Oatmeal Pancake For One

There are a jillion posts about overnight oatmeal out there.  I tried one I found on Pinterest, but it was 9 ponts on WW and it was really hard to swallow, gloopy is an accurate description.  Then my friend Lisa made one that looks way better here, and there is no Greek Yogurt, but there is peanut butter.  I haven't tried hers, but it sounds yummy.  But here I am, wanting oatmeal, but not wanting a bowl of oatmeal.  The truth is, there are a lot of points in it, and I need protein for breakfast because I eat right after my work out.  So I thought I would share my Oatmeal Pancake For One!

After breakfast, well, actually after lunch, when I woke up the princess, she said, "I thought I smelled pancakes, then I remembered only Mom was home, so, not likely!"  Well, wasn't she surprised when I made her one!  She has one a few times a week now!

Although I grew up close to a Quaker Oats plant, I have forsaken it for Bob's thick cut oatmeal.  I love the chew of this oatmeal.  A traditional bowl requires a little more cooking than Quaker, but for making this pancake it is quick and perfect.  I do still buy Quaker Old Fashion for my cookies though.  I also needed a protein source, so eggs are easy, cheap and low fat.  I use a whole and a white, that way, Sookie-the-one-eyed-Bichon gets a healthy little yolk for breakfast!  (See her cute little face on this post!)  I chose to sweeten with Agave Nectar, but you could use sugar, honey, stevia, whatever.  I also had some leftover buttermilk and added a dash.

Oatmeal Pancake For One 
7 Points Plus on Weight Watchers

1/4 cup Bob's Oatmeal
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 Tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
splash of buttermilk (optional, could also use soy, coconut, almond or cow!)
fresh fruit  I used blueberries, but anything would be tasty

Beat the eggs with a fork and get them foamy, add the oats, cinnamon, nectar, and milk and mix well.  Pour into a hot omelet pan and as the edges set, but it is still gooey, sprinkle on your fruit.  Carefully flip when the top begins to set, and cook until browned.  Depending on the spread, I find the best way to get it out of the pan is to lay your plate over the top, and carefully, flip!
So, what are you waiting for!  Get in there and cook!

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps SRC

Dinner is served, and was it good!

So this month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned The Yummy Life.  Monica is a great blogger and shares lots of insight into her life in St. Louis.  Monica even has an e-book of salads and salad dressings, quite impressive.  Even more impressive is her Facebook friends list.  Yikes, over 2000 on Facebook!  I am a terrible Facebooker when it comes to my blog.  I use it to check on my college kids:)  Monica also has this funny section in her About Me that lists her likes and dislikes.  We have a lot in common!

After rummaging around her blog for a week or so, I decided to try her Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps.  I have had lettuce wraps at a few Asian restaurants, but have never made them at home, and I knew Scott would love them too!  She also has the Points value for a half cup serving, only 4.  So that was a huge selling point for me.   My ingredients are pretty much the same,  a few changes.  I used ponzu instead if soy sauce, it has a lighter flavor, kind of citrusy.  I also had no sherry, so I used seasoned rice wine vinegar. I had leftover mushrooms so tossed them in. Monica also suggests a peanut sauce and or rice.  We didn't miss the rice at all, and my family is not a fan of peanut sauce.  Her recipe makes 20 servings, so I really slashed the recipe.  I just modified for our empty nest and our disdain for leftovers!

Some of the gadgets that make cooking easier.

I had a helper with the chopping!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 # ground white meat turkey
2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced
about 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
4 carrots, minced
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms
5 green onions, sliced thin, green and white parts
4 oz. water chestnuts ( half a can)
4 oz. bamboo shoots (half a can)

6 T hoisin sauce
3 T ponzu sauce
3 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 T Siracha
fresh cilantro
Bibb lettuce

Look at the beautiful colors...

I chopped the carrots, mushrooms, chestnuts and bamboo shoots in a counter top chopper that dices them small and uniform.  I added the ginger and garlic, and the sliced green onions.
Heat olive oil in large pan and cook the ground turkey slowly.  Crumble well.  When meat is no longer pink, add all the veggies.  Stir frequently, I cooked them about 5 minutes, we kept them still a little crunchy.  It was really dry.  So add the sauce and cook until it thickens, just a few minutes.  Add the fresh cilantro and serve in lettuce leaves.  It is messy and really delicious!

