Pizza Pasta Bake

Although I love to bake, I do not have time to make an extravagant meal every day. While in college I juggled two jobs and a full course load leaving little time for cooking. Eating well is very important to me and in order to continue to eat well, I learned to make ONE large, healthy meal that would feed me for the week.  I will forewarn you - if you do not like leftovers this meal plan is not for you. But if you enjoy leftovers and do not mind re-heating food, then this plan will save you tons of time!

As I have transitioned into my internship it is more important than ever to continue to eat well and this Pizza Pasta Bake is a simple, creative, tasty meal that will feed you over a week! I actually made this meal before my boyfriend came into town, and he ate half of the Pizza Pasta Bake in one day! Yikes! I guess it's good....

I initially found this recipe from The Country Cook, but I decided to lighten it up and slightly alter the recipe. Feel free to check out the original recipe using the link above. 

Pizza Pasta Bake
Servings: 20 (1.5 cup servings)
Preparation time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 tsp garlic
1 large (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
6 oz. tomato paste
4 oz. canned mushrooms
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Red Pepper (use more if you like spicy!)
1 pound fusili or penne pasta
Turkey Pepperoni
1 1/2 cups part skim mozzarella cheese, divided use
7 oz. Turkey Pepperoni

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta and set aside.
2. In a large pot, saute onion and garlic 3-5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper, and mushrooms. Turn to medium/low heat and simmer 5-10 minutes.
3. Slice pepperoni in half, leaving 30 for the top of the bake, set those aside. 
4. Mix cooked pasta, sauce, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and Turkey Pepperoni. Stir well. Spray a large non stick baking pan. Pour in pasta mixture. 
5. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and top with pepperoni slices. Cover with aluminum foil (I spray mine with Pam so the cheese does not stick)
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve!

Option: I saute spinach and add this into my serving of pasta. This adds extra B-vitamins, iron and minerals!

Nutritional Information:
1 serving (1.5 cups)
Calories: 140
Fat (g): 4
Protein (g): 10
Carbohydrate (g): 18
Fiber (g): 4
Sodium (mg): 500

Low Calorie PCP Granola

Hi everyone! I apologize for my lengthy delay from posting, but this summer has been extremely busy. But not to worry! I will be posting once or twice each week from here on out.

This last Monday I began my Dietetic Internship. It is going to be an intense ride, but eating well and maintaining my health will be essential to getting through this internship and helping my patients as much as possible. It is important for me to practice what I preach and my blog is my outlet to show just this.

Although I already have a homemade granola recipe, I decided I wanted to try something new. This recipe has ZERO added sugar. The sole sources of sugar come from the chopped prunes, dried cherries, and dried pomegranate. I love to add granola to my yogurt and eat it as cereal, but yogurt and milk already contain enough sugar themselves. Sure enough - this granola is still DELICIOUS!!!! This recipe is low in saturated fat, sodium, has zero cholesterol and the almonds are an excellent source of good fat. Feel free to be creative with this recipe and add additional ingredients such as dried coconut, raisins, golden raisins, chopped walnuts!

Servings: 32 (heaping 1/4 cup)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

4 1/2 cups Old-Fashioned Oatmeal, uncooked (not instant)
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup
1 tbsp vegetable oil
5 oz. Dried Pomegranate 
5 oz. Dried Cherry Raisins
10 prunes, cut into raisin sized pieces
(optional – you can substitute any of these for raisins, golden raisins, dried coconut, walnuts, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Stir together oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk syrup and vegetable oil; pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to coat thoroughly.
3. Spray a 12x15-inch baking pan with Pam and place the mixture in an even layer on the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes during baking time.
4. While the granola is baking, chop prunes into small, "raisin-sized" pieces. Lightly coat the chopped prunes with flour to prevent them from sticking together. 
5. Cool mixture in the pan for 5 minutes before adding dried cherries, pomegranate, and chopped prunes then place on parchment paper to continue cooling. Store granola in an airtight container. 

To serve: Pour 1 cup milk over a heaping ½ cup of granola (top with fresh berries, if desired) OR mix 1 cup low-fat yogurt with 1/4 cup granola (top with fresh berries or sliced bananas, if desired)

Using a measuring tool helps maintain portion-control. I always use a measuring scoop when I eat granola.

I store these in my freezer!

Nutritional Information:
1 serving (heaping 1/4 cup)
Calories: 90 
Fat (g): 1.7
Carbohydrate (g): 17.6
Protein (g): 2.1
Fiber (g): 1.6 
Sodium (mg): 20 mg