Healthy Food Par-tay (Plus Recipes!)

Hello readers,

It was a beautiful night here in Northern Virginia! The temperature was just perfect and it hasn’t yet hit the horrid DC humity yet (knock on wood). Earlier in the week, some girl friends and I were sitting by the pool and the topic turned to healthy food. At once we started sharing healthy tips, our favorite food finds, website picks, and more. Then we decided to have a Healthy Food Dinner which we had tonight.

Since it was such late notice only a few of us came but it was fun nonetheless!

I brought some Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies:

picture is terrible I know…

1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp table salt
1/4 cup(s) butter, softened
1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup(s) sugar, granulated
1/3 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
2 large egg white(s)
1/3 cup(s) semi-sweet chocolate chips, miniature
1 spray(s) cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add cocoa and egg whites, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate minichips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 11?2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Yield: 20 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie for 2 Weight Watchers Points per cookie).

My friend Stacy brought Sassy Summer Bean Dip:

1 can of white corn

1 can of dark kidney beans

1 cup of scallions, chopped

1 cup of tomatoes, chopped

3-5 tablespoons of vinegar

2 tablespoons of cumin (add more if you want stronger taste)

Salt and pepper

Put together in bowl, mix and serve with Baked Tostitos or whole wheat pita chips

Lyndsay brought Mexican Lasagna:

Yea, the picture doesn’t do it justice! It was amazingly yummy!

1 lb extra lean ground beef or turkey breast
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 jar (4 ounces) chopped green chile peppers
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups salsa
4 whole wheat tortillas (6″ in diameter), halved
1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) shredded, reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a 13″ X 9″ baking dish with cooking spray.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Add the groung beef or turkey and cook, turning several times, for 5 minutes or until no longer pink.

Remove the ground beef or turkey to a medium bowl. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel. Coat the skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add to the ground beef or turkey in the bowl.

In another medium bowl, combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, peppers, cilantro (if using), cumin and salt.

Spread 1 cup of the salsa across the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over the salsa. Spread half of the cheese over the tortillas. Top with half of the ground beef or turkey mixture. Top with 1 cup of the remaining salsa and 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat the layering sequence with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and ground beef or turkey mixture. Sprinkle with remaining salsa and 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Loosely cover with foil if the cheese browns too quickly. Makes about 5 servings for 5 Weight Watchers points each!

Everything was amazing! I strongly suggest doing this with your friends! We also had hummus, pita bread, 100-calorie Wholly Guacamole, carrots, and other yummy healthy food.

The best part? Not feeling like crap afterwards and I still ate within my points for the day. Love it!

Wearing Design Week will continue next week (so, I guess it should be called Wearing Design Weeks). In the meantime check out the features so far:

- Quarter Life Lady

- Make Mine a Mojito

- The Design Girl

- That Night

Remember that in honor of Wearing Design Week, The Design Girl is giving $10 of blog designs and $5 off stationary when you mention Wearing Mascara. She also is offering FREE desktop images from her website here (I love the starfish one!).

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! I start my new job today (eek). I’m sure it’ll be fine but I definitely have pre-job jitters.

kisses,

Julie

Tweet This Post