My friend Kalyn is looking for No-Cook Pasta Sauce for Nights When It's Too Hot to Cook. Here’s one I created last summer when I had my garden was bursting with tomatoes and basil.
The exact nutritional and Weight Watchers POINTS values will depend on what type of pasta you use – regular, whole wheat or low carb. I recommend using nutritious whole wheat pasta for the taste and health benefits, though the low carb pastas are delicious and healthy, too.
Caprese Penne Pasta Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1 12-ounce box of low carb or whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 cup diced tomatoes – use Roma and/or yellow tomatoes
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 8 ounces of buffalo mozzarella, diced
- 1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup no fat Italian salad dressing
Directions:
- Cook penne as directed until the pasta is al dente (firm but cooked through) – about 13-15 minutes.
- Prepare a large bowl or pan with ice water – enough to cover the cooked pasta.
- Drain the pasta and immediately submerge it in the ice water to stop the cooking process. If necessary, change out the water or add more ice to cool down the noodles.
- Chop tomatoes, mozzarella and basil and place in a large serving bowl.
- Add cooled noodles.
- Cover with Italian dressing and toss to coat.
- Chill salad in refrigerator until it’s time to serve.
- Toss salad once more before serving.
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Posted on September 3, 2010 in Recipes,Veggies,Weight Watchers and tagged as healthy recipes
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Today’s guest post about egg and food safety is from Mary Lee Chin, MS, RD of Nutrition Edge Communications.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mary at the American Egg Board’s Good Egg Project blogger event last March in Arizona. If you want to learn more about egg nutrition, you can watch my video of Mary’s talk at the Good Egg Project event.
Safe Egg Handling 101: clean, separate, cook and chill completely
In the wake of the recent half billion egg recall, it’s a good time to revisit basic safe food handling guidelines. People are concerned and sensitized of the safety of consuming eggs. But it only takes a few simple steps to keep this nutrient dense food in our diet safely.
“Clean, separate, cook and chill will help keep not only eggs, but all foods safe in your kitchen,” says local registered dietitian Mary Lee Chin, who consults with the Egg Nutrition Center.
“I am concerned that people should not eliminate nutrient-rich eggs from their diet due to the highly publicized recall. Four simple steps can help keep this protein-rich food safely on the table,” says Chin.
Keep everything clean – hands, surfaces and utensils
First, keep everything clean. This includes washing hands and utensils that have come into contact with raw eggs (or raw foods in general). You avoid any cross contamination and that’s a good habit to get into when you handle any raw food.
How long to wash your hands? Experts recommend about 20 seconds with warm soapy water–about the length of time to sing the ABC’s as your preschoolers know.
And while not a major source of contamination, launder your reusable grocery sacks. Or designate a few reusable bags or use the plastic bags to pack foods of animal origin away from fresh fruits and vegetables.
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Posted on September 1, 2010 in Health and tagged as eggs
Healthy summer salad tips from Holly Clegg
Healthy Valentine’s Day dessert – Very Vanilla Fruit Salad
Protein Potato Salad with Asparagus Spears and Nectarine Slices
Summer salads: Holly Clegg’s Marinated Shrimp Edamame Salad
