Greens with Tomatoes, Herbs, and Toasted Pistachios

Ingredients:

• 2 cups nuts, pistachios, unsalted, shelled
• 6 ounces salad greens, baby (6 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup  fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Spread pistachios on a baking sheet; toast until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop. 
2. In a large bowl, combine greens, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, and mint. Add oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates, sprinkle with pistachios, and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. Here is a colorful salad that is quick, easy and filling. It's also perfect to eat on a hot summer day when you don't want to cook. You can use any kind of salad greens such as arugula, spinach, romaine lettuce, etc. and any kind of tomatoes such as baby heirloom, grape or currant tomatoes ad your salad will be delicious. You can  use white vinegar and a drop of lemon juice mixed in with the olive oil in place of the sherry vinegar and the salad dressing will still brighten your taste buds. The pistachios give the salad a nice crunch to it and are packed with minerals.

 



Turkey Salad with Pistachios and Grapes

Ingredients:

• 1  1/2 lbs. roast turkey or chicken, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 3/4 cups grapes, sliced in half
• 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Makes 6 (1-cup) Servings

 

Combine turkey, celery, grapes, pistachios, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Stir well to coat and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 7 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This is a nice salad to have for lunch or dinner in the warm weather. It's so cool and refreshing and leaves a really nice aftertaste in your mouth. The celery and nuts give the salad a nice crunchy texture and the grapes add a touch of sweetness. You can use any kind of greens with this salad to quickly fill you up. You can also use any kind of nuts and use red, green or any kind of grape in this salad and it will be delicious. You can also cook the chicken or turkey (seasoned with salt and pepper) in any flavored extra-virgin olive oil and a touch of lemon juice if you don't have any cooked poultry. The olive oil and lemon juice will give the poultry a touch of flavor in this salad.

 

Cannoli Tartlets

Ingredients:

• 2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 boxes mini whole-wheat phyllo shells (15 shells each)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped unsalted pistachio nuts

Makes 30 tartlets

1. Stir together ricotta, sugar substitute, chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla in a medium bowl until well combined. Chill, covered, until ready to prepare tartlets.
2. No more than 2 hours before serving, fill mini phyllo shells with about 1 tablespoon ricotta filling. Sprinkle each tartlet evenly with pistachios and refrigerate until ready to serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts (per tartlet)

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. A cannoli is a pastry that originated in Sicily and means little tube. Cannoli are very popular in Italian cuisine that is made of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough that's filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta cheese. These cannoli from South Beach get a healthy makeover and they taste just as good. The phyllo tarlet shells replace the fried pastry dough. The filling does have the traditional ricotta filling but there's less sugar and more sweet flavors such as chocolate, ground cinnamon, vanilla and nuts to make this sweet treat heavenly delicious. I absolutely loved these sweet treats and I highly recommend serving these treat at your next party or get-together because they are so good and people will be talking about them for days.