Real Chics, Real Food: Whole Wheat Mac n' Cheese with Pancetta

Lately the Cooking Channel and I have become best friends every free moment that I have. I love the Cooking Channel vs Food Network because the shows tend to be more about real people cooking in the city they love. The recipes seem a bit easier too. This whole week, there has been a lot of buzz about the best mac n cheese, and I could not resist to give it a try on my own. I tried to make it a little healthier by using whole wheat products too! Seriously... I am in love.

Makes 6 servings: Calories 461

Carbs 48

Fat 19

Protein 28

Fiber 4

Ingredients:
Half chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
.30lbs pancetta (sliced thin from the deli counter)
6 cups of cooked Whole Wheat Pasta (I used elbows)
2/3 cups parmesan cheese
10 slices of low sodium American cheese
2 TBS whole wheat flour
2 cups 2% milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut the pancetta into bite size pieces and fry in a saucepan without any added oil. The pancetta will create it's own oil when it starts to fry. Meanwhile, boil enough water to cook the pasta. Make sure you salt the water thoroughly to give flavor to the pasta.

Once the pancetta has fried, it should look just like little bacon bites. Remove the meat from the saucepan and place on a paper towel to drain any excess fat. Next, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the leftover oil from the pancetta. Sauté until onions are soft. Next mix in 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour until combined completely. Wisk in 2 cups of 2% milk that has been warmed in the microwave or stove until at least room temperature. The mixture should begin to thicken up slightly.

Lower heat and mix in American cheese and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese until well combined. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Remember that the pancetta has a lot of salt, so not much more is needed at this point.

Turn off the heat and mix in 6 cups of the cooked pasta and the pancetta. Pour pasta mixture in a 9 x 13 inch pan and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top has browned slightly and the cheese is bubbling.

Real Chics, Real Food: Skinny Taste Pork Chops and Applesauce

This recipe was another effort to introduce my husband to pork AND it was a success. I am not a huge pork eater, but I was raised with it incorporated into my diet at least once or twice a month. Once my husband and I started dating seriously, and I knew he didn't eat pork, I unknowingly stopped eating it myself. Now I am slowly bringing it back into my diet to rotate with chicken and beef. 

This is another fabulous recipe from Skinny Taste ( Pork Chops & Apple Sauce). I followed the recipe to a T except for the sage. I couldn't find it at my grocery store, so I opted to go a little heavier on the thyme. I just love the scent of thyme on meats.

The pork chops came out juicy and tender. I loved the mix of seasonings and the flavor of the apple sauce. I've always seen apple sauce and pork on menus, but never thought to try them together at home. This recipe was also super quick, so it is perfect for a meal that has to be thrown together in 30 minutes or less when you get home from work.

Also, I will caution you not to put the lid on the frying pan when you are cooking the meat. Although very little flour is used, it does make the outside a little crunchy, but the steam from the lid will cause the crunch to be eliminated. So cook them uncovered and let them rest uncovered as well.

Enjoy!

Juice of the Week

Because I promised that I was going to be better with my weekly recaps I had to take some pictures of my new favorite juices and share it with you guys. I officially started my Juice Cleanse on Friday October 19th, originally I said I was going to weigh myself once a week (obviously tomorrow would be my real weigh-in day) but I couldn't help but to sneak a peek at the scale, and to my surprise I was 5 pounds down. 

I can't even explain how great I feel, the fact that the scale actually moved DOWN, is freakin amazing. Although its probably just water weight I will take it. I wanted to start exercising but because I'm feeling a bit lethargic I think I am going to wait until next week.

But here is the recipe for my new favorite juice, I'll call it Carrot Passion (corny I know):

1/2 pound of baby carrots

2 Oranges

1 Apple

Slice of Pineapple

***Honestly this juice tasted amazing I could literally drink it all day and for the amount of carrots that I ingested my eyesight better be 20/20 at the end of my Cleanse. I am not a fan of carrots especially not in large amounts but this juice was almost too sweet. Don't knock it until you try it!***

I will be back with an official recap of how my first week of juicing went. Wish me luck! 

