A New Year, New Recipes!

Yes I do realize I said I'd be posting more often, but the holidays sort of crept up on me. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat, and with a new year, often it brings new resolutions. Obviously I've fallen into the last category for anyone who knows me personally, of course I do have a goal seeing as this year my wonderful husband and I will be celebrating 10 years together with a trip to Hawaii, and goodness knows, I want to look amazing in a bathing suit and not scare people off the beaches there! With that being said, it's hard to lose weight and get in shape when there are so many wonderful and fabulous foods to make out there, but with some simple substitutions you can cut back on the fat and calories significantly, not to mention carbs in some dishes. If you're at all like me, you love your pasta and carbs, I just can't help it! There is something so comforting about taking a big bite of warm pasta on a cold evening! So far, I've lost 7 pounds in just over two weeks, and am doing pretty well (If you can't tell, I'm pretty happy about that! LOL!). A lot of it comes from restraining yourself and changing your thinking to choose healthier alternatives like fruits and veggies to snack on rather than oh, say candy, cookies, and anything that is NOT good for me! It's hard, especially with desserts, I'm not going to lie, I have a major sweet tooth, plus they are sort of my specialty! So I decided to post two pasta recipes that I have altered to be much more low fat and low calories than the typical pasta recipes I have made in the past. Who doesn't love home-made lasagna? Do you have any idea how many calories are in a small square? Like almost an entire day's worth!!! Now there are a few things to substitute that will cut back a lot of those empty calories, but not on the taste, and we all know that diet foods aren't supposed to taste good, but with a few tricks they actually can! I know, shocking isn't it? So with that being said, hopefully my journey towards better health will inspire you to try new recipes with simple substitutions! Bon Apetit!

Jen's Favorite Pasta:

Ingredients:

4 roma tomatoes chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1 C pine nuts
2 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs capers
1 Big can of sliced olives
1 Can Vegetable broth
4 Bags of Shirataki Spaghetti Noodles (These can be found in health food stores and are tofu noodles, don't worry they don't taste like tofu! If you can't find them, you can use whole grain Penne Pasta, but that adds a lot more calories and carbs)
Salt to taste
Fresh Chopped Parsley (I like italian parsley)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add pine nuts and press the garlic cloves thru a garlic press. Saute until pine nuts are toasted golden. Add broth, tomatoes, capers, and olives. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to med-low and simmer approximately 1 hour.

To prepare noodles, drain the bag and pat dry. Microwave noodles in a microwave safe bowl for 1 min 30 seconds. Drain again and pat dry. Add to sauce and serve hot. For added protein add 2 grilled chopped boneless, skinless chicken breasts.


Lower Fat Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pkg brown rice lasagna noodles
1 med yellow onion chopped
2 C Fat-Free (or low fat) Ricotta Cheese
1/4 C egg substitute (like egg beaters)
1 lb ground lean turkey
1 lb ground reduced fat pork sausage (yes they do make that!)
4 C fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 jars of traditional spaghetti sauce (yes I cheat and don't make my own in the effort of saving time)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. In a 9 x 13 casserole dish smooth a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over med-high heat and add chopped onions. Saute until soft and mostly translucent. Add meats and cook through. Drain fat and set aside. In another bowl add egg substitute, 2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese. Stir until well combined. Add 2 C spaghetti sauce to meat mixture and stir until well coated. Layer in the casserole dish one layer of noodles. Gently spread thin layer of cheese mixture on top of noodles. Spread layer of meat mixture on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Layer another layer of noodles, then cheese mix, then meat mix, then shredded cheese and another layer of noodles. Repeat process until dish is almost full. On last layer of noodles smooth thin layer of cheese mix and then thin layer of meat mixture adding more sauce if necessary to make it thin. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 1 hour. Remove, slice and enjoy. *can be made vegetarian, using chopped carrots, celery, olives, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach. (just chop 4 C of mixed vegetables and saute with the onions until soft and follow remaining directions using veggies instead of meat).


For those of you curious to know where I'm learning to eat better and substitute items, I have found a new website/cook book that I absolutely love. So far the recipes have been fabulous and very tasty! Look at the Hungry Girl cookbooks and website for recipe ideas and substitutions. AWESOME stuff!