This is one of our favorite dishes, it really tastes like it’s all made from scratch! This recipe is quite a bit like our Turkey Pasta Pesto, with a tasty sauce twist.

Ingredients:
Turkey Links Italian Sweet Sausage (sold in a package by the fresh chicken).*
Whole Wheat Pasta ‘Penne’ (use 3/4 of the box) – I use the brand ‘Ronzini Healthy Request’.
Bertolli “Tomato & Basil’ (26 oz.) Found on the Ragu aisle. This is an excellent tasting sauce!
1 can (8 oz.) Tomato Sauce ‘No Salt’
Parmesan Cheese or Skim Milk Mozzarella slices
You will need a casserole baking dish, approx. 9” x 13”. Slightly grease the bottom & sides. I use olive oil for greasing pans

Set oven @ 350°

1.) Remove the skin from the sausage, fry it like hamburger, chopping it up as it cooks till well done. To remove the skin without any mess, I will wear a surgical glove.

2.) While turkey sausage is cooking; boil up the pasta, drain & rinse with cool water.

3.) After cooking the turkey sausage & pasta. Add the turkey to the pot of pasta, add the whole jar of Bertolli sauce, & add the can of tomato sauce. Mix well & add mixture to the casserole baking dish.

4.) Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese or add a few slices of the mozzarella.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, until top is slightly crispy. Serves 6+

*I now purchase turkey/chicken meat and the chicken Italian Sweet Sausage from stores such as Sprouts’s or Sunflower Market. It really does taste so much better, plus, it’s free of steroids & other additives.

Do you drink tea with lemon at your favorite restaurant? You may be shocked to learn that a study found that nearly EIGHTY percent of all lemon slices in restaurants have some form of contamination, including germs that cause staph infection, as well as fecal contamination. ?A leading scientist compared the findings to “dipping the lemon in raw meat”. In all, over 25 different Microorganisms were found, some only on the rind, but others in the meat of the lemon as well.

Many restaurant workers use their bare hands when handling the lemon wedges and putting them on the rim of the glass. So the next time you’re in a restaurant, avoid the urge to squeeze the lemon, then drop it into your glass. Better yet, avoid all lemons, until restaurants start handling raw fruit with the same care they use on raw meat.

Once a week I make a giant fruit salad, so here’s what I do to save time…When I cut up a watermelon, cantaloupe, or honey dew, I use an ice cream scooper. It gets the job done quickly & makes for larger pieces than the typical melon ball scooper.

For a light homemade dressing, you can thin some fat free yogurt with a bit of orange juice to taste. However, I prefer Newman’s Own Lighten Up Raspberry & Walnut Dressing. Although it has a bit of corn syrup solids, it’s only about 35 calories a tablespoon and it tastes delicious.

Cantaloupes and watermelons may carry bacteria on their outer shell. To try & wash them properly is impossible, just be aware not to allow the hand that holds the melon to come in contact with with the melon meat.

When cleaning fruits such as strawberries, grapes, berries, cherries, etc. do what I do, fill a large bowl with water, then add a few drops of bleach (yes, bleach). Let them soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then rinse off. If you have ever priced the spray type fruit cleanser, then you know how costly it is. Many people think you only have to give fruits and vegetables a light rinse, but that does NOT kill off the bacteria often found on fruit. I’ve been bleaching fruits & veggies for years.

Before eating soft skinned items such as apples or tomatoes, I will scrub them with a soapy sponge. I do this more so to wash off all the hands that have handled them. Even though they look nice and fresh in the market, the person ahead of you may not have washed their hands before shopping for produce. BLECH!

Jello Sugar Free Instant Pudding can be a great way to stave off temptation. It’s easy to make, and offers endless variations. Here’s a few ideas:

Jello Mud Pies, serves 4
Ingredients:
8 Newman’s Own Organics Newman-Os Cookies
1 container Fat Free Cool Whip
1 pk Sugar Free Jello, Chocolate or Fudge

Crush cookies in a ziploc bag and set aside. Make Jello according to package directions, using skim or nonfat milk to reduce calories. Using four dessert cups, sprinkle in a bit of the crushed cookies, then a layer of pudding, then a layer of Cool Whip. Top with remaining cookie bits and enjoy. You can also make “Sand Pies”, using vanilla pudding and vanilla cookies as well.

Pudding Pies
You can use any flavor of instant Jello pudding, but my favorite is banana pudding pie:

Make one box of banana pudding., following the directions on the box. Pour approx. 1/4 amount of the pudding into 1 Keebler Reduced Fat Ready Crust. Slice up one banana, put on top of pudding, add remaining pudding, then top with remaining bananas. Serve with Fat Free Cool Whip whipped topping, if desired.

Chocolate is also a big favorite, and for extra creaminess, fold in two big scoops of Fat Free Cool Whip to the pudding mixture before you put it into the crust.For an extra tasty treat, use the Oreo pie crust. The Oreo crust does have a few more fat grams than the low fat graham cracker. It would still be a lot less fattening than other types of evil sweets.

I like to use Cool Whip and Sugar Free Jello Gelatin to make a fast “whip it up quick” dessert that will satisfy the taste buds. If you get the urge for something sweet then give this a try. It has prevented us many times from grabbing something from the bakery at the grocers. I always keep a pie crust & sugar free jello in the cupboard for sweet tooth cravings. During the summer, it’s also a nice alternative to ice creams and other frozen desserts.

