Crockpot Mexican Chicken

I am on a crockpot spree trying to find healthy easy yummy crockpot meals that my family (AKA kids) like also.  Here is really good one I got from my former college roommate.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

Serves 4-6I am on a crockpot spree trying to find healthy easy yummy crockpot meals that my family (AKA kids) like also.  Here is really good one I got from my former college roommate.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

Serves 4-6

4 chicken breasts

2 C. salsa

2 package taco seasoning

Cook on low in crockpot for 4-5 hours on low.  Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks.  Return chicken to crock pot.  Serve in tortillas, over taco salad, on nachos, over rice, quesadillas, etc…

I did 1 C. mild salsa and 1 C. medium salsa and it was perfect.  But if you don't like spicy things then just stick with mild salsa all around.

Cereal

I am trying to compile a list of cereals that are simply filling (power foods).  I will add more as I find them.  Feel free to comment with more suggestions.  Remember here are the requirements...

• Whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals without added sugar, dried fruits or nuts, and with 4g of fiber or more per serving

Banana Cereal

My mom always called this "banana cereal"  but it is really just bananas and milk for breakfast.  It is simply filling.  Or if counting points you only need to count the milk.

If desired you can sprinkle a little cereal on top to add some crunch, but it is still mainly bananas, not cereal.  It remains simply filling as long as you choose cereals that are

• Whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals without added sugar, dried fruits or nuts, and with 4g of fiber or more per serving

If you are counting points you would need to count points for the milk and the cereal.

Hydrate

Here is a way to make sure you get enough water in for the day.  Weight Watchers reccommends 6 glasses of water (or other approved liquids) per day.  So 6 glasses times 8 oz is 48 oz per day.  1 gallon is 128 oz. so more than enough water!  I just marked for the whole gallon (not for the 48 oz), but you could mark only up to 48 oz if you wanted to.    My waking hours are approximately 7 AM-8 PM...so I knew I wanted 14 marks.  I divided the height I was going to mark and used a sharpie to mark on the milk jug.  As a side note...this was not my idea...I saw it on Facebook!!!

Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup

This soup is "Simply Filling" or 0 Points Plus

3 C. beef broth
2 garlic cloves, minced (or bottled)
1 T. tomato paste
2 C. chopped green cabbage
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 C. chopped carrots
1/2 C. green beans
1/2 C. chopped zucchini
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano

Spray saute pan with non-stick spray.  Saute onions, carrots, garlic for 5 minutes.
Add broth, tomato paste, cabbage green beans, and spices.
Simmer 5-10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Add zucchini and simmer for another 5 minutes.

You can also freeze this in a large freezer bag for a large batch, or small 1/2 C. or 1 C. containers for single servings.  To thaw just put the bag or container in a large bowl of warm water for a few minutes.  Then dump the soup into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for a few mintues.

Yummy as a dish by itself, or as a sidedish.  You can also add chicken or add or take away veggies and it still turns out.  I would keep the onion and garlic if deciding to take away certain veggies.

I do not even like zucchini or cabbage, but I love this soup.

Freeze Weight Watchers Soup and Veggies

Make a big batch of Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup (recipe on following post) and/or Steamed Veggies and put them in containers or baggies and freeze them.  Then you can pull out a container.  Put  the container in some hot water to thaw just a bit and then pour in a glass bowl and reheat in your microwave.  The container pictured is a 1/2 C.  But you could do a 1 C. container instead.

The Weight Watchers soup is simply filling and 0 points plus so it makes the perfect lunch so you can save more points for dinner.

Do not serve "Family Style"

I think I eat less when we have the food set up (for dinner example) in a buffet line, rather than family style.  So set your food up along your bar and make people go through the line before sitting down at the table rather than having the dishes of food set out on the table.  You tend to go back for seconds more and pick at the food more if it is sitting right in front of you.

