Surprisingly Simple Spring Perfection Pesto Pasta

Surprisingly Simple Spring Perfection Pesto Pasta
While this recipe is already pretty healthy, I did make a few small changes to lower the fat content a little bit (and lower the Points value by 2). It was a great summer dish!

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 1/3 cup of canola oil, I used 1/3 cup of vegetable broth.
• Instead of 3/4 cup low fat grated Parmesan cheese, I used 3/4 cup fat free grated Parmesan cheese.
• I omitted the olives (this is more for personal preference).

If you divide the dish into 8 servings, it is 8Points Plus per serving.

Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies
My youngest sister always loves to get Monster Cookies at a local coffee shop, so I figured I would attempt to make some on my own. Since you can really put whatever you choose into them, they can be made healthier or more unhealthy with the fillings. I chose to follow the basic recipe, with a few small swaps, and I also made smaller cookies. Instead of 36 cookies, I made 60.

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 2 sticks of butter, I used 2 sticks of light butter.
• Instead of 2 whole large eggs, I used 1/2 cup of liquid egg.
• I omitted the pecans.

If you are following Weight Watchers, 36 cookies equal 5Points Plus per cookie; 60 cookies equal 3Points Plus per cookie.

Bacon-wrapped Coca-Cola Chicken Breasts

Bacon-wrapped Coca-Cola Chicken Breasts
I made this for dinner the other night, and my husband went back for thirds! You have to marinate it overnight, but it is otherwise a fairly simple meal to make. I also don't own a smoker, but it came out fine after baking in the oven at 325 degrees.

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I used 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut each in half.
• Instead of 1 12-ounce can Coca-Cola, I used 1 12-ounce can of Diet Coke.
• Instead of 8 thin slices smoked bacon, I used 12 thin slices of turkey bacon (since I had 6 pieces of chicken now).
• I couldn't find Jack's Old South Huney Muney Cluck Rub, so I used McCormick Grill Mates Applewood Rub. I only used what it took to cover all six pieces of chicken, which was maybe 1/4 cup, not 2 cups.

If you are following Weight Watchers, each piece of chicken is 5Points Plus.

Haystacks IV

Haystacks IV
These were really simple to make for a snack or dessert. They are also only 2Points Plus each, so they are great if you only have a few points left to use for the day.

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 1 cup peanut butter, I used 1 cup reduced fat peanut butter.

Cousin Cosmo's Greek Chicken

Cousin Cosmo's Greek Chicken
This was a fairly quick and easy dinner to make, and served over brown rice, it worked out great!

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 1/4 pound feta cheese, I used 1/4 pound of fat free feta cheese.
• I omitted the olive oil and used cooking spray to coat the pan instead.

If you are following Weight Watchers, each serving is 4Points Plus. If you don't omit the olive oil, each serving is 6Points Plus.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
This decadent dessert is not for the everyday snack, but more for special occasions. Even with the healthier swaps, it still rings in at 12Points Plus per serving, but it is worth every bite!

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of making the crust, I used a store-bought chocolate crust.
• Instead of 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, I used 1 cup of reduced fat creamy peanut butter.
• Instead of 1 package (8 ounce) softened cream cheese, I used 1 package (8 ounce) of fat free cream cheese.
• Instead of 1 package (8 ounce) Cool Whip, I used 1 package (8 ounce) of Cool Whip Free.

Cowboy Casserole

Cowboy Casserole
This hearty dish clocks in at 12Points Plus per serving, so it's not a light meal, but it's still pretty tasty.

The ingredient swaps:

• Instead of 1/2 pound of bacon, I used 1/2 pound of turkey bacon.
• Instead of 1 pound of ground beef, I used 1 pound of ground turkey.
• Instead of 2 (15 ounce) cans of baked beans with pork, I used 2 (15 ounce) cans of vegetarian baked beans.
• Instead of 1 (7.5 ounce) package of refrigerated biscuit dough, I used 1 (7.5 ounce) package of reduced-fat refrigerated biscuit dough.

As a side note, I would recommend pre-cooking the biscuits. On my stove, they took a while to cook on top of the casserole which resulted in some of the casserole burning in the pan. 

Loaded Potato Salad

Just in time for all of those summer BBQ's, a twist on potato salad! This recipe was taken out of an old Weight Watchers cookbook, with a few slight adjustments.

Loaded Potato Salad

PointsPlus Value: 3

Servings: 8 (serving size about 1/3 cup)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized baking potatoes
• 1/3 cup fat free sour cream
• 1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fat free mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 5 precooked turkey bacon slices
• ½ cup shredded 2% reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup sliced green onions

Instructions:

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water in a large sauce pan 30 minutes or just until tender; drain. Cool to touch (about 15 minutes), and cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. While potatoes cool, combine sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Cook bacon in microwave according to package directions for crisp. Cool and crumble.
4. Combine potato cubes, cheese, and green onions in a large bowl. Stir sour cream mixture into potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle with bacon. Cover and chill until ready to serve.