Lots of stuff in the sauce, delicious!

I seriously ate about 5 times this amount!

My recipe builder on Weight Watchers says the entire recipe is 32 points+.  We figured it was 6 servings, so 5 points a serving.  I ate 2 servings after a long day of decorating sugar cookies.  It was amazingly delicious!

Enlightened Strawberry Icebox Pie

They are delicious right now, I have been buying 10 boxes at a time!

So, I have been following Weight Watchers for 3 weeks, and have had great success.  Down 9 pounds, and haven't missed a thing.  Some days I add my wine right into my points at breakfast so I know I can have a glass or two!  But I haven't been cooking a lot, a turkey burger and sweet potato, lots of salads, smoothies and even some home made pizza.  But really not a lot that I felt was worthy to share.  But since I gave up chocolate for Lent, I have been hankering for a little dessert.  So, I decided to make one of my favorite spring dishes, and lighten it up.  So here is the original recipe, which is fantastic.  It looks like I cut it out of a Bon Appetit, and it has been at least 5 years.

Strawberry Icebox Pie with Almond Crust

CRUST
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat to 350F.  Butter a 9" pie dish.  Chop almonds, graham crumbs and sugar until finely ground.  Add the melted butter and press moistened mixture into pie dish and up the sides.  Bake until set, about 12 minutes.  Cool completely.

FILLING
5 cups quartered, hulled strawberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons orange peel

Place 2 cups of berries in saucepan and mash while cooking on medium heat.  Add sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens, boiling gently.  About 3 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.  Add the remaining berries and the zest.  Mound filling in crust and chill until set, which could take up to 6 hours.
6 servings

So by the WW calculator, it has 83 total Points+, and 14 points per serving.  Granted it serves 6, and I usually cut a pie into 8 pieces.  But either way, it can easily be lightened by cutting down on the almonds, the sugar and the butter.  And I have to say right up front, I don't use any artificial sweeteners, even Truvia.  I just don't care for them.  I think we are used to things oversweetened anyway.  The butter is a bit of a challenge, I use tons of real, unsalted butter for my cookies.  But I thought maybe there was a healthier alternative, and after perusing nutrition info, I think no.  So I am just going to slash that too.  Here's how it went. I put individual points plus to the side, the recipe builder makes it's own calculations so it doesn't always add up exactly.

A little whipped cream and we are ready for dessert!

Enlightened Strawberry Icebox Pie

CRUST
1/2 cup almond meal (find this at Trader Joe's) (8pts+)
5 sheets of graham crackers (9pts.+)
2 Tablespoons sugar (2pts+)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted (6pts.+)

Find this at Trader Joe's

I put the grahams in my blender and ground them fine with the almond meal and sugar.  In a bowl, mix the crumbs and butter and press into a pie dish that is sprayed with nonstick spray.  Bake at 350F,  I could smell mine at 6 minutes and I took it out.

My pie dish is 10" so more pieces, less points!

FILLING
6 cups strawberries, quartered, hulled (0pts.+)
2 Tablespoons sugar  (2pts+)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch (2pts+)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (0pts+)
2 teaspoons orange zest (0pts+)

Mash them with a pastry blender.

Cook 3 cups of the berries over low heat with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  It will thicken pretty quick.  Remove from heat and cool to room temp.  Mix with the rest of the berries and zest and mound into pie shell.  Chill until set.  Or until you can't wait any longer!

As you can see I bumped up the berries since my pie was bigger, and I could have bumped them up to 7 cups.  The thickened berries were plenty thick and I can't imagine why you want a full 1/4 cup of corn starch.  I think my mixture was too hot when I added it, so it is a little cloudy and thick, but when I mixed it with all the other berries it is fine.  I will take a photo when we eat it!

In the recipe builder, it equals 39 points+.  So 6 points a serving for 6 servings or 5 points a serving for 8 servings.  Of course a dollop of Cool Whip Light will only set you back a point or 3 pts for the real whipped cream.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and cook!