I love banana bread, and zucchini bread, and everything in that family, but most recipes I come across are insanely unhealthy. My grandma’s recipe for zucchini bread worked out to 15 points for a one-inch slice. Yummy, but yikes!

I tried this recipe with a healthy dose of skepticisim. I am suspicious of fat free cream cheese, for one. And I wasn’t quite sure how the baking mix would turn out in this.

It turned out great. The loaf made the house smell amazing, and I couldn’t wait for it to be finished so I could try it. It was one of those things I had to struggle to let cool before I tried it. Fortunately, it was worth the wait. The texture was light and crumbly–a little less dense than a traditional banana bread, and a little lighter in color. Otherwise though, the flavor was excellent. Next time, I think I’ll try it as muffins or mini-muffins, for a little built-in portion control. As it was, baked in the traditional loaf pan the nutritional info worked out to about 160 calories, 4 grams of fat, and less than one gram of fiber per slice, or 3 points.

Lightened-Up Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) package fat-free cream cheese
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
2 large eggs
2 cups reduced-fat baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add banana and eggs; beat until well blended. Add the baking mix and walnuts, and stir just until moist.

Pour batter into a 9-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Tent bread with foil, and bake an additional 15 minutes.or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Note: I think this recipe came from the Weight Watchers message boards, but I’m not 100% sure. If anyone knows the source, let me know and I’ll be sure and give credit. This would be great with chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or any of the other classic additions to banana bread.

Does anyone else have any favorite “light” baked goods recipes?

This very tasty dish from Cooking Light magazine turned out to be both simple and yummy–plus had a kind of fancy look to it as well. I think this could absolutely be served for entertaining.

The pork slices were tender, and the sauce was tangy and delicious. Our roommate Leah isn’t a fan of mustard, but she still enjoyed this sauce. It was so good, I was glad the noodles were there to soak up every last drop. It would also be good over mashed potatoes.

Pork Tenderlion with Mustard Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light, October 2001

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While the noodles cook, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork with pepper and salt. Place pork in pan; cook 5 minutes, turning once.

Combine the wine and mustard; pour into pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch mixture into pan; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute or until thick. Serve pork with sauce and noodles.

Calories: 242, Fat: 8g, Fiber: 1 g

I love cookbooks. It feels like I have a million of them, but I’m never disappointed to receive another. I got a few great ones for Christmas, which you’ll be hearing more about soon, I’m sure. One of the cookbooks I got recently (technically not a Christmas gift, but that’s okay) is Giada De Laurentiis’s Everyday Pasta. I like this book a lot. It ranges from Salads and Starters to Sides to Main Dishes, and has a lot of quick and easy dishes, along with more sophisticated ones. We tried one of the more quick and easy dishes last week, this twist on a chicken tortellini soup. The recipe below includes my tweaks on the original. I subbed bacon for the pancetta, because it was what we had on hand, but also cut down on the bacon and oil a bit to lighten the dish. I also used a whole grain fresh tortellini for the pasta. With these substitutions, it ended up being about 6 points for a very hearty bowl of soup. With some crusty bread on the side it was a great winter weeknight dinner.

Italian White Bean, Bacon and Tortellini Soup
Adapted from Everyday Pasta (by Giada De Laurentiis)

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• three slices of bacon, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 9-ounce package cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen
• 1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

In a large, heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon, shallots, carrot and garlic. Cook until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and broth.

Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to the heat to a simmer. Add the tortellini and cook 5 minutes for fresh, 8 minutes for frozen, or until just tender. Season with pepper and serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

This is another Weight Watchers recipe, from the Comfort Classics cookbook. Along with the Macaroni & Cheese on the cover, this was one of the first recipes to catch my eye, in part because of the very tasty-looking picture. I’ve tried corn flake style breading before, and wasn’t that impressed, but this baked, “oven-fried,” fried chicken fake out had a perfectly crispy, crunchy crust. I think it was the buttermilk. Next time, I think I’d up the salt and pepper content, because it could’ve used a little more flavor. Otherwise, though, I liked this recipe a lot.

Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken with Sage Gravy

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons four
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 1 1/3 cup cornflake crumbs
• Bone-in, skin-on chicken, about 2 pounds worth (use the pieces you like)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (would increase next time)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4  cup fat-free buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil.  Place a wire rack in the pan, spray the rack lightly with nonstick spray.

2. Place 1/2 cup flour in a shallow dish. Put the egg whites in another shallow dish. Place the cornflake crumbs in a third dish.

3. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne. Add the buttermilk and turn to coat. Dip the chicken, one piece at a time, into the flour, then the egg whites, then the cornflake crumbs. Place the chicken on the rack. Spray the top of the chicken lightly with nonstick spray. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 45 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, to make the gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cook, whisking frequently, for about a minute. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth. Continue whisking and cooking, until the gravy comes to a boil and thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sage and pepper. Serve the gravy with the cooked chicken.

310 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 1 fiber, for about 2 pieces of chicken.

This is a great healthy Italian dish. It’s classic stuffed shells, but lightened. The combination of cottage cheese and ricotta cheese makes a rich, cheesy stuffing that melts beautifully. (If you aren’t a fan of cottage cheese, don’t worry–this doesn’t taste a thing like cottage cheese) Though you could serve this meatless, and I’m sure it would be good, I added a spicy chicken Italian sausage, which was delicious.

Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder, or to taste
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 cup canned tomato sauce
• 1 pound cooked pasta, jumbo shells, approximately 24 shells
• 1 pound cooked Italian Sausage (I used Amy’s Spicy Italian Chicken Sausages)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375̊°F.

Mix together cheeses, salt, garlic powder, oregano and pepper. Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on bottom of a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.

When cooked shells are cool enough to handle, fill each shell with cheese mixture and place in baking dish. When all shells are in dish, spoon remaining tomato sauce over shells. Cover pan and bake for 20 minutes. Yields about 4 shells per serving.

Note: I’m sure we’ll be trying this one again. It was very tasty, though a little too saucy. Next time, I think I’ll cut back on the sauce a bit. The Italian Sausage I used was precooked, so all I did was slice it and saute it in a skillet with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.

I found this Au Gratin Potatoes recipe on the main Weight Watchers website. They post free recipes from time to time, and this was one of them. The notes on the recipe promise that these cheesy potatoes are spouse and kid-friendly, and I can see that. They didn’t taste light at all. The potatoes were creamy and cheesy–reminded me a lot of our family’s standard scalloped potatoes recipe, but with added cheese flavor. I didn’t mind the onion, but if you don’t like onions, you could certainly skip it, and it would turn out just fine.

Au Gratin Potatoes
Adapted from weightwatchers.com

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup 2% cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-quart covered baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour; add milk slowly, stirring. Add potatoes and stir to mix. Bring to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper.

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and level out surface. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Cover and bake until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.

Change oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Broil 6 inches from the heating element until the cheese is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces. Works out to three points a serving, according to Weight Watchers.

Note: I’m sure we’ll make these again. The potatoes were creamy, and cheesy, and definitely worth making. The only drawback is the lengthy cooking time–I may experiment with parboiling or starting the potatoes in the microwave a little bit to cut down on the time in the oven next time. Almost an hour and a half in the oven is too long to make these practical for a weeknight, unfortunately.

I have been pleasantly surprised recently to learn that I actually like oatmeal. It started with a specific kind of McCann’s Instant Oatmeal, and has sort of grown from there to include a few different varieties. 6 months ago, I don’t think I would’ve ever tried this porridge recipe from my Weight Watchers 150 Comfort Foods cookbook.

Rather than just oats, this porridge uses bulgur and barley, which adds a chewy texture and more nutty flavor. It’s slightly chewier/bulkier than steel cut oats, for comparison. I added extra blueberries to the mix, for more flavor, and I’d have to say, the recipe would be a little bland without them.

Blueberry Breakfast Porridge
Adapted from the Weight Watchers 150 Comfort Foods cookbook

• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup quick cooking barley
• 1/2 cup bulgur
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• pinch of ground cinnamon

1. Put the mlk and salt in a small pan and bring just to a boil. Stir in the barley, bulgur, and oats. Reduce the heat to simmer, stirring frequently until the milk is completely absorbed and the grains are tender, but chewy. This takes about 10 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, and stir in the blueberries. Spoon the porridge evenly into 2 bowls, sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon, and serve.

Note: The recipe was very tasty when it was fresh. Unfortunately, I like to eat oatmeal at my desk at work–I was hoping this would reheat well, but it doesn’t really. The reheated version is much chewier than it was originally. Even though it didn’t take too long, I’m not one for cooking in the mornings. Unless I was going to be eating breakfast at home, I don’t know if I’d make this one again. For two servings, it works out to 6 points, but I broke it into 4 servings for 3 points each.

