Week One on the Weight Program

while it is not fancy it is a good diet meal. Whole Wheat Spaghetti with ground turkey spaghetti sauce, simple salad with light balsamic dressing and balsamic strawberries.
1 small package cooked spaghetti (serving on 1 cup per person)
8 oz ground lean turkey
1 med onion
jar of your favorite low cal spaghetti sauce

1.5 cups cleaned and quartered strawberries
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tomato, chopped
4 cups lettuce, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
4 tablespoons light balsamic salad dressing

meal serves 4 (with extra pasta for the growing, hungry kids) the meal equals...lets not call them points...9 zucchinis

Swordfish Quesadillas

I while back I talked about making some really great grilled swordfish. When I make the swordfish we had some left over so I thought that I would make some fish quesadillas with it and they were oh so tasty.

I has blue tortillas because they are every where in Mexico city and, well, we like them best
oaxaca cheese but I think you could use mozzarella
pieces of leftover grilled swordfish
salsa verde
chopped onion
chopped tomato
canned jalapenos
lime
butter

Lightly butter one side of a tortilla and place it in a fry pan then put the cheese and fish on one half of tortilla and fold in half. Cook quesadilla on both sides, serve with salsa and veggies and a squeeze of lime if you like.

my hubby said he thought it was the best "taco" he had ever had with his new favorite fish.

shrimp stir-fry

while this dish tasted good I would do things a little different next time. instead of Julian the vegetables I think that they would be better matched with shrimp if I cut them into chunks and maybe add some red pepper flacks for some heat.

cut veggies into chunks such as

• onion
• celery
• red bell peppers
• carrots
• minced garlic
• minced ginger

dust cleaned and dried shrimp with corn starch.

In a hot hot pan add in peanut oil with a touch of sesame oil and saute the shrimp in a single layer. when the shrimp is just pink on both sides remove a set aside. Clean the pan and get it hot hot again, add a little peanut (or avocado) oil with a touch of sesame oil add in the garlic, ginger and veggies. toss the veggies a few times, add the shrimp to reheat and serve over steamed rice.

Returning to Michigan

We have lived in Mexico City for more than a year now and it is time to go home. We will be returning to Michigan in just a few short weeks and once I do that I have to lose some of this weight I put on while in Mexico. The plan is to join Weight Watchers when I get back and to start blogging again on a regular basis but blogging weight watcher friendly food. At least for the first 3 to 4 months of being back.

Bell's Porter

It doesn't get much better!

Grilled Swordfish

I love swordfish but I have only had it a few times do to the issues with over fishing. Recently I read that swordfish has made a come back and now can be eaten sparingly so I treated the family when I came across a few steaks

I marinated the fish of a few hours in lime juice (limes and lime juice being very Mexico City) a good Mexican olive oil I got from a friend for Christmas, chopped garlic and salt and pepper.

When I was ready to cook the swordfish I heated my cast iron frill pan on the stove for a good 5 minutes. Then patted the fish dry so that it would sear well on the hot grill pan and grilled each side for about 4 to 5 minutes each. I personally so not like my tuna or swordfish rare (unless in sushi) and I do cook it medium to medium well (just a little pink inside for Tuna)

I also made a nice dijon dill sauce with plain yogurt, sour cream, dijon mustard and chopped dill. and served with whole wheat couscous with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers

This dish was really really good but what I did with the leftovers was out of this world...stay tuned for that dish coming up soon.