Pasta Rollups

Well, this is it, the final week! After four months (okay three, I did take December off), I'm finally closing in on this program. It's been fun, it's been hard, it's been intimidating, but I'm so glad I did it. I'm also glad to almost be DONE!

So what comes next? Maintenance sounds nice and easy, but it's almost scarier then being on a strict program. At least with the program there are rules, definite do's and don'ts. I plan to continue eating good clean foods, but hey, should a slice of cheese end up on my sandwich, so be it. Should a cookie land on my plate, oh well. Now I learn the ever going art of balance, and it really is an art isn't it.



And now I introduce to use these fantastic pasta rolls. I've seen similar things like these in the blogosphere for a while now, and I always thought they looked a bit intimidating. Oh my gosh, they are the easiest thing you'll ever make. I think these puppies took me all of three minutes to throw together. Once you have the filling and sauce ready, you're set. I made these when I was not eating cheese, but cottage cheese actually makes a wonderful creamy substitute and more protein, so if that's what you're looking for, give it a try, I posted both options in the recipe.



Pasta Roll-ups
Best of Clean Eating, by Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb extra-lean ground turkey breast
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I omitted)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (I omitted)
1 28-oz jar tomatoes in juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 sheets dried high-protein or whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (15 oz) container low-fat ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese)
1 egg (I used three egg whites)
3/4 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese, (I omitted)

Directions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula. Cook until meat show no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes, their juice and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse and allow to cook in a colander.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Squeeze all moisture possible from thawed spinach and place in a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg, and a quarter-cup mozzarella cheese. Stir until combined.

Spread one cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9x10 inch casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread one-eighth of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place rolled pasta, seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining half-cup mozzarella.

Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil adn broil for five minutes or until rool-ups are browned and bubbly.

234 cal, 3g fat, 27 carb, 3g fiber, 7g sugar, 28g prot

Thai Coconut Shrimp

I have made a discovery in the last week.

Carbs. Are. Good.

Carbs make me happy. Carbs give me energy. Carbs help my brain process what you are saying to me quick enough for me to respond somewhat coherently.


Take away my carbs and life gets pretty bleak. Suddenly TV shows seem a bit sadder. I have a harder time concentrating on my books (gasp!), and I get a bit snappier.

Why do I know this? Because the very last three weeks of this crazy program I'm on has you do what's called "carb cycling." It basically consists of three days of very low carb days and then one high carb day. Essentially it's supposed to trick your metabolism and burn fat quickly. I'm one week in and have definitely noticed a difference, I'm starting to see lines and toning where I never have before, which is exciting, but it's been tough. While things like this might be okay to do short term I also recognize that it's probably not a good way to live consistently, at least not for me. If I've learned anything this last year, it's that balance really is the key, as well as finding happiness in food. Luckily I only have two weeks left and I'll be back to a balanced clean diet.

But, speaking of enjoying your food, you have got to try this shrimp dish. I served this to my friend who after finishing declared that she felt like she just ate at a restaurant. The sauce is my favorite part, it's rich and so flavorful, it's just delicious with the shrimp, veggies and noodles. If you can find them, I think this is best with whole wheat soba noodles, otherwise whole wheat spaghetti is just fine.



Thai Coconut Shrimp
Best of Clean Eating, by Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

8 oz dry brown rice noodles, or pasta of your choice
2 cups broccoli florets
2/3 cup light coconut milk (shaken to combine)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons natural peanut butter with sea salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon of Stevia, Splenda or sugar, or to taste
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 cup bean sprouts
24 medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and rinsed under cold running water

Directions

Bring two medium pots of water to a boil over high heat. In one pot, cook pasta according to package directions, then rinse with hot water to ensure pasta doesn't get sticky when left to stand. Fluff pasta with your fingers or a fork to further de-clump noodles, then set aside. In the second pot of boiling water, add broccoli, cover, turn heat down to ow and simmer for five minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, add coconut milk, tomato paste, peanut butter, ginger, garlic, pepper flakes and lime juice. Use a fork or whisk to thoroughly combine.

Simmer coconut mixture, bell pepper and bean sprouts in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat for five minutes, stirring often to prevent clumping. Add shrimp and cook for another two minutes, then flip shrimp over and continue to cook for a final minute.

Toss noodles and broccoli with coconut-shrimp mixture and serve piping hot.

1/2 cup pasta, 6 shrimp, 1 cup veggies, 3 tablespoons sauce
338 cal, 9g fat, 48g carb, 6g fiber, 2.5g sugar, 20g prot

Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potatoes

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, this program that I'm on is broken up into three phases. I completed the first two phases last October and November and took a bit of a break in December to enjoy the holidays. Oh sure, I still went to the gym, dabbled in some weights, maybe hopped on the treadmill for a nice stroll. Basically made my appearance.

Well, yesterday I started the last phase of the program, which is the part where you're really supposed to lean and tone. It's such a difficult phase that even the writer of the program has mentioned that it's only something you do occasionally, not as a lifestyle. And I sit here before you as a woman in pain. I never thought it was possible for a workout to BE so brutal. We now take active rests in between our sets, which means that after you completely destroy your quads by doing fifteen reps on the leg press machine, you get to hop off and shred any ounce of feeling you may have had in them by doing fifteen jump squats. Don't even think about sitting down though, you get to do that two more times...and yeah, that was only your first exercise. Get ready for an hour and a half of pain so bad you won't be able to utter a coherent sentence (no seriously, ask the poor lady who asked me if I was done using a bench, I think I just looked at her and drooled.)



However, despite how badly I may have hated it at the time, and despite the fact that I now need my husband's help to lower me onto the couch, it feels AWESOME! Exercise has the amazing capability of making all of your problems seem a bit less significant. Maybe it's because of those great endorphins, or maybe it's because you're only real problem is that you can't lift your fork to your mouth. Either way, it feels excellent after a workout knowing that you just did something great for your body.

And speaking of doing something good for your body, give this Shepherd's Pie a go. I topped it with sweet potatoes due to my newly discovered obsession with them. Where have sweet potatoes been all my life? They are so good, and they make an excellent creamy topper for this casserole filled with flavorful turkey and delicious veggies.


Shepherd's Pie
Best of Clean Eating, by Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 lb Yukon gold potatoes (or sweet potatoes) peeled and diced into 2 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, whole, plus 1 teaspoon minced, divided
2/3 cup buttermilk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tablespoon chopped chives
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 lb lean ground turkey breast
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into half moons
1 celery stalk, diced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup frozen peas (I used a frozen veggie medley)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Bring potatoes and whole garlic clove to a boil in a pot of water set over high heat. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, then drain well. Mash potatoes and garlic with a potato masher, ricer or food mill until smooth. Add buttermilk and chives and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat one teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring often and breaking meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until no pink remains, about eight minutes. Drain and discard fat; set turkey aside.

Heat two teaspoons oil in same skillet. Add onion carrots, celery and rosemary, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about eight minutes. Add reserved turkey, broth and tomato paste and continue to cook until most of liquid is absorbed, about five minutes. Stir in peas, transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish and cover with mashed potatoes in an even layer. Run a fork over top of potatoes in a crosshatch pattern or swirl with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Brush top with remaining teaspoon oil and bake in oven until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand five minutes before serving.

160 cal, 4g fat, 10g carb, 2g fiber, 4g sugar, 20g prot.