Pesto Pasta Lunch...

Why hello again! I feel Monday's are the hardest days to get back on track because your body is use to all the over eating done from the weekend.

This morning I had a very filling breakfast. In between breakfast and lunch I had a Cashew Cookie Larabar. Lunch was shortly after. I had whole wheat pasta with grape tomatoes and homemade pesto sauce. Lunch was definitely delicious, but now, two hours later...I'M HUNGRY!!! I do have another snack, but I'm trying to hold off on that one, as I will probably need a lil somthin somthin before my INSANITY workout!

How was your lunch?

Pasta Salad Lunch

Lunch today was a delicious pasta salad that I made last night. I cooked one oz of whole wheat pasta. I then sauté d some garlic in extra virgin olive oil. I added sliced mushrooms, broccoli and sliced bell peppers. I then added half cup of marinara sauce and stirred to combine. Once combined I tossed the pasta in the veggies and sauce and then topped with a tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Lunch was awesome! What did you have?

Recipe Alert: Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies

Yesterday for lunch I had a hearty pasta and veggies dish is a creamy sauce. The secret of the creamy sauce is Greek yogurt. This is such a wonderful trick,if you mix a tablespoon of pesto sauce into 6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt, you get a thick, rich, creamy sauce with such little fat and calories. Below is the recipe for my Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies. Ingredients: 1TB of pesto sauce 6oz. non fat Greek yogurt 1tsp. onion powder 1tsp. garlic powder Freshly cracked black pepper 1/2 cup of cooked whole wheat rigatoni 1 1/2c of chopped veggies of your choice Preparation: Stir the pesto sauce, onion and garlic powders and black pepper into the greek yogurt. Place the pasta and veggies in a bowl. Add the pesto- yogurt sauce. Toss to coat. I enjoyed this meal cold and it was delish. Enjoy! Servings: 1 Here's how this meal shapes up: Whole grain: pasta Plant fat: pesto sauce Produce: veggies Lean protein: yogurt Sass: onion and garlic powders

Lunch...

Lunch today was this beautiful protein and flavor packed pasta and veggies! Mmm..totally filling but will post recipe later.

Recipe Alert: Pesto Salad



mmm...Pesto Salad!

 Lately, I've been liking my pasta for lunch. Yes, a great thing about following The Cinch! Concept is you don't have to shy away from carbs!  With some healthy choices such as using whole wheat pasta and portion
control, you can guarantee you will be on your way to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. Try my recipe below for a delicious Pesto Salad.

Ingredients:
1/2c of cooked whole wheat rotini
1c of frozen spinach
1/2c of sliced mushrooms
1/2c of sliced red or yellow bell pepper
1/4c of skim ricotta
1TB of pesto sauce

Preparation:
Place the mushrooms in a bowl. Top with frozen spinach. Microwave this for five minutes, until the spinach has defrosted and the mushrooms have softened. Place aside. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and
pesto. Place the pasta in a salad bowl. Top with spinach and mushrooms. Add the bell pepper. Toss with the pesto mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper if desired. Enjoy!

Servings: 1

Here's how this meal shapes up:
Whole grain: pasta
Lean protein: ricotta
Plant fat: pesto
Produce: spinach,pepper,mushrooms
Sass: seasonings in pesto

Are you getting the most nutritional bang for your points?

One of the great things that I love about WW is that you can have your cake and eat it too. This is great for those instances when we have a party to go or if there is a special occasion. However, what nutritional value is there in a slice a cake? Like most commercial cakes out there, probably not much but a bunch of sugar. Which leads me to ask -are you getting the most nutritional bang for your points?

This got me thinking the other day. Lately, I've been bringing a sandwhich made with deli meat and whole wheat bread for a total of 5WW points. Yes, my sandwhich did fill me up, but WW is not just about being full. Although my sandwhich tasted great, did I really get any nutritional value out of it? At most, 4 grams of fiber and some protein, but that's about it. So, I thought, if I'm giving myself 5 points for lunch, I'm sure I can come up with just a filling lunch but much more nutrient dense for 5 points. That's exactly what I did last night and had a wonderful lunch today!

Last night, I came up with a Whole Wheat Pasta Medley. This wonderful meal consisted of whole wheat pasta, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic and grape tomatoes, all for 5WW points! In this one meal, I was able to get my fiber, vitamin C and lycopene. Yes, a totally filling meal, with a big nutritional bang.

I hope you enjoy my recipe for my Whole Wheat Pasta Medley. Next time you are eating something, really ask yourself, does this have any nutrition benefit for me?...

Ingredients:

• 13oz. of whole wheat rotini pasta, cooked
• 1TB. of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 head of broccoli florets
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes
• 1TB. of fresh oregano
• 2TB. of balsamic vinegar
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Shredded pecorino romano, to top

Preparation:

In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and place on medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic slices, bell pepper and broccoli. Let the vegetables brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, balsamic vinegar and stir for about a minute. Add the pasta and toss. Top with the Pecorino Romano cheese.

Servings: 7

This recipe and article is also posted on TheAjnabee.com!

Lunch Time...

I really think eating a low point snacks every couple hours is working for me! My lunch for today is whole wheat pasta w/ a fat free yogurt sauce, parsley and walnuts and chicken....DELICIOUS!!! One serving of this dish is 10WW pts, but I've divided this into thirds (honestly, one serving was huge!!)...Anywho, this made my lunch a little bit over 3 WW pts. Still not bad and very filling!! How was your lunch?

