Diet Friendly Pizza Rolls

Not sure how many of you are familiar with Pintrest. Pintrest is a wonderful site that lets you set up boards to organize your favorite stuff, whatever it may be. I have used Pintrest in the past to get ideas for craft projects and to find new recipes.

The hubby has been craving pizza like crazy for the last week. I know that with weight watchers we can have a slice or two, but they have a lot of fat. I was about to break down and pick up pizza when inspiration hit. I had previously saved a pizza roll recipe on one of Pintrest boards. I brought that bad boy up, adjusted it for my tastes and the result was delicious and diet friendly.

The original recipe is from Plain Chicken. Now there was nothing wrong with Steph's recipe. In fact I am sure her's is marvelous, but it didn't provide me the super important weight watchers numbers I needed and I love Hormel's Turkey Pepperoni Minis! Steph's original post can be found here: Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups.

{Image Source: Plain Chicken}

{Image Source: Plain Chicken}

Before I share the recipe I have bad news. The hubby and I were pretty hungry when I made them so unfortunately pictures were not taken. I assure you that they were yummy, since the hubby ate all his up and refused to share with his friends!


Pizza Crescents

Makes 8

Old WW Points: 3 (Per 1 Roll)
WW Points Plus: 4 (Per 1 Roll)

Pizza Crescents: 123.75 Calories / 5.5 g Fat / 0 g Fiber / 6.13 g Protein / 15 g Carbohydrates

Pizza Sauce:  30 Calories / 1 g Fat / 1 g Fiber / 1 g Protein / 4 g Carbohydrates

Ingredients:
1 tube low fat crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury)
1 ounce Hormel Turkey Pepperoni Minis
4 low fat string cheese (I used Weight Watchers brand)

Optional:
1/4 Cup Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

Cut string cheese in half so you have 8 equal pieces. Roll out crescents and evenly distribute 1 hunk of cheese and pepperoni between all 8 crescents. Roll them up gently and pinch the ends so the cheese doesn't escape (it should be a cheese prison). Place on an cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes (I found that 12 minutes was PERFECT for my oven).

While the crescents are in the oven, put a 1/4 cup of pizza sauce in a microwave friendly container and heat for 30 seconds in your microwave.

Once the crescents are done, let them cool for 1-2 minutes so you don't burn the roof of your mouth. I highly suggest serving a couple of these with a big green salad like we did. It's yummy and definitely hits the spot if you are craving pizza!

Hope you enjoy (I promise to take pictures net time),

New Reads and a Contest

From time to time I post about books I've read or want to read, but it has been a long time. I thought well now is as good a time as any.

Rose Pressey, who is best know for her Larue Donavan and Rylie Cruz series, has just come out with a new book that kicks off a whole new series (and a contest to promote it).

The book description on Amazon.com states the following about Forever Charmed:

Halloween LaVeau is descended from a long line of witches. (Yes, her name is Halloween.) When Halloween inherits her great-aunt’s manor, she decides to put the house to good use as a bed-and-breakfast. Her first guest is the sinfully good-looking Nicolas Marcos, but he’s not here for the continental breakfast. Halloween discovers a ratty old book in the attic. It’s written in an unfamiliar language.

Halloween soon learns this is not an ordinary spell book  The tome brings her a new talent, but her new skills come with a catch. When a rival witch comes after the book, Halloween doesn't know who to trust–the sexy vampire who says he wants to save the day, or the warlock who says he can destroy the book once and for all.

Since Forever Charmed is the first in a new series, Rose is selling it for an insanely low price of $0.99. You really can't beat that.

If that isn't enough to tempt you into Rose's world, she is also currently running a contest where the grand prize is an iPad Mini. Think about reading your Kindle or Barnes and Noble books on one of those babies! If you want more information on the contest head on over to Rose's Website and check it out:

{Image Courtesy of Rose Pressey}

-TTFN

Four letter word ... DIET

Everyone has New Year's resolutions. The problem with many of these resolutions is they quickly fall by the wayside. Instead of making resolutions, I planned.


The hubby and I are what comedian Gabriel Iglesias calls "Fluffy". While it is great as a comedy skit in everyday life it SUCKS!

{Hubby and I, cute but definitely Fluffy!}

Part of my 2013 plan is to be healthier, which means making healthier food choices and exercising  more and when I say more I mean exercising period!

Step One: We gave up soda regular and diet. This was actually pretty hard for me because even though I was drinking diet soda, I was definitely addicted to the stuff. The hubby and I figured out that we love the carbonation in soda, so we switched to bubbly water instead. We are currently toying with the idea of getting a soda stream to save on all the bottled bubbly water, but I am curious if it is cost effective if you are not actually making soda with it.

Step Two: The diet. I really hate that word, DIET. The minute I think I am on a diet, I start craving everything I shouldn't since my assumption is that I am going to be deprived. My answer to that, Weight Watchers. I love the whole points system because not only is it teaching us portion control, but I can still have what I want. If I am absolutely dying for a slice of pizza, I can do it, I just need to make sure I stay within points by making better choices the rest of the day. The flexibility in the points system makes me feel like I am not missing a thing!

The only time I have really struggled with the points system is when it comes to sweets. I LOVE sweets. Sweets are not always points friendly or very filling. I did a lot of research as to alternatives, but many of the low fat or low sugar candies use strange chemicals or large amounts of sodium, which defeats the purpose of becoming healthy. I was starting to think I was doomed. Then I stumbled across this nifty device that turns frozen bananas into a soft serve ice cream like texture.

I was a little skeptical at first, but was willing to try just about anything. I bought the Yonanas machine (yup unfortunate name but great machine) and took it for a spin. I unpacked the machine, washed it and set it up. I  used two frozen bananas and then sat down to watch a movie while I ate my "ice cream". It was AMAZING! My bananas definitely had a soft serve consistency, was healthy, and appeased the sweet tooth gods. Let me tell you that Yonanas is super easy to put together, easier to use, and kid friendly (for those of you with little ones).

Since opening my Yonanas machine, I have tried it a few times and even added mix-ins. I wanted to try bananas and peanut butter, but peanut butter has a lot of fat, so I tried bananas and PB2. It was DELICIOUS. Seriously if you have not tried PB2, you should.

Look I get that real peanut butter has healthy fats, but it is a lot. PB2 is a great alternative for me and lets me save some points! 

{Image Source: Bell Plantation}

Yea, so these are a couple of my saving graces when it comes to the Weight Watchers plan. 

Step Three: Exercise (Coming Soon)

I realize that we need to exercise, but I thought that making changes in increments would make it easier to make these changes stick. Truth is I REALLY want these changes to be permanent, which makes this journey a marathon and not a race. I will be back with more updates on our journey, along with updates on movies, games, crafts, or anything that catches my fancy. 

Until next time,

-TTFN