Thursday, January 17, 2013

Tortellini Primavera That's Tasty MSK


Last week I got stuck at working a full shift which meant taking a lunch and I did not pack anything.  I wandered over to the frozen food section wondering what I could find that was not high calorie or high chemical content or too high sodium.  After standing there for about 10 min I settled on a tortellini primavera from a brand that is marketed as healthy.  It was surprisingly good, the portion size was a little small so I wanted to try making it at home to bump up the veggies and give it more body.  
What I came up with just as good in flavor, with twice as much vegetables and low in calorie.  I tried to use no salt added canned tomatoes but the sodium still came out high.  I will defiantly make this again this summer using my homemade diced tomatoes from my garden.

14oz can diced tomatoes basil garlic oregano flavor
14 oz can diced tomatoes no salt added
2c zucchini diced
1.5 c carrots sliced thinly in half rounds
1 med onion diced
1/2 c mushrooms chopped medium
1c spinach chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
12oz cheese tortellini whole wheat cooked according to package

In a large pan heat olive oil over med heat when hot add carrots sauté 3-5 min until just starting to turn brown.  Remove carrots to bowl and set aside.  
Return pan to heat add onion sauté 3-5 min until just starting to turn brown.  
Add tomatoes and seasoning stir to combine reduce heat to med low bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  
Add carrots zucchini mushrooms and spinach stir well to combine cook another 5 minutes to heat everything thru then add cooked tortellini fold in carefully. Serve immediately.

Serving size 1 cup little over
Calories 109; Calories from Fat 20; Total Fat 2.2g; Saturated Fat 1.1g; Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 733mg; Total Carbohydrates 18.8g; Dietary Fiber 2.3g; Sugars 5.0g; Protein 4.4g
Vitamin A 62%
Vitamin C 18%
Calcium 3%
Iron 17%



Coffee Creamer update


I few months ago I wrote about switching to homemade coffee creamer.  I am happy to say that we are still going strong and have not bought commercial made in months.  I have even been experimenting with other flavors and more guinea pigs (Hi morning mommy coffee club) I have recently plugged in all the ingredients to caloriecount.about.com to get the nutritional info.

Serving Size 
1 serving 1 tabl (14.3 g)
Calories 34; Calories from Fat 21; Total Fat 2.3g; Saturated Fat 1.6g; Cholesterol 9mg; Sodium 5mg; Total Carbohydrates 2.8g Sugars 2.8g; Protein 0.2g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%


The nutrition content is very similar to commercial made except that the commercial made has 30g of sodium and 5g of sugar per serving.  Homemade taste wins hands down.  

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

That's Tasty pt 1



I started back on my get healthy journey this week.  One of the biggest laments I hear from people trying to eat healthier is “I do not want to eat steamed broccoli and baked chicken breast for the rest of my life."  I would agree with that statement at face value, however people use that as their excuse to eat garbage and not care about what goes in to their bodies.  In a country with an epidemic of obesity in grownups and children you need to wake up and stop being ignorant about healthy tasty foods. 
I am a lover of food and big taste.  I love flavor and eating steamed broccoli without and seasonings and a plain baked chicken breast for the rest of my life would not fly with me either.  I have been learning that most times you can add big flavor with little calories and little to no fat without replacing them with the chemicals of most low fat foods. 
I know that some people do not have the time to hunt out these recipes or if they come across some not really sure if they would be good or not.  I will be posting some of my favorite low cal low fat recipes that I find and have tried and liked.  Or some of my own that I have come up with on my own.  I hope to make this an ongoing post so I can help others fight the steamed veggie and baked chicken notion of eating healthy. 
This week I tried out a couple new recipes and have made some tweeks to old ones to be lower in cal and fat.  Saturday I kicked things off with a soup from Eating Well one of my favorite cooking websites.  They have been embracing the thought of healthy eating without a ton of additives for 10 years now, right up my alley.  You will see a lot of post with recipes from them.  I have a subscription to their magazine the best $9 a year I spend.  (I do not receive any endorsements from them telling you this I just truly love them)

 Southwestern Vegetable & Chicken Soup is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. With its zingy flavors of roasted poblano peppers and garlic accented with the brightness of a sprinkling fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.  This soup is also very filling thanks to the high fiber of the black beans and other veggies, one serving will hold me over for hours. 
Per serving (1.5 cups) : 199 calories; 5 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ); 28 mg cholesterol; 25 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 15 g protein; 6 g fiber; 638 mg sodium; 794 mg potassium.Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (140% daily value), Vitamin A (58% dv), Potassium (23% dv), Folate (18% dv), Iron (16% dv)
Ancho Honey Pork Tenderloin has been a repeat performer at our dinner table for the last couple months.  This last time using a pork roast trimmed of most visible fat and cooked for 4 hrs in the slow cooker. Ancho is dried ground poblano peppers it lends a smokiness and without overpowering spice to the pork.  Do not let the soy sauce scare you off if you are typically not a fan (like me) when mixed together it takes a different flavor profile. When using soy sauce try to use reduced sodium.
Ancho can be found in most grocery stores but you may have to look for it in the international aisle not the spice.  I found a 1oz bag for 99 cents at my local grocery store.  I have also made this once using ground chipotle spice instead just as good.
Serving Size 1 serving 3oz Amount Per ServingCalories 279; Calories from Fat 45; Total Fat 5.0g; Saturated Fat 1.7g; Trans Fat 0.1g; Cholesterol 103mg Sodium 337mg; Total Carbohydrates 19.4g; Dietary Fiber 0.1g; Sugars 17.6g; Protein 37.2g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 1%
Iron 9%
*my nutrition info is different from Eating Well because I did not include the cheese grits that is with the recipe on their website.

