Spinach Lasagna

I just prepared this recipe today and I have to tell you it is pretty amazing.  The calories are a bit high but compared to regular lasagna it is a much better option.  I am always looking for ways to sneak more veggies into my diet because like most people I do not eat enough of them.  The prep time for this dish is about thirty minutes and the clean-up is about seven, that being said it’s a quick fix dinner with few ingredients needed (compared to how most lasagnas go).  This dish is also a low carb choice for those of you watching your intake however; this dish is higher in fat due to the use of cream cheese.  I use eggbeaters in all my recipes so that will reduce the number of calories and fat a bit but not enough to make a huge difference.  Hope you enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 8 Amount Per Serving, Calories: 347.8, Total Fat: 29.3 g, Cholesterol: 117.6 mg, Sodium: 313.5 mg , Total Carbs: 4.3 g, Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g, Protein: 16.9 g

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
1 egg or eggbeaters
1/8 teaspoon pepper
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Directions

Brown the hamburger with the onion; drain off the fat.  Mix in the garlic powder and spaghetti sauce; season to taste and heat until bubbly.  Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese in a medium-size microwaveable bowl for about 40-60 seconds.  Stir until creamy; beat in the egg and pepper with a spoon until well mixed.  Blend in the spinach.  Spread half of the meat mixture evenly in the bottom of a greased, 8 x 8" glass-baking pan.  Spread the spinach mixture over the meat; top with the mozzarella, then the rest of the meat.  It may not completely cover the top, but that is ok.  Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350º about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

 

Provided by: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1204192

Mini Tex-Mex Turkey Meatloaves

This recipe is one of my “health food testers” (aka anyone who eats at my house), and mine favorite tried and true quick fix dinners.  The serving size is for two loaves and you can virtually have anything with it for a side.  Just don’t get too crazy J (readyseteat.com)

 

Nutritional Information:

6 servings (2 meatloaves each) Calories 184; Total Fat 8 g (Saturated Fat 2 g); Cholesterol 59 mg; Sodium 439 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; (Dietary Fiber 1 g, Sugars 2 g); Protein 19 g; Percent Daily Values*: Vitamin A 9%; Vitamin C 3%; Calcium 8%; Iron 7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Ingredients:

• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 pkg (20 oz each) lean ground turkey (93% lean)
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters® Original
• 1/3 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained, liquid reserved
• 2 tablespoons (1/2 of 1.25-oz pkg) 30% less sodium taco seasoning mix
• 1/4 cup finely shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 regular muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Mix turkey, Egg Beaters, bread crumbs, drained tomatoes plus 1/4 cup reserved liquid and taco seasoning in medium bowl. Form into 12 balls (1/4 cup each) and place in muffin cups. Top each with 1 teaspoon cheese.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until browned and cooked through (170°F).

 

http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Mini-TexMex-Turkey-Meatloaves-5191.html

 

Expresso Cake in a Mug

Let us start with dessert first shall we.  This little cake is spongy and delicious and just for comparison you can either have TWO Oreos at 130 calories are a coffee cup (mostly) full of chocolate cake.  Hope you enjoy!

 
Expresso Cake in a Mug (Hungry Girl recipe 2010)

PER SERVING: (entire recipe): 147 calories, 3.25g fat, 446mg sodium, 25.5g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 14.5g sugars, 3.5g protein 

 

What You Will Need!

1-teaspoon instant coffee granules

1-teaspoon mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3- tablespoons devil's food cake mix
1-tablespoon fat free sour cream
1-tablespoon fat free liquid egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 no calorie sweetener packet
Dash salt

DIRECTIONS

Place coffee granules and chocolate chips in a microwave safe mug sprayed with nonstick spray. Add 2 tablespoons hot water and stir until ingredients have dissolved.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Microwave for 1 minute and 46 sec.

Allow to cool slightly and then enjoy!!

Food Awareness

When you are in the process of becoming healthier one of the main things people tend to concentrate on is what food they can or cannot eat.  Everybody tends to go about this in a different manner but a rule I have picked up from the majority of books I have read on nutrition is "to eat real food".  Some people practice portion control and if you are able to do that then more power to you.  However, I know I am not the only one who struggles with eating in moderation and so I wanted to share some of the tried and tested meals I have picked up along my journey.  Almost all the recipes I will share on here will not be my original creation, so I will be sure to give proper credit to the original creator on each post.  The recipes I will post will all be fairly easy to prepare because I am no chef and when you are a full time student time isn't always on your side.

 Losing weight or simply eating right can be confusing with the large amount of false information as well as the overabundance of convenience foods.  I will be the first to admit that eating healthier can be more time consuming (but not much more), it can mean doing dishes more often, and getting good at using freezer bags but it does not have to be tasteless or torture to eat right.  I am not a calorie counter, but I do want to be aware of the foods I eat.  Being aware is pivotal to our success in weight loss.  Learn your strengths and weaknesses and be sure to do your best to emphasize your areas that are stronger and deemphasize your areas that are weaker.  For Example: If when you are bored, you watch TV and then eat while watching TV maybe you should try another hobby that keeps your hands busy.  Our brains are set up to receive triggers and these triggers can set us up for disaster if we are not aware of them.  I’m not saying never watch TV again but understanding and respecting our areas of weakness is important to the process of weight loss or management. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you find something here that will help make eater healthier a bit easier.