A Vegetarian Meal: Zucchini PIe

I've been super busy and I don't think things will let up until the end of the month!  So I want to apologize in advance for not posting recipes and pictures, but in the meantime Karen Moreno, Feed Your Sister's nutritionist has been sharing with us many of her great healthy recipes and good tips for living and eating while trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle!  I hope you've enjoyed them thus far, today she shares with us a vegetarian meal that's easy to put together with minimal ingredients!  I hope you enjoy!!

Here's Karen's Recipe for today...

Sometimes I’m not always in the mood to have a heavy dinner that consists of chicken or fish. I actually just came back from Israel and over there they eat very differently than from us in the United States, maybe its something we should learn from. They have a big lunch and a light dinner, which could be an omelet or even some yogurt, or a light cheese sandwich. This way you go to sleep without that full feeling or being stuffed. Try to aim to have one day a week where you become a vegetarian and don’t eat meat. This can help lower your cholesterol, and maybe even your weight. This recipe is super easy and quick to make. Serve along with a colorful green salad and you’ve got dinner ready  to put in the oven in less than 20 minutes.

Zucchini Pie

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes   Cook Time: 1 hour

Nonstick cooking spray

4 tsp breadcrumbs

5-6 zucchinis, peeled, and cubed small

½ cup 0% cottage cheese

½ cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp reduced fat feta cheese

2 eggs

1 egg white

¼ tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x11 inch Pyrex with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 2 tsp bread crumbs on the bottom of the Pyrex.  In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cubed zucchinis, cottage cheese, ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, egg whites, and spices. Mix all together. Pour into the Pyrex. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and feta cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until the top browns and bubbles.

NOTE: This recipe calls for breadcrumbs but it can easily be omitted for those following a Gluten Free diet

This can also be served with a Tzatziki sauce:

2 cucumbers, diced

2 tbsp dried mint leaves

8 oz 0% Greek Yogurt

Salt, to taste (and garlic powder—optional)

Mix all ingredients into a bowl and serve.

Nutrition Content (per serving: 4x2½ inch piece of zucchini pie with 2 tbsp tzatziki):

126 Calories, 4.45g Fa,t 2.5g Sat Fat, 8.3g Carbs, 1.5g Fiber, 12.4g Protein, 122mg Sodium, 361mg Calcium, 375.7 mg Potassium.

-Karen Moreno, RD, CDN

Trim Down Tuesdays: Q&A + Cheesecake Light

Welcome back to Trim Down Tuesdays with Karen Moreno, Feed Your Sister's own nutritionist!  Every week she answers questions from you, the readers, and posts a yummy and healthy recipe for you to try! Here's this week's question...

How much salt do we really need? What are some hidden salty foods that we should be aware of? What is the best way to de-bloat and flush out the excess salt after eating a salty meal like sushi or Chinese?  What are the best foods to eat to help with the de-bloating??

The latest salt recommendations according to the American Heart Association that came out in 2011 are “that everyone--adults as well as children--limit their daily sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg daily.”  That’s less than 1 tsp of table salt.

“Sodium is added to most processed foods, often in huge amounts, to enhance flavor. What many people don't know is that most of us get enough sodium from the fresh foods we eat and don't require additional sources.”

Hidden salty foods include: tomato soups, any canned soups, condiments such as soy sauce, chicken broth, condiments, canned or frozen foods, and prepared mixes such as seasoned rice mixes.

So, what are the best foods to eat to help with the de-bloating?

WATER WATER WATER!!! To help flush out your system. Potassium rich foods are also great because they help counteract some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure. Potassium is found in fruit and veggies. Some high potassium foods include sweet potatoes, yogurt, and bananas.

