Potato, Pea, and Panir Curry

The Potato, Pea, & Panir Curry from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest is the best thing that I have made in a long, long time. OMG. So Good.

Please don't let the ingredient list intimidate you. All the spices can be purchased in the bulk food section and most cost between $.07 - $.25.

The spices were fragrant. I recognized their beauty after I dumped them into the dutch oven.

I was expecting to eat a large serving and was pleasantly surprised when I only needed a cup. I made minimal changes to the recipe and it ended up making 7.5 cups. I calculated the points based off of 7 (1 cup) servings. When I track this in my food journal, I tend to add another point. I don't know. I didn't feel right about only using 3 points for this dish. WW guilt, perhaps?

I will spare you from viewing all of the recipe builder images created with varying serving sizes. I still cannot believe only 3-4 points/serving.

Here's how it was made:

1. Thinly slice 2 large potatoes. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until tender.

2. In a dutch oven, heat 1 TBSP oil. Add 1 TBSP mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, 3 TBSP sesame seeds, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, and a pinch of thyme heat until the seeds begin to pop.

3. Add the cooked potatoes, 1 1/4 tsp salt and 5 cloves of minced garlic. Cook over med/low heat until potatoes are well coated.

4. Add 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice and 6 ounces fat-free Greek yogurt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne as preferred.

5. Add 2 cups peas and 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese. Stir together and cook until heated.

Yogurt for Yogurt-Haters

I confess. I am a yogurt hater. I have tried them all. But this is delicious! I made this for breakfast. That's right. I am made dessert for breakfast and it wasn't the first time either. This recipe disguises the fact that I am eating yogurt. I cut the recipe in half and it makes enough for 2 days of good eats. I hope that the next time I make it, I can cut back on the sugar and not be offended by the yogurt flavor, or maybe, I will enjoy the sugary goodness of my breakfast. Super simple. Also, I liked the yogurt mixed with the brown sugar only.

Please note: I enjoyed this after lunch. It was a yummy dessert. But I still think it could be doable for a sweet breakfast.

Strawberry Fool

A fool is an old-fashioned English dessert made by folding puréed fruit into whipped cream. This lighter version uses yogurt.

3 cups sliced strawberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 (8-ounce) cartons vanilla low-fat yogurt

• Combine strawberries and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cover and chill 2 hours.


• Combine brown sugar and yogurt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and chill 2 hours.


• Gently fold the strawberry mixture into the yogurt mixture until swirled.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 219(7% from fat); FAT 1.8g (sat 0.9g,mono 0.4g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 6.3g; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 222mg; SODIUM 81mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.4g

Recipe can be found in 2000's Best of Cooking Light or at Cookinglight.com.

Ruby Red Mango Smoothie

I found this recipe while flipping through Family Circle. The idea of a smoothie made from ruby red grapefruits sounded refreshing and different. The amount of greek yogurt was a little too much yogurt-ey goodness for my taste buds. (I do not like yogurt at all, but can usually sneak it into smoothies.) Don't get me wrong, the smoothie isn't bad and I will be enjoying it for breakfast tomorrow. I do like the tart taste of the grapefruit combined with the sweet fresh mango. I will be trying more smoothie recipes before recreating this drink. He says: "It tastes pretty good. I like it."

Ruby Red Mango Smoothie, from "Family Circle", July 2006

2 Large Ruby Red Grapefruits
2 Large Ripe Mangoes
1 Cup Mango-Orange Juice
1 Small Container of Low-Fat Greek Yogurt (5.3 ounces)
2 TBSP honey

1. Cut the top and bottop peel off of the grapefruit. With a knife, cut down between white pith and fruit, removing all of the peel. Following section dividers, cut out sections of fruit. Transfer grapefruit sections and juice to a plastic bag. Freeze at least two hours.
2. Blend grapefruit, mangoes, and fruit juice until almost smooth. Add yogurt and honey and blend until smooth.

Serves Four
Per Serving: 127 calories, 1 g fat, 2 g protein, 2 g fiber, 30 carbs

*I cut this recipe in half. Additionally, I used plain orange juice instead of the mango-orange juice. Lastly, if you do not want to purchase greek yogurt, I feel that plain yogurt will suffice.