Avocado Ranch Coleslaw

Well HELLO! I apologize for getting a little off-track with my posts the last couple of weeks. Work was really busy and then I was thrown off by the holiday weekend. I hope everyone who had a three-day weekend enjoyed it! My parents have a house in upstate New York and every Memorial Day my dad's side of the family heads up there. There are tents and bonfires and games and music and singing and hanging out by the pool ... oh, and there's a TON of eating. And drinking. Let's just say Memorial Day weekend is NOT a Weight Watchers weekend. Oh well ... worth it.

But, the holiday is over and I need some healthy food back in my life. Enter this week's recipe: Avocado Ranch Coleslaw! 

I absolutely love coleslaw. But prepared the traditional way, with a ton of mayo, it's definitely not healthy. Another thing I absolutely love is avocado. Especially in summer. Something about fresh avocado (and homemade guacamole) just resembles summer to me. I came up with the idea to combine the two, and it worked out pretty nicely. The addition of ranch is just because I think ranch dressing makes everything better. Wings, veggies - what doesn't benefit from a little ranch?

Anyway, let's discuss this recipe. It's really easy and tasty too. And I'm already thinking of ways it can be used other than just as a side dish (hint: I think it would be REALLY yummy on shrimp tacos. There may or may not be a recipe coming soon that uses this coleslaw that way ...)

Start with a package of coleslaw in a large bowl. I usually buy Dole Classic Coleslaw when I make slaw, but any brand will do.

Then, in a small bowl, combine everything else (avocado, ranch, sour cream, mayo, and vinegar). The avocado I used was perfectly ripe, so I only needed to use a spoon to combine everything. If your avocado is still a little hard, you may need to use a hand mixer. I think that avocados taste the best when they're slightly mushy to touch but still firm overall. They're also much easier to mix when they're like this.

Add the avocado mix to the slaw and stir, stir, stir until the slaw is coated evenly. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir again.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It tastes best if you're able to refrigerate for at least an hour. Since this uses avocado, it may start to brown after a day or so, so I recommend making this when you know you'll be eating it or serving it within a day.

Before serving, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder again and give it a final stir to combine.

That's it! It's good on the side of a summer meal, but I personally think it would be even better when incorporated into a meal, like on a burger or sandwich, or inside some shrimp tacos ... (hint, hint)!

Enjoy! As always, feedback is appreciated!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 bag coleslaw mix 
• 1 medium avocado (about 7 oz), shelled and pit discarded
• 3 tbsp fat free ranch dressing
• 1 tbsp fat free sour cream
• 1 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder (to taste, but I recommend being generous with these)

Serving size: 1/4 of recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 3

Instructions

1. Empty the coleslaw mix into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the avocado, ranch, sour cream, mayo, and vinegar. Depending on how soft your avocado is, you may need a hand mixer for this.
3. Add the avocado mix to the slaw and stir until the slaw is evenly coated. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and stir to combine.
4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (I recommend refrigerating for at least an hour, and serving within a day).
5. Before serving, season again with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and give the slaw a final stir.

Nutritional Information

Four-Ingredient No-Bake Oreo Cream Pie

In my opinion, the Oreo is the best packaged cookie in existence. Which makes this simple, no-bake pie a pretty awesome dessert to make for summer.

It's starting to get really warm out, and I don't know about you, but I absolutely hate having my oven on when it's hot outside. I like to keep my house cool as a break from the heat. Unfortunately, some of the best desserts are made in the oven (see: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes, cake ... you get the idea).

But this? This pie is delicious and requires ABSOLUTELY NO BAKING. And it literally takes less than 5 minutes to make. It's perfect for when you want to make a delicious and impressive dessert but you don't have time (and don't want to put in a ton of effort).

Oh, and did I mention it's only four ingredients? (Just kidding, I know I did because it's in the recipe title, but I wanted to mention it again because it's a big selling point).

Pre-baked pie crust is one of the best inventions.

At my local Stop & Shop, they have regular graham cracker pie crusts, chocolate graham cracker pie crusts, and chocolate cookie pie crusts. Some stores have Oreo brand crusts, but mine didn't. No worries though - the chocolate cookie crust tastes exactly like an Oreo (and I saved money by buying store brand)!

In a medium bowl, combine Jell-O Oreo pudding mix with an entire 8-oz tub of Cool Whip Free. (Side note: Cool Whip Free + any flavor of pudding mix = DELICIOUS. I like the taste better than pudding prepared the traditional way, and it's MUCH quicker.If you wanted to, though, you could prepare the pudding with milk, let it set, and use that instead).

