Lamb Kheema with Peas

Kheema is a traditional Indian dish made of spiced ground meat, usually combined with peas or potatoes. Usually made with chicken or lamb, however it's also great with ground turkey or beef. I love this dish because it is easy to make and taste great. Serve this with white or brown rice to complete your meal. Leftovers make great stuffed peppers!

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Ambrosia

Ambrosia is a creamy fruit salad traditionally made with pineapple, coconut, fruit cocktail, heavy cream and walnuts. Heaven! Here is my skinnier version without all the fat.

I have been craving this for weeks and couldn't wait to make it, I used fresh berries and fresh pineapple and replaced the heavy cream with cool whip light. A perfect summertime dessert to serve at a backyard barbecue.

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String Beans with Garlic and Oil

I was never a fan of string beans until I learned how to cook them properly. Now I love them. The trick is not to overcook them. This is a quick, healthy side dish for all you garlic lovers out there.

String Beans with Garlic and Oil
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 cup • Time: 10 minutes • Calories: 97 • Points: 1.5 ww points

• 1 lb fresh string beans, washed, ends trimmed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• salt and fresh pepper

Bring a large saucepan filled with 1 inch of water to a boil. Lower a steamer basket filled with the green beans into it, tightly cover the pan, and steam for 4-5 minutes (don't overcook), until the beans are tender crisp. Drain.

In a saute pan heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add string beans, salt and fresh pepper to taste and toss well.

Shrimp, Peas and Rice

This dish brings back memories of my youth. I lightened my parent's original recipe and the results were just as delicious. Serve this with a vegetable on the side like sauteed string beans. Whenever shrimp is on sale, buy a pound or two and ask them for the frozen shrimp since all shrimp sold has been previously and is thawed in the store, this way you can freeze it and use it only when you need it. Note, when weighing your shrimp, peel it first. The peel is almost 1/4lb so 1-1/4 lbs usually yields 1 pound.

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Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes

My favorite way to make macaroni salad, a must at every BBQ and perfect for Memorial Day. To lighten this I used light mayonnaise, lots of tomatoes and olives and high fiber pasta. 

Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 7 • Size: 3/4 cup • Time: 15 minutes • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts

• 6 oz uncooked elbows (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
  
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• dash garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2.5 oz sliced black olives
  
• salt and pepper

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, tomatoes (and any juice from the tomato), olives, onion, garlic powder, oregano salt and pepper. Mix well. Add elbows and mix well.

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto

This is an elegant dish, perfect for a special occasion. Sea scallops were on sale, so that's special enough for me! You can easily double this recipe.

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto

Parmesan Risotto
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Size: 3/4 cup • Time: 30 minutes • Calories: 309 • Points: 6.5 pts

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 cups fat free chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat chicken stock in a small pot.

In a medium size heavy sauce pan, add butter on medium-low heat. Add shallots, sauté about 1 minute. Add rice mixing well until well coated and transluscent, about 2 minutes. Add wine, salt and pepper and mix well until it is absorbed into the rice. Ladle 1 cup stock into rice and mix until all stock is absorbed, add another ladle, and continue adding and stirring until all broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and parsley, mix well and serve.

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Size: 5 oz • Time: 10 minutes • Calories: 172 • Points: 3.5 pts

• 16 oz (about 12-14) sea scallops
• salt and fresh pepper
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 shallot, minced
• 10 oz baby spinach, washed
  

Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium size pan on a high flame. When pan is hot, melt 1 tsp butter and place half of the scallops in the pan. Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust. Turn over and cook about another minute or 2, until the center is slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side) and the bottom is seared. Be careful not to overcook. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate. Add addition tsp butter and cook remaining scallops.

Add olive oil to the pan and sauté shallots, add spinach, salt and pepper. Toss until spinach wilts.

Serve over spinach over risotto topped with scallops.

Shrimp and Zucchini with Bowties in Light Tomato Sauce

A light pasta dish loaded with shrimp, zucchini and fresh tomatoes. A perfect dish when summer tomatoes are at their peak.

I like it a little spicy but if you're not a fan of spicy food, you can omit the red pepper flakes. This takes no time to make, in the time it takes the pasta to cook, the shrimp and vegetables will be cooked. Top this with some really good grated cheese like Pecorino Romano.

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Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is a healthy sweet Indian smoothie made with fresh mangoes, yogurt and milk. I used fat free yogurt and milk to keep it light. It's delicious and a wonderful way to start your day, or enjoy this with a nice Indian dish like chicken curry.

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Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Garlic and Oil

I've been getting a lot of requests for pasta recipes lately so I though this would be a nice addition to my recipes. I love pasta, but I try not to eat it too often because it's high in points. When I do make pasta, I use a lot of vegetables and less pasta so it becomes filling without all the extra points. Any mushrooms would be great for this recipe, or even a combination of a variety of mushrooms. Simple and ready in under 15 minutes.

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Sauteed Baby Zucchini

I just love these little baby zucchinis. A simple side dish ready in under 6 minutes and great with just about everything!

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Weight Watcher Membership Giveaway

My first give-away! I can't think of a more appropriate prize than giving away three 6-month Weight Watcher Memberships to either the in-person meetings or online program, so you can get moving with The Momentum Walk-It Challenge. I walk at least 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week. Sometimes on the treadmill, sometimes with friends on the boardwalk or around the neighborhood. Joining or starting a walking team is a fun way to get motivated to exercise and to stay committed to it.

The Momentum Walk-It Challenge is encouraging members to incorporate more physical activity into their life to promotes weight loss. Between now and June 6, set an activity goal for yourself -- like walking 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). Either join or create a walking team, or sign up for a 5K event and you can get a FREE 8-week online training program to help reach your goal.

If you are already a member, maybe you have a friend or family member who has been struggling with their weight loss and could really use a membership to get them started? All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here telling me why you want this and what your favorite recipe is on my site. That's it! I will be randomly picking three lucky winners by May 20. Two winners will be picked from the comments. One winner will be picked if you twitter about this giveaway and link back to this post. Please be sure to leave your email address in your comment if your address is not available via your blogger profile and/or website. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my notice... otherwise another winner will be chosen. Winners will be picked by random.org. Good Luck!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE THREE WINNERS – JESS TO IMPRESS, ANETTE BLACKWELL AND CRYSTAL BAGWELL. ALL WINNERS WERE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG.

Chick Pea and Roasted Pepper Dip

This healthy dip is easy to make and taste great with crudites such as cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and celery. You can substitute jarred roasted peppers if you wish but freshly roasted peppers are best. Chick peas are high in dietary fiber, protein, folate and zinc.

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