Pineapple Pork Chops

     I love meat and I'm not sure I could stop doing meat and potato meals, like I grew up eating almost every night. Emily has decided the past few months that she will not being eating meat so I will be looking for more recipes when she comes home on breaks.
     This recipe could be used with any meat that would taste good like a "sweet n sour' type meal. Chicken would be a great idea.

 
     I had on hand a can of crushed pineapple and apple cider vinegar. I used 1/3 cup of the pineapple and 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Combine in small mixing bowl. See my 2 TBSP measuring spoon, I really like this and it was a kitchen gadget I got at Williams Sonoma a few years ago. I use it a lot. It also comes with
1 1/2 TBSP and 2 tsp measuring spoon.

  These items I had on hand also. I use Dijon mustard I get from Aldi in my homemade salad dressing so I always keep it. Use 1 TBSP of the mustard and 1 tsp of the soy sauce. Add to the mixture above.

Add 2 TBSP of brown sugar blend with splenda to bowl. Add 1/2 tsp olive oil to a non stick frying pan and turn on medium high. To the same bowl add a heaping fork full of minced garlic, then use that same fork and mix it up well.

Add pork chops to frying pan with olive oil and cook about 5 minutes per side until browned. I buy my chops at Aldi they are usually thick and well worth the price. These were only 3.70 for a little over a pound. It was only Mike and I eating so that was plenty for the two of us.

Poor half of the pineapple mixture over the chops and simmer for several minutes, then turn over and add remaining pineapple mixture.

This was excellent and I ate 2 of the small ones. Weight Watcher points are 6. I served frozen Green Giant broccoli & cheese sauce plus my big bowl of Faux-tay-toes. My meal total for this was 12 points. If I had adjusted butter and cream cheese I could have got by with less but I really enjoyed the fake mashed potatoes!

Faux-Tay-Toes

      I love mashed potatoes but they do not love my belly fat. Just a 1/2 of cup of plain mashed potatoes is probably 3 points plus I like to add butter and anything that makes it a comfort type food. This was what I grew up on and craved as I got older. Too bad I didn't realize how bad they were for my waist line until it was too late. This is my attempt to make lower carb and healthier!

     I bought this head of cauliflower at Aldi it was 1.99. I used half of a head for this recipe and I plan on using the other half for another recipe later in the week. Stay tuned.

     Break off the pieces of cauliflower or cut off with a knife. Place the pieces in a pot and steamed it until able to stab easily with a fork.

     . Drain very well because we're going to add stuff to it! This is a Tupperware small drainer that I just sit in my original pot I cooked my cauliflower in and then I went and got a shower.

Then I divided it in half and placed each in a cereal type bowl. In doing it this way I can control and measure how much additions I add to stay on plan.

 I bought Weight Watchers cream cheese for 1.98 at Wal mart. They also sell individual pre-measured, 2 point containers of cream cheese by the Weight Watchers brand but they were out on my grocery shopping day. On the label it said 20grams was 2 points so I used that amount. You can increase or decrease amount used based  on how many points you want to spend. I also love me some butter and used a whole serving for 2 points. If I had done this with potatoes my points value would be all the way to seven which is as much as the meat part of my meal or my whole point value for my total lunch.

Next I mash it up with a fork and add salt and pepper.

Yes this was my serving. So all you have to count is the cream cheese and butter  and you can have as much cauliflower as you want. I made a serving for my husband too but did not measure as closely as with my serving and yes he did eat it and say it was good. Mike is watching his carbs too and I'm sure this was better than all the salads he has been consuming every night.

Apple Cinnamon Cottage Cheese

      Today I celebrate second chances or "do overs." I've regained some of my weight due to being lazy in my food preparation and too busy in my gardening area. Those fast food joints just kept calling me and pulling me into the parking lot or drive-thru just like a magnet. For some reason I can't eat healthy and be into gardening at the same time. I work so hard outside I think I'm burning more calories than am actually doing. So my mind says feed me  but probably in reality I'm just more dehydrated and don't want to take the time to fix something.

      This is such a simple recipe it seems silly to post, but coming up with simple things and putting them together is a big problem for people who need to loose weight. I know a lot of people do not like cottage cheese but this doesn't taste like simple cottage cheese. It has more apple in it than cottage cheese so with every bite you get your favorite apple and a hint of cinnamon.

     
     Cottage cheese has many benefits. One cup has only 160 calories, 22 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbs and no fat. Cottage cheese is really cheese with the difference being the cheese is curdled and drained rather than being aged and processed. The end result is the cheese- high in protein or casein because most of the whey is drained out. Casein digest more slowly than other proteins which makes it a good food to consume at anytime of the day. Breakfast time it will last longer than cereal and probably eggs. At night as a bed time snack it provides the muscles with a steady stream of amino acids.

I bought 3 containers this size of cottage cheese for my week of breakfast. I use one cup so each container is only 2.5 servings. At Walmart the cost was 2.64/ container. I use the fat free and it is hard to find sometimes in generic brands but if you can find it use it. This is the fastest way to measure it without dirtying a measuring cup. On the container serving size always includes grams. Mine said 125 grams/ one half cup. I needed one cup so I used 250grams. Check your brand for how much to use.

     This is a Gala apple I got from Sam's and a large bag is 6.98 for about nine apples. This apple slicer I got from Williams Sonoma. It is somewhat pricey but it works really well and has 2 different thickness slices you can choose from. The bottom also is white plastic and if you place the bottom on it after you slice it the apple comes apart better. It is called dial- a- slice apple divider and sells for 19.95. This is one of my favorite and most useful kitchen gadgets. Cut your apple and then I dice each piece into about 3 cubes.

     Place the apples on top and stir together. See it is almost double the amount of food and very filling. No limits on the size of the apple you can use. This is just the type I like.

Then I grind lots of cinnamon on top. This is what really makes the meal good and I continue to grind cinnamon on top as I stir and eat it. I found this at Harris teeter for less than 5.00 about 6 months ago and I still have > half a bottle. If you can find a cheaper cinnamon grinder let me know.

 This meal as pictured is only 3 WW points so it leaves room for a couple of good snacks later in the day. You could also use it as a snack and adjust the amount of cottage cheese for how many points you want to spend. Also on your healthy checks you can check off 2 milks with this recipe and 1 fruit/ vegetable serving.