Turkey Meatloaf smothered with Mushroom Gravy

This is a fantastic, comforting meal and the whole thing is under 350 calories (including the veggies). The meatloaf is a recipe from Weight Watchers and is published all over the web so I might as well post it here too. The mushroom gravy is my own recipe and I make GREAT gravy. The veggies on the plate are a combination of the baked cauliflower with herbed chevre and some roasted garlic green beans. DELICIOUS!

Weight Watchers' Turkey Parmesan Meatloaf
Makes 8 servings, 181 calories each

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.25 pounds lean ground turkey
• 4 slices whole-wheat bread, made into fine crumbs (I lightly toasted the bread and then ground them up in the coffee grinder)
• 1/2 cup fat free milk
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 3 Tablespoons ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (or some garlic powder and salt)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350; spray an 8 x 5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a small skillet, heat the oil. Saute the onions until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the onion, turkey, bread crumbs, milk, egg white, ketchup, cheese, garlic salt, basil, thyme, and pepper; blend well.
   
3. Spread the mixture in the pan evenly. Bake until browned and cooked through, 50-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Mushroom Gravy
2 generous servings!

• 10 medium sized mushrooms, sliced.
  
• 1 Tablespoon light whipped butter
• 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 cup broth, I make mine with Better than Boullion
  
• 1 teaspoon Gravy Master
  
• 1 pinch of thyme
• ground pepper to taste

1. Spray a saute pan with nonstick spray and saute the mushrooms over medium heat until tender. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.
2. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, and in the same pan add the butter and flour and stir constantly to make a roux.
3. Carefully stir in the broth a little at a time to gradually dissolve the roux, eventually adding all of the broth. Stir in the Gravy Master, thyme, and pepper. Add the mushrooms.
4. Turn the heat back up to medium and simmer, stirring occassionally, until the desired consistency is reached.
   

Baked Cauliflower with Herbed Chevre

This is a really great, hearty side dish that I came up with myself.

Here goes it:

Baked Cauliflower with Herbed Chevre

• 1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets
• 1 oz of herbed chevre (goat cheese)
• 1 Tablespoon of light whipped butter
• 2 teaspoons greated Parmesan cheese
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
   
2. Steam or microwave the cauliflower until tender.
3. Toss the cauliflower with the chevre and butter. Place in a baking pan.
4. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes.
   

The entire recipe is 280 calories. It makes about 3 good-sized side-dishes.

A few low calorie finds

This calorie-counting thing, along with more exercising, is definitely working. I just need to keep it up! Along with fruits and veggies, there are some packaged food I've really been enjoying, so I thought I'd share:

Spectrum Coconut Spray Oil
I usually use an extra virgin olive oil spray when cooking, but I was really excited to find this because coconut oil is so good for you. I use it when preparing desserts or anything that might be complemented with the taste of coconut. Actually, I haven't even tasted the coconut in the food.

La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas
I can't find a good picture of these but look for them with the other tortillas in the super market. These things are awesome! They're only 50 calories with fiber and protein and are very filling. So far I have only made sandwiches with them but the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 book has all kinds of recipes.

Single Serving Cottage Cheese
These are awesome to bring to work for a snack. The 2% fat kind is creamy and delicious and 90 calories. With protein and calcium, it's really a healthy choice, especially for peeps like me who don't like yogurt : P

Shutters on the Beach

Just got back from hanging out at Shutters on the Beach with my good friend, Anna. Thanks Anna for not giving up on me.. I feel so much better!

The cocktails (grapefruit rickey for me and pomegranite martini for her) were so yummy that again I forgot to take pictures of the snacks we had:

Tuna Tartare
Yummy yumyum.. some of the best I've had. Just wish there were more of it.

Shrimp on Crostini
Delicioso!!

3 Greek dips or something
Grody! The bean dip was kind of grey and vomit-like, and another dip was just pretty much plain yogurt. The hummus was OK but tasted like store-bought.

Westside Tavern

I went to the Westside Tavern for the second time last night and decided it's good enough to post about on my blog : ). The atmosphere is nice, as my boyfriend says, very much like Houston's. It's nice enough to get dressed up on a Friday night or to dress down and feel like you're at a pub.. just a really good in-between like that. It is also in the same building as the Westside Pavilion movie theater so it's easy to plan a little evening out. They have a great selection of beer, as well as wines, and seasonal appetizer and meal specials.

So far I have tried the items below ( I need to see if I can find some photos). There is a lot more I would like to try.

The grilled cheese and tomato soup combo
This is a decadent but simple meal that really satisfies in a comfort food kind of way. The idea is to dip the thick melty sandwich into the tomato soup. Delicious.

The roasted corn soup
Soup just has the most amazing potential for flavor, and this one maximizes that potential. The taste is sweet delicious ripe corn.

Lamb french dip
I am a huge french dip fan and this one is awesome. Although I would have liked some more jus.

Fried green beans
These were awesome. I would get these every time I visit. Crispy tempura-like outside and sweet and fresh inside.

Grilled chicken sandwich
Eh, boring.

A friend got the pot roast and said it was too fatty for him

Westside Tavern
10850 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 470-1539
www.westsidetavernla.com

The healthiest foods on earth

Again, I must apologize for not posting much lately. I actually have been cooking lately but many of the things I cook are from cookbooks and I feel bad posting the recipes... plus many of the restaurants I've tried I have not been crazy about. But, those are all excuses. I did come up with a really tasty dinner tonight that I will post about soon, I didn't know it was going to be so tasty so I didn't take a picture. Isn't that always the way it goes?

Anyway, the point of this post was to tell you about a book that my dad gave me for my birthday. It's called "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth..." by Jonny Bowden. The book goes through the health benefits of each food in detail, but not too much detail. It is also surprisingly unbiased and modern, bringing together knowledge from a variety of sources where consensus exists for the most part among nutrition experts on what is good for you and why. It is NOT the kind of book that advocates the main-stream food pyramid, but rather the sources are more legitimate and independent. It also discusses the importance of organic foods and other information to look for regarding the growing and production of food. It doesn't have a plan for menus, recipes, or any particular diet. It's a great reference for what we should strive to incorporate into our diets on a regular basis. I recommend you check it out.