I was on Pintrest (follow me here) earlier this week and came across a link to the recipe Bangin Grilled Shrimp from Skinnytaste.  I was excited to try it and made a small batch this week for lunch and I LOVED it.  I made it the next day for lunch again. The yummy shrimp lightly coated in a creamy kinda sweet and spicy sauce so good.  I did not grill my shrimp but sautéed them in a teaspoon of olive oil in my non stick pan which is similar to her Banging Good Shrimp minus the cornstarch and wok.  Do not be scared off by the Sriracha you can add as little or as much as you wish.  If you do not want to commit to a whole bottle of Sriracha just yet ask around with friends if you have a 1/2 tsp more people have it in their pantry than you may think. For my single serving size I scaled it down to 4oz shrimp about 7 med size 1 tbl low fat mayo 1tsp Thai chili sauce 1/2 siriacha and 1 tbl green onion just the green top diced finely. 

Serving size about 4oz shrimp and Tablespoon of sauce
Calories 162; Calories from Fat 47; Total Fat 5.2g; Saturated Fat 0.3g; Cholesterol 226mg;
Sodium 438mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.3g; Dietary Fiber 0.2g; Sugars 2.1g; Protein 23.8g
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 7%
Calcium 5%
Iron 20%

I also pinned a recipe called Take-Out Fake-Out Burrito Bowls from Table for two blog.  It is a homemade version of the Chipotle Chicken Bowl with corn salsa and the lime rice.  The whole family loved it and we will be making again often.  I did however search out a different version of the corn salsa.  This one is closer to the original however I did not roast the corn, time issues, and it was still really good.  I also made my own cilantro lime rice similar to Chipotle's  
1 tsp olive oil
1cup brown rice not instant
2 cups vegetable stock, not broth I prefer Kitchen Basics
Dash of salt 
Juice of 1lime
1 tbl spoon cilantro finely chopped
in a med sauce pan over med high heat add oil and heat until hot add rice and stir around 3-4 min until just a bit browner. Add veg stock and salt stir well cover with a tight lid and reduce heat to low cooking 35-45 min   when cooked thru remove from heat add lime juice mix well and cover let sit 2-3 min more then add cilantro mixing well then serve. 
don't fear the brown rice.
Chicken Amount per Serving 3 oz
Calories 150; Calories from Fat 57; Total Fat 6.3g; Saturated Fat 1.2g; Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 194mg; Total Carbohydrates 1.8g; Dietary Fiber 0.7g; Sugars 0.3g; Protein 23.4g
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 1%
Iron 4%
 Salsa Serving 2 tablespoons
Calories 18; Calories from Fat1; Total Fat 0.1g; Saturated Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 1mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.6g; Dietary Fiber 0.7g; Sugars 0.9g; Protein 0.6g
Vitamin A 1%
Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 0%
Iron 3%

I left my husband in charge of cooking the cauliflower one day this week when I had to go to work before dinner.  Much to his dismay it was a fresh head and not a bag of frozen.  But the smart man I have worked hard to train the last 5 years when to my computer and found an easy recipe to make.  Oven-roasted Cauliflower with garlic olive oil and lemon juice  from Emeril Lagasse is the BEST cauliflower I have ever had !!  I will be making it constantly.  
Serving Size 1/3 cup
Calories 73; Calories from Fat 58; Total Fat 6.4g; Saturated Fat 0.9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium; 310mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.1g; Dietary Fiber 1.6g; Sugars 1.6g; Protein 1.3g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 52%
Calcium 2%
Iron 2%

My family consists of 3 little people so buttermilk ranch is a staple. But a year ago our middle lil one developed an allergy to certain salad dressings and mayo's.  Some but not all weird I know.  So I set out to find a replacement and have taken to making homemade.  It is easier then you think I make a batch every once in a while and keep it in a mason jar. Since then I have come to detest bottled and don’t even get me started on the taste of reduced fat ranch Yuk.  I tried a couple recipes but by far our family favorite is Buttermilk Ranch by Mother Thyme on TastyKitchen. I massaged it this week to be lower in cal.  I used reduced fat Hellmann’s mayo and reduced fat buttermilk.  Hellmann’s mayo has ingredient that you can pronounce and the only difference to regular is the addition of Potato starch I assume to help thicken in place of some of the fat. 
Serving Size 2 tbl
Amount per Serving
Calories 67; Calories from Fat 2; Total Fat 0.2g; Saturated Fat 0.1g
Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 8mg; Sodium 214mg; Total Carbohydrates 2.2g; Sugars 0.8g; Protein0.4g

I hope my reviews may have inspired you to give some of these recipes a try.  If you want me to try and review one you have had your eye on just let me know. 
Stay tuned for regular posting under That's Tasy.