A Summer/BBQ Classic

Macaroni salad without the extra calories & fat of the actual macaroni.  I know pasta is such a big comfort food of so many & no one really wants to give it up, but this recipe has ALL of the same flavors & ingredients in a lot of macaroni salads you see being sold in stores or made by your friends/family.  It's great for the warmer weather & would be perfect on your plate next to a yummy burger or hot dog.  Get grilling & enjoy this salad at your next BBQ!

The recipe calls for:
3 cups spaghetti squash
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
splash of white vinegar
1/2 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup white onion
1 hard boiled egg chopped
1/2 tbsp stevia extract
salt & pepper to taste

-- Boil the egg for about 10 minutes then let it sit in cold water.  Peel & cut it up into small pieces.
-- Cook the spaghetti squash.  See my blog post "What Is Spaghetti Squash?" for instructions.
-- Chop the carrots, onion & celery.
-- Add all the ingredients to a bowl & mix.
-- Put the "macaroni" salad into the fridge until cool.

Healthy Baked "Eggplant Parm"

This recipe came from one of Gordon Ramsay's cookbooks.  I changed it a little bit based on preference & a couple healthy alternatives.  No breading or frying in oil required to still keep this classic dish delicious.  It obviously looks like a very different dish then the classic version you see in restaurants.  The taste & texture are also different, but it's just as flavorful.  It's a great unique version of eggplant parmesan.  I think it would make a great side dish as well as a full meal maybe paired with some homemade garlic bread.  I have never eaten eggplant without it being fried or topped with lots of marinara sauce & cheese on it because of course it's so good that way, but this recipe really came out great.  I highly recommend it for vegetarians or lovers of eggplant.

The recipe calls for:

2 medium eggplants

10-12 oz container cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

4 cloves of garlic

spray oil

spray butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

-- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-- Peel then cut the eggplant into thin slices & place them on a baking pan sprayed with oil.  Bake them for 5-8 minutes.
-- Spray a medium sized saute pan with oil.
-- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half & mince the garlic cloves.
-- Add the tomatoes, garlic & butter to the pan.  You can use about a tablespoon of regular butter if preferred, but I used "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray butter. Saute in the pan until the tomatoes start to make some liquid & the garlic brown a little bit.
-- Once this is cooked, rip the fresh basil into pieces & add it to the pan. Mix!
-- Put wax paper into two round 8 inch baking pans & add a layer of baked eggplant until it covers the bottoms.
-- Then add 1/4 of the tomato, basil & garlic mixture onto the top of the baked eggplant in each pan.
-- Sprinkle the layer with some grated parmesan cheese & then continue adding another layer of eggplant & the mixture.
--The last layer should be baked eggplant with some parmesan cheese on top.
-- Bake for another 10 minutes then let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

White Pizza: Final Product

Here's a photo of the yummy, but healthy white pizza I made the other day.  It smells & tastes just as good as it looks.  It's become one of my new favorites. It's easy & quick to make.  I admit I have made it three times already. If you like white pizza you will love these english muffin pizzas, I promise!  For me, pizza is a huge weakness & it's something I definitely crave a lot.  Now with this healthier recipe I can enjoy pizza guilt free & so can you!  Want to know the ingredients & how to make it?  See blog post "White Pizza With A Healthy Twist".

What do you crave?

What's For Dinner Tonight?

The recipe calls for:

brown rice
asparagus
minced garlic
garlic powder
soy sauce
tofu "chicken" patty (optional)




-- Spray a cooking pan & add all of the ingredients above, except for the patty.  I didn't use measurements. I added about a tablespoon of minced garlic, sprinkled some garlic powder as well (I LOVE GARLIC!) & just a little soy sauce for taste.
-- The tofu "chicken" patty is the Morning Star brand.  I put it in the toaster oven on 375 degrees for 18 minutes or follow the cooking directions on the box.  Most people aren't fans of tofu, but these really do taste like chicken.  They are 140 calories each.  You can put a little soy sauce on top of the patty to give that more flavor too or you can substitute the patty with whatever you prefer, a chicken breast or any other meat.

The total calories for this meal is about 350 or 6 points on the old Weight Watchers points system.

White Pizza With A Healthy Twist

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White Pizza

Set the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the english muffin(s) in half then place them on foil on a baking pan.  Spread some of the savory garlic Philadephia cooking creme on each half & top it with some shredded mozzarella cheese.  Put it in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted & the english muffins are toasted.  The recipe is about 425 calories or 6-7 points on the old Weight Watchers point system for 4 halves.

It's a great way to get your pizza fix!

Leftovers Inspiration

The recipe calls for:                                                                                        

1 1/2 cups spaghetti squash                                                                                                  

1 cup chopped spinach                                                                       

1/4 cup savory garlic cooking creme                                                    

salt & pepper                                                                                    

grated parmesan cheese

                                                                                                       

-- Heat a little olive oil in a medium size pan.

-- Add the squash, spinach & cooking creme to the pan.  Mix until the creme has melted into a sauce.

-- Add some salt & pepper to taste, give it a stir then it's ready!

-- Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top & enjoy.

This is a very easy & fast meal to make or it could even be just a side dish.  I came up with this idea when I had some homemade leftover creamed spinach.  "Use what you have."  I wanted to make something different then my normal spaghetti squash recipes.  Since the creamed spinach already had cheese in it, nothing needed to be added to it.  It became a sauce just like this recipe did.  Since I had no more leftovers I decided to make my own version of it.  Other options could be to use a different cooking creme by Philadelphia or use your favorite Laughing Cow flavored cheese triangles.  There are a quite a few different flavors to choose from, just check your local grocery store.  You could also replace the squash with a pasta of your choice. 

