DISNEY NIGHTS HEALTHY STYLE #2: RATATOUILLE!

I mean, I guess. But people eat this stuff too:

So, I mean. Ratatouille is looking pretty good now, huh?

Right so. Welcome to another edition of EATING HEALTHY THINGS WHEN WE WOULD RATHER BE STUFFING OUR FACE WITH ACTUAL GLOBS OF FAT.

Pfft, what? No, Weight Watchers is going great.

But yeah, another post focused on trying to healthy up our Disney nights. And this one? I mean, a challenge. This is a movie about food. I mean, it would be like trying lay of the alcohol and watching a Mad Men marathon. Or trying to quit smoking and watching a Mad Men marathon. Or trying to forget your real identity because you stole someone else’s identity and have been living their life ever since they died and you started pretending to be them. And watching a Mad Men marathon.

Oh. Spoiler alert.

The movie

Seriously, you didn’t figure out what movie this was from the intro up there? Or the title?  Well, genius, it’s Ratatouille.

And yeah, LOVE this movie. I already wrote about it once a while back when we were doing the countdown to my birthday here and everything I said about this movie remains true today. I love the whole “greatness can come from anywhere” storyline of this movie. And I still really enjoy watching Remy come to grips with who he is and what he wants to be in his quest towards happiness.

But Wayne, what is your favorite scene in Ratatouille? I am SO glad you asked, random reader person. Because my FAVORITE scene would have to be the Anton voiceover as he is writing his review. I mean, sure I love when he takes his first bite of the ratatouille and is immediately transformed back to his childhood. I mean, honestly, that’s probably when this very good movie becomes truly great.

But – the voiceover. It goes something like this. Well actually it goes exactly like this:

“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.”

I just love the full-on smackdown on haters here. That no matter how much you call something a piece of crap, that piece of crap is at least “something.” But then as fast as it belittles a lot of what critics do, it just as quickly talks about the good critics can do by taking a chance on something new, even in the face of a world that often treats the new with disdain.

Going against the mainstream is hard, but it’s often worthwhile.

The theme

So, obvs squad we went with a French theme for the night. We decorated the dining room table to have the feel of an outdoor French café, complete with flowers, candles and white lights.

And I printed up some French works of art to hang over the works of art that are our faces.

We also listened to some French music, through this awesome Spotify playlist. It set an awesome tone that pretty much only I appreciated. But at least my kids complained about it.

https://open.spotify.com/user/kamdiba/playlist/3x6xRt9FnSbfPbgiO6incZ?si=8Xsh2xZESAW2rGCr5tJXbQ

The activity

We had a couple activities for this one. We for sure wanted to incorporate some cooking into the mix. So as a family, we cooked the meal together.

And the kids and Nickie also painted some watercolors (well the kids also did some drawing but still…art)

The food

The food, once again, was a big part of the night. Healthy food. But also, like….good food. The menu was:

• Weight Watchers French Onion Soup: 4 points per serving
• Weight Watchers Croque Monsieur Egg Rolls: 5 points for 2 egg rolls
• Enlightened Cold Brew Coffee Chip Bar: 3 points
• Glass of wine: 4 points

Total points used: 13 points

The recipes are all below. A couple of notes though:

• The soup was pretty good. Not really restaurant-quality and the color was a tad light but it was still hot. And cheesy. Much like the movie Showgirls.
• The egg rolls, especially dipped in honey mustard, were pretty bomb though. I could see them being pretty good as a lunch during the week. I mean yeah they were egg rolls, but they were CROQUE MONSIEUR egg rolls. So you know. Oo-la-la.
• For dessert, we actually picked up mini eclairs from Market Basket and Nickie and I were planning on splitting one for 3 points but we ended up having the Enlightened bar. And the coffee chip one? THE. BEST. Out of all the ones I have tried, this one was my favorite.

The recipes

Weight Watchers French Onion Soup

WW Points per serving : 4

Ingredients

2 medium uncooked onion(s), thinly sliced

4 Tbsp sherry (dry or sweet), or nonalcoholic wine

4 cup(s) canned fat-free beef broth

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

4 slice(s) French bread

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large saucepan, combine onions and sherry; sauté until onions are tender, about 6 minutes.

Add broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast bread in oven until golden brown.

Place one piece of toast into each of four bowls. Divide soup among bowls and top each with 1/2 tablespoon of grated cheese. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Weight Watchers Croque Monsieur Egg Rolls 

Ingredients

5 oz cooked lean ham, finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

2 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 Tbsp uncooked scallion(s), minced (green part only)

8 item(s) egg roll wrapper(s)

3 spray(s) cooking spray

1/4 cup(s) honey mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine ham, cheese and scallion in a small bowl; mix well.

Place an egg roll wrapper on a flat work surface with the corners set vertically (pointing up and down – like a diamond shape). Arrange 3 slightly rounded tablespoons of filling down the center of the wrapper, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the bottom and top.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper to the center, over the filling. Gently, but firmly, fold the left side of the wrapper to the center and then fold in the right side. Fold the top of the wrapper down to cover filling and seal any loose ends with water; repeat with remaining ingredients.

Place filled wrappers on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat surface of wrappers with cooking spray. Bake until wrappers are golden brown, flipping once, about 16 minutes. Yields 1 egg roll and 1 1/2 teaspoons of honey mustard per serving.