Turkey Burgers

I am trying hard to eat things that do not contain weird ingredients that I don't know what they actually are (probably mostly preservatives).  I found these "Turkey Burgers" at Smiths (Kroger).  They only have Turkey, spices and sea salt. They are frozen raw (not fully cooked). Meaning you cannot cook them in the microwave.  But they don't take too long.  Just slap them on the griddle or frying pan for about 5-7 minutes per side.  You can also cook them on the grill.  They were around $1 per patty.  (somewhere $7-9 for the package of 8).

On the weight watchers program they would be simply filling, or if you are calculating points plus they would be 6 points each.  If you need to get your healthy oil in for the day...add your 2 tsp. to the pan and the turkey will get a little crispier on the outside.  They cook better on a nonstick surface (because they don't stick).  The oil is optional, I just used a little olive oil spray.

Even my family liked these on a bun like a hamburger!  I also tried one on a plate (without the bun) and I did not like it as well.

You really cannot taste the spices that are in the patties.  I ended up sprinkling mine with garlic salt and course pepper.  I think next time I will try just taking ground turkey and making my own patties since their seasonings didn't add anyhing at all.  But it might be nice to have some of these frozen ones on hand so when you are invited to a BBQ you can bring your own meat and not have to take the time and mess of making "fresh" patties.

Non-food rewards

I picked out a new shirt and hung it up in my rom.  I am not going to wear it until I lose 5 pounds. I think it is a good idea to choose non-food rewards.  Maybe some other ideas could be...a new fingernail polish, getting hair highlighted/colored/cut, mani-pedi, go bowling.  Whatever you enjoy that might motivate you.

Brummel and Brown

I love thsi butter spread.  It has yogurt in it which makes it really creamy.  It is 1 pt for 1 T.

Fry your veggies for the whole week

Chop up onions, some garlic (or use bottled), mushrooms, green and red peppers and fry them.  Put them in a container and add them to omelets or other meals throughout the week.

Tuna Sandwich

Not anything original, just an idea of something to eat.

Simply filling if you use lite bread and FF miracle whip

I have decided not to eat any FF prducts because they usually have artificial sweeteners or added sugars or preservatives in them, so I just count the points for the miracle whip.

1 can Tuna drained
2 slices lite bread (I like Sara Lee DeLiteful wheat--2 slices is 1 serving), Toasted if desired
Miracle whip
lettuce

Mix tuna and miracle whip.  Spread half on 1 slice of bread.  Top with lettuce and other piece of bread.

Broccoli with Lemon Chicken

This is from the WW 360 booklet.  I doubled all ingredients (I have listed the doubled amounts) for my family of 2 adults, 1 teenage boy and 2 children.  I also simplified the recipe a bit (I have listed the changes here).  My hubby doesn't like broccoli (but eats it to be a good example for the kids) and said this was the best broccoli I had ever cooked.  Do not expect it to taste like lemon chicken from a chinese restaurant...it is a whole different type of dish.  I think it would be really good over some rice (preferably brown).  My family gave this meal 4 out of 5 stars.  Serves 6

WW lists the points plus as 4 pp per serving.  It would be all simply filling except the flour.

4 T. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper (I like course)
4 tsp. EVOO (Extra Vrgin Olive Oil)
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (that is actually only 3 breasts...I cut my breasts in half so a serving is closer to 3 oz...Each person gets 1/2 of a breast)
3 C. water
3 chicken boillion cubes
4 tsp. bottled garlic (or 1 T plus 1 tsp)
4 stalks broccoli, heads only
Zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 T. dried parsley

Put flour and S and P in a large ziploc.  Add chicken.  Coat chicken in flour.

Warm oil in nonstick pan on med-high.  I used an electric skillet on 300.

Add chicken to oil.  Cook turning as needed until outsides are brown.  Cook until heated through.  If outsides are getting too dark, turn down heat.

While chicken is cooking, heat water and boillion cubes (can use broth instead...this is just easier for me to always have on hand) to a boil.  Turn down heat to low and add broccoli, garlic and parsley.  Cover and cook until broccoli is tender.  DO NOT drain.

Add lemon juice and lemon rind to broccoli.  Pour over chicken.