Real Chics, Real Food: Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach with 1 WW Points+ Meatballs

Everyone boasts about how easy baked ziti is, but I never actually tried it myself. When I stumbled upon this healthy recipe from Skinny Taste, I had to give it a try. This was a hit with my husband... but not so much with me. There was a tad bit too much spinach for my liking. Given that I have to ease myself into eating more veggies, this was too much too soon. However, the flavor was still amazing, like all of Gina's recipes, I just couldn't deal with the texture of the spinach that was heavily dispersed throughout the pasta. For a good sized serving, it comes out to 8 WW Points+ or 296 calories. Not too shabby, right?

Being the carnivore that I am, I also had to make some meatballs to go on the side. I used my own recipe that you can find right HERE. And guess what? Each meatball is only 41 calories or 1 WW Points+.

Bon appetit!

Real Chics, Real Food: Thai Fried Rice from Skinny Taste

I love fried rice, but I know that I rarely can stop at a portion size so I don't allow myself to order it much. However, this yummy recipe from Skinny Taste not only satisfied my taste buds, but it was filling as well. Shortly after, I also made the recipe using brown rice and it was just as amazing.

In this recipe, I did not add the chicken breast just in case I wanted to eat it with another meat for lunch or dinner later in the week. I also eliminated the tomatoes and used 3 whole eggs instead of 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg. I just have this thing against wasting the half of the egg... I need to invest in some egg whites in the carton for cooking...

The recipe as written comes out to 8 WW Points+ or 320.8 calories. My version (without chicken, tomatoes and using whole eggs) comes out to 7 WW Points+ or 260 calories. 

Also, when cooking with the fish sauce... yes, it smells like fish, BUT please add it in to the recipe even if you are nervous (like I was). It really adds an authentic flavor to the rice. I can't imagine fried rice without it now.

Real Chics, Real Food: Skinny Taste Cornmeal Cake (Bolo de Fubá)

When I stumbled upon this recipe, I was skeptical... adding that much sugar to cornbread? But I trust Gina, so I followed the recipe to a T.

Seriously, I cannot make this recipe. Ever again. Every time I passed through the kitchen, I just took a little piece. Although it is only 4 WW Points+ per slice, or 162.7  calories, I know I probably ate 3 - 4 servings each day that this was in my house. My only complaint was that it was a tad too sweet for me. I think the next time I make this, I may cut the sugar down from 1.5 cups to 1 cup. Also, in the pictures you really cannot tell, but a lot of the cornmeal sinks to the bottom when you pour it into the dish before baking. This is normal, because the top of the cake is more custard-like. I got worried and actually stirred the batter up again before letting it cook, but after reading reviews, I found out that this is normal. 

This is a perfect addition to tea in the morning or as a dessert after dinner. And for only 4 points... if you can stop after one piece, it is a great alternative. Run on over to SkinnyTaste to get the full recipe. 

What do you like to have with your tea or coffee in the morning?

Real Chics, Real Food: Skinny Taste Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry

This recipe will definitely be added to my monthly rotation of recipes. It was a hit for dinner the first night, and just as amazing for lunch for the following 2 days. The Hubby and I had a little dispute over who would enjoy the final leftovers for lunch on the second day. Yes. It was that good.

I went shopping for this recipe last week, but then got side track and used some of peppers to make another dish, so I followed the recipe exactly for the exception of the peppers. I used half of a green pepper, sweet onions, and scallions to make up for a mixture of peppers. I love onions in my stir-fry so this substitution worked out perfectly. Gina from SkinnyTaste calculated this recipe to be 5 WW Points+ and/or 206.2 calories. Which my substitutions, it really shouldn't be much different from that since I just changed up the veggies.