Here are some tips to lower your salt and sodium intake:

• Don’t buy foods with more than 300 mg sodium per serving
• Look for foods that are labeled “low-sodium,” “sodium-free,” “no salt added,” or “unsalted.” Check the total sodium content on food labels. Be especially careful of canned, packaged, and frozen foods
• Remove the salt shaker from the table.
• Don’t cook with salt or add salt to what you are eating. Try other spices or herbs for added flavor such as pepper, garlic, lemon, basil, or parsley. Be careful of packaged spice blends as these often contain salt or salt products (like monosodium glutamate, MSG).
• Avoid foods that are naturally high in sodium, like anchovies, meats (particularly cured meats, bacon, hot dogs, sausage, bologna, ham, and salami), nuts, olives, pickles, sauerkraut, soy and Worcestershire sauces, tomato and other vegetable juices, and cheese.
• Take care when eating out. Stick to steamed, grilled, baked, boiled, and broiled foods with no added salt, sauce, or cheese.
• Use oil and vinegar, rather than bottled dressings, on salads.

Source: American Heart Association


Here's Karen's recipe for this week! 

You know cheesecake is no diet food, but consider this: Just one slice at some of the more popular restaurants can be 1200 calories. That’s insane! Plus, I always find typical American cheesecake tastes too heavy, so I came up with my own recipe. The base of it is an Israeli cream cheese that gives the cake a light and fluffy texture. It’s called Tnuva Creamy Soft Cheese 5%. You can find it in specialty stores (sometimes it’s sold under the name Normans) or online at Avi Glatt. If you are in NYC, most kosher markets as well as Fairway carry this cheese product. As for the rest of the recipe, feel free to individualize it. You can add cookie dough to the base, light Hershey’s syrup on top, light Reddi-wip, or even just plain strawberries for added decoration and flavor. Whatever way you like, have your cake and eat it, too! 

Cheesecake Light

(Makes 16 servings)

6 eggs, separated

1½ cups sugar

1 lemon, zest and juice
3 (9.7 ounce) containers Tnuva Creamy Soft Cheese Spread, 95% Fat Free
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding (powder) 

Preheat oven to 325ºF degrees. Separate egg whites from egg yolks. In a bowl, beat egg whites with 1 cup of the sugar until stiff.  In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, the other 1/2 cup of sugar, cheese, flour, pudding powder, lemon zest, and the juice from that lemon until well blended. Add egg white mixture to the other mixture by fold it in with a spoon or spatula, until evenly incorporated. Pour batter into a round aluminum springform baking pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake rises high and the top turns brown. Turn off the oven. Let the cake sit in it with the oven door open for 20 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool for 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight to set. Serve cold.

Nutrition content:

Per serving (1 slice, 1/16 of cake): 165 calories, 3 g fat, .6 g sat fat, 22 g carbohydrate,

0g fiber, 4 g protein, 93 mg sodium

-Karen Moreno, RD, CDN

Bakes Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

I love Tastespotting.  It's a great site for when you are looking for new cooking ideas.  Let's say you have a spaghetti squash but don't know what to make with it, you can search through tons of photos/recipes to find just what you are looking for. It's also a great way to find new food blogs and sites to start reading. I spotted this recipe and this recipe and that's how I came to make my version of the recipe. Each serving has a points plus value of 4!  And you leave the table feeling nicely full!

Baked Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash
(makes 2 large portions)
1 spaghetti squash, baked or microwaved
3 tablespoons pesto (Vegans use this recipe and omit the parmesan or use vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, separated in half
(I didn't add tomatoes, but feel free to add them in if you'd like, no added points there!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pierce squash with a sharp knife or split in half and discard the seeds/pulp, then place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 60-70 minutes. Take out squash but keep oven on.  Use a fork to separate spaghetti strands and place them in a large bowl.  Combine spaghetti with pesto, salt and 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese and mix well.  Divide squash mixture  into two large ramekins or small lasagna dishes and sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until golden brown crust forms.  Enjoy!

Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast

This past Saturday I was watching Lisa Lillien's Hungry Girl show on the Cooking Channel.  The theme for the show that day was "Rise and Dine."  I really enjoy her show and look forward to watching the new episodes every Saturday!  After I watached the show I was a convert.  I now am in love with unsweetened almond milk, which has less calories than skim milk, although not much protein.  Oh well, it's amazing and great with cereal, oatmeal, and in smoothies!  And since Saturday I've been searching for light hot dog buns in every supermarket in NYC that I pass...she uses the buns to make this recipe.  I never found light  hot dog buns, but I did find Fiber One hot dog buns and settled on them for 1 extra points+ point, on top of the 6 the recipe already contains.  That's the other great thing about Hungry Girl, she posts the weight watchers points+ values on every single recipe she makes.  I can't wait to go to her book signing in NYC on March 30th in Union Square!!  Here's the recipe for Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast!  Have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Enjoy!

Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast
(serves 1)

3 tbsp. fat-free ricotta cheese 

2 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1 tsp. vanilla extract, divided 

1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia) 

1 light hot dog bun with about 80 calories (like the kind by Sara Lee) 

1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original) 

1/4 tsp. cinnamon 

2 tsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown) 

1/2 tsp. powdered sugar 

Optional topping: sugar-free pancake syrup 

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chocolate chips, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and sweetener, and mix 

well. 

Split hot dog bun open lengthwise, without fully separating the two halves. Spoon ricotta mixture onto the 

bottom half of the bun. Gently press the top half down over the filling. Carefully slice into four "nuggets" using a serrated knife 

and set aside. 

See the chocolate chips?...Mmmm! I made one for breakfast and one for another day's lunch!

Mix egg substitute, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add butter and allow to coat th

e bottom of the skillet.  

Meanwhile, coat each nugget on all sides with the egg mixture. (You won't need to use all of the egg 

mixture.) 

Once butter has melted, place nuggets in the skillet and, flipping occasionally, cook until golden brown on 

all sides, 3 - 4 minutes.  

Plate your nuggets and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Top with syrup, if you like. Enjoy! 

Artichoke Parmesan Spread

Not sure if you've noticed, but I've been on a baking kick lately.  This post is not a dessert, it's actually a very healthy and full of flavor recipe!  It can be a spread for a bruschetta or a sandwich, a dip for veggies or chips, or even mixed with pasta!  It even has some protein because of the parmesan, but if you are a vegan feel free to sub in some silken tofu or just leave it out completely!

Artichoke Parmesan Spread

(makes enough to spread on at least 2 french baguettes)

1 box/bag of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

2 cloves garlic (feel free to add more if you like)

1 cup parsley, roughly chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese (If you want to omit the cheese, replace with 1 cup silken tofu)

2 cups balsamic vinegar (for glaze on top)

Place all ingredients, except the vinegar, in a food processor.  Blend until mixture is combined and smooth.  Spread the mixture on slices of toasted baguette. (To do that, place slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes.) 

To make the balsamic glaze, pour vinegar into a small non-stick pot over medium-high heat.  Let simmer until the vinegar gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  This process takes about 30-40 minutes. Drizzle glaze over the bruschetta and enjoy!!  The glaze should keep in an air-tight container for a few weeks in the fridge. Use leftover glaze for salads, chicken, shrimp, sandwiches, pasta, veggies, etc.  

French Onion Soup

I recently purchased a bunch of these porcelain soup bowls at Sur La Table.  I was thinking I'd try to make French Onion Soup in them with the broiled cheese and all!  I've never made onion soup before so I went to one of my favorite sites, TasteSpotting, and searched through a whole lot of onion soup recipes.  Some called for beef stock others used veal stock.  Some used white wine and some used brandy, cognac, or sherry.  I really just kind of made up my own recipe. So here it is!!

French Onion Soup
(serves 4)


3 large white onions, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
10 sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together using one of the sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 1/2 cups water or stock of your choice. (If using water you will need to add 3 tablespoons Osem Chicken Consomme or 3 bouillon cubes)
To top the soup: (optional)
French baguette, sliced on the bias
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Place first 6 ingredients together in a large soup pot.  Turn heat to medium-high and saute onions for about an hour, mixing every now and then.  The onions will turn a dark golden brown color.

Add the sherry and white wine to the pot and de-glaze.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot. Let boil for about 15 minutes.

 Now add the water or stock, if using water add the chicken consomme now as well.  Using a pair of tongs take out the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.  Stir and let boil for another 30 minutes.

Place soup in containers until ready to serve.  You can freeze soup up to 6 months.  

When ready to serve, place warmed up soup into 4 oven-safe bowls.  Bake slices of baguette, sprinkled with some olive oil in the oven at 375 degrees until crisp and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Place toasted bread on top of soup and sprinkle it with