An Edible Veggie Floral Bouquet

(Excuse the mess in the background, as I had to assemble and run and then clean up after I returned home. I also didn't cover all skewers with the green onions as I should have and therefore 'painted' them green with my photo editor this time.)(Note: Breadsticks had not yet been inserted.)

This is a smash hit every time I've made one, which has only been twice because it is time consuming and a little challenging when trying to assemble and care for small children at the same time, but it can be done! (Maybe you can, like me, elicit the help of your spouse by putting him in charge of using some wire cutters to snip down the skewers to varying lengths!)

What you will need:

* Basket/container (at least 2" deep)
* Bamboo skewers

* 1 head of cabbage
* 1 bunch of radishes
* 1 yellow bell pepper
* 1 orange bell pepper
* 5 medium carrots
* 3 bunches of green onions
* 2 cups broccoli florets
* 2 cups cauliflower florets
* 1 cucumber, sliced into rounds AFTER you have run fork tines lengthwise to break the skin.
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes
* 1 bunch asparagus spears, blanched, thick enough to withstand insertion of skewers
* 1 box think Italian breadsticks

Optional Extras: 5 stalks celery with tops, 1 small head endive, and 1 bunch chicory.

ADVANCED PREPARATION THAT CAN BE DONE THE NIGHT PRIOR:

Radishes into Roses: Cut off both ends of each radish. Try to do so to where a small circle appears on at least one end. Take the radish and using a paring knife cut from the good circle-side up toward the bottom without going all the way through around the edges. Pace into a bowl of water and store in the fridge overnight. The sides will expand outward giving you a more petal-like appearance.

Leaf-shaped bell peppers: Core the peppers and cut them into vertical leaf-shaped slices, triangular shapes work well. Again place in a bowl of water overnight in the fridge.

Carrots into tulips: Insert knife every approximately every 1/4" on an angle with the bottom of the knife, aka the cutting edge, angled toward the small end of the carrot. Place this slanted cut about halfway through the carrot and stop. Rotate the carrot about 1/3 and place another cut the same way, and then repeat once more for a total of 3 cuts. You can now pull the tulip shape off or use the tip of your knife inserted into your cuts to break it free. (You may need two or three tries to get it just so). Again, place into a bowl of cold water overnight.

Prepping the green onions: Cut off the roots of the green onions just above root, sparing most of the bulb/white portion of the onion. Cut the bulb/white portion off approximately 1 to 1-1/2 inches into the green portion of the onion. Using your knife tip, cut vertical slits from the white portion of the onion outward through the end of the green portion. Place in a bowl of cold water in the fridge overnight. The cold water will curl the fringe. The hollow green onion stalks will be used to cover skewers during assembly, so you will need to place one slit in the center of single end of this green potion and also place into ice water overnight.

Broccoli and cauliflower preparation: Prep the broccoli and cauliflower into floret-sized pieces about an inch in diameter, but varying sizes make for a nicer look. Again, place in a bowl of ice water overnight.

FINAL PREPARATION:

* Prepare the cherry tomatoes by washing prior.

* Prepare the asparagus by cutting off the unusable ends. Place them into a pan of boiling water for approximately 7-10 minutes until a cooked yet still-crisp texture is achieved. Immediately place into ice water (really, water with ice cubes this time).

* Prepare the cucumber by raking fork tines across the length of the cucumber deep enough to get through the skin and then slice the cucumber into rounds.

ASSEMBLY:

Cut your head of cabbage in half. Place into the bottom of your chosen container with the flat side facing upward to accommodate the skewers. Strategically cut the other half into shapes to fill in any voids in the basket.

You can trim the skewers using wire cutters in advance or as needed to achieve a pleasing arrangement. Shorter on the outside edges and longer in the middle.

Cover the skewers with the green onion sheaths and skewer the florets, peppers, cucumber slices, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, and prepped green onions. Insert unsheathed skewers into asparagus spears and breadsticks (although the breadsticks can also just be placed into the arrangement and stand well on their own until the arrangement is thinned by guests).

Arrange your bouquet balancing colors and shapes as necessary. You can serve only veggies in the arrangement or also place extra servings on a serving tray/platter around your basket.