And a note to anyone trying this, don't be nervous about the pineapple and chilli sauce. It has a unique flavor that just tastes like "stir-fry" when mixed in with a little bit of heat. I really cannot imagine having stir-fry without mixing a little of this in from now on. I was afraid it would be too spicy but after having the Hubby try it to make sure it wasn't, I just tossed it in and hopped for the best. And the best happened. 

Real Chics, Real Food: Skinny Taste Slow Cooked Pernil (Roasted Pork Shoulder)

I have a serious love for Latin inspired food. I think that all stems from a previous relationship I had in college where I was introduced to all of these yummy foods... but that is a story that I don't need to get into today...or ever on WIOG.

Traditionally, if you go into a Latin restaurant, the pernil would be roasted in the oven with a thick layer of fat  on top. This layer of fat turns into a crunchy chip that is normally broken up and added to the plate with rice and beans and chunks of the pernil. Gina over at the fabulous SkinnyTaste called for a boneless cut of pork shoulder that is as lean as possible. I was not able to find a boneless cut, so I opted for lean bone-in cut and simply cut off the layer of fat after cooking the meat in my crock pot. 

This was actually my first "long" recipe that I made in the crock pot. I was a bit nervous to leave it on while I was at work, so I cooked it overnight (while I was sleeping vs at work) for 8 hours on low as suggested. After it was done, I wasn't able to chop it up before heading to work, so I waited until I got home to remove the cooked meat from the crock pot and cut it up. Gina suggests that you shred the meat, but I just cut mine into bite size chunks. After cutting the meat, I placed it in a large frying pan with 1 cup of the juices and additional seasoning to re-heat the meat and make sure I had enough flavor. You will notice that on most crock pot recipes, the author suggests adding additional seasoning after cooking the recipe... I feel like the crock pot tends to evaporate the seasonings a bit, so more salt, black pepper, cumin, ect is always needed at the end. 

I followed the directions to a "T" except for reheating it in the crock pot. Since my crock was already cool from being left on the counter, I opted to use the frying pan instead. My wonderful husband also made some rice and beans to go with it! 

According to SkinnyTaste, a 4oz serving of pernil is 4WW P+ or 176calories. Pretty good right? Let me know if you try it!

Real Chics, Real Food: Skinny Taste Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie is a staple in my family on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day.... backyard BBQs... you get the point. We love us some sweet potato pie! When I stumbled across the a "skinny" version, I was skeptical BUT excited to try it.

The Skinny Taste Sweet Potato Pie  did not disappoint. I served this as dessert at a Labor Day BBQ and the whole family... and extended family loved it. AND, it is only 7 WW Points + for 1/8 of the pie (229.3 calories). Next time, I think I want to make sweet potato squares (basically the pie filling with no crust). The filling is so flavorful that I doubt I will miss the crust AND it will save a few calories.

Please run on over to SkinnyTaste.com to get the full details of the recipe. I followed it exactly and loved every last crumb.

Emily Bite's Cheesy Taco Pasta

If you haven't noticed that my my latest obsession is learning to cook healthy, affordable, yummy meals, well, this post will confirm it. This weekend, I was scouring the net to find a healthy mac & cheese recipe and I stumbled onto Emily Bite's blog and fell in love. I honestly feel super prepared to lead a much healthier lifestyle with SkinnyTaste and Emily Bites now.

For only 376 calories you not only get 29 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, but you get a mouthful of cheesy pasta... and you feel like you just went to Taco Bell at the same time.

I followed Emily's directions exactly to a T to ensure that my dish came out just as delicious. The only change I was forced to make was the cheese because the grocery store did not have both variations of cheddar so I substituted a blend of shredded American and cheddar cheese. I am a huge fan of American cheese, so this was perfect for me.

I am slowly cooking my way through a whole bunch of skinny friendly recipes, and I will continue to share them with you! I always feel that the dish looks SO different on the websites of these foodies since their cameras are fabulous. So, you when see my pictures, please rest assure I most likely used  my cell phone and PicMonkey to crop and watermark them. That's it. I also will not be re-posting the recipes since my goal is to really follow them to the best of my ability, so please feel free to head over there to check out ingredients and directions. BUT I am definitely here if you have any questions about flavor, my personal substitution, prep, ect.