***Recipe Alert: Channa Masala Pasta***

Italy...meet India...India...meet Italy. Wow. This has got to be the best fusion recipe I've come up with! This is a flavor, fiber filled meal which will keep you wanting more (that's probably not a good idea though :-p) This entire recipe has over 10 grams of fiber and only 5 WW points!!! Now that is awesome for a lunch or dinner!! This is also incredibly easy.

Here are the deets: One serving of whole wheat pasta 1/2 serving of Channa Masala (http://ask-kanwal.blogspot.com/2009/04/hey-guys-i-love-cooking-indian-food.html) Cilantro for garnishing

Cook the pasta according the directions on the box. Once fully cooked, take about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water and add this to the Channa Masala. Toss the pasta with the Channa Masala, and garnish with chopped Cilantro! Delicious!!!

***Lunch Time***

Hello Everyone, Lunch today was whole wheat pasta, with fresh chopped tomatos. I also added one teaspoon of EVOO and grated two garlic cloves and added basil and oregano! All for a points value of 4. What did you guys have for lunch?

***Daily Round Up***

Hi Guys, Sorry for the late post, today was unbelievably hectic!! Surprisingly my breakfast smoothie kept me full until lunch time so I didn't even get hungry for a snack in between. Lunch was a slice of vegetable pizza. Yes, one slice with onions, broccoli, peppers and mushrooms. This was 4 WW pts. Later on I had Fiber granola bar for 2 WW pts. Dinner was Whole Wheat Pasta with Tuna and Lemon Olive Oil. This was 5 WW pts. How was your day?

****New Tool: Pasta Measurer****

Hi Guys,

I know I always make pasta dishes made with Whole Wheat Rigatoni or Penne, however I do like to use good old fashioned spaghetti, angel hair or linguinie -only if it's whole grain or multigrain though :-P How do I measure out perfect pasta portions? I use the thingamabobber on the left! Google pasta measurer and you'll see Amazon and Crate and Barrel selling them! This tool comes in handy so you do not OD on the pasta portion sizes!

***Dinner Tonite***

Hello Everyone,

Tonight's dinner was Whole Wheat Pasta with Tuna in a lemon pepper dressing! This was delish...also, another great dish to make atleast two servings of to have later on during the week. Here are the deets for one serving:

One serving of Whole Wheat Pasta: 3 WW pts.

1/2 of a Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced: 0 WW pts.

1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced: 0 WW pts.

1 Garlic Clove, grated: 0 WW pts.

One serving of light Tuna (packed in water): 1 WW pt.

For the dressing:

Pepper to taste: o WW pt.

Juice of half of Lemon: 0 WW pt.

2 tsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 WW pts.

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box
2. In a bowl add the grated Garlic, Bell Pepper, Onion and Tuna.
3. Once the pasta has fully cooked, add immediately to your bowl with the Garlic, Bell Pepper, Onion and Tuna
4. Pour the dressing on top and toss to coat
5. Enjoy!!

Guys serve this with a soup or salad....or both because this Pasta dish is only 6 WW pts!!!

What did you guys have for dinner?

....And It's Lunch Time

Hey Ppl,

So, it's lunch time and I made Whole Wheat Pasta with Tomatos, Onions and Arugala/Cilantro/Jalapeno sauce. I really like making my own sauces/pestos because they are so easy to make, store well, and I can control the points value by the ingredients and how much of them I use.

Here are the ingredients I used for todays sauce:

1/4 bunch of Cilantro

1 cup of Arugala

3 teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 teaspoons of red or white vinegar

Salt for seasoning

1 Whole Jalapeno (you can adjust this depending on your heat level)

1/4 of a large Tomato

I then broke all of this down in the blender, and this came out to be about of cup of sauce, which you can portion out to three servings, for a points value of ONE :-)

So, my sauce was 1 point, and my pasta was 3. I also sliced some tomatos and red onions, to bump up the volume of this dish. Sliced mushroom are also great, and all have a 0 points value.

Total: 4 WW pts.!!!

What did you guys have for lunch?

Tip: If you are not going to use all of the sauce by the end of the week, you can freeze indivdual portions in an ice cube tray, and when you need it next, just take out the appropriate portion you need :-)

***Dinner Tonite*** Part 2

Hi Guys, So, here is my pasta dish. I created this dish with a friend the other night, but it was so good and easy that it went perfectly with my soup tonight :-) Like I said before, what I love about WW is you do not have to shun away from carbs!! Here are the deets on the recipe:

• One serving of Whole Wheat Penne Rigate (I like Ronzoni Healthy Harvest) = 3 WW pts.
• Salt, to salt the pasta water
• 1/2 container of Grape or Cherry Tomatos = 0 WW pts.
• Frozen Spinach (use as much as you like, I used about a handful) = 0 WW pts.
• 2 Tablespoons of freshly grated Garlic = O WW pts.
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (as much as you want) = O WW pts.
• 1 Teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil = 1 WW pt.

Steps:

1. Bring water to a boil in a pot
2. Add salt to the boiled water, then add the pasta
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a sautee pan, add a ladleful of the boiling pasta water
4. Add the Grape/Cherry tomatos and sautee till they burst
5. Add the Spinach, Red Pepper Flakes, and grated Garlic, sautee for another minute (add more pasta water if needed)
6. Add the EVOO
7. Once the pasta has fully cooked, add this to the sautee pan and toss
8. Enjoy your 4 point pasta dinner :-)

What did you guys have for dinner?

Dinner Tonight

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a great day. Tonight for dinner I had Whole Wheat pasta with spinach and tomatos :-) A 4 point value for a huge portion! Stay tuned tomorrow for the pic and recipe! What did you have for dinner tonight?