Tex-Mex Haystacks - 7 Points/Serving - Lunch or Dinner

This is a good recipe for the Taco-Bell/ Nacho enthusiast in your home. Two of my three kids enjoy this recipe as well, which is always a plus when trying to eat something that fits into your weight-loss plan or lifestyle change. You can make a double batch and freeze individual servings as well to save time the next time you plan to serve up this meal or for a quick grab when in a pinch.

TEX-MEX HAYSTACKS

YIELDS: 4 servings
POINTS: 8 points per serving

Ingredients:

1 (16-oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (10-oz.) can premium chunk whte chicken in water, drained
1 tbsp. chili powder
3 tbsp. no-salt-added tomato paste
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. hot cooked long-grain rice, cooked without salt or butter
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese.
1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions
40 baked tortilla chips

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Combine first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.

FOR A GROUP DISH: Spoon the rice onto a serving platter and top with chicken mixture, shredded cheese, and sliced green onions. Arrange the chips around the outside edges of the dish.

FOR INDIVIDUAL SERVINGS/STORAGE PURPOSES: Spoon 1/2-cup rice onto a serving platter and top with 3/4-cup chicken mixture, 2-tablespoons cheese, and 1-tablespoon green onions. Surround with 10 tortilla chips. (I never ONLY used 10, but it didn't affect my weight loss goals either!)

EXCHANGES: 3-1/2 Starch; 2 Very Lean Meat; 1 Veg; 1/2 Med-Fat Meat

PER SERVING: Calories 414 (13% from fat); Protein 28.5 g; Fat 6.1 g (sat 2.5 g); Carbohydrates 61.8 g; Fiber 10 g; Cholesterol 41 mg; Iron 4.2 mg; Sodium 1115 mg; Calcium 257 mg.

The 3-Point Brownie Recipe (5 as a Sundae)

Recently I shared a recipe with a fellow Twitterer when they Tweeted about a brownie crisis of sorts, so I made myself some, even though I haven't technically restarted my program due to issues I need to resolve prior for more success, i.e. when I can focus on the diet specifically. I still cook the foods I discovered I liked when in the Weight Watchers program full force a few years ago, so as I prep to have another full-force go at it again soon, I thought I'd share as I get organized.

The thing is that some stores consider the candied cherries seasonal, so you still might have a chance to get some if that is the case in your area. The expiration date is somewhere around 6 to 8 months on the candied cherries, so buy enough to make your recipe until next fall. You may be able to freeze them as well extending their shelf life. If you can't find any, someone told me they use cherry pie filling. I imagine the pie filling would moisten the brownies a bit, which is very thick as the recipe stands. I haven't tried this yet, so you'll have to judge the cherry pie filling version on your own, as well as determine how it might affect your points.

I also make double and triple batches, cut them, wrap them up individually, store all in a container, and freeze them. You can take out as many as you need for that treat that the whole family will love!

Note: As this brownie recipe stands, it calls for regular butter. You may be able to reduce the points by switching out to a low-fat/lite butter or heart-healthy baking spread. To take this further, as this sundae recipe stands, using a regular brand of fat-free mint ice cream (1/2 cup), you may find that you can decrease the 5 points down to 4 and beyond since Weight Watchers now has their own 2-point-cup serving of mint chocolate chip ice cream available in the freezer section, and I find that 1/4 cup is sufficient for my own taste, half.

CHERRY FUDGE BROWNIES: 3 PTS PER SERVING-MAKES 16 SERVINGS

Ingredients:

3/4 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/3 c. chopped candied cherries
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbs. confectioners' sugar (I never use this)
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1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the granulated sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract in another bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the baking pan. (Will be very thick)

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, 28-32 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack 30 minutes. Cut into 16 bars. Remove from the pan and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar.

PER SERVING (1 Brownie): 141 calories, 5 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 34 mg cholesterol, 86 mg sodium, 25 g total carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 2 g protein, 30 mg calcium.

FOR A SPECIAL SUNDAY STYLE TREAT: Place a brownie in a bowl and top with a 1/2-cup scoop of fat-free mint ice cream, a tablespoon of fat-free whipped topping, and a maraschino cherry (5 points per sundae). (We warm the brownie before adding toppings)

Hope you enjoy!