This is a dish that can keep you full with a special added ingredient that has zero--count 'em: zero--points! One of the most difficult thing people find on a diet is how to not starve yourself. Or, if you're cooking for someone else as well as yourself, like I do, not starving them! My girlfriend is a ballet dancer. She does not need to lose weight. And I never want her to feel like she's on a diet just because the person cooking dinner is on a diet. So, I like to find things I can use to fill up my food for her, which won't add lots of points to my meals.
This has always been my MO when cooking meals on a diet. Finding ways to substitute or swap out so that the dish is not only delicious, but still feels complete. I've done the no-carb thing, the no-oil thing, the low-fat-good-fats-only thing, so I have a lot of experience creating dishes that fill me up without all the added stuff. And I promise you I'll post my favorite of those recipes here, because they are delicious and have done right by me in the past! But here's a new recipe that includes an addition to a traditional recipe that makes it more filling without adding a lot of points.
What will you need?
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1/4 cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Smart Balance
1/4 of a sweet onion
It's grilled cheese, so there's not much to it. You can change out whatever kind of cheese you prefer--especially if yours is lower in points! But the basis is that we're going to add flavor and substance in the onions, which don't have any points.
1/2 tbsp on Smart Balance will go onto your griddle to saute the onions in. I find that the thinner they're cut, the faster they cook and the better they fit on the sandwich. While the onions are cooking, spread the rest of the Smart Balance on the two slices of bread. Place the bread butter-side-down (like Dr. Seuss's Zooks) onto the griddle next to the onions.
Make sure the cheese that you shredded is mixed up nice and good (if you used multiple cheeses) and sprinkle those evenly on both slices of bread. This way the cheese begins to melt evenly before you start flipping the bread and pulling corners up to make sure the cheese is melting.
Now, here's where we get to that pesky part: patience. Patience is something I often have in small supply. That's why my grilled cheese always had this huge problem: the bread was always burnt and the cheese was never melted. I had a similar problem with my pancakes: they were always burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Because I had my burner on high and I was constantly flipping and checking, wanting it done fast fast fast. But with this kind of dish (as with the onions) low and slow is the way to go. You want your heat on just about as low as possible because this helps to heat everything all the way through.
When you think about it, dieting works similarly. If you're doing two hundred sit-ups a day and wondering why you're in pain but not losing the weight faster, then you're burning the bread. Especially if you're not changing your eating habits. It's about getting used to a routine so your body changes what it expects from you. Attempting two-hundred sit-ups on the first morning of your diet and then eating a banana for breakfast is not going to help you lose weight, it's going to make you super cranky later.
That's the whole point of this blog. You need to find ways to fill yourself so you're satisfied while you're changing your habits and losing weight. I've perfected patiently cooking pancakes, as well. I'll share a special Halloween recipe with you soon!
BUT for those of you who are not as patient as you wish you were ("God, give me patience... and give it to me now!"), you're in luck. We don't have to cook these onions for too long, because we don't want them to be really soft caramelized onions; we still want a bit of crunch to them. AND when we place the onions onto one side of the cheese-covered bread, the hot onions will help to melt the cheese! Get out your spatula and put the two sides together (I recommend flipping the side without onions).
At this point, just let it cook a little bit more on each side, then serve!
Enjoy!
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