FETTUCCINE SALAD WITH ROASTED GARLIC, ONIONS, AND PEPPERS

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 151; Protein: 5 g; Sodium: 184 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 24.4 g; Fat: 4.5 g
Exchanges: 1-1/2 Vegetable, 1 Bread/Starch, 1 FatServes: 8
Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe 


INGREDIENTS :

- 2 bulbs garlic
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 3 medium onions, cut into wedges
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces fettuccine, cooked, warm 


DIRECTIONS :

Cut a scant 1/2 inch off tops of garlic bulbs, exposing ends of cloves. Wrap garlic heads loosely in aluminum foil. 

Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Arrange garlic, onions, and bell peppers on pan. Bake vegetables, uncovered, at 400 degrees until garlic is very soft and vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.

Cool garlic slightly; squeeze pulp into small bowl. Stir in oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Spoon garlic mixture over pasta and toss; add onions and peppers and toss. Serve warm. 

MEXICAN TUNA SALAD

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

Calories: 192; Protein: 23 g; Sodium: 841 mg; Cholesterol: 31 mg; Carbohydrates: 8 g; Fat 8 g

Exchanges: 1 Vegetable, 3 Very Lean Meat, 1 Fat (Mono)

Yield: 2 servings
Serving Size: About 1 cup


INGREDIENTS :

- 1 (6 ounce) can chunk light tuna in water, drained and flaked
- 1 green bell pepper, minced
- 2 scallions, minced
- 1/4 cup prepared green salsa
- 6 pimiento-stuffed green olives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Freshly ground pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS :

Combine tuna, bell pepper, scallions, salsa, olives, mayonnaise, lime juice and cumin in a medium bowl. Mix with a fork; season with pepper.

WILD RICE WITH SHIITAKES & TOASTED ALMONDS

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 159; Protein: 8 g; Sodium: 60 mg; Cholesterol: 4 mg; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Fat 4 g

Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1 Fat

Yield: 6 servings
Serving Size: 3/4 cup 


INGREDIENTS

- 2-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps or button mushrooms (3 ounces)
- 1 cup wild rice
- 6 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- Freshly ground pepper to taste 


DIRECTIONS

Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in mushroom and wild rice. Return to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and simmer until the rice has "blossomed" and is just tender, 45 to 55 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and transfer the rice to a serving bowl.

Meanwhile, toast almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until golden brown and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

About 5 minutes before the rice is done, melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add scallions and cook, stirring often, until softened and still bright green 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the scallions, almonds, and pepper into the rice. Serve warm. 

WEST COAST COBB SALAD

Yield: 4 servings
Serving size: 1/4 of recipe

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 413; Protein: 40 g; Sodium: 838 mg;
Cholesterol: 166 mg; Carbohydrates: 27 g; Fat 16 g
Exchanges: 4 Lean Meat, 4 Vegetable, 2 Fat
INGREDIENTS

- 12 cups torn romaine lettuce
- 2 cups diced grilled chicken breast or roast turkey
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 1 cup diced avocado
- 1 medium carrot, shredded with a potato peeler
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 3/4 cup shredded nonfat or reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 3/4 cup nonfat or light ranch or olive oil vinaigrette salad dressing

DIRECTIONS

Arrange a quarter of the salad greens over the bottoms of each of 4 plates. Top the lettuce on each plate with a quarter of the chicken or turkey and a quarter of the tomato, avocado, carrot, and onion.

Sprinkle each salad with some of the egg, bacon, cheese, and walnuts. Serve immediately accompanied by the dressing.

