Cheesecake Factory is Hungry Girl-ed!

This week I joined Planet Fitness and am on the path to losing 2o pounds by the end of July.  I am doing Weight Watchers points for meals, and a great website for tips is http://www.hungry-girl.com/.   My favorite section is "Chew the Right Thing" where fattening dishes are made leaner without losing the taste.  So, tonight after my workout, I decided to "chew the right thing" and deconstruct my favorite Cheesecake Factory Salad: Barbeque Ranch Chicken Salad.

http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/frames.asp?fm=menu&pg=http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu_Display.asp?pg=10

As you can see, it is filled with fattening avocado, fatty dressing, fried onion rings, and breaded chicken cutlet.  I love this salad, but am saying goodbye to the fat and hello to a version I made just as delicious!

I took romaine lettuce and added corn kernels and black beans that I rinsed first.  I also took a packet of Weight Watchers cheddar cheese and added some low fat bacon bits.  Instead of frying chicken, I simply baked white meat tenderloins using Shake-n-Bake for the crunch factor. Amazingly enough, there is such thing as fat free, sugar free, and calorie free Ranch dressing thanks to Walden Farms:

http://www.waldenfarms.com/

I omitted the avocado and onion rings...and didn't miss them at all!

Cheers to healthy eating!  

Midnight Snacking!

The Prince gave me a Foreman to use for those nights when work has been long and I need to grill something fast and quick. This past week we decided to do burger night since I had leftover chili in the freezer to make chili cheese fries with (his brilliant suggestion!). Now, the Prince is a very particular burger man...so I had to find a recipe that would appeal to his taste buds. I found a true winner from Recipezaar. You can make these on a Foreman or you can grill them! I would definitely add the bread to keep the patties together. This is one juicy burger! I had mine with a St. Francis Claret (see photo!). I made a "fixins" bar for us as well!

BEST HAMBURGER PATTIES

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef (I did use 80% because I had the Foreman)
1 small onion, chopped (I used red onion)
1 slice bread, cubed
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard (I used Jack Daniels mustard - so good)
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

You know how to do the rest. :) You can freeze the meat into patties if you have leftover. Last night I made the Prince a midnight snack after pulling the meat out of the freezer! Mmmm!