The Perfect Breakfast: 2 Ingredient Pancake

When I first read about the 2 Ingredient Pancake on one of my favorite blogs, Carrots N' Cake, I had a feeling that it would be really good. I love bananas and I love eggs, so putting them together shouldn't be so bad.

Nutritional Information: Calories 177, Carbs 27, Fat 5, Protein 7, Fiber 3

Calculated in MyFitnessPal

Despite the fact that this is only 177 calories, I really felt full. Over at Carrots N' Cake, Tina uses sunflower butter or almond butter on hers, so I added a little peanut butter to mine (that's not included in the calories above). It was seriously delicious. So here is how I made mine.

Ingredients:

1 medium banana (mine was a tad over ripe so it was easier to smash)

1 large egg

Directions:

Combine the scrambled egg with the mashed banana until smooth. In a frying pan coated with 0 calorie non-stick spray, pour the mixture into the pan (Just like a pancake!). The heat should be set to medium because it will take a little while to cook the first side. Once the edges get brown and the middle is bubbling up, it's time to flip it over. As you can see above... I lost a little of the mixture with my flip, but it all worked out in the end. The second side only needs a little time (approximately 5 minutes) to cook all the way through.

Note: if you flip the pancake too soon, it will really break apart and you will have a 2 ingredient mess in your frying pan. Be patient and make sure the bottom is brown before you flip it over. 

Let me know if you try this out. I know this will become part of my regular breakfast routine! And that you Tina for sharing this great recipe!

Real Chics, Real Food:Changing Up Your Diet with Skinny Taste

When you are dieting/changing your lifestyle/ or whatever else you would like to call it, you get bored easily. Eating the same 3 meals and 2 snacks everyday or at least Monday through Friday can literally be the sole reason for you falling off the bandwagon and into the nearest McDonald's.Therefore, I have made a pack to myself to start trying new recipes and actually following the recipe so I end up with something new instead of something I normally eat.

What has truly helped me is the wonderful website called Skinny Taste. This fabulous woman creates new and exciting recipes weekly that include all of the nutritional information AND the weight watchers points on the new system and the old system.

Chicken Cacciatore served with spagetti

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce served with brown rice

Both of these recipes were hits with me and the husband. I also made the Peruvian Roasted Chicken (minus the sauce). I may not even be able to get good pictures of that since my husband brought a whole bunch for lunch today. I actually did it with drumsticks instead of a whole chicken and it was still amazing!

My goal is to introduce at least 2 new recipes to my household a month. I will also do my best to take pictures, since as you can see, my meals looked nothing like the pictures on Skinny Taste BUT they tasted really good.

Do you have any favorite healthy recipe sites that you use?

White Rice vs. Cauliflower Rice

Can you tell which plate has the white rice?

I don't know about you, but I love some seasoned white rice with my meat for dinner or leftovers for lunch. This is one of my biggest diet pitfalls. Yummy. Delish. White carbohydrates. I try to limit my intake as much as possible, but my fiance is not a fan of brown rice or sweet potatoes so it gets hard some days. Any-who, I found a fabulous substitute for white rice that is low in calories and high in tastiness! Cauliflower rice.

Before you decide that this is not for you, please give it a fair chance. I don't even eat regular cauliflower, but I love this version.

Ingredients:

As much fresh cauliflower as you would like

Salt, pepper, and butter to taste

Directions:

Rinse the cauliflower florets in cold water and place in the food processor. Blend cauliflower until it is the consistency of rice. Once it is blended, season with salt, pepper, and butter to taste in a microwave safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave for 1 - 2 minutes to soften and enjoy! 

A cup of plain cauliflower is only 25 calories!

You can also play around with the seasonings, if you like. I have used fresh or roasted garlic, garlic powder, basil, onion salt.... the possibilities are endless!

