And the secret is........Planning!

I think the secret to absolutely everything is planning. You want to go on a fantastic trip? Plan. You want to tackle an important job? Plan. You want to clean out your closet and toss away clothes you have not worn in 4 years but still really, really NEED to keep and decide which of the 2,753 pairs of black pants/shoes/pocketbooks get to stay?? (come on, girlfriends...you know what I am talking about) Well, I really need to plan for that. And, the secret to staying on my food plan, maintaining my weight and having a successful week with delicious lo-cal easy to cook food is....planning. Every Sunday I pick about 3 or 4 recipes to cook during the week. I write down any ingredients I do not have in the house and add them to my weekly grocery list. Then I write down all the other fresh, organic ingredients I want to have on hand for the week. On the opposite side of the paper I write the names of the recipes, the page number and in which cookbook I can find the delicious dish.  And, if I can remember not to throw away that important paper, I then have a plan for the week.

Last week I made a couple of new recipes. The first is a pork roast made in the crock pot. For all of my friends who keep kosher, I think this recipe will be equally as delish with a turkey breast. I also made a new chicken recipe that was so easy that it was scary. And then there are the potatoes. Can you say "yummo"? I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my husband, H, and I did.

Slow Cooked Pork with Dried Fruit and Squash

(Dinner Tonight! A Weight Watchers Special Edition Magazine)

1 (3 lb) lean boneless pork loin roast

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (I used what I had in my spice rack)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup bite sized pitted prunes

1 (1 1/2 lb) butternut squash, peeled and cubed

rosemary sprigs (optional)

Trim fat from port; cut pork in half crosswise.  Combine brown sugar and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl; stir mixture well.  Rub pork evenly with sugar mixture.  Place pork in a 4 1/2 quart slow cooker.  Arrange apricots, prunes and squash around pork.  Cover with lid; cook on high heat setting for 1 hour.  Reduce to low heat setting and cook 6 to 7 hours or until pork, fruit and squash are tender.  Cut pork into thin slices, and serve with fruit and squash.  Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Serving size- 3 oz pork and 1/2 cup squash mixture: 336 cal, 11g fat, 26g carb, 3.5g fiber

Braised Chicken with Savory White Beans and Spinach

(http://www.campbellkitchen.com/)

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or basic leaves, crushed

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cups Prego Heart Smart Onion and Garlic Italian Sauce

1 cup white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained

1 pkg (10 oz) fresh baby spinach

Season the chicken with the pepper and oregano.  Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides.  Stir the sauce in the skillet and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Uncover the skillet.  Stir in the beans and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

256cal, 6g fat, 17g carbs, 6g fiber

This next recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes came from a fellow student at the school I am attending, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Simple, simple, delish, delish. The picture is from her website http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/  Both of our names are Debbie. She lives in Hawaii. I live in New Jersey. There is something very wrong with that!!

Crash Hot Potatoes

(Simple Food by Jill Dupleix)

16 small round potatoes (I  made about 6 of them for the two of us)

salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel or caraway seeds

small handful of thyme sprigs

Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Don't peel the potatoes.  Just plunge them into a pot of salted water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until they take a skewer without too much resistance.  They should be just about cooked without being soft. Drain the potastoes and arrange them on a lightly oiled baking pan.  Use a potato masher to squash each potato flat, until it is twice its original diameter.  Brush the tops with olive oil, and scatter with sea salt, black pepper, fennel seeds and thyme sprigs.  Bake the potatoes on the top shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve hot.

Happy Eating!! Enjoy!!