a (diet) dessert every night on the plan is motivating! I can choose between a roll with lunch or an ice cream cone with dinner. No brainer!  I also have cooked some really delicious low-point recipes.  Now I have to give a bit of a spoiler… I’m 8 pounds down!  Pretty amazing really.

So the next few weeks will be a journey… this blog will feature recipes that I specifically will review based on how well they compare to “regular” food as I don’t think dieting should ever mean you can’t eat well.  I’ll also be trying to eat differently when I go out.  I’m sure this won’t be all successes… but I hope to make the most of it.  I apologize to those of you who love the butter sauces and baked goods on this blog… but there will be a bit of a hiatus for those. I’m sure they will be back… some day… hopefully after another 20 pounds.

So without further ado, next week the Weight Watchers postings will begin!

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