Fruity Nutty Oatmeal

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
  
• 2½ cups fat-free milk
  
• 1¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats Pinch salt (optional)
  
• 1 large pear or medium Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
  
• ½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
  
• ¼ cup raisins
  
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped
  
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  

Preparation:

• In large-size saucepan over high heat, bring water and 1½ cups of the milk to a boil. Stir in oats and salt (if using). Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer about 3 minutes, stirring often, until oats start to soften.
  
• Stir in pear. Cover and simmer until pear is tender but still a bit crisp (about 3 minutes longer). Stir in cranberries and raisins. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 minute to soften.
  
• Divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 2 Tablespoon of walnuts and ½ teaspoon of sugar. Top with ¼ cup of remaining milk.
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 353 Calories, 11 g Protein, 57 g Carbohydrates, 6 g Dietary Fiber, 12 g Fat, 1.5 g Saturated Fat, 70 mg Sodium

Cranberry Pecan Scones

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1 cup chopped pecans
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• 1¼ cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
  
• 2 Tablespoon canola oil
  
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
  
• ⅔ cup dried sweetened cranberries
  
• Low-fat cooking spray
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray.
  
• In large-size bowl, whisk flour, pecans, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  
• In small-size bowl, whisk yogurt, oil and orange zest.
  
• Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add yogurt mixture and cranberries. Stir until blended.
  
• Press into prepared pan. Score dough with knife to form 8 triangles. Bake until lightly browned and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 20-25 minutes).
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 308 Calories, 6 g Protein, 38 g Carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 15 g Fat, 1.5 g Saturated Fat, 350 mg Sodium

Pear, Walnut and Roquefort Cheese Salad

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients for vinaigrette:

• ½ cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
  
• ¼ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
  
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  
• ¼ tsp salt
  

Ingredients for salad:

• 4 cups salad greens
  
• 2 ripe pears, cored and sliced
  
• 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed orange juice
  
• 1 small red onion, sliced
  
• ⅓ cup Roquefort cheese, crumbled
  
• 2 tbsp walnuts, coarsely chopped
  

Preparation:

• Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients In a medium-size bowl.
  
• Arrange salad greens on six plates. Toss pear slices with the 2 tbsp of orange juice then divide pears and onion slices among the salad plates on top of greens.
  
• Top each serving evenly with crumbled Roquefort cheese and walnuts.
  
• Drizzle each plate with vinaigrette to desired amount.
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (113 g)): 158 Calories, 6 g Protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodium

Cranberry and Wild Rice Salad

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice, cooked follow package instructions.
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• ½ cup walnuts
  
• 8 oz. fresh cranberries, or thawed frozen
  
• ½ cup sugar
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  
• 3 green onions, chopped (including green tops)
  

Preparation:

• In a large-sized saucepan, combine wild rice, salt and one quart of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 45-60 minutes or until rice is tender to bite and most grains have split open. Drain in a colander and let cool.
  
• At the same time, spread walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in oven at 325 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Coarsely chop.
  
• Sort cranberries, discarding any stems and bruised or decayed fruit, cut each cranberry in half.
  
• In a small-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, stir the sugar and ½ cup water until the sugar is dissolved and mixture boils. Remove from heat, stir the halved cranberries, stir occasionally for about 8-12 minutes or until insides of cranberries have turned red but are still firm. Pour through a strainer into a bowl, reserving the cranberry-sugar syrup.
  
• Mix wild rice, cranberry halves, olive oil, and rice vinegar in a large bowl. Stir in 2 tbsp cranberry syrup, taste and add up to ¼ cup more syrup to sweeten and moisten salad as desired. Stir in green onions. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.
  
• Stir in walnuts before serving.
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(⅛ of recipe (69 g)): 166 Calories, 4 g Protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 293 mg sodium

Breakfast Muesli With Yogurt

(makes 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt
  
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
  
• 2 cups rolled oats
  
• ½ cup sliced almonds
  
• ⅓ cup wheat bran
  
• ⅓ cup honey
  
• ¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
  
• ¼ cup dates, chopped
  
• ¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
  

Preparation:

• Combine oats, almonds, apricots, dates, cranberries and wheat bran in a medium sized bowl.
  
• Add yogurt, honey, milk and mix well.
  
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled about 1 to 2 hours.
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (122 g)): 243 Calories, 9 g Protein, 40 g carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium

Cranberry Spiced Cider

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 4 whole cloves
  
• 4 whole allspice
  
• 5 cups apple cider (non-alcoholic)
  
• 3 cups cranberry juice
  
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
  
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  
• 2 star anise
  
• 3-4 orange slices
  

Preparation:

• Place cloves, allspice, cinnamon sticks and star anise in a cheesecloth square and tie ends together.
  
• Combine spice bag, apple cider, orange slices, cranberry juice and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes.
  
• Discard spice bag and orange slices then pour into mugs.
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving (1 cup (265 g)): 149 Calories, 1 g Protein, 38 g carbohydrates, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 8 mg sodium

Cranberry-Ginger Sorbet

Tip: in general, whole fruit is preferable to fruit juice, but the latter can be a great way to add fruity flavor while minimizing the use of added sweeteners.
Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed, unsweetened cranberries
  
• 2 cups Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice
  
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
  
• Pinch salt
  
• ⅓ cup agave nectar or xylitol
  
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  

Preparation:

• Combine cranberries, juice, ginger, and salt in 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, or until berries have popped. Cool slightly and place in bowl of food processor.
  
• Add agave nectar and vanilla. Cover and process until completely pureed. Freeze.
  

Make 6 (½ cup) Servings:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per Serving: 110 Calories, 0 g Protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 1 g Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 20 mg sodium