For David’s birthday this year, we had quite a feast. Normally, we spend Wednesday nights watching Glee, (and by “we,” I mean my friends and I, not David. He’s not a fan.) which means that our dinners on Wednesdays are usually more of the quick-and-easy variety than other nights of the week.

Rather than the typical simple fare, I tried for something a little fancier. We sat at the table, for one. Opened a bottle of wine, and had this pasta dish and garlic bread. Finally, topped it all off with Coconut Cake, which you’ll be hearing more about tomorrow. All in all, I think David was happy with his birthday dinner. It did make me wish that we’d do that kind of thing more often.

Pasta was an easy choice when planning a dinner for David, but I wanted to try something new, AND pick something he’d especially like, which is how I ended up with Chicken Cacciatore. Veggies (mostly peppers and onions) and tomato sauce and pasta–I knew he would be a fan. The sauce was made with balsamic and red wine, both of which David loves. It was a natural choice.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breast halves)
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
• 3 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cups red wine
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 29 oz canned stewed tomatoes, Italian-style
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning (Ours is the Little Italy NYC-Style, from the Spice House)
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, snipped
• 1 13.5 oz box whole wheat spaghetti

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add olive oil and heat. Add chicken breasts and cook over medium heat until browned and juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.

Add onions, pepper and garlic to skillet. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in wine, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve over cooked pasta.

Note: I thought this was good, and I’m sure we’ll make it again. I did add a tiny bit of sugar at the end, to balance out some of the acidity in the sauce. David and I liked this because we really like balsamic, but if you aren’t a fan, I wouldn’t recommend this recipe. Also, I skipped the mushrooms for David, but I think they’d be very tasty in this dish.

This recipe comes from the Weight Watchers Comfort Classics cookbook, just like those Ham & Cheese quiches. Can I say that this is my favorite Weight Watchers cookbook? Because it is. Normally, I’m not too impressed with Weight Watchers official recipes–they tend to be too bland for my tastes. But so far, we’ve tried the Pumpkin Pie Pancakes, the Mini-Quiches, the Macaroni & Cheese, the Oven-Fried Chicken with Sage Gravy, and the Tandoori Chicken, and all were very tasty.

But out of all of the ones we’ve tried these pancakes were my favorite so far.

These were good enough to order in a restaurant. In fact, there’s a pumpkin pancake that Leah and I love at our local brunch spot, the Bongo Room, and these rivaled those tasty cakes–for what I’m certain is a fraction of the points. The only thing missing is the Bongo Room’s amazing vanilla bean sauce. Next time I make these pancakes, I think I’d try to make something along those lines.

“Pumpkin Pie” Pancakes
Adapted from Weight Watchers Comfort Classics, Serves 4

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, pumpkin, butter, and egg in another bowl until blended. Add the flour mixture to the buttermilk mixture, stirring just until blended.

2. Spray a large nonstick griddle with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. When a drop of water sizzles on it, pour the batter onto the skillet by scant 1/4 cupfuls. Cook just until bubbles begin to appear at the edges of the pancakes, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes longer. Repeat with the remaining batter, making a total of 8 pancakes. Serve with the maple syrup.

Nutritional Info: (Serving = 2 pancakes with 1 tablespoon maple syrup) 222 Cal, 6 g Fat, 2 g Fiber. Points: 5

This recipe came from weightwatchers.com, while I was searching for a way to use up some Minnesotan wild rice. In addition to maple syrup and maple sugar, sometimes our roommate brings wild rice back from the north woods. And we approve.

Big surprise here: I don’t like asparagus. But David does, and Leah does sometimes, and I can pick around it easily enough, so I made them this dish anyway.

It was good, and came together easily, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. I was a little disappointed that the barley pretty much overpowered the wild rice. On the other hand, I had never eaten barley as a side dish like rice, and it was pretty tasty. Like rice, but nuttier. I enjoyed it. The other thing this recipe had going for it? A half a cup is only one Point. That’s a pretty good deal for a side-dish.

Wild Rice & Barley Pilaf

• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 cup uncooked barley, pearl-variety (not quick cooking)
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme & sage
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 10 ounces of asparagus spears (thin) cut into 2-inch pieces

1. Bring the broth and rice to a simmer in a large saucepan; cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the barley, shallot, salt, thyme, sage and pepper. Cover and continue simmering over low heat for 25 minutes.

3. Stir in the asparagus, cover, reduce the heat even further and simmer slowly for 5 minutes. Set aside off the heat, covered, for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Note: Next time, I’d halve this recipe for sure. It made a TON, at least 12 servings.