Weight Watcher Recipes

To prevent heart disease in the first place, you can look to the obvious tactics of losing weight and lowering blood sugar in addition to some other methods. For example, if you've paid any attention to medical news in the past decade, then you should know that lowering levels of cholesterol and triglycerides is good for your heart. Cholesterol, a fatlike substance that comes from meat and diary products and is also produced by the body, is found in all the body's cells and in. the bloodstream. High levels of cholesterol in the blood, or hypercholesterolemia, have been implicated in the development of heart disease in general and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in particular. What you may not know is that people with diabetes tend to have higher blood-cholesterol levels than other people. They also tend to have higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), what some call the "bad cholesterol" because it aids in the deposit of fats on artery and cell walls. As if that weren't bad enough, people with diabetes tend to have lower levels of the "good cholesterol," or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the substance that escorts excess cholesterol from the body. All of this is unpleasant news for the cardiovascular system.

Weight Watcher Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

24 large mushrooms - white
1/4 cup chopped shallots - or onion
2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup water
10 ounces chopped spinach - thawed and drained

Wash mushrooms and carefully remove stems. Lay out caps on nonstick jelly-roll pan and pop in oven for 5-10 minutes to dry out and cook slightly. Set caps aside. Chop the mushroom stems finely. Saute shallots, garlic, and balsamic vinegar in small saucepan. When onions start to turn translucent add mushroom stems, water, and seasoning. Cook a few minutes.

Add spinach and cook till water is almost all evaporated. Mound the spinach mixture onto the mushroom caps, pressing it into the caps. Lower oven heat to 300-350 F. and bake for 10-15 minutes until hot and mushroom caps are cooked.

Makes 24 servings.

Per serving: 9 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (9% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 10mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Cool And Creamy Tomato-Dill Soup

Naturally low-in-fat buttermilk gives this soup its creamy texture.

Ingredients:

6 medium tomato(es), cut into chunks (about 8 cups)
4 cup fat-free chicken broth, reduced-sodium
3 large onion(s), cut into chunks (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup canned tomato paste
3 large garlic clove(s), peeled
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup dill, fresh, leaves chopped (stems removed)
Instructions:

In a large pot, bring tomatoes, broth, onions, tomato paste, garlic, salt and pepper to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until onions are tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Using a slotted spoon, lift solids from pot and transfer to a food processor or blender (you'll need to do this in a few batches). Puree until smooth.

Pour pureed ingredients into a large bowl along with any liquid left in pot. Stir in buttermilk and dill. Refrigerate until chilled. Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.