Roasted Vegetable 'Wellingtons'

Okay, first I need to give you a little background.  These are not wellingtons in any real way.  This recipe started with me wanting to make a vegetable wellington, but with the substitutions I made it didn't really work out.  What I made was DELICIOUS, but it was definitely not a wellington.  So that is the disclaimer for the evening.  What you have here is a deliciously sweet phyllo cup filled with caramalized vegetables, cheese and basil.  For the amazing shrimp you can look up the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 heads broccoli
• 4 large carrots
• Pureed Basil
• 2oz Reduced Fat Feta
• 6 sheets of Phyllo Dough

Directions:

• Cut the cauliflower, broccoli and carrots into small peices.  Spread out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook in an oven at 350 degrees for 30mins or until slightly caramelized.
• Cut the phyllo dough into two inch squares, wet down and put three sheets in each cup of a mini cupcake tray.
• Add a small amount of basil to each cup, the amount will depend on how strong you want the basil taste to be.
• Cut 2oz of the feta into 24 pieces.  Place one piece into each cup on top of the basil.
• When the roast vegetables come out of the oven, fill the remaining portion of each cup.  Slide the cups back into the oven.
• The cups are done when the phyllo dough is brown and it has warmed the cheese, about 10-15 minutes.
• Allow to cool and then serve.

Each of these cups has only 23 calories in it!  So you can enjoy quite a few of them.  If you find the phyllo dough to be too dry you may want to brush it with olive oil.  However this will significantly increase the calorie count.  Another idea is to skip the cup idea and just eat the roasted vegetables.  They are fabulous on their own.  For other holiday skinnytizer ideas go visit Melissa of They Call Me Hypo.  She made some Smoked Cream Cheese and Holiday Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce. 

Happy Holidays!

Spicy Garlic Shrimp

The thing that I like best about the time between Thanksgiving and New Years is how much time you get to spend with the people you care about.  The thing I like the least is the extra roll in my middle.  Not okay.  So this month Three Stones/They Call Me Hypo set out to create amazing Skinnytizers that are full of flavor and you could eat all night long and not feel guilty!  I think the key to this, like any food, is to make them full of flavor so you don't feel like you're missing out.

I made two appetizers, these amazing Latin inspired Spicy Lime Shrimp and Veggie "Wellingtons" that I will share soon.  I can't tell you how AMAZING these shrimp were.  I have had a variation of this (consisting of all ingredients in a giant cabbage leaf) for lunch two days this week!  Also, make sure that you hop over to Melissa's blog They Call Me Hypo and check out her recipes for Smoked Cream Cheese and Turkey Holiday Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce.  Both are really good.  The meatballs are like Thanksgiving dinner in a single bite.

Spicy Lime Shrimp

Shrimp:
1/2 lb Shrimp (I had 12, but the number will vary on how big the shrimp are, so buy however many you want to make)
1 Tbl Garlic
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 Jalapeno diced (take out the seeds if you want it less spicy)

• Mix all these ingredients together and let them sit while you prepare everything else.  
• When everything is ready to go, pop these on a grill pan or saute.

Sour Cream:

1 C Sour Cream

1 Lime zested

Tabasco to taste

• Mix all these ingredients together

For the Cabbage leafs:

• Slice the head of cabbage at the base so you can peel the leaves off easily
• Cut off the part of the leaf that is limp so you're left with a nice firm leaf
• Section the leaf to your desired shape

Assembling each leaf

• Smear on a dollop of the sour cream
• Add some finely sliced red onion
• Add a small slice of avocado
• Add shrimp to the top when done

That's it.  That is all there is to it.  It is so incredibly easy that you have no excuse for not doing it.  Oh, and each piece is only 43 calories.  So go, prepare and enjoy!  And look out for the Veggie "Wellingtons", coming soon!

Tip of the Day:  Don't Zest Yourself

This is what I'm doing

Needless to say I haven't really been successful dieting this time around.  I have spent the last couple days trying to figure out why that is.  It really comes down to the fact that I'm not eating like I should and I'm not getting the exercise I used to.  The last time I was really successful at weight loss was when I was living in Boston.  I didn't have a car, I was out of the house 15 hours a day between grad school, internship, job, social life, etc.  Nowadays I drive to work, sit at a desk all day, and then go home and just hang out around the house.  So December is get this fat ass moving month.  Here are my goals:

1. Successfully eat within 1200 calories a day.
2. Get 30 minutes of exercise a day (at least) and try new exercises.
3. Weigh in everyday and record my ups and downs
4. Keep a journal, track foods and exercise as well as how I feel everyday with what I've eaten or not during the day.
5. Stop eating out. Make all my own food. This will help with calorie control as well as my wallet (which Black Friday wasn't kind to).
6. Drink 64oz of water everyday.  Gotta pee that weight off.

I know that I'm most successful when I'm busy and active.  I am starting with little things.  Walking to the Safeway that's a few blocks away.  Working myself up to biking the 5 (relatively) flat miles to work.  Moving, moving, moving everyday is my new mantra.  I want to loose 16lbs by my birthday, which is 8 weeks away.  I want to fit into my just slightly too small jeans when I go out and celebrate the beginning of the end of my 20's.  These are the best years of my life and I have wasted enough time not being the person I know I am on the inside.

Wish me luck.  This first week will be a tough one, but I'm no longer going to fill myself with food to trick myself into thinking my life is full.