Recipe Review: Baked Stuffed Shells

This past weekend I spent a while poring through recipes from Epicurious.com and CookingLight.com to find some that fit the 40-30-30 lifestyle. (I haven't found many cookbooks targeted toward 40-30-30, so I figured I'd just assemble my own collection of recipes.

The first one I've tackled is Cooking Light's Baked Stuffed Shells. A few things I'd note about this recipe:

1. I'm allergic to bell peppers, and the recipe calls for two to be used in the sauce. I substituted zucchini, which was decent, but next time I'd probably do spinach and mushrooms. The sauce is very chunky, and at least spinach would make it slightly less so.

2. Reduced-fat tofu can be hard to find, but I tracked it down at Whole Foods. Low-fat ricotta isn't a great substitute because the two products have very different nutritional profiles. I thought the filling tasted fairly authentic with the tofu.

3. I couldn't find turkey breakfast sausages (at least, none that were raw), so I used Italian-style turkey sausage. The downside of using sausage is that it is in big chunks that don't break down easily. I couldn't taste much spice in the sausages, so next time I'd simply substitute ground turkey.

4. The recipe calls for only 18 pasta shells. I'm glad I cooked 3 or 4 extra, because I used them all (and could have still filled more). Next time, I'd cook 25 shells just to be safe.

I thought this was a solid recipe, and one I'd definitely make again. It serves 6, so if you're single like me, or if there are just two of you, you'll have plenty of leftovers. Some reviewers on Cooking Light's sight complain about it taking too long to cook. I made the sauce and filling, cooked the pasta and assembled the shells ahead of time, then baked it later in the day. Also, if you follow the instructions in order, it will probably take longer. I'd recommend starting the sauce and the pasta at the same time, then making the filling while the sauce simmers for 25 minutes. You'll save some time if you multitask.

Recipe: Easiest Iced Tea Ever

Iced Green Tea

4-6 cups of water
2 bags of Bigelow Decaffeinated Organic Green Tea

Place bags of green tea in teapot or other heatproof container

Heat 6 cups of water. Immediately before it boils (or about 30 seconds after it's come to a boil and you've removed it from the heat), pour over tea bags.

Let steep for 6 minutes, 30 seconds, then remove tea bags.

Chill and serve.

Serving options:
1. Add one wedge of lemon to each glass before serving.
2. Crush several fresh mint leaves in glass, then add ice tea.
3. Use frozen strawberries, peach slices, blueberries or rasberries in place of ice cubes.

Nutritional information:
Unsweetened ice tea has no calories. But decaf green tea has antioxident properties. It may help boost metabolism, and may help prevent breast cancer and prostate cancer. It may also lower the risks associated with cardiovascular disease.

Recipe: Fiber One Clusters

It seems that everyone who diets (except those Atkins folks) is in love with Fiber One. What's not to love? It's low in calories and sugar, high in fiber, and doesn't dissolve when it hits the milk. Apparently, there's a hot Weight Watchers recipe making the rounds that calls for half a box of Fiber One and a bag of chocolate chips. I decided to modify it for 40-30-30 purposes. These make a crunchy, chocolately snack that's actually tasty and higher in protein than your average chocolate cookie or candy. If you like Nestle Crunch bars, you'll probably like these.

Jen's Fiber One Clusters

3.5 cups Fiber One Cereal (or Trader Joe's High Fiber Cereal, and half the price, with less fiber)
1 cup chocolate chips (milk or semisweet, depending on your tastes)
1 oz reduced fat peanut butter
5 scoops protein powder

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper, plus cut one additional piece of waxed paper that's the same size.

In microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and protein powder. Microwave on high heat for 1 minute, then stir. Continue to microwave for 30 second increments until relatively smooth.

Mix Fiber One cereal into chocolate mixture. Pour onto wax-paper covered baking sheet, and use second sheet of waxed paper to press down until even and about 1/2" thick.

Refrigerate until firm, break into bite-sized pieces. Store in air-proof container.

Nutritional info per 1-ounce serving:
88 calories
17 grams of carbs
6 grams of protein
3 grams of fat
7 grams of fiber
(44% carbs, 25% protein, 31% fat)

Recipe Review: Basil Shrimp With Feta and Orzo

My Mom's been making this Cooking Light recipe for years, and I've recently become hooked on it, too. As an added bonus, it's almost a perfect 40-30-30 recipe (42% carbs, 31% protein, 26% fat...doesn't total 100% due to rounding).

This is a flavorful, foolproof recipe. If you can boil water (to make the orzo pasta), then you can cook this.

Things I like about this recipe:
1. If you (or your family) believes you can't eat pasta on a carb-controlled diet, think again.
2. Start to finish, this should take no more than 45 minutes to make (including 25 minutes cooking time).
3. The recipe claims to make 2 servings, but I think it's easily 3-4 servings. (I'm a moderate eater, and it fixed 3 normal-sized portions and 1 smaller portion.)
4. It can be made ahead and then cooked later, or reheated.