Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage

Last nights dinner was super quick, easy and delicious. Oh yes, we are taking about rigatoni with broccoli and spicy Italian chicken sausage all coated in marinara sauce! I totally forgot, this dish is also packed with fiber from whole wheat rigatoni and broccoli. The chicken sausage adds LEAN protein and the marinara sauce is packed with antioxidants.


Here are the deets: Ingredients Two ounces of whole wheat rigatoni One cup of frozen broccoli florets One all natural chicken sausage, sliced Half cup of marinara sauce Salt/pepper, as needed Preparation Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Reserve a little bit of the pasta water. Once cooked, in the same pot add the reserved pasta water, broccoli, sausage, marinara sauce and salt/pepper. Add the pasta after three minutes and toss. Make sure broccoli and sausage are fully cooked. Enjoy with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese! Total calories: 370

My Simple Dinner: Tomato and Mozzarella Salad w/Steamed Veggies

Sometimes it's the simplest of dinners which can give you great flavor and satisfaction! The other night I had a bowl of steamed veggies drizzled with good balsamic vinegar with some freshly cracked black pepper and salt. I also had a side of thinly sliced mozzarella and tomatoes, again drizzled in balsamic vinegar with a touch of extra virgin olive oil.





Now, the steam veggies with vinegar were no more than 40 calories. The mozzarella that I bought had 16 servings in it, each serving 80 calories. I cut the mozzarella in fourths. I took one fourth and sliced that up in fourths. I had three of the tomato and mozzarella slices. This very simple, filling meal was about 400 calories. Not bad and very delicious and simple!

My Morning Meal During Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan is in full swing and I have had a lot of readers ask me what I've been eating at 4am to keep me full all day. So here goes...I have nothing more than a bowl of oatmeal with coffee and a multivitamin. I do love the way I prepare my oatmeal, sometimes even the night before and I just warm it the following morning. Here are the deets on my morning oatmeal: Ingredients: 1/2c. of oven toasted oats 1c. Almond milk (I like the unsweetened kind by Silk) 1tsp. cinnamon 2 dates, sliced 10 almonds, chopped Preparation: Cook the oatmeal according to the directions, using almond milk instead of water. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until cooked. Servings: 1 This recipe is great as the oats contain fiber, the almonds contain healthy fats, the almond milk adds great creaminess and the dates add great sweetness and fiber. So, there you have it...my morning oatmeal is not only healthy but keeps me focused for 15 hours!

So Easy Sorbet...

Even though the weather is getting cooler, there is still time to make your own sorbets for a healthy, antioxidant packed, frozen treat. The other day I made the most flavorful, fresh sorbet in minutes and I'd like to share the oh so easy recipe with you. I used frozen blackberries and mango, but you can use ANY frozen fruit.

Ingredients:

1/2c frozen berries (I used blackberries)

1/2c any other frozen fruit (I used mango)

2TB. of orange juice or almond milk

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend away, scraping sides once, then blending again. Serve.

Servings: 2

Healthy, delicious and an instant cool down!

SimpleGreen Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad

Last night for dinner I decided to make something other than my usual salad for my veggie fix. Just coming back from the grocery store, I had fresh green beans, some grape tomatoes and corn. So, I decided to make a simple green bean, corn and tomato salad. The charred green beans and tomatoes added great flavor and warmth to this dish! I hope you enjoy this simple recipe. Ingredients: 1/2TB. of extra virgin olive oil 1lb. of fresh green beans, cleaned and chopped into thirds 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 pint of grape or cherry tomatos 1/2c. of corn, fresh, frozen or from a can 1tsp. of salt 1TB. of freshly ground black pepper In a hot saute pan, add the evoo. Turn the heat up to high and add the green beans. Stir every minute until the green beans have charred a little. Add the garlic. Add the tomatoes. All the tomatos to char, stirring occasionally. Add the corn, salt and pepper. Stir for 30 seconds and plate. Enoy!

My new toy...

Yesterday I was thinking, just like we can now buy portion controlled rice, we should be able to buy portion control pasta. I find it really hard to portion out the right amount of rigatoni! Pasta as it is can be very caloric, so going a little overboard can go a long way. My solution....I went out and bought a very inexpensive, tiny, portable scale. Yes, my Taylor scale was less than six bucks at Target. Now, the most accurate way to get a calorie count is to measure by weight. If you look at the nutritional for any product, next to serving size, you will see the weight for that individual serving size.


The only downfall of this product is I love weighing everything out now! Pasta, chips, grapes....anything! The upside...I now get an accurate calorie count :-) I highly recommend this product to anyone watching their calories and portions.

My Morning Fruit Salad

Ingredients: 1c. blueberries 6 strawberries, each quartered 1 banana, sliced 1TB. chopped almond 1tsp. of honey Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Servings: 1 Total calories: 286 Points: 4