Saturday, February 4, 2012

Points-Yes I keep track

Thinking about this post I recall a conversation I overheard. My husband is listening while the friend is sharing the following..."well I don't understand why they don't keep score anymore. I want my kids to know who won and who had the bigger score." While I don't necessarily agree it came to mind when I sat down to post. I recently joined the weight watcher bandwagon and I have to read every label (already do anyway) so that I can figure the total points value per serving of everything I put into my mouth. Now I have to track and log my points which are in essence the food I take in, boiled down to a point target that I can reach but not cross at the end of every day. So today after our monthly Costco trip and grocery get we are well stocked and I can finally craft up a storm in my favorite art of cooking. Whenever the fridge is stocked and full of goodies I have to admit that this MUST be what an artist feels like when they have a palette full of paint and a brand new, fresh white canvas in their midst. I get this childish giddiness that nearly resembles the night before Christmas and I quickly rub my hands together so I can snatch up the first foodie idea I can while the ideas roll around my head knocking into one another. The idea didn't quite seem "mona lisa" more like a palette practice of the color wheel but we made crock pot Chicken tacos and they were simply amazing. And when it's as easy as this it (almost) makes me feel guilty-but not quite

Crock pot Chicken Tacos

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet of taco seasoning (I make my own-see below)
1/2-1 c salsa
1/4 c water

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours

For dessert I was craving lemony goodness. I'm sure you have all heard of the weight watcher diet soda cakes. IF not check this out or this.


Tonight I made these lemon cupcakes using the following recipe:

Lemon WW cupcakes

1 pkg Lemon Cake mix
1 can diet 7-up

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Bake according to package directions. (Mine were about 17 minutes at 350 degrees.) For icing if you're trying to keep points low, I top mine with Fat free cool whip (2 T) for zippo points. Whoo hooo yummmmmmmmMMM! Just the right amount of sweet and lemon. You won't believe how terrific these are. You've gotta try them! I think I might try these in the summer and keep them in the fridge for a fresh and cool sweet treat!


Homemade Taco Seasoning
(I usually quadruple this so that I can have plenty on hand. I hate buying the packets!)
1 T chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t oregano
1/2 t paprika (I sometimes use smoked for flavor)
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t sea salt
1 t black pepper

Mix all together. I use about 2 T per pound when cooking. Enjoy!