Orange Fresher

Makes 4 servings
about 3/4 C each
70 Calories

1 1/3 C Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
1 C White Grape Juice
1 C Diet 7-Up
Ice

Mix juices together in a small pitcher. When ready to serve, add soda and stir gently. Pour even amounts over ice into each of four glasses. Serve immediately.

This recipe is from Nancy S. Hughes's 1200-Calorie-a-Day-Menu Cookbook

Heather's notes:
I used Simply Orange Juice, I'm not about to squeeze juice, though I'm sure it taste even better. This is a sipping juice, so 3/4 C is really enough. It reminds me of a Shower type punch and was super delicious. I think it would be fun served over frozen Strawberries instead of ice. I started with all chilled liquids so the ice wouldn't melt and water it down. I also think this would be even better in a nice wine glass.

Juice Spritzer

equal parts of White Grape Juice and Club Soda

frozen berries

Pour equal amounts of juice and soda into a glass or pitcher and use the frozen berries as ice. Everyone I know who has tried this loves it. We even served it at my SIL's bridal shower last summer and ran out!! My brother is using it in his wedding as an alcohol free alternative. It's very bubbly, like sparkling juice. Club Soda is calorie free, so you actually only get half as many calories from the juice as you would with an undiluted serving. Like and bubbly, the bubbles don't last overnight. You can buy individual bottles of soda and juice, but the cost is a lot higher. A bottle of soda is like a buck, and juice lasts a while in the fridge. Anyhow, this is also a nice alternative to soda. I drank a lot of this while pregnant with my daughter too. I got the benefit of the juice, and the feeling of bubbly. I like frozen strawberries the best. Whole ones. They stay frozen longer. I also start with chilled liquids. Try it, trust me...you'll love it!

This came out of a diet book years ago that my Step mother owns. I do not know the title of the book or the recipe, or who's it is. Sorry.

Pear & Grape Salad with Creamy Orange Dressing

Serves 4

1/4 C Orange Juice Concentrate, Thawed

1 tsp Honey

3 tbsp FF Sour Cream

4 Lettuce Leaves

2 Pears, chopped or sliced thin

1 C Seedless Grapes (halved)

Mix juice, honey and sour cream in a small bowl till blended. Chill until ready to serve.

Place one lettuce leaf on each place, arrange 1/4 of the fruit on each leaf, spoon a 1/4 of the dressing over fruit. Serve Immediately.

106 Cals

0.5g Fat

This recipe comes from the book 1200-calorie-a-day-menu Cookbook by Nancy S. Hughes.

Heather's Notes: I don't like FF sour cream, so I used LF. I also didn't bother with the lettuce that I wasn't going to eat, nor did I make anything pretty. I put the fruit in a bowl, lobbed the dressing in, mixed it up and ate it. I LOVE the dressing. Sour Cream sounds weird for something sweet, but it was so good and didn't taste a thing like sour cream. Next time I make this I'm using a banana and an Asian Pear with the grapes. This was really good and I think would work nicely for a gathering.

Pasta Roll-ups with Turkey and Spinach

This was really great as is, though I have to say I would have prefered it to have a more tomato sauce. Even something as simple as spagetti sauce. I plan on making playing with that in the future.

Serves: 8

Hands on time: 45 minutes (I found it really doesn't take that long.)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1 tsp salt
8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 15-oz container non-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse and allow to cool in a colander.

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir until combined.

4. Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9" x 10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

5. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until the rollups are browned and bubbly.

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
Calories: 234
Total Fat: 3 g
Sat. Fat: 0 g
Carbs: 27 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sugars: 7 g
Protein: 28 g
Sodium: 508 mg
Cholesterol: 76 mg

NUTRITIONAL BONUS:
One serving of these lasagna-style roll-ups gives you 90 percent of your vitamin A requirement and a healthy dose of calcium – 366 milligrams to be precise.

Baked Squash Parmesan

4 Med Yellow Squash
2 tsp Low-Cal Margerine
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Scallion
1/4 C Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat to 350 degrees
Cut squash in half lengthwise, place on cookie sheet.
Drizzle 1/2 tsp Melted Margerine over each squash half. Top each half with Parmesan Cheese and add Salt & Pepper to taste. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tender.

Serves 4

50 Cals
2.4g Fat

From the book The Four-Course 400-Calorie Meal Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.