Ingredients:
Keebler Low Fat Graham Cracker Pie Crust (found on the bakery aisle).
Instant Fruit Jello 1 oz. box (sugar free).
Cool Whip ‘Fat Free’ 8 oz.Optional: Fruit any kind (sliced).

Mix Jello using 1 3/4 cups (not 2 cups) of hot water (not cold). Add 1/2 of the Cool Whip (4 oz.) to Jello, stir well until Cool Whip is dissolved. If you have any difficulty dissolving, try whisking, or heat for a few seconds in the microwave.Pour mixture into pie crust & chill until firm. Top with remaining Cool Whip as you serve up a slice of pie.

You can really get creative with the jello favors and fruit combinations. One of my favorites is kiwi jello with diced strawberries.

This breakfast is super easy, and it’s corn flavor is a great alternative to oatmeal. You make it the night before so it cooks while you’re asleep. You and your family will wake to a great meal to start the day. Corn has essential fiber, and also has several important nutrients, including vitamin B1, folate, and manganese.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon olive oil (optional)
cooking spray

Coat inside of cooker lightly with cooking spray
Turn it on to HIGH
Pour in water

Measure in salt and cornmeal, mixing well.
Cover and cook for 1 hour on HIGH.
Remove lid, stir thoroughly and set heat down to LOW.
Cook for 6-9 hours on LOW until tender
Polenta will be very thick, so adjust liquid if a thinner consistency is desired

Nutrition Information:
Recipe makes 4 servings
Calories 110
Calories from Fat 9 (8%)
Protein 2.5g 4%
Sodium 450mg 18%
Potassium 87mg 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 1.1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0.2g 0%
Monounsaturated Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Total Carbohydrate 23.4g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2.2g 8%
Sugars 0.2g

Serves 4 to 6

With this recipe, once you get the turkey & noodles cooked, then it only takes 15 minutes to cook it up & serve.

• 1 lb. White Turkey Breast – extra lean, I use the brand ‘Jennie-O’.
• Whole Wheat Pasta (use 3/4 of the box) – I use the brand ‘Ronzini Healthy Request’.
• It’s up to you which noodle to use. For this recipe, I use either the Elbow or the Penne pasta, or I might even break up the spaghetti noodles into smalpieces.
• 2 cans (8 oz. each) Tomato Sauce ‘No Salt’
• 1 Tbsp. BasiPesto ‘Bertolli’ – find it on the Ragu spaghetti aisle. Comes in 8 oz. size. (the basipasta is high in sodium, use sparingly)
• Parmesan Cheese – sprinkle to taste.
• Optional: Garlic powder to taste.

1. In a frying pan, cook & chop up the turkey meat. If you use the very lean turkey meat, then there will be no excess oithat needs to be patted off.
2. While turkey is cooking; boil up the pasta, drain & rinse with coowater. Put pasta back into sauce pan & add ingredients.
3. Add the cooked turkey to the pasta, add the tomato sauce, pesto sauce, & parmesan cheese. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, untihot, & serve it up.

Easy & fast to make!

This is perfect to take with you on the go. It has carbs & protein.
I prefer to use the regular whole wheat tortillas. The low carb type have a weird glue taste to them.

• One Whole wheat tortilla
• 2 Tbsp. All Natural Peanut Butter or the peanut butter of your choice.
• 1/2 apple thinly sliced w/skin left on. Any type of apple will do. I like Gala Apples.

Spread peanut butter evenly over tortilla, then place apples all around. Roll it up & it’s ready to go.
Note: Let the tortilla warm up a bit (room temperature), otherwise, if too cold, it will crack as you try to roll it.

You may not be used to eating tortillas uncooked, but, believe me, they taste great made up this way.

You can count the wrap as one of your 5 meals for the day, or divide into 1/2 for 2 snacks.

These muffins are a perfect after workout carb replacement. It’s very important to eat carbs after working out, reason being… the carbs replace the glycogen that you have burned off while working out!!! Click here for info on ‘Glycogen ~vs~ Post Exercise‘

This is ABSOLUTELY one of our favorite recipes! It combines two nutritious foods, pumpkin & oats. Pumpkin is rich in beta carotene. Don’t let the amount of the ingredients cause you to think it will be a hassle to make, it is a very easy recipe. You will be amazed how delicious & moist the muffins taste! They will last up to 2 weeks if kept in the fridge.

2 nonstick muffin pans or use ‘free form’muffin cups Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes.

Per Muffin… Calories: 197 grams Carbs: 47 grams
Protein: 3 grams Fat: .5 grams Sodium: 170 milligrams

1 & 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
2 cups oat flour (2 & 1/2 cups oats processed in blender for 2 to 3 minutes until finely grounded)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 & 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup honey or sugar free honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (you can substitute with either fresh or canned yams/sweet potatoes)
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple in natural juice
1/2 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrated in natural juice (slightly thawed)
3 egg whites
1/2 cup raisins or cranberries
Optional: Add 1/2 cup almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. In large bowl combine oats with oat flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, & ginger; mix well & set aside.
2. In medium bowl mix together honey, vanilla, pumpkin, pineapple, & juice concentrate; pour into flour mixture. Gently mix in egg whites, stir in raisins. Do not over mix.
3. Let batter set for 5 minutes to thicken. Fill each muffin cup 1/2 full with batter.
4. Bake for 15-25 minutes, usually done in 20 minutes, depending on how full you fill the muffin cups. Done when edges turn golden brown.

Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan.

*Hint: In blending the oats for making of the oat flour, you will have to stop the blender every few seconds & stir it with spoon. Stored in fridge, muffins will last 2 weeks.