Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• Hot pepper sauce

Makes 1/2 Cup

 

Mash blue cheese in a medium bowl, leaving some small lumps. Whisk in the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar and pepper sauce ot taste. Transfer to a small bowl and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 pt. (1 tbsp per serving)

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. This dipping sauce can be used for Buffalo chicken bites, a dip for crudites, salad dressing,  or as a sauce for any kind of steak.  It's got a nice creamy flavor that can be made anytime in less than 10 minutes. 

Blueberry-Almond Bran Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole grain pastry flour
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
• 2 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups 1 % or fat-free buttermilk
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups blueberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Makes 12 Servings

1. Heat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pastry flour, wheaat bran, white flour, sugar substitute, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
3. Ina medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just to combine; do not overmix.
4. Gently fold blueberries into the batter. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Top with almonds and gently press them into the batter. Bake muffins for 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. You can enjoy these muffins all year round; just use frozen berries  and fold them right into the batter. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, blueberries, almonds an, the flours and whet bran make these muffins light and delicious. You can substitute ct for the vanilla extract for a more almond-like taste if you wish.

Balsamic Tomato and Mozzarellla Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp flaxseed oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large red bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into 1/2" thick slices
• 2 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

Makes 4 Servings

1. Preheat the broiler. Coat a broiler-pan rack with cooking spray.
2. In a cup, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, flaxseed oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Set Aside.
3. Place the bell peppers, skin side up, on the prepared rack. Broil, without turning, for 10 minutes, or until skins are blackened and blistered inn spots.
4. Place the peppers in a paper bag and seal. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, peel the skin from the peppers and discard. Cut the peppers into 1/2"-wide strips.
5. Arrange the tomato slices on a platter. Place the cheese slices over the tomatoes. Scatter the pepper strips on top and sprinkle with the basil. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Let stand for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella are classic staples of Italian cooking. This is a delicious salad that can be served as a snack, light lunch or dinner or even as a side with steak, fish or chicken. If you're short on time to roast peppers, used jarred roasted peppers instead. And if you want to have a  warm salad, marinate the tomatoes with the balsamic dressing, top with mozzarella and broil the tomatoes and cheese for 2 minutes and sprinkle with basil. This is a delicious salad that will make you feel like you're dining in the Italian countryside.

Chilly Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups cold 1 % milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Ice cubes

Makes 4 (3/4-cup) Servings

1. In a medium bowl,  stir together cocoa powder, sugar substitute and salt. Slowly pour in 1 cup of the milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk in remaining 2 cups milk and vanilla.
2. Fill 4 (8-ounce) glasses with ice. Pour Chilly Chocolate over ice and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. I needed something to  wash down my dessert and I was feeling Iron Chef-worthy (with chocolate and nuts as the secret ingredients and this drink was the perfect way to accompany this treat. The recipe calls for vanilla extract but you can use any kind of extract with this drink and it will taste just as deliicous-peppermint, almond, cherry, orange, coconut, raspberry or banana just to name a few.

Chocolate-Walnut Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Makes 6 (2-piece) Servings

1. Heat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Finely grind walnuts , sugar substitute, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor. Add egg white and vanilla and pulse until mixture comes together.
3. Form dough into 12 (2-teaspoon) balls and place on baking sheet; gently press each ball to flatten. Bake until edges are firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store in an  airtight container for up to 5 days.

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This is an easy dessert to make if you are craving something chocolaty and nutty and moist. Macaroons are delicious anytime of the year and these ones in particular are perfect for an after-dinner snack, your kids' lunch or even your kid's bake sale. Heck, they're even perfect to leave Santa when he's delivering presents at Christmas!



Cherry Spoon Sweet with Yougurt

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) package unsweetened bing cherries
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• 24 oz. plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt

Makes 4 Servings

1. Bring cherries, lemon zest, and sugar substitute to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cherries have softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
2. Divide yogurt among 4 serving dishes. Top each serving with 1/4 cup of the cherries and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. Although this recipe is in the dessert section, you can have this dish for breakfast, as a light lunch or as a snack. The recipe calls for lemon zest but I highly recommend using lime zest because it will taste like a healthy version of cherry limeade. This is a nice treat that is light and you won't feel guilty eating this dish. The leftover spoon sweet can be refrigerated up to 10 days and you can even use this as an alternative to jam/jelly as a spread for toast.



Tomato-Saffron Stewed Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise on the diagonal or on the bias
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz.) can unsalted diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large , heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until chicken is lightly browned, 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Add onion and garlic to the same pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan, add tomaotes with juice and saffron, bring to a low boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 PTS.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This is literally a quick and easy dish to cook for dinner especially when the weather is cool and you want to warm up the kitchen. This dish is basically a chicken stew with  flavor and the key flavor is saffron. Saffron is a very expensive ingredient that is used in almost every wolrd cuisine so treat saffron with the highest respect. You only need to use a small amount of saffron because a little bit if it goes a long way and that's a good thing.