An Exciting Friday Night

I have to share that yesterday I tweeted to Fabio Viviani, a well known chef who appeared on the show Top Chef on Bravo, about his pasta carbonara recipe.  He replied back to me.  For fans of the show or any chef you love, you can know how excited I was! :)

Healthy Baked Chicken Parm

This baked chicken parm recipe is a great way to enjoy a classic favorite of many, but with a healthy twist that still manages to make it taste completely delicious!  If you follow the original Weight Watchers, each piece is 5.5 points if you cut a full breast in half, less points if you use the thin chicken cutlets.  The cutlets I used were only 100 calories each piece.

The recipe calls for:

4 chicken breasts (sliced in half) or thin chicken cutlets (which I used)

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

2 tbs of melted butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (which I used, less calories) 

3/4 cup of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

1 cup of marinara sauce

-- Preheat the oven to 450, spray the baking dish with cooking oil.

-- Combine breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese in a bowl.

-- Lightly brush or spray the chicken with butter then dip them into the breadcrumb mixture.  Place the chicken in the baking dish & repeat with the rest of the chicken.

-- Lightly spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray & put it in the oven for 20 minutes. (or less for the thin chicken cutlets)  After the time is up, turn the chicken over & bake for another 5-10 minutes.

-- When time is up, take the chicken out of the oven, spoon a little marinara sauce on each piece of chicken & top it with a little bit of the mozzarella cheese.

-- Put the chicken back in the oven until the cheese is melted & then it's ready!  Serve it with a vegetable on the side to keep the meal healthy.

Mission Complete

I finally found the Yoplait Smoothies at Shoprite after looking down every frozen aisle and then having to ask for help. They are by the frozen desserts. Right now they are on sale for $2.50. And BONUS!!! the calories include skim milk already. I can't wait to try them!

Its Smoothie Kind Of Weather!

The weather is becoming warmer and warmer out, what's better then a nice cold tasty beverage? I was watching this weeks Biggest Loser episode and they were promoting Yoplait Smoothies. They look and sound delicious! And it can't hurt that they are very healthy for you. Each packet has 2 serving sizes and each serving size ranges from 110-120 calories. All you need to do is add a little milk of your choice and blend! (Non-Fat preferably)

There are four different kinds on their website: Blueberry Pomegranate, Triple Berry, Strawberry Banana & Strawberry Mango Pineapple, but on the Biggest Loser they also had Chocolate Banana. I will be looking in the grocery store tonight!

What is Spaghetti Squash?

When I talk about spaghetti squash with people, hardly anyone knows what is it.  Last time I made it I took play by play photos of how to cook it.  Here they are...

Heat the squash in the microwave for a minute or so to soften it.  Then cut the squash in half.

 Take all the "guts" out of it. The seeds and most of the stringy parts.  If some are left that is fine, they are edible so don't worry.  Once you do that, place both halves face down into a microwave safe dish that has about an inch of water in it. Microwave for about 10 minutes.

 

Be careful removing the squash from the microwave, it will be very hot.  Let the halves cool a little after taking them out of the dish.  Once cooled, take a fork and start to scrape the squash.  Doing this will make the squash look like it's spaghetti.

  

This is what the squash will look like when it's been scraped enough and the result of what was scraped.

 

 There are many recipes you can use when making spaghetti squash.  A basic is just marinara sauce (homemade or from the jar) and grated cheese just like you would add to actual spaghetti noodles, but with this it's much healthier for you!  Spaghetti noodles and spaghetti squash both don't have a lot of flavor to them, it's all about what you add to them.  Try it out!

Amazing Spaghetti Squash

This is a Bethenny Frankel healthy recipe with a couple changes to what I preferred.

The recipe calls for:

1 spaghetti squash

3 tbs pesto

1 tbs fresh basil

3 tbs parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Bethenny also added pine nuts, but the pesto I bought had some in it already so extra are not needed.  I used grated cheese because that's what I had, but her recipe called for shredded.  I added salt and pepper before tasting, but I think the pesto has enough taste in it to do without.  The less salt the healthier.  The pesto flavor was a good amount, 1 less tbs I think it would taste just as good if you want to save some calories though.

I didn't prepare it the same way as her.  Here are the easy steps I did...

-- Microwave the squash for a minute, this makes it softer and easier to cut.  Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Then place the squash (the inside faced down) in a microwaveable dish with about an inch of water for 10 minutes.  Optional: Put a little extra virgin olive oil on the inside of the squash.

-- Let the squash sit for a few minutes then scrap the spaghetti squash out.

-- Mix the squash, pesto, cheese and salt/pepper in a large bowl.

-- Add the mixed ingredients to a pan, add basil and heat for a few minutes.

-- Serve! Enjoy!

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Peanut Chicken

If you want the recipe, just ask!

Some Oldies...

Homemade Chili

Between the cold weather and wanting to use the crock pot again I decided to make some homemade chili.  I looked at tons of recipes for the crock pot and none of them were exactly what I wanted so instead I just winged it.  I put everything I liked from the different recipes into this recipe.  No real measurements were used.  Jeff & I both tasted it a few times to see if anything else needed to be added.

All the ingredients added to the crock pot, pre-cooked.

The recipe calls for:

lean ground turkey meat

kidney & black beans

frozen corn

jalapeno peppers

onion

garlic cloves

garlic powder

chili powder

cayenne pepper

salt & pepper 

tomato paste

tomato sauce

mini diced tomatoes

chicken broth

cheddar cheese (optional)

sour cream (optional)

tortilla chips (optional)