Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Night on the Town & Baked Zucchini Sticks

(Note: Sis and I made Thanksgiving Dinner last year and used ALL light recipes, and they all turned out wonderfully! Even the holidays can be slimmed down!)


Tonight I'm taking my beautiful sister out to dinner for scoring two jobs in just two days - never underestimate determination! This post might not be too exciting for you none Weight Watchers, but I've listed some tips to stay on track while eating out. Please note, I'm not an expert, but these tips have worked for me and I've lost 25lbs.


1. Check the website before you go and choose your meal. You can determine your points, or at least check out the low calorie options. Always have a backup, I've been stuck scrambling because they ran out of my original option.


2. Get a to go container at the beginning of the meal and take half of your food and box it. We know that restaurants serve outrageously huge portions so chances are half will fill you up and you'll have lunch for the next day! Asking for a container might not always be ideal, but just make it a plan to only eat half your meal.




3. Watch out for heavy pastas loaded with creams. Even if its a veggie pasta chances are the veggies are covered in the heavy sauce. If you get pasta see if they have one with tomatoes and basil in marinara sauce.




4. Watch the free bread! I LOVE bread so when that bread basket is set down with warm dinner rolls and butter I can easily down three rolls before dinner comes. Now a days, I put it on the other side of the table and if no one is eating ask the server to take the bread away. If I do a soup and salad combo I will have a roll - you need something to help sop up that soup.



5. Drink lots and lots of water before and during your meal.


6. HAVE FUN. Seriously, don't think about it too much. Plan ahead, track your points, and if you go into weeklies, oh well, it was time spent with someone and that is way more important then worrying about a dinner roll. (Wait, did I just contradict myself? Oh well :)


For all you lovelies that came here for a recipe. Enter Baked Zucchini Sticks. I've made these a couple times and they are a huge hit with The MR, and me. This is another one from Gina's Skinny Recipes and I really didn't change much. Gina knows her stuff! All I've done is added chili powder and more garlic.


Baked Zucchini Sticks


The Stuff:
3 zucchinis cut into 3 "x 1/2" slices
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 egg white
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of salt
fresh cracked pepper
Cooking Spray


The How To:
  • Preheat oven to 425
  • Spray a cookie sheet
  • Put all dry ingredients in a Ziploc bag, zip it up and shake
  • In a small bowl beat egg white
  • Take 3-4 zucchini sticks and dip them in the egg then transfer to the breadcrumbs, zip bag a shake, making sure to coat the sticks
  • Place them on the cookie sheet in a single layer
  • Spray the sticks with a light layer of cooking spray to help the breadcrumbs stay on.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes
  • Use leftover marinara sauce or pizza sauce for dipping
Weight Watcher Friends: 1 whole zucchini is 3p+. Sauce is additional points

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