And by the way, the picture to the left is white rice and the right is the cauliflower rice. 

Real Chicks Real Food: Cake Cups from Petite Sweet Treats by Chanel Renee

This post is definitely a little late, but I just had to sit down and write it. As all of you know I just helped throw Kim's bridal shower, and besides the amazing food the desserts were delectable. One of the bridesmaids suggested that we did cake cups, and I thought it was such a cute idea.

We ordered our cake cups from Petite Sweet Treats, and they were a hit. There were so many different options to choose from but we went with the Strawberry Shortcake, Banana Pudding, Chocolate Trifle, and Cookies and Cream Cheesecake. The cake cups were super cute, and they came with the cutest "petite" forks and spoons. It was definitely an easy clean up, since we didn't have to worry about cutting a cake, or having frosting everywhere. 

All of the cake cups were delicious, and because each one is in a petite cups, you have just enough to sample each of the dessert cups without piling on the pounds. If you love sweets as much as I do I am sure that you will find something that catches your eye. If you have an event coming up and would like to try something new, I would definitely suggest trying Petite Sweet Treats. Be sure to check out the website for a list of their sweet options and more pictures of some of their fabulous work!

Real Chics, Real Food: Pretty Toni's Cafe

Pretty Toni's Cafe is a super chic restaurant located in Valley Stream, NY. We fell in love at the very first bite. This is a place that I passed almost daily, but never got a chance to try so one night Amber and I stopped in for a quick bite.

Pretty Toni's Cafe claims that this is where elegance meets soul, and I could not agree more. The restaurant only seats a maximum of about 30 people, but that night Amber and I were the only ones in the restaurant besides the cook and the hostess. Not only did we receive great service, but the food was amazing. Our meal began with a basket of cornbread that was perfectly sweet and warm. The butter melted off the bread, like you can see in the picture above. It was so good, that we had to order another basket before the food came. The corn bread pieces are only about 2x2, so you know we finished the first batch quickly!


We decided to just order appetizers and sides so we could try out more things on the menu, so above you will see fried chicken wings, cajun salmon cakes, sweet potato fries, and macaroni n' cheese. Amber also ordered a side of yams (not pictured, but just as delish as the ones pictures). As you can see, most of our food was fried in some shape or form BUT it was not greasy. You could easily pick up a chicken wing without your hand looking like you stuck it in pure oil. The chicken wings had a crunchy exterior and were paired with a sweet barbecue sauce for dipping. The cajun salmon cakes had just enough bite to add some flavor to the salmon meat. However, I will be honest and say that I prefer mine to be a bit more crispy but they were still very good. 


Now for the sides of sweet potato fries and mac n' cheese. For the first time in a long time, I was able to experience sweet potato fries that could really hold their own against a regular white potato fry. They were crispy and held their form. Most of the time sweet potato fries are a little droopy. The mac n' cheese had just enough cheese and speckles of black pepper to make it a bit classier than your usual dish at the local soul food spot.


Overall, it was a great evening. If you are ever near Valley Stream, NY, I suggest that you come on out to Pretty Toni's Cafe! They even offer takeout and catering. (I've also ordered the jerk wings with mango and pineapple salsa via takeout which were just as amazing as the fried ones.) I may even be using them to cater my rehearsal dinner in August!

French Women Don't Get Fat: Leek Soup Recipe

After writing the book review for French Women Don't Get Fat and speaking with one of my favorite bloggers, Chelle from Everyday Polish, we decided to give the leek soup a try. If you didn't get a chance to read the book as yet, the leek soup is supposed to be drank for 2 full days to help release water weight. I promise you, this recipe will be the easiest recipe that you have ever attempted in your kitchen.

Ingredients:
2lbs of Leeks
Enough water to cover the leeks in the pot

Directions:
Bring leeks and water to a boil and lower to a simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Cool enough to drink or cool to room temperature and store.

