My 427 Calorie "GO TO" Lunch: Zesty Avocado Turkey Sammy with Feta & Hummus and Baked S&V Chippys

Sounds pretty tasty, right? Bet your bottom it is! If you are like me and happen to think that avocados are the most delicious things on the planet and you are trying to shed some extra poundage, then you're gonna LOVE this! And...

Avocados are considered the perfect food; Filled with over 20 vitamins and minerals, fiber and (most importantly) monounsaturated fatty acids that make you feel fuller, longer! True story.

This recipe requires you to find a few different ingredients, but, they are versatile and wallet-n-waist friendly.

Zesty Avocado and Turkey Sammy:

2 slices of toasted 100% wheat bread
4oz Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
1/2 Avocado
1/2 tsp lemon juice (a lemon wedge will do)
1 tsp Tajin Seasoning
1/4 cup Feta Cheese
1tbsp of Sabra's Roasted Garlic Hummus
1 handful of lettuce

The only preparation you must do is with the avocado, everything else is pre-prepared. SCORE!

Be sure to purchase a ripe avocado... not too green and not too black. Half your avocado and scoop it out of the shell and place it in a plate. Slice it. Add your lemon juice and Tajin. Tajin is a Mexican lime and chile spice. Not spicy but very, very zesty. I love it! My neighbor introduced me to Tajin. You can find it at WalMart. Check out my W.T.F. "Tajin" for another delicious recipe.

Pop your bread out of the toaster and smear on your hummus. I use Sabra Garlic Hummus because it is THE BEST store bought hummus you can find. If you like another brand of hummus or flavor, go for it. Next add your turkey, lettuce feta and prepared avocado slices. And VOILA! Done!

If you miss chips next to your sandwich, fear not! I have found Target's Archer Farms brand of baked salt and vinegar chips. They are delicious and lower in sodium and calories. Actually, ALL of Archer Farms chips are excellent. They even have a Spring Roll Wheat chip (kind of like a Sun Chip) which was outstanding. My husband even liked them- and he's a chip purist! Another awesome brand of figure friendly chips are Terra Chips- made with real veggies. Can't go wrong with the Taro Root crisps. Yummy! I find them at Big Lots, of all places! You can get them at WalMart, but they are more expensive there. I pay 1.75/ 8oz bag at Big Lots vs $3.00 at WallyWorld.

Healthy food doesn't have to taste like it, folks! And according to the last report I just watched about lunchtime being the fattiest meal of the day, this sandwich will prove Dr. Oz WRONG! Don't quote me on the 427 calories. I'm no nutritionist, but, I've done the math. I've also been improvising these low calorie meals for three years and I have lost 50lbs and still eat like a fiend- I just make better decisions.  Enjoy!

Black Sesame Ahi Tuna

Black Sesame Tuna

with Coconut Jasmine Rice and

Dragon Tongue Beans

East meets Carribean in this coastal coconut
inspired catch for two! Today's temp in the Burgh hit 73 and I needed something to rev me up for summer! This did the trick. That and you gotta love it when you can get wild tuna steaks for 4.99lb! WOO HOO! Tuna is one of the few cuts of fish that I can enjoy. It's thick, hearty and not too fishy. FYI: If your fish smells fishy, DO NOT use it. Fresh fish should have no odor! If it has a pleasant smell, feel free to take on this recipe, mon!

Tuna Ingredients:

2  4oz tuna steaks (whatever's on sale)

2 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1/2 cup veggie or peanut oil

Egg wash
2 tablespoons of Kertney'sWasabi Seasoning or The Spice & Tea Exchange's Spicy Tuna Rub

Coconut Jasmine Rice:
1 cup jasmine rice

1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup stock
1 can of coconut milk- w/out the thick creamy part. Save that for...

Coconut soy cream:
Residual thick coconut cream
Plain Greek yogurt (You can use reglar yogurt, but Greek is best-- Unless I am coming over for dinner, in which case, please use Greek)
2 tsps honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 handful of scallions

Prepare the rice! Heat the oil on medium in a med sauce pot. Add the rice. Sautee 'til the rice is translucent and add the stock then coconut milk. Should hear a beautiful sizzle! Let rice come to a rapid boil. Cover and set the burner to low for 20-25minutes.

Prepare the soy cream by adding all ingredients together and refrigerate.

Combine the panko and seasoning. Dip your tuna steaks in the egg wash and coat with the panko. DO NOT cook your tuna until your rice is nearly finished steaming! Heat your oil in a large skillet on med/high heat. Cook your tuna for 2- 3 minutes on each side (depending on thickness of the steak). Pink in the middle! Remove from the skillet and let the tuna rest for a few minutes before slicing. Serve over coconut rice with the soy cream drizzled over it. Sooooo incredibly delicious! The Dragon Tongue Beans recipe is in my WTF section. Feel free, however, to enjoy this with whatever veggie side dish your Samurai-Rasta heart desires.

Don't let Pigeon eat the Cake Pops!

Hi. How's it going? I'm fine, thanks for asking! So... I was asked to be a celebrity reader for my daughter's second grade class. 


The PTA requests that, if chosen, I am to read a few books and fill up a 30min time slot. My daughter said that the good parent readers do "other stuff, too." If I was a really good parent reader, for example, I'll include an activity. And if I was a really, really good parent reader, I'll provide a snack. GOODGOOGAMOOGA!?! I took the bait and decided to be the really, really good parent. (Or the really, really stupid/trying too hard one?)


Choosing the reading material was simple. We love Mo Willems! He's the Emmy award winning children's author of Knuffle Bunny, Leonardo the Terrible Monster,  Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Cat the Cat, Elephant and Piggie and our personal favorite, PIGEON! I chose a few Pigeon books and came up with a fun illustration activity. 


Now all I needed was an idea for a snack. Pigeon loves hot dogs, but, um... I'm not bringing in 23 hot dogs. Yikes! And then I saw a picture on flicker... it was a PIGEON CAKE POP! Awesome! Next I watched this tutorial:

and bought the following ingredients. I found everything but the cake mix, frosting (although they do sell Wilton cake products) and wax paper at Michaels Craft Store:  


2 boxes o' cake mix
2 tubs o' whipped frosting (whipped is easier to work with for this project)
2 bags o' blue baking chips (for candy making)
1 bag o' lollipop sticks 
1 box o' candy eyes  


1 pkg of fondant - for the beak
yellow gel based food coloring

wax paper 
STYROFOAM PLANK! (Trust me. You will want this. It will make your life much, much easier)



Beak directions:  Cut a 1" hunk out of the fondant block and place in a microwave safe container. Nuke for 10 seconds. Next, put it in a ziplock baggy and add a 1/4tsp of yellow gel based food coloring. Work the food coloring into the fondant. Remove and roll into a skinny snake. Cut into 3cm pieces and roll again. fold the super tiny snake together and voila! Beaks! Let them sit and harden (only takes a few minutes) before putting onto the freshly dipped pops. 





...and voila! Cake pops! This recipe yields about 30+ pops.  


True, this is a simple process. It is also true that this is a time consuming, pain in the <expletive deleted>. Oh well. I know the kids will love them... and all of that confectionary work will be will be devoured faster than they can say Mo Willems!