Green Pea Salad

This is another great recipe from Nancy S. Hughes and The 1,200-Calorie-a-Day Menu Cookbook.

I love this. I've eaten this countless times. Today I added chopped up baby carrots (raw) for an extra boost of veggies. I also don't worry about slicing and making everything pretty. I just throw it in my mini chopper. I usually like to eat this as a main course, though the book designed it as a side dish. Sometimes I add bits of cheese to give it more volume if its a meal. It's super easy and fast to make, but needs an hour to chill. Trust me, you NEED that hour. It does well the next day also, but gets a little liquid in the bottom.

Green Pea Salad

1/2 cup FF Mircale Whip (I prefer Lite)

1/3 cup Finely chopped Yellow Onion

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Pepper

24 small Green Olives stuffed with Pimentos, sliced

2 10oz packages Frozen Green Peas, steam cooked (I use 1 16oz pk and its fine)

Combine everything except peas and blend thouroughly. Add steamed peas. Toss gently, but coat. Chill for 1 hour.

155 Cals, 2.8g fat

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.

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.

Mexican Orzo Salad

MAN!! This is to die for (if you like Mexican)! I found this in Fit Pregnancy April/May 2009. It's a recipe from Robin Miller (Food Network). It's full of Fiber, Folate and Protein. I used left over Rotisserie Chicken, but I think left over roast would do awesome too! It has a lot of calories for a cup and a half, but I ate only a cup and was full. I don't know why there are so many calories, maybe the orzo? I think brown rice would be awesome too. Omit the meat and it would be a great side too!

Serves 4

Prep 20 min

Cook 10 min

1 1/2 cups Orzo (rice shaped pasta)

2 cups cooked shredded Chicken

1 15oz can Black Beans, drained, rinsed

1 15oz can Petite Diced Tomatoes, drained

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 4oz can diced Mild Green Chilies

3 tblsp chopped fresh Cilantro

2 tblsp fresh Lime Juice

1 tsp ground Cumin

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dash Cayenne Pepper

Cook orzo according to package. Drain. Add everything else (it'll heat up from the orzo).

Serve warm or cold.

1 Serving is 1 1/2 cups

685 Calories

46g Protein

87g Carb

7.5g Fat

270mg Calcium

6mg Iron

11mg Vitamin C

345mcg Folate

10g Fiber