10 ounces of canned tuna packed in water

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup egg substitute (or two eggs)

Mix all ingredients and then form into patties.  Spray a medium heat griddle or frying pan with non-stick spray and then cook on both sides until lightly browned.

This makes about six patties, each with less than 100 calories.  They are roughly 9g carb, 11g protein and 1g fat.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 sausage patties
• 1 can chili beans
• 15 oz tomato puree
• 2 small cans of V8 juice
• 1 packet of chili seasoning mix
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 onion
• 2 cups whole wheat rotini

The sausage, V8 juice and cinnamon were the ingredients in this recipe that I do not ordinarily put in my chili.  I think the next time I make it I might try 1/4 tsp cinnamon rather than 1/2, because during the simmering process, I think it gets a tad too cinnamon-y for the tastes of those in my family.  Otherwise, it turned out pretty good.  Putting pasta in chili is not a universal thing.  I used to think it was a Wisconsin thing since my Dad always prepared it that way, but the older I get and with as infrequent as I see others putting pasta in their chili, it might be a Kentucky or Indiana thing (which is where he grew up).

All you do is mix 1/2 cup light mayo with 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning (about half a packet) and after those ingredients are stirred, dice the leftover chicken breast (I had about 1.5 pounds left from a big meal I planned) with about one cup of celery.  When everything is combined, plop it on some toast and enjoy!  My kids also added a bit of shredded cheddar to theirs, but I left mine without.

Using the amounts I listed above, I calculated five 211 calorie portions, but it would be a bit more or less depending on how high you pile your sandwich or your tortilla wrap.  It was pretty yummy!

Monday, June 28 — 11o0 calories
Macaroni and cheese (195), Cinnamon Life (120) , S’Mores (130)

Tuesday, June 29 — 1296 calories
Mandarin Orange Cake (287), Tuna Patty (217), Turkey Taco Meat (190)

Wednesday, June 30 — 1149 calories
Tuna Patty (217), Mandarin Orange Cake (191), Thomas Bagel Thin (110)

Thursday, July 1 — 1365 calories
Cube Steak (211), Cinnamon Life (120), Johnsonville Turkey Sausage (110)

Friday, July 2 — 1324 calories
Barbecue Beef sandwich (409), Vanilla Custard (330), Cinnamon Life (120)

Saturday, July 3rd — 1319 calories
Corn Dog (190), Steak Chips (150), Honey Nut Cheerios (110)

Sunday, July 4th — 2214 calories
Cheeseburger (500), Apple Pie (290), Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Extra (190)

Some things you might gather from my log above:

• I don’t deny myself sweets or desserts — although with a holiday and needing to try the (Mandarin Orange Cake, in this example) recipe on my family before I think of passing it off onto others I had much more this week than I usually do.
• When my top three (calorie-wise) items are subtracted from the daily totals it means that I fill the rest of my day with low-calorie options including lots of vegetables!
• It is rare for me to consume any one item that is more than 300 calories by itself. I know that if I do, it will be harder to stay in the 1300 – 1350 calorie target that I set for myself.

Anyway, the recipe did not include nutritional information and I was curious about that. After making it today and seeing how great it turned out, I was even more curious about what I had just consumed.

I found a website where you can plug in all the ingredients you used in a recipe and how many servings it made and then a full list of nutrients and values is output. (I was happy to discover that there were only 217 calories per serving in that yummy soup!)

Check it out here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

Now, the funny thing about this particular recipe is that although the nutritional information wasn’t printed with the recipe in the paper, there was a mention of it on the paper’s website that I didn’t notice until after I had already prepared the meal and used the calculator at the link above. If you’re interested in the minestrone recipe (there are seasonal vegetable variations and I actually combined portions of the summer and fall versions because I had broccoli and zucchini on hand in addition to the carrots, celery and onion that the recipe called for) check it out here: http://www.usaweekend.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100224005

The flavor is a bit lacking and any salt or seasonings you add don’t stick well because the popped corn is not moist enough. But, a few suggestions I’ve heard include using a spray to moisten the popcorn and then sprinkling the season on it. I tried spray butter and it allowed the seasoning to stick better.

Here are the basic instructions: put about a third of a cup of popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunch bag and fold the top over a couple of times to seal it. Put it in your microwave with the bag standing up (not laying on its side like you would with packaged microwave popcorn) and then set the microwave to three minutes. (Depending on your wattage, it may take less time than that.) Stop the microwave when the popping slows to about two seconds in between pops. You don’t want the popped corn to burn!

If you’d like, use spray butter to flavor and moisten the popped corn. After that, if you choose, sprinkle salt or a popcorn seasoning. I’ve tried the caramel and kettle corn seasonings from Kernel Seasons but I bought them at my local grocer rather than online so I cannot attest to the online service you might get if you tried ordering from their website. That company also makes a spritzer (which would replace the spray butter in the instructions above) but my grocery store did not carry it hence my need to use spray butter.

These items were next to the bagged and microwave popcorn at the grocery store, but another area you might want to check is in the spice aisle. There, you would find lots of neat things to sprinkle on popcorn — seasoned salt, chili powder, powdered chese, etc. And, don’t forget the parmesan in the aisle with the spaghetti sauces!

Enjoy! Popcorn (especially if you don’t pop it in oil) has very few calories and neither the spray butter or the sprinkled seasonings have any calories, so a great and tasty treat for calorie counters!

• one box of pre-cooked chicken breast cubes
• one can of pre-cooked shredded chicken breast
• one large can of chicken broth
• one small can of tomato sauce
• one can of black beans, drained
• one can of corn, drained
• five carrots, diced
• five celery sticks, chopped
• one yellow onion, diced
• one red onion, diced
• one half small jar of Tostitos salsa
• one can tomato soup
• one can of fat free refried beans
• 10 corn tortillas right from the package, cut into strips
• two packages of taco seasoning
• about four cups of water (just enough to rinse out the other cans)

I put everything in a big soup pot and let it simmer for about two hours. It was delicious! I have no idea of the number of calories. (I guess I could add everything from the cans and packages.) But, this made about 16 servings so in addition to the two small bowls my husband and I each had for dinner, there was lots left over to freeze for other cold snowy days!