More Smart Points Recipes

Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes.  But, the way I make them, with a lot of real butter and cream means they use up way too many Weight Watcher's Smart Points for me to have them very often.  Today I decided to experiment with a few recipes to lighten them up a little and make them fit better into my food plan.  The buttermilk and sour cream give these a nice, creamy texture and rich flavor.

 

SKINNY MASHED POTATOES

12 oz. peeled, sliced or cubed Idaho potatoes

Salt and pepper

2 T. low fat buttermilk

2 T. lite sour cream

2 T. chopped chives

Cook potatoes with salt and pepper in enough water to cover until tender.  Drain well and mash.   This yields 3 cups of mashed potatoes.

Stir in buttermilk, sour cream and chives.

Makes 3 one cup servings slightly less than 5 Smart Points per cup.

Potatoes              12 points

Buttermilk           ½ point

Sour cream         2 points

Total                    14 ½ points

My momma used to make salmon patties and I loved them as a child.  Mine have never been as good as hers though!  Of course, hers were fried in a little oil which made the cornmeal coating nice and crunchy.  But, this recipe comes pretty close to hers.  We like to eat them slathered with mustard.   

SALMON PATTIES      

1 can Chicken of the Sea Red Salmon, drained

6 Saltine crackers

1 whole egg

1 T. cornmeal

½ tsp. dry mustard

2 T. minced chives or onion

Salt and pepper

Put drained salmon into a bowl and shred with a fork, remove any visible bones.

Put crackers into a food processor and process into fine crumbs.

Add cracker crumbs, egg, dry mustard, chives or onions and salt and pepper to the fish and mix well.

Divide into 7 equal portions and shape into 2 ½” round patties.  Dust with cornmeal.

Cook patties in a preheated non-stick skillet until lightly browned on both sides.

Makes 7 patties – 3 Smart Points each

Salmon                14 points

Crackers              4 points

Cornmeal            1 point

Egg                       2 points

Even my picky eater five year old grandson likes these zucchini fries.  He dips them in Ranch Dressing to eat them.  That's fine with me.  At least he's eating a vegetable!  

ZUCCHINI FRIES

1 large zucchini

1 egg white + 1 tsp. water

1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs

Mix together:

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 ½ T. flour

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425°.  

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with Pam.

Cut zucchini into strips.  Dredge in the flour mixture and set aside.

Beat the egg white and water until frothy in a shallow dish.  Dip zucchini strips into egg white mixture, then coat with Italian bread crumbs.

Place onto baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes or until browned, turning once during baking.

Makes 2 generous servings.  Less than 2 Smart Points per serving.

Flour                          1 ½  points

Breadcrumbs            3 points

Egg white                  0 points

Zucchini                    0 points.