On one of my trips to the Middle East, I discovered the amazing concept of salads that don’t involve lettuce. They are so different from the American concept of traditional salads, and they are WAY healthier and yummier! Consisting of a vast variety of different vegetables, Middle Eastern Salads are a real treat to the palate and to the waistline! One of my favorites, is this Turkish Salad Recipe. It is LOADED with fabulous flavor, but also with fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. If you are looking for delicious and healthy weight watcher salad recipes, you must give this Turkish Salad a try! With just a 3 point value for half of the recipe, this low calorie salad recipe is a great way to get in your vegetable servings and have a delicious salad that will actually fill you up, because the serving size is huge!!! Though this isn’t an official Weight Watchers Salad Recipe, it’s still a great dish for anyone watching their weight or trying to eat healthier. It also makes a wonderful side dish to serve with just about any chicken, fish or beef meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 1 large onion
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 large tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp. sliced or pitted, chopped green olives
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp. parley or coriander leaf
- Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste

Directions:
Peel and dice the onions. Fry them in the olive oil till golden: use a medium-sized pan or a large frying pan. Remove the stem, seeds and white inner membrane from all the peppers. Chop into dice. Add them to the onions. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables till the peppers are soft – about 8 minutes. Stir once or twice. Dice the tomatoes. If necessary, pit and slice the olives. Add all of these to the pan. Add the bay leaf, black pepper, cumin, salt, and tomato paste. If you like, add Tabasco or chili of choice. Cover the pan again and cook the vegetables over a medium flame for about 15 minutes. Some want the vegetables to retain their individual forms and tastes (I do). Others like to blend their Turkish Salad and serve it as a dip. This is totally up to you. For an aesthetic touch, chop the parsley and sprinkle it over the salad. Serve hot or cold.

Entire recipe makes 2 HUGE servings
Each serving = 3 point value

The first time my fiancé made this dish for me, I was blown away by how incredibly healthy and low calorie it is. Shakshooka is a hot and spicy traditional dish that originates from Israel which consists mostly of tomatoes and eggs. But my fiancé has enhanced the traditional Shakshooka recipe with some tasty (and healthy) additions. His version of Shakshuka is astoundingly low calorie, and the nutritional statistics make it one of the healthiest home-cooked meals I’ve ever had. Just one serving big serving (with 2 eggs) packs in about 3/4 of your recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables, and yet contains only about 200 calories, 8 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat, about 7 – 8 grams of fiber, which is equivalent to only 3 Weight Watcher Points!!! *Note that these nutritionals are based on not eating the yolk of the egg, which have more fat and calories, but only eating the white. I chose to not eat the yolk of the egg, simply because I don’t like the yolk, but that ended up making a lot more healthy and low calorie /low fat. And on top of all this, Shakshooka tastes INCREDIBLE!!! So many flavors, textures, and colors!

My favorite way to eat the Israeli Shakshooka is spiced up with some Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (best hot sauce EVER!!!), which adds a nice hot and tangy taste. YUM!!! The best part is, you can really pig out on this stuff with absolutely no guilt. So it’s a great way to really satisfy your hunger and pack in some amazing nutrients and vitamins, and stay within your Weight Watcher Points!!!

If you don’t really care too much about calories or you don’t diet then try this…my fiancé likes to eat his Shakshuka in a bowl over fresh Israeli hummus (that can be found at Costco) and wipe it with a warm pita bread. Trust me! He knows what he’s doing…

Shakshuka Recipe

Ingredients:
2 sweet red peppers
2 spoons of olive oil for frying (can be substituted with a low calorie olive oil pan spray)
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
8 ripe tomatoes (Roma is the right size)
6 eggs
2 green hot chili peppers (add more or less according to taste)
1 spoon of tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp. of sweet paprika
Salt and pepper (according to taste)

Directions:
1. Peel the onion and garlic then chop them both into very little pieces.
2. Clean the red peppers from seeds and cuts them into small cubes.
3. Clean the green chili peppers from seeds and cuts them into small cubes.
4. Cut the tomatoes into cubes.
5. Chop the basil
6. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and then add the onion and garlic. Fry them until the onion is golden clear.
7. Turn the heat down to medium, add the red peppers, mix, and continue frying covered for about 3 more minutes. Mix a couple of times during that time.
8. Add the tomatoes, chili peppers, tomato paste, paprika, and then mix. Cover the pan, and simmer the mixture over low heat for 15 minutes.
9. Add the basil, salt, pepper, and then mix. Gently crack open the eggs without breaking the yolks, and drop them on the vegetables.
10. Cover the pan and continue cooking the mixture for another 5 minutes.

Serve with warm pita bread. Enjoy!

Weight Watcher Points = 3 WW Points