Recipes Revamped to Skinny

Remember when I said that I was tearing through my huge stack of foodie magazines to find recipes that could be revamped for lower points values? I just recreated a tandori chicken from Bon Appetit that was absolutely delicious. I have to share it. (I don't have a picture of it because I was starving when it was finished and then it was so good, I ate it all! Sorry! So, you'll just have to settle with a picture of the original recipe hanging on my refrigerator!)

So easy though to make this into a low points meal. The recipe called for a full chicken cut into parts; I used (no surprise!) skinless, boneless chicken breasts. The recipe also called for full fat Greek yogurt. Yes, that would have been delicious, but too many points. I made it with nofat yogurt and it was still really good.

Chicken, especially breasts, was just made for yogurt. When you marinate the chicken with a yogurt-based mixture, the chicken is tender and just explodes with flavor. It's really an amazing little secret. Fill the yogurt mix with 0 points flavors, such as cumin, red chili flake, fresh herbs, lemon juice, and you've got a real treat coming.

Here's the skinny:

Low Points Chicken Tandoori

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or more if you have more people--I had 2)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

garlic cloves (I don't like garlic that much, so I only used one; original recipe called for 4)

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs sweet paprika

1 tbs kosher salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup plain nofat yogurt

1/4 cup lemon juice

Whir all the ingredients (except the chicken!) in a food processor or blender until well combined. Put chicken breasts in a big sealable plastic food bag and pour the yogurt mixture over the chicken. Seal the bag and turn it upside down a couple times so that the chicken inside is covered with the yogurt. Refrigerate for a couple hours, turning the bag a couple more times.

You can grill then grill the chicken on a grill, or you can do what I did, which was to sear it in a saute pan that had been sprayed with cooking spray and sear each side and then finish in the oven until an inside temp reaches 165 degrees.

Serve with slices of mango and yummy yummy yummy and so low in points!

Enjoy!

Foodie Magazine Mode

I am mad about foodie magazines--like crazy, not angry. When I was getting ready for culinary school, I started my subscriptions to every single one: Saveur, Bon Appetite (now bon appetite), Gourmet, Food and Wine. I pored through them and imagined the day when I would be able to cook anything in any one of them.

And now the real world: I probably could do a good job at about 90 percent of the recipes I can find in those magazines, but the portions would kill not only my points value for the day, but probably for the month. So alas. The piles have stayed in my house--and we have a pretty small house--for all this time, but the recipes have merely been gazed upon and not attempted.

But now, I have new inspiration. Compelled by the need to do some serious spring cleaning, the piles must go! But not just straight to the recycling bin. Now I'm going through each one--probably more than 200 magazines--and I'm looking for recipes that I can make as is or that I believe I can adapt.

Throughout this whole experiment in points-based weight loss, I am determined to accomplish two major goals: lose weight and eat good food. I absolutely must do the first; and if I don't do the second, I will be depressed and my sad skinny self won't be much worth being around anyway. Plus, if I'm not happy eating this way, then I won't be able to maintain it for any length of time.

So, in my recipe scanning, I'm passing right over, right off the bat, anything fried, any recipe that calls for more than a cup of butter, or pasta. (Oh, that last one is a killer--really. But, truth is, I had a great Italian instructor, so I can recreate just about any pasta dish from memory anyway, so...those magazine recipes won't be that missed.)

And, I, surprisingly, so far have accumulated quite the stack of recipes to start to test. The fun part will be actually starting to cook. I'll keep you updated on what works.