The inspiration for this recipe actually came from this pudding mix. I was shopping for pudding mix for last week's recipe and I saw this, and I immediately started brainstorming dessert ideas I could use it in. 

Once the pudding mix and the Cool Whip are combined, crumble four of the Oreo cookies into the bowl and mix.

Spread the mix into the pie crust, and then crumble the remaining three Oreos on top.

BAM. That's it. You're done. Eat it immediately, if you want to. You can refrigerate it, but it doesn't need it.

I made this last night and served it for two of my friends during our "The Bachelorette" premiere night. Yes, I love "The Bachelorette." Yes, I have my friends over for sushi, wine, and dessert when the new seasons start. Yes, it's amazing.

Anyway, I let them know that they were taste testing for the blog, and the reviews were positive so I figured I'd post it today in advance of Memorial Day weekend! If you need to bring a dessert to a BBQ, this could be it.

I hope you enjoy it! I'd love feedback if you make it. 

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 Oreo cookie pie crust
• 1 box Jell-O Oreo cookies and cream pudding mix
• 8 oz Cool Whip Free (one tub)
• 7 reduced fat Oreo cookies

Serving size: 1/8 of pie

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 7

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the Jell-O mix and the Cool Whip Free. Crumble four of the Oreo cookies into the bowl and mix to combine.
2. Spread the pudding mixture into the pie crust.
3. Crumble the remaining three Oreos over the top of the pie.

Nutritional Information

Pistachio Cups with Mini Chocolate Chips

Well hello again and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this blog. This week's recipe is one that I made a few weeks ago, didn't love, and tweaked slightly. Now I love it, and I brought a tray to my parents' house tonight for Mother's Day and they were a huge hit! (Side note: as a new food blogger, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing rave reviews from your family when they taste test your recipe. Really gives you the extra confidence to share it with your blog followers).

We're gonna keep it kind of simple this weekend. This recipe is so easy to prepare it only requires one picture. Also, instead of my usual step-by-step instructions with photos, I'm just going to list a few things I learned from tweaking this recipe. Trust me, it's all you'll need.

- The first time I made these, I baked the fillo shells for 5 minutes. YOU DON'T NEED TO FOR THIS RECIPE. I thought the flavor of the baked shells was too distinct - it almost overpowered the pistachio filling.

- I'm a HUGE fan of Cool Whip Free, but I found that Cool Whip Lite works better for this recipe. It's slightly creamier, which ends up working out better for this recipe. Since this is basically the main ingredient, flavor/texture plays a major part, and using Lite instead of Free doesn't significantly alter the nutritional information, so I recommend going for it.

- Same for the Jell O pudding mix. First time I made these I used fat free, sugar free mix - this time I used the regular mix. Again, it doesn't alter the nutrition significantly and it really gives the recipe a stronger flavor, so definitely go with the regular stuff if you ever make these.

So without further ado, here's the recipe! Hope you enjoy it. As always, feedback is appreciated!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 30 Athens mini fillo shells
• 4 oz Cool Whip Lite whipped topping (1/2 container)
• 3/4 package Jell O pistachio pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 4 tbsp semi sweet mini chocolate chips

Serving size: 1 fillo shell

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 1

Instructions

1. Arrange the fillo shells on the serving tray of your choice.
2. In a small/medium bowl, combine the Cool Whip, Jello O mix, and almond extract. Distribute among the fillo shells.
3. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the shells. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional information

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin "Pancake" Muffins

It doesn't get much easier than this.

Throw a bunch of ingredients into a bowl, mix them up, put them in a pan, and bake. That's it.

I don't know if I could handle much more than that on a beautiful Saturday like the one we're having today.

To check if the muffins are done baking, stick a knife or a toothpick into the middle of one. If it comes out clean, they're done! (Note: If there's some melted chocolate on the knife, that's okay - as long as there's no batter).

I made these last Sunday ... I ate one immediately, then wrapped the pan in foil and put it in the fridge. I took one to work each day for breakfast. They taste especially good if you microwave them for 10-20 seconds before eating ... the chocolate gets all melty and delicious and perfect.

I plan on doing the same thing this week with the batch I just made.

That's really it. This might be the easiest recipe I've ever created.

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick pancake & baking mix
• 1/3 cup Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin
• 1/4 cup pancake syrup (I use Aunt Jemima Butter Light)
• 3 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp chocolate chips (I use Nestle Toll House semi sweet)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 zero-calorie sweetener packet (I use Sweet & Low)

Serving size: 1 muffin

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 4

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with no-calorie nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Distribute mix evenly among the muffin cups.
3. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the muffins are golden brown on top and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutritional information