Carmelized Onion Lasagna

This is a rather lengthy recipe so I'm just going to post the link. I made this on Monday and really liked it! I discovered that there's not quite enough of the white sauce so you may want to make a bit more or just deal. I didn't mind it how it was but I knew Steven might think it was too dry (he was at school when I made it) so I bought some cheap Alfredo sauce and put a little bit on it for him and that seemed to do the trick!

Don't be afraid of the walnuts on top--they just give it a little crunch which is good! I've never done well with the texture of lasagna or especially ricotta cheese!

Anyway, it's delicious and a healthy alternative to regular lasagna!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/caramelized_onion_lasagna.html

An Easy Substitution

Plain, non-fat yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Now I have never tried this baking so I'm not sure how well it'd work but one of our favorite uses for it is in chicken salad sandwiches. I love chicken salad sandwiches but would feel guilty for all the mayonnaise that's in it. I started doing half mayonnaise, half yogurt and then switched over completely to yogurt and I can't even tell a difference!

Simple but a tad bit healthier!

Summer Salad

1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 mango, pitted and cut into large dice
1 red onion, sliced into thin rounds
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt to taste
3 tablespoons cilantro

1. Place the cucumber, mango and red onion in a medium bowl

2. Season to taste with the lime juice and salt.

3. Garnish generously with cilantro leaves.

I chilled my bowls for a few minutes in the freezer before using to keep the salad nice and cool

Pita Pizzas

whole wheat pita bread (not pockets)
raw spinach
pizza/spaghetti sauce
2 T. pine nuts per pizza
1/4 c. feta cheese crumbles per pizza


Heat pita bread in oven @ 360 for 5-6 minutes. Take out and spread sauce on bread, then top with cheese, pine nuts and LOTS of spinach (it will shrink quite a bit).

Put back in oven for another 10 minutes or so. I usually just watch it until the spinach starts to wilt. If you like yours crispy leave it in longer. Enjoy!!

Another Substitution

I know a lot of you have probably already tried these or heard of them at least but I'm just throwing them out there anyway for those of you who haven't tried!

I'm a pork-lover. I love sausage, bacon, you name it :o) An easy substitution that's "healthier" is turkey bacon and chicken sausage. There's a LOT less grease but these two things are just as delicious!

An easy meal is to buy some chicken sausages, grill them or just cook on the stove-top, cut them up and throw them in with some wheat pasta noodles and homemade pasta sauce or a low-sodium spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!!

Once Again

I've posted this recipe before on our other blog but thought I'd do it here since it's one of our favorites!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced
• 2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.
4. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread, and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don't burn. Remove from grill, and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

I've found you don't need a whole lot of mayonnaise (if you're going for low-fat). The vegetables provide enough moisture as well as the lemon juice. Enjoy! If you don't have the time to grill, just saute the veggies or if you have a George Foreman, throw them on there!

Where To Start

When I started trying to cook/eat better, I started with one small substitution:

Replacing white/processed flour w/ whole wheat or whole grain

It's really so easy to do. I still keep regular flour around for when Steven wants to bake cookies or something like that but even then, you can do 50/50.

Start by looking for whole wheat spaghetti noodles, pasta noodles, wheat bread, wheat tortillas and brown rice. I can tell no difference whatsoever!

You do have to be careful with labels though--just because something says whole grain doesn't mean it's 100%. When looking at labels you should never see the word "processed", "refined", or "bleached". A lot of things (including pastas/noodles) claim to be whole grain but if you look at the ingredients it usually contains the words durum or semolina somewhere in there which means the entire grain isn't used. I still haven't found a 100% whole wheat pasta so if you find one, let me know! Whole grain includes the bran, the endosperm and the germ!

Anyway, it's just a start and just a suggestion!

A Place to Start

I created this blog because I wanted to pass along some of the things I've learned about eating and trying to cook healthy. When I got married I was determined to NOT gain weight like many people do. I knew how to cook but didn't really know how to cook healthy. Bit by bit I've learned substitutions and easy ways to cook healthy, delicious meals and I wanted to share these recipes with people!
I do NOT like "diet" food and I insisted on still having food that didn't taste like cardboard. I always see recipes that claim to be healthy but they're usually nasty so here are some tried and tested recipes that I (remember, just me) think are good.
I'm not a dietitian or a professional, just a regular person who wants to eat better.