MeatBall Marinara

This was a quick and healthy dish that I prepared for a clients Pot Luck Holiday Party. It was a hit and easy to make.

Ingredients:

Meatballs, made any way to like (pork, turkey, or beef)
(breadcrumbs, Italian season, 1 egg) eye ball the measurements according to how much you are making.
1 Jar of your favorite marinara sauce, or (4 cups fresh)
1 cup of shredded part skim mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350, combine all your meatball ingredients, and mash together making about 1 TBSP size balls. Place them on a baking dish and cook them in the oven for about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Heat or cook up your sauce, take all your meatballs and place them in a baking dish lines with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with mozzarella, and sauce, place it back into the oven for about 10 minutes, remove and serve.  So easy and simple, makes for great leftovers that can be placed on top of pasta or rice.

Baked Ziti Fit Cuisine Style

This is a healthy yet easy take on a family favorite. All we changes was whole wheat pasta, low fat cheese and added spinach for extra vegetables of course.

Ingredients:

1 lb of whole wheat Ziti
1 Jar of your favorite Marinara sauce or homemade
1 -2 Cups of low moisture shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of part skim ricotta cheese
1 (12 oz) bag of frozen chopped spinach drained

Preheat oven to 375. Boil your pasta according to the package, but drain just shy of al dente. Heat your spinach in the microwave and drain out the extra water. Remove pasta from the water, and place it back in to the pot, adding your marinara, cheese, ricotta, and spinach. Stir together, top with a little more cheese and place in a baking dish that has been sprayed, and lined with sauce. Heat for about 20 minutes in the oven, remove and cool for about 5 minutes and serve. This is great for last minute company, or holiday gatherings.

Chocolate Bites with Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 Box of Double Chocolate Ghirardelli Brownie Mix (with chips)

1 Can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)

Take a baking pan and spray it with non stick spray. Pour out your brownie mix into a bowl and add your pumpkin. Without adding anything else stir all together, till the consistancy is whipped. Place into the baking pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinklle your chopped walnuts, let it cool slice into small 1/2 inch pieces and serve. This almost tastes like a fudge, and you are getting extra fber from the pumpkin, and not all the added fat from oil and butter you may have used in the past.

Comes to about 70 calories in 1 small bite.

Cranberry Pistachio Bite Cookies

1 Package of Sugar Cookie Mix

1/2 cup melted butter (Better Life Brand)

2 Egg Substitutes

1/4 cup of flour

1 box of sugar free and fat free Pistachio Pudding Mix

1/2 cup chopped Pistachios

1/2 cup of chopped dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl mix cookie, flour, and pudding mix. Then chop up your cranberries and nuts setting them aside. Add your egg and melted butter, along with the chopped ingredients, stir till it is all set together. Using a tsp to messure, place the cookies on a non stick baking dish lined with parchment paper. Put the cookies a few inches apart, and place in the oven for 9-15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Serve and enjoy.

Calories are about 90 in 1 cookie

Here we are using less white flour, egg substitute, an Better Life Butter has no hydroginated oils and less fat. Plus you are getting a little protien and good fat from the chopped nutes and less sugar from using a sugar/fat free pudding substitute.