Top "Ate" Cheesecake Day Picks!

Happy National Cheesecake Day!

To celebrate, I thought I'd share my top "ate" guilt-free cheesecake finds. Enjoy them year round! 

1. Smart Ones Raspberry Cheesecake Sundae (130 calories, 4WW points)

2. Skinny Cow Strawberry Cheesecake Ice cream (150 calories, 

4WW points)

3. Hungry Girl's "Yo! Oreo Cheesecake for One" Recipe (174 calories, 4WW Points) http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1498

4. Hungry Girl's "Cherry-Good Cheesecake" Recipe (1 Slice- 195 calories, 5WW points) http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/show/2603

5. Jello Temptations Raspberry Cheesecake (130 Calories, 4WW points)  

6. Special K Raspberry Cheesecake Bar (90 calories, 2WW points)

7. Honey Maid Cheesecake Delight Bar (100 calories, 3WW Points

8. Turkey Hill Strawberry Cheesecake  Ice Cream Sandwich (130 calories, 5WW points)

Frisco Breakfast Find - 5th Street Patio Cafe

In the mood for something new? Enjoy breakfast (or brunch) at 5th Street Patio Cafe in Frisco! http://www.5thstreetcafe.com/

After reading the great reviews on Yelp, Eric and I decided to check it out on Saturday morning. Sometimes I hesitate to try new restaurants incase there is not a guilt-free choice, but (as usual...) I was pleasantly surprised with the healthy options at 5th Street Patio Cafe, I highly recommend checking it out!

The catch? There are a lot of temptations on the menu... Captain Crunch French Toast for example. The solution? Have your significant other or friend order that so you can have a bite! 

Start your meal off with a delicious cup of cinnamon coffee! (Freshly brewed and so delicious!) The coffee is already light and sweet, so one creamer and a little Splenda is all you'll need. While you are making your coffee, don't forget to grab a little tub of sugar free Smucker's jelly...which you never find at restaurants, so kuddos to 5th Street Cafe! (That will save you an easy 40-50 calories with your toast!)

I ordered the Mr. Thomas' Breakfast- great meal! High in protein, low in fat, yummy in taste. Enjoy scrambled egg whites, two turkey sausage patties, sliced tomatoes, sliced avocados, and wheat toast. Wow- filling, colorful, and tasty! 

I'll also mention that the cafe is super cute and quirky, so enjoy the ambiance while you eat! 

I don't have exact calculations for the   Mr. Thomas' Breakfast, but I'd estimate it at 8 WW points, or 350-400 calories. 

Happy Brunching!

Review: New Taco Bueno "Bueno Choice" Menu

After reading about the new "Bueno Choice" menu at Taco Bueno, I was excited to check it out. As usual,  I was pleasently surprised by the new, guilt-free options... Especially the Chicken Tortilla Soup. I love finding new guilt free menus!

To start, the Bueno Choice Skinny Bowl is a clever addition to a fast food restaurant's menu. The bowl is very similar to a Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl, but smaller and less expensive. The bowl includes lettuce, black beans, grilled onions and peppers, corn salsa, grilled chicken, and a chipotle citrus dressing (I opted to use salsa instead of the dressing.) For 371 calories,  (who knows how they figured that exact amount out!) the bowl makes a wonderful meal option. Very filling and a super alternative to greasy nachos or a fat-filled not so healthy taco salad. (The Bueno chicken salad has 835 calories- eek!) 

The Bueno Choice tacos are nothing special. Chicken (or beef), lettuce, and pico in a crispy shell or flour tortilla- meh. I'd save the 150 calories (5WW points) for something more exciting in your day. Note- I can't speak for the beef tacos, but if you choose to order the chicken, there are two options: regular and fajita chicken. They are practically the same, so save yourself the 60 cents and opt for the regular.

Finally, the Bueno Choice Chicken Tortilla Soup was the highlight of the menu. It's spicy-beware- but very good. The flavorful base is met by a pretty good amount of juicy chicken. I was pleasantly surprised by this menu item. It's worth going back for.

My advice: For a filling and yummy meal- order the Bueno Choice Skinny Bowl and Bueno Choice Chicken Tortilla Soup. (Roughly 430 calories or 11 WW points for the full meal.  Please note, I can't find the exact nutritional facts for the Skinny Bowl online, so my calculations are an estimate based on Chipolte's stats. If I come across the full nutrition facts, I'll be sure to share.)

It's more Bueno with Bueno Choice! 

Happy National Hot Dog Day!

Happy National Hot Dog Day!

To celebrate, I'm celebrating Hebrew National 97% Fat Free all beef Hot Dogs. These BBQ-friendly franks only have 40 calories each (1WW point) - awesome! 

Fire them up on the grill and enjoy them with:

- Sarah Lee 80 calorie buns (this was a great find at Walmart- who doesn't love guilt free buns?)

-  Sauerkraut... Practically no calories

- Pilsbury Reduced Fat Croissants (rolled up "pigs" in a blanket- a family favorite in my house!)

- Bush's Best Fat Free Vegetarian Baked Beans (130 calories for 1/2 a cup, or 3 WW points)

- Sliced Zucchini fired up on the grill

- Watermelon for dessert on a hot day? Yes please!

Hope you enjoyed a yummy Hot Dog today, and more all summer long.

Sunday Night Dinner-Veggie Overload!

It's Sunday Night in the summer- you know what that means: A glass of "Skinny" wine (from my 3/9/13 post), Dexter, True Blood, and a yummy home cooked meal.) Get all your favorite veggies in with this recipe featuring a skinny must have- Fiber Gourmet Pasta. 

Before I get to this delicious dish- I need to dish about fiber gourmet. Their slogan "All the taste, half the calories" is so true! One serving (2oz) features  130 calories, 40% fewer than standard pasta and 18g  of fiber - 72% of the daily value... 4 WW Points. Awesome! You can purchase the pasta online, or you can pick up a box or two to try at Tasty Delight on Coit and Campbell. http://www.fibergourmet.com/ClassicPastaHealthy.aspx (while you're browsing, check out the crackers and Mac and cheese also!) Great Find!

To create my "Pasta Veggie-Supreme,"  roast all your favorite veggies with a tad of olive oil and seasonings of your choice on 425-450 degrees for 40 min. (Or until veggies are crisp.) Turn/mix on the baking sheet every 10 mins. For this recipe I  went a little crazy at Central Market and used zucchini, squash, roma tomatoes (for color!), mushrooms and brussel sprouts seasoned with garlic powder, oregano, Italian seasoning and onion powder. 

To add some protein, I cut 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts into small pieces and marinated them in olive oil and the same seasonings for about 30 min. (Bake for 30-40 mins on 350.) Or use any protein!

I boiled the fiber pasta as normal. Note- The best grocery store, easy to find pasta (I think) is Ronzoni Smart Taste with fiber. It has 180 calories for a 2oz serving. Not too bad! 

Once everything is baked, boiled and ready mix in a giant bowl with Ragu Light Pasta sauce. (60 Calories for 1/2 a cup- 1 WW Point.) I usually heat up the sauce in the microwave first so everything is hot. 

Serve and enjoy!

The key to this recipe is more veggies and less pasta. For 1-1/2 servings of pasta, 1 serving of chicken, all the veggies you want, and 1/2 cup of pasta sauce... You're looking at about 9-10 WW points for a filling and fiber-filled dinner!