Notes:
I always am steaming veggies, so this was a delightful twist to my day!

Servings: Depends!

Ingredients:
Asparagus - as much as you want to cook!
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinigrette
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a baggie, put in the balsamic and the olive oil and add asparagus, mix well until asparagus are coated. Lay on a non-stick baking pan not touching, and cook for 15 minutes or until they are light brownish and crisp! Enjoy!

Submitted by:
Denise

Notes:
Just in time for Thanksgiving!  I love sweet potatoes and am always looking for new ways to fix them.  This is a healthy dish I am replacing my usual candied yams at Thanksgiving with this year.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into approximately 3" chunks
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup fat-free milk "plus" ( I use Over the Moon)
1 TBSP butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Put potatoes in broth in a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook about 25 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
Add cinnamon, milk and butter.
Mash until smooth.
Add vanilla and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Submitted by:
Gillian

Notes:
This is a great dish either warm or as a cold side dish. I have also used it as a meal by adding black beans (vegetarian protein source) or you can also add baked or grilled chicken to add protein.

Servings: 4-8

Ingredients:
1tbsp canola oil (for frying or use a non-stick pan & no oil)
2 Chayote Squash seeded & cut up in cubes (summer squash will work well too)
1 cup Jicama cut up in cubes
1/2 cup Red (green, yellow or orange) Pepper julienned (or cubed)
1 cup Corn, frozen or canned
Salt & pepper to taste
2/3 cup Cream Cheese, (whipped works well & low fat or fat free work well)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated (a 3 cheese blend with asiago, romano & parmesan works well too)
1 cup black beans drained & rinsed (optional)
2 cups baked or grilled chicken, cubed (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil in large fry pan and add cubed Chayote, Jicama, and Red Pepper and saute until almost tender (5-10 min).
Add corn to heat through. Add the optional black beans, and/or chicken to heat through.
Drain well and add salt and pepper to taste and then add cream cheese and stir until all is coated.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and mix in.

Submitted by:
Deanna

Notes:

Mexican rice side dish.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 cp white long grain rice
Pam olive oil flavor spray
1 sec garlic
2 green onions
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 TSP of chili flakes
salt if desired
2cp water
you can always use chicken broth instead of water

Directions:
Spray pan with cooking spray, add rice chopped garlic and chopped onion fry on med to high heat till rice is lightly golden color remove from fire and add water tomato sauce and salt and chili flakes stir I use about 1 tbsp salt then return to fire and bring to boil once its boiling reduce heat to low and cover DO NOT STIR ANYMORE just let it cook like that till done. i love this low calorie recipe i eat it by the bowl just calories from the rice, its not bad at all.

Submitted by:
Jenny

Notes:
A new take on a broccoli side dish with parmesan cheese for a bit of salt and crumb topping for an added taste layer.

1/2 cup servings at 184 calories each.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 lb. broccoli, cut in small pieces
2 tbsp butter
1 slice of whole wheat bread, ground
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
pepper

Directions:
Boil broccoli in lightly salted water for 4 minutes. Drain. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and thyme. Toast until golden and remove from heat. Add parmesan, broccoli, and pepper. Toss all ingredients together.

Submitted by:
Chelley Bones

Notes:
Ok so I am a home cook daughter of two chefs and Im sorry to say we dont measure anything, but Its mashed potatoes something that to me is easy to do by eye

 AMAZING DISH DOESNT TASTE LOW FAT AT ALL!!!!!

Servings: depends

Ingredients:
Red Skinned Potatoes (skin left on)
Garlic (a couple of whole cloves, depending on how much garlic you like)
Salt & Pepper
Light or low fat sour cream
Smart Balance Butter (or any other yummy butter subsitute)

Directions:
Cut the potatoes into smaller cubes , all about the same size, so they cook quicker and evenly
Boil in water with some salt
Add the Garlic in with the potatoes in from the begining

When the potatoes are tender, drain and mash (yes with garlic and all)

Then instead of adding Cream and butter we are going to add sour cream and butter subsitute, to taste along with salt as well..

AMAZING DISH DOESNT TASTE LOW FAT AT ALL!!!!!

Submitted by:
Valeria

Notes:
A friend who is a professional chef showed me this uber simple way to prepare zucchini.

Servings: variable

Ingredients:
Zucchini, olive oil (any kind) dash of sea salt (or any kind of salt, really), herb mixture (optional)

Directions:
Wash your zucchinis, slice LENGTH-WISE either quartered or thick slices.
Arrange in 13 x 9 pan with rim (or larger, depending on how many zucchinis you have)
Drizzle olive oil on all the slices, sprinkle a dash of salt, lightly.
If you don't like to use salt, use an herbal substitute.
Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is. Should be lightly browned on the edges.
It tastes amazing, and very, very simple to prepare.

Submitted by:
Barbara

Notes:
this is a tasty and filling side dish that will not add large amounts of calories or fat to your daily intake.  it has quite a bit of sodium, so if you are on a restricted salt diet, you might want to substitute water for most or all of the soy sauce.

nutritional info-per serving:  calories-36.3,  fat-0.5 g, cholesterol-0, sodium-214 mg, potassium-192 mg, carbohydrate-7.8 g, protein-1.5 g 

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup sliced onion
pam cooking spray (i use either olive oil or butter flavored)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lite soy sauce

Directions:
spray skillet with pam. add all ingredients and simmer on med/med-low heat until desired tenderness is achieved. stir often and add small amounts of water if needed to keep moist.

Submitted by:
laurie

Notes:
Calories-134 to 168 (small or medium potato) per serving

Serving size-1 potato per person

This is a quick and easy recipe that my daughter loves.

Servings: 1+

Ingredients:
1 small or medium potato per person
seasoned salt, mrs. dash, cajun spice or any seasoning you like
pam cooking spray (i like the olive oil spray or butter flavor)

Directions:
slice each potato in to thick rounds.
lightly spray baking sheet with pam.
arrange potato rounds in single layer.
sprinkle with seasoning.
lightly spray tops of potatoes with pam.
bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until done.

Submitted by:
laurie

Notes:
Vegetable side dish.

Calories:
45 (60% from fat)
Fat:
3g (sat 1.8g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:
1.9g
Carbohydrate:
3.9g
Fiber:
1.7g
Cholesterol:
8mg
Iron:
0.7mg
Sodium:
134mg
Calcium:
18mg

(1 Point for 5 spears)

credit:  David Bonom, Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2001

Servings: 1

Ingredients:
Yield

8 servings (serving size: 5 spears)
Ingredients

* 40 asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
* Cooking spray
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tender.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over the asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information

Submitted by:
Cynthia