Healthy Lasagna Roll Ups

I love lasagna, but the classic lasagna is typically weighed down with whole-fat cheeses, and is very rarely portion controlled. I stole this from the Clean Eating Mag site, and what I love about this recipe, outside of the taste, is that it allows you to easily portion control your meals, and helps fill that craving for pasta and cheese.  I come back to this recipe time and time again, sometimes using ground bison, and sometimes using turkey.  Each will create a different texture and flavor, but they are equally delicious.

When it comes to whole foods, and clean foods, I always tell people that you need to know what you're willing to compromise in your diet.  I use low-fat and fat-free cheeses, however, other clean eaters would argue that these are over processed and not a healthy solution.  You have to be your own gauge when it comes to what you put in your diet, and what you choose to leave out.  If you prefer whole-fat, you can still make this recipe, it will just clearly have a higher fat content.

Ingredients:
- 8 Whole Wheat Lasagna sheets (cooked to pkg. directions)
- 1 15 oz. pkg. Low-fat Ricotta
- 1 pkg. Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 Egg
- 3/4 c. Low-fat Shredded Mozzarella, divided
- 2 tbs. Fresh Basil (chopped)
- 1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion, chopped
- 1 clove Garlic, chopped
- 1 lb. Ground Bison
- 1 28 oz. can Whole Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp. Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp. Cumin
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a skillet or saute pan, heat EVOO on medium. Add onions, lightly salt, and cooked for 3 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook for additional 2 minutes.
2. Add bison, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cumin to bison and break up meat, cooking until very little pink is left.
3. Add whole tomatoes to pan, cover, and allow ingredients to simmer on low for 25 minutes, occasionally stirring in order to break up tomatoes.
4. While the meat sauce is cooking, cook lasagna noodles to package directions.  In a medium bowl, combine egg, ricotta, fresh basic, salt, pepper, spinach (squeezed of all excess fluid), and 1/4 cup mozzarella and mix well.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 10-inch casserole dish.  Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you.  Use a spoon to spread 1/8 of the ricotta mixture across the noodle, and roll it up.  Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish.  Repeat with the remaining noodles.  Spread the remaining tomato sauce over the roll-ups, then top with the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella.
6. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until roll-ups are browned and bubbly.

If you find that you are someone who doesn't know how to eat lasagna without overeating, you'll greatly appreciate how each roll-up is an individual serving running around 234 calories (this is not a solid number as it will change depending on what type of meat you use). And like any pasta, the next day leftovers taste almost better than the fresh out of the oven product.  So, good luck and enjoy!

Chicken Penne with Sun-Dried Tomato & Fresh Red Pepper Sauce

What I'm about to tell you, might shock you...I LOVE PASTA!!!  In any form, with any cheese, I'm pretty much sold on most pasta dishes.  The biggest problem that I run into with pasta recipes, both at home, and when I dine out, is that no red sauce is EVER comparable to my father's sauce, so I rarely attempt to make, or order it for dinner.

What initially drew my attention to this dish was that the sauce was not a typical red sauce, and also that with my recent withdrawal from most dishes with chicken, I am forced to start looking for new ways to prepare this protein.  As with most people who eat clean, when you're limited to certain lean proteins, at some point you start to get bored with the way you habitually cook a particular protein.  I was reaching the point that I had about as much desire to eat chicken, as I did to lick a cardboard box.  Sooooo...time to switch it up.

This recipe started as a by-the-book dish, meaning I was't planning on altering it at all.  But, as I started to really prepare the dish, I realized that it was supposed to be served room temperature, the sauce wasn't hot, and the yellow pepper was tossed raw.  Ummm...NOPE!  I'm like a 90 year old woman. I need my food so hot that I can barely stand to eat it, and so I took this recipe from The Best of Clean Eating 3, and modified it to how I wanted it to be built.  AND...IT WAS AMAZING!!!

Ingredients:
- 2 5 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp low-sodium dry rub
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked whole-wheat penne
  (or other small whole-wheat pasta)
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 garlic clove finely diced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil



Red Pepper Sauce:
- 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup unsalted raw cashews
- 1/4 cup whole fresh basil leaves
- 1 garlic clove
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- 3 oz. shredded Romano cheese, divided evenly

Instructions:
1. Preheat saute pan with chicken stock to medium-high.
2. Prep chicken breast with a thin coating of olive oil (1 tsp.), black pepper, and seasoning of choice.  Cook chicken in preheated pan for about 7 minutes per side, until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.  Set aside to cook for about 10 minutes, and then slice chicken.
3. Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.  Rinse in cold water to remove sticky starches; drain well and set aside.
4. Prepare Red Pepper Sauce: In a blender or food processor, add all sauce ingredients; blend until very smooth.
5. Dice yellow bell pepper, yellow onion, and garlic, and saute in a pan heated to medium-high with 1 tsp. of olive oil.  Saute vegetables for about 5 minutes.
6. Add chicken, pasta, and Red Pepper Sauce to the pan with vegetables, and toss until everything is heated through.
7.  Divide evenly, and top with 1.5 oz. of shredded Romano cheese, and garnish with freshly sliced basil.

The recipe directions claim that this serves 2, and that a 2-cup serving is 648 calories.  I'll be honest when I say that I actually split this into three servings because it was a little too high, calorie and carb wise, so it will largely depend on how big of a portion you want for your lunch or dinner.  Where some people really try to avoid pasta, I recommend this:  always make sure you know what one portion looks like, and try to eat your carb-heavy meals early in your day so that you have hours to burn those carbs off.