And if you don't want all of the boiled leeks to waste, you can eat them drizzled with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Real Chics, Real Food: Fried Pickles at Barefoot Peddler

One of our absolute favorite foods to treat ourselves to here at WIOG is fried pickles from Barefoot Peddler in Greenvale, New York. Now, I know you may be saying "Oh! I've had those before. No biggie." But let me tell you, I have never found any place that even compares to the flavor of this dish. Other restaurants have tried this dish using breadcrumbs, baking, or even frying but the breading and/or pickles are not up to par.

The secret to AMAZING fried pickles is that the pickles must be crisp and the breading must be flavorful. When you bite into one of these lovely pickles, you taste the saltiness of the thinly sliced pickle and the flavor of what appears to be a beer-battered crunchy outside. If you cannot relate, imagine the perfect onion ring where you can hear the crunch of the onion and crust when you take a bite. AND the crust is prepared so you can take a bite and the whole onion doesn't slide out of the crust. That's the best analogy that I can think of to describe a perfect fried pickle.

This appetizer also comes with a tangy horseradish dipping sauce. But, you really don't even need it if you are against the horseradish. The Peddler also has a slew of other wonderful dishes on their menu as well. Amber and I generally get a sampler with wings, mozzarella sticks and potato skins for appetizers along with the fried pickles of course. If you are a potato skin lover, don't be alarmed when the order comes to your table and you don't see the bacon because they put the bacon UNDER the cheese. Yes, you heard me! So don't scream at your waitress before you dive in and take a bite. For meals, we have always stuck to salads, burgers or sandwiches, but their menu is packed with traditional American bar and grill food. 

Don't knock it till you try it! And fyi, I cannot stand eating regular pickles, so don't be afraid to try this dish even if you are not a regular pickle lover. Plus, we all know most things taste better fried. 

Real Chics, Real Food: Sweet Potato Biscuits

After you make these biscuits... you will never want to have plain biscuits again. They taste similar to the filling of a sweet potato pie, but not as sweet. If you are looking for sweeter biscuits, I would go ahead and double/triple the amount of sugar in the recipe and omit the salt in the water when boiling the potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato (it should make about 1.5cups when mashed)
2.5 cups of Original Bisquick Mix
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
2 - 4 Dashes of Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Boil skinned and chopped sweet potatoes in lightly salted water. When chopping the sweet potato, it does not have to be neat since it will be mashed later. Once the potatoes are soft and can be easily mashed with a fork, drain water, mash the potatoes, and then set aside until cooled.

Once cooled, combine Original Bisquick Mix, sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and potatoes to form the dough. I also added a dash of Vanilla Soy Milk for good measure. The dough should still be wet and sticky, but firm enough to make drop biscuits in an oven pan.

In a lightly greased oven pan, spoon biscuits onto the pan and place into the oven. I made 8 good sized biscuits, but you could easily make more if you wanted smaller ones.

Bake for 16 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of the biscuit.

Once removed from the oven, melt butter or margarine over the top and enjoy!

Real Chics, Real Food: Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

It has been quite some time since I have shared a recipe with WIOG. I have been cooking, but haven't been too great with pictures. If any of you follow me on Instagram (@KandidlyKim) you would have seen this picture already. On Memorial Day I wanted to add my own personal flair to the BBQ at the house with my fiance's family, so I made some dessert.

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

This recipe was super-duper easy.

Ingredients

1 large Package of Strawberries ( I had one from Cosco)

2 containers of Lite Cool Whip

1 container of Aerosal Whip Cream

2 Entemann's Pound Cake or Butter Cake

12 large plastic cups (16oz) or 20 small plastic cups (10oz)

Directions

Before assembling the desserts, cut the cakes into 1/2in squares. It doesn't have to be neat, they just need to be bite size. Then chop all of the strawberries into bite size chunks. I cut each strawberry into at least 4 pieces. 

This recipe is all about layering.

I also made mini ones (about 10oz cups) for the kiddies so they didn't waste the big ones. Overall it was a hit. And on such a hot muggy day, it was refreshing and semi-healthy since there was no added sugar.