Broiled Mushrooms w/ Herbed Butter

2 tbsp +1 tsp Low Cal Margerine
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
1/4 tsp Dried Tarragon or Dill
1 lb Fresh Mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp Worcestershire Suace
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

Combine butter, basil, lemon juice, parsley, tarragon or dill. Let stand 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper. Toss gently but thoroughly.
Place Mushrooms on a cookie sheet, broil 5 inches from heat, until tender (5-6 minutes). Transfer mushrooms to four small bowls, top each with 1 1/2tsp herbed butter.

Serves 4

50 Cals
3.6g Fat

From the book The Four-Course 400-Calorie Meal Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.

Hot Open-Faced Cheese Sandwich

Serves 4

1/4 C (1oz) Grated RF Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 C (1oz) Grated Part-Skim Mazzarella Cheese
6 tbsp FF Miracle Whip
1/4 tsp Curry Powder
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Onion
1 tbsp Evaporated Skim Milk
Dash Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Pound Italian Bread, split length wise and cut into 4 pieces
Paprika for Garnish

Combine everything, except bread and paprika in a bowl. Blend. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat broiler. Spread cheese mix evenly over bread. Sprinkle with paprika. Place on broiler pan no less than 5 inches from heat. Broil 3 minutes (watch close it burns fast!) or until cheese begins to brown. Serve right away.


This recipe comes from the book The 1,200-Calorie-a-Day Menu Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.

Roast Beef Salad with Blue Cheese in Pitas

Serves 4

1/2 C FF Miracle Whip
2 tbsp +2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp Prepared Horseradish (in a jar, not sauce)
4 loaves Pita, halved to make pockets
16 1/2-oz slices lean cooked deli Roast Beef
2 C Shredded Lettuce
1/2 C Chopped Tomato
1/2 C Chopped Cucumber
1/2 C Alfalfa Sprouts
1/4 C (2oz) Crumbled Blue Cheese

In a small bowl, combine Miracle Whip, Mustard, Horseradish,; mix well and set aside. Fill each pita half with 2 slices beef, 1 tbsp +1 tsp sauce, 1/4 C Lettuce, 1 tbsp Tomato, 1 tbsp Cucumber and 1 tbsp Alfalfa. Top with 1 1/2 tsp blue cheese.

306 Cals
6.2g Fat

This recipe comes from the book The 1,200-Calorie-a-Day Menu Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.

Note: I love this! LOVE IT! But watch the horseradish because it can be pretty hot. There is a lot here and it's messy, but great! The sauce stays in the fridge well for a few days.

Chicken with Lime Creole Sauce in Tortillas

Serves 4

5 tbsp plus 1 tsp FF Miracle Whip
6 tbsp NF Sour Cream
1 tsp Grated Lime Zest
1/4 C Fresh Lime Juice
2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp Salt
12 Drops Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 4-0z Bnls, Sknls Chicken Breast
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
8 6" Flower Tortilla's, warmed
2 C Shredded Lettuce
1 Large Tomato, Chopped
1/2 C Chopped Red Onion
1/2 C Chopped Green Bell Pepper
16 Med, Pitted Black Olives, Quartered
Lime Wedges, for Garnish

In a small, nonaluminum bowl, combine Miracle Whip, sour cream, zest, lime juice, chili powder, 1/4 tsp pepper, cayenne, salt and hot sauce. Blend well and chill for 1 hour.
Flatten Chicken breast to 1/4" thickness. Sprinkle with garlic, 1/4 tsp pepper and cook in a heated skillet (sprayed) for 2 minutes. Turn, cooke 2 minutes longer or until done. Remove from heat, cut into strips.
Spread each tortilla with 2 tbsp of chilled sauce (I thought this was personaly a bit much). Top with chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, bell pepper and olives. Roll and serve.

349 Cals for 2 Tortillas
7.8g Fat

This recipe comes from the book The 1,200-Calorie-a-Day Menu Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.

Green Pea Salad

1/2 C Lite Miracle Whip
1/3 C Chopped Onion
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Pepper
24 Small Green Olives stuffed with Pimientos, sliced
1 16oz Pack Frozen Green Peas, Steam Cooked

Combine everything except the peas. Blend thoroughly.
Add Peas. Toss gently to coat completely. Chill for 1 hour.

Serves 4

213 Cals
2.8g Fat

This recipe comes from the book The 1,200-Calorie-a-Day Menu Cookbook by Nancy Hughes.