TUNA SALAD WRAP

Nutritional Information (Per Serving) :

Calories: 238, Protein: 20 g, Sodium: 534 mg, Fat: 6 g, Carbohydrates: 24 g

Exchanges: 2 Low-Fat Meat; 1 Bread/Starch; 1-1/2 Vegetable


INGREDIENTS :

1 can (6.5 oz.) water-packed white tuna, drained
1 small carrot, shredded
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/2 Tbsp. dried chives or chervil
2-4 Tbsp. nonfat mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 8-inch flour tortillas
4 Tbsp. nonfat cream cheese
4 well-dried leaves of leafy green lettuce slightly smaller than a tortilla
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
4 sprigs fresh mint, cilantro, or flat-leaf parsley


PREPARATIONS :

- In small bowl, combine tuna, carrot, celery, green pepper, chives and enough mayonnaise to make a moist (but not wet) salad. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
- On each tortilla, spread a thin layer of cream cheese (about 1 tablespoon) across the center two-thirds of tortilla's surface, leaving a 2-inch margin along edges. Center 1 lettuce leaf on top of each tortilla. Press leaf into cream cheese. Spread one-fourth of the tuna salad firmly over each lettuce leaf, leaving a 2-inch margin at top and bottom of each tortilla. Sprinkle one-fourth of cheese over each tortilla and top with sprig of fresh mint or other fresh herb.
- Fold the bottom of the tortilla up to cover the top of the filling. Fold in the two sides a quarter-inch. Roll tortilla up, holding side folds in. Roll wraps tightly and as firmly as possible to ensure packets stays closed. Tightly seal each in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve or pack. Wraps made without wet ingredients can keep for 24 hours or more without getting soggy.


INFORMATION :

Use vegetables in wraps, which hold better than sandwiches if you keep the wrapper flexible and don't overstuff them. The following recipe uses cream cheese and a lettuce leaf to prevent the moist filling from turning the wrapper soggy. Cold wraps usually improve in flavor by sitting in the refrigerator overnight.

SPICY TOMATO SOUP

Difficulty: Easy
Total: 1 hr 15 min 

Servings: 6
Serving Size: 355g
Nutrition per Serving: 145 Calories, 97 Calories from Fat, 10.8g Total Fat, 0.7g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 43mg Sodium, 11.6g Total Carbs, 3.5g Dietary Fiber, 7.5g Sugars, 2.8g Protein
Vitamin A 46% - Vitamin C 58% - Calcium 3% - Iron 5%
Nutrition Grade: A-
Good points:
No cholesterol
Low in sodium
High in potassium
Very high in vitamin A
Very high in vitamin C

Bad points:
High in sugar

INGREDIENTS :

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 (28oz cans) whole tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Creme fraiche, for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION :

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and very tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, plus the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.

3. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl. Using a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap from the blender lid (the pour lid) and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam from the hot soup to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Pour the blended soup through the strainer, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula or ladle; discard the solids. Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

4. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat on medium low until hot. If you choose, serve topped with a tablespoon of creme fraiche.


~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
With:

 
6 Tbsp fat free plain yogurt instead of creme fraiche = 1 Tbsp per serving.
Servings: 6
Serving Size: 355g
Nutrition per Serving: 100 Calories, 46 Calories from Fat, 5.1g Total Fat, 0.7g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 53mg Sodium, 12.8g Total Carbs, 3.6g Dietary Fiber, 8.5g Sugars, 3.2g Protein
Vitamin A 46% - Vitamin C 58% - Calcium 6% - Iron 5%
Nutrition Grade: A

Good points: 
No cholesterol
Low in sodium
High in dietary fiber
High in manganese
High in potassium
Very high in vitamin A
High in vitamin B6
Very high in vitamin C

Bad points: 
Very high in sugar

SOUTHERN MARYLAND STUFFED HAM

INGREDIENTS :

1 canned ham (10 to 12 lbs.), or a 12 lb "cured" ham
1 3/4 lbs. onions
2 1/2 lbs. cabbage
4 lbs. kale
2 tbsp. black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. ground red pepper
1 tbsp. dry mustard seed
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

PREPARATION :

With a sharp knife, cut vertically through the top of the ham 8 to 10 pockets. Chop onions, cabbage and kale. Mix vegetables with remaining ingredients. Stuff "pockets" with vegetable mixture. Fill with as much as possible then put remaining stuffing on top of ham. Put ham on a large piece of cheesecloth. Sew or tie the cloth around the ham, tightly, to keep dressing in place. 

Cook 20 minutes per pound of ham.

To cook, place ham in a large covered pan on a rack, covering the ham with water. The rack is so the ham will not stick while cooking. Cover with lid, cook as specified, remove from water to cool. Serve cold.