Jan 8, 2011

foray into food

those of you who know me well know that i am not very kitchen-capable.  more often than not, when i tell friends and/or family that i'm planning to cook a meal (aside from my staple turkey burger tacos or stir fry which i've mastered), i'm met with laughter, disbelief or the occasional offer to bring over take out when my attempt fails miserably.  the truth is, i can cook, i just haven't ever really bothered to try many new recipes and i've never exactly enjoyed spending the majority of my evenings after work in the kitchen, sweating over a stove. 

i'll admit, i did start cooking a little more frequently when the bf started coming over for meals.  on my own, i could eat a bowl of cereal, some pita chips and hummus, drink a glass of wine and call that dinner.  i was happy with that but given the fact that he can eat more in one sitting than anyone i've ever known and also thinks my cooking is great (he subsists on frozen pizza and stouffer's dinners and has never even used the stove in the apartment he's lived in since july, if that tells you anything), i started cooking actual meals for us a couple times a week and started to enjoy stop hating the task of cooking quite so much. 

now that i've started weight watchers, i've been sort of forced to start cooking more, pay closer attention to ingredients, and try new recipes and ideas.  i'm actually finding that i'm liking this new adventure into making meals that are not only healthy, but taste great and fit right in with the WW program.  so, i'll probably be posting a little bit about my cooking adventures here, not to pat myself on the back for not completely ruining some perfectly good food, but to highlight meals i've enjoyed that could help give healthy ideas to others. 

two of my favorites from this week....

buffalo chicken salad
4 oz. chicken tenders
1 T BW3 wing sauce
1 T light sour cream
1 wedge laughing cow blue cheese
cherry tomatoes
red onion
spinach

yes, i made my own low cal, low fat, low point dressing with sour cream and laughing cow blue cheese!


and last night's dinner:

chicken parmesan
chicken parm prepared via WW recipe and i added some roasted spaghetti squash to supplement for the missing pasta.  add a salad and a glass of red wine and voila! yummy, healthy dinner!


yes, that's real mozzarella cheese and normal red wine.  i'm learning that with just a few moderations and closer attention to portions and ingredients i can still have all of the things i love!

3 comments:

stephanie said...

I have a WW recipe book if you'd like to borrow it. :)

jen said...

i cook most every day - but that doesn't mean i am *creative* every time. and frankly, if i had to follow a recipe, i'd never do it.

i have a few staples that i rotate - stirfry, "faux-jitas" (make w/ non-chicken), risotto (good for using up veg!), "sausage" and peppers and onions over mash, curry, pasta bake (varying sauce, veggies, and pasta used), variations on salad, variations on stuffed baked potatoes, variations on beans and rice, variations on enchiladas, variations on "steak" and potato wedges.

ultimately, if you can't cook something healthy and nutritious quickly (within 30 min) you're unlikely to do it. so it's good to have a few things in your arsenal that you can do without really thinking about.

Anonymous said...

it really looks tasty and is presented beautifully on your dishes.Has that "special" dinner appeal. Keep up the good work.

the bad aunt