recipe review: HG frittata italiano

frittata italiano

ingredients
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
4 medium plum tomatoes (Roma), chopped
1 and 1/2 cups fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp italian seasoning, or more to taste
dash salt

directions

preheat broiler

spray a large oven safe pan with non-stick spray. bring to medium heat on stove. add spinach and tomatoes. cook and stir until spinach is wilted, about 1 1/2 minutes. sprinkle with salt.

in a small bowl, whip egg substitute with italian seasoning. pour into the pan and cook until the edges of the frittata are almost set, tilting the pan as necessary, about 3 minutes.

sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place pan under broiler. broil until fully cooked, 3 to 4 minutes. slice into four pieces and serve.

review

this recipe can be found on page 41 of the Hungry Girl Cookbook: 200 under 200. the recipe was codeveloped with Weight Watchers, although i couldnt find it online on the WW site. i made it twice in a week, once for a brunch for company and then again tonight for hubby and i for dinner. it comes together super easy, and i almost always have the ingredients on hand. it will probably become a standby for that reason alone.

sidebar: tonight i had no idea what to make for dinner. when hubby called to let me know he was on the way, i said why dont you just pick up mcd's. immediately when i hung the phone up with him i began to feel guilty. so when he called as he was pulling into the drive thru about 7 minutes from home i said why didnt he just come home instead and i would put together something for dinner. that, people, is progress!!

so with about 10 minutes to have dinner on the table, i threw this together in a hurry. and it was a huge hit. the first time i made it for company i had trouble getting it out of the pan in one piece so it became a scramble, but it was still delicious. the second time i used the newest non-stick pan i had and didnt have trouble at all getting it out of the pan. i did drain a bit of the cooking liquid from the spinach and tomato before adding the eggs because it seemed too liquidy. like my technical cooking terms?! i also love how the top gets all browned under the broiler.

i tend to gravitate towards recipes like this because its more of a method than a recipe - you can use whatever veggies you have on hand and come up with a different combo everytime. score!! and i love that you use real parmesan cheese, not the reduced fat and less flavorful kind. this dish is also really low in points, a great idea for dinner on a day when your point count got away from you. tonight i served it with a fresh spinach salad with strawberries, almonds, mushrooms, gorgonzola and a homemade viniagrette. it got the hubby seal of approval and mine too!

monday morning weigh in

a few weeks ago i was stumbling with my weightloss journey and happened on a monday morning meeting. i had been going on thursday mornings. i have to drive a little further for this meeting, but the leader is fabulous and i enjoy the company of the other members. the real bonus, though, is that weighing in on monday mornings keeps me pretty honest over the weekends. so this post is launching a regular series of sharing my success or lack there of at the scale. this morning was a good weigh in, i was down 2.4 lbs, which brings my total to 19.6!! oh happy monday!

sunday supper

this weekend was very busy and before i knew it, it was 4:30 on sunday afternoon and hubby was starting to ask what was for dinner. i really had no idea what to make, but was craving something spicy. i was thinking about some sort of a mexican pizza, but somehow it seemed too ambitious. in the end i decided on chili and threw together some veggie chili. i thought it was great. hubby is not a big fan of dinners that do not feature some sort of meat, but he seemed to enjoy this one.

veggie chili, 3 servings, 7 WW points per serving according to recipe builder

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 and 1/3 cups morningstar meal starter griller recipe crumbles
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
15 oz can yellow corn, drained
15.5 oz can black beans, drained
15.5 oz can fire roasted tomato with diced green chili
8oz can tomato sauce
2/3 cup fat free chicken broth (could use vegetable broth for a vegetarian version of this recipe)

heat oil over medium to medium high heat in large soup pot and saute onion and garlic until soft, about 3-4 minutes. add morningstar crumbles and stir until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. add chili powder through paprika and stir until mixed, about 1 minute. add all canned ingredients and chicken broth, making sure to scrape all the dried bits off of the pan. bring chili to a boil and lower heat to simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. serve warm.

i served the chili with a dollop of fat free greek yogurt on top. i also had a single pak serving of wholly guacamole with some food should taste good lime tortilla chips.i LOVE this guacamole and the single serving paks are perfect for helping in the portion control efforts! i also had a half cup of fresh fruit salad. it was a wonderfully satisfying dinner for a dreary sunday evening, just the right mix of heat from the chili with the refreshing taste of the guacamole and fruit. sometimes the best recipes are those that just sort of invent themselves based on what is in the pantry, and this dinner certainly fit that bill.

getting started

pretty much for as long as i can remember, i have struggled with my weight. up, down, up, up, up, down, UP. you get the point. i am a stay at home mom of 3 children and i am currently on a journey to lose the baby weight and then some. my fortieth birthday is creeping up in a few years and i really want to be in a much better place by then.

i joined WW this past january and have been making pretty steady progress with a few slips along the way. i went from not really exercising at all, to exercising 3-4 times a week. i went from heating convenience foods or driving thru to pick up meals to cooking 3 fresh and healthy meals a day. so far i have lost 17 lbs, i have a long way to go. but i have started to have people ask that lovely question: "have you lost weight?" and that feels great. its a wonderful confidence booster.

i am hoping the difference this time; which is that i am looking at this more like a lifestyle change than a diet, will be the key. follow along on my journey.