I also want to point out the importance of recognizing what your food preferences are when you're trying a new recipe, and learning how to modify the recipe so you can fully enjoy it when all of your hard work is done.  I know I don't like luke warm food.  I also know that I don't like raw vegetables in my hot pasta.  So, I changed the recipe.  Get creative, step outside of your comfort zone, know what you like and don't like, and learn to modify your recipes according to your nutritional desires.  If you're going to try something new, wouldn't you rather fully enjoy it, rather than go in knowing there are certain things you're not going to like right off the bat?  So, if you're reading through this recipe, and you decide there's something you want to change, go ahead a mix it up to suit your needs!  ENJOY!!!

<3 MARIA

Healthy and Easy Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp and Asparagus Buckwheat Pasta

I know, I know, you're asking yourself where I've been.  OK, maybe not, but the truth is ever since I decided to get AFAA Personal Trainer certified, everything else in my life came to a stand still.  In life, we must zero in on our goals, define our steps of action to achieve them, and keep our eye on the prize.  Now, with that out of the way, I have re-dedicated myself to some things that have been pushed aside, my food blog being one of them.  So, let's get going!

I have said it before and I'll say it again: I WILL NEVER STOP EATING PASTA!!!  Alright, perhaps that was more of a shouting, but I'm Italian, and I only have one volume.  The reality is, people who say you shouldn't eat carbs, or that they avoid pasta at all cost, are just eating the wrong carbs or the wrong pasta.  My all time favorite pastas to use are Organic Soba noodles.  Often found in the Asian isle in your grocery store, Soba noodles are made with buckwheat, are extremely thin, and cook in about 4 minutes.  Talk about healthy and easy!  They even come in three individual bundles so you can choose your serving size!

Shrimp and Asparagus Buckwheat Pasta

2 Pre-portioned bundles of Soba noodles

1/2 lb. Medium Shrimp Cooked, de-veined

8 Stalks Asparagus, ends removed

2 Vine Ripe Tomatoes, diced

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1/2 c. Sliced Mushrooms

1 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Prepare Soba noodles to package directions.

2. Cut asparagus stalks into three even pieces, at a bias (at an angle).

3.  Heat olive oil on medium in a saute pan, and add asparagus.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

4.  Add the mushrooms and saute for two minutes.

5.  Add tomatoes and garlic, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  

6.  Add the shrimp (I take the tails off of mine because I can't stand working for my food once it's placed in front of me), and the drained Soba noodles, and heat through.  

7.  Top each potion with a small amount of Parmesan cheese.  

I break this amount of pasta into four different servings.  I'm not huge on calorie counting so I apologize to anyone who wants to know calories, carbs, proteins, etc.  I eat whole foods, control potion sizes and workout like a maniac.  Depending on how my metabolism feels that day, I may eat more or less.  

What I LOVE about this recipe is how quickly it all comes together.  I buy pre-cooked shrimp, boil my pasta while I'm chopping everything else, toss ingredients in while I'm waiting for my pasta to be done, and by the time it's drained, I'm throwing my last couple of ingredients in, and heating the whole dish through.  Super easy, super healthy!  Enjoy!

Remember, pasta is good.  People who tell you that is not, are bad! <3 

Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti

I like spaghetti.  I will not stop eating spaghetti.  These are facts.  I suggest that you look at the facts of food in your life.  Maintaining a healthy life, and lifestyle should be about balance, and knowing where certain foods stand in your eating habits.  Like anything else, pasta is not bad for you, depending on the type that you buy, and the quantity that you eat it in.  I can honestly say that as a child, it seemed abnormal not to eat at least half of a box of pasta to my face.  And I wonder how I ended up overweight!!!


This recipe intrigued me because I love chicken noodle soup, and the citrus made it sound so light and refreshing.  Likewise, the small amount of pasta in the dish (remember, this is compared to the half of a box I would eat in one sitting), seemed like a great way to get the taste and texture of my pasta craving, but not in over abundance.  I know you'll all be shocked to find out that I found this recipe on Food Network while watching Giada at Home, and it only took about two days to experiment with it in the kitchen.


Ingredients:

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
• 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Kosher salt

In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind, if using, to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

When choosing your pasta, read carefully.  You'll most likely find your best choices in the health food isle of your grocery store.  As much as Barilla pasta seems like a good choice because it's boasting "whole wheat grains" and "enriched" with something or other they're trying to sell the healthy shopper with, it's usually not much better than picking up a regular box of 99 cent store brand crap the next shelf over.  The pasta you choose should contain ingredients like: kamut, buckwheat, whole grains etc.  I spent about 10 minutes holding two different brands of pasta, reading ingredients and checking out nutritional facts.  Find the brand that fits the best into your diet.  Also, be aware that pasta will go bad if you only use part of the box and leave the remainder sitting in your cabinet,  especially the kind with all natural ingredients. If you don't have a pasta container that is air tight, I suggest cooking the remainder of the box, and freezing it until you need it for another recipe.  

In regards to the chicken in this recipe, I had roasted a chicken earlier in the day, and therefore had no problem with finding, or including fresh cooked chicken in the recipe.  If it's easier for you, I don't see why you couldn't add two chicken breasts in place of rotisserie chicken.  Although most grocery stores do have a section where they offer a "fresh cooked rotisserie chicken", be aware, that many of them use sugars in their rubs and marinades.  Only you can decide exactly how much control you want to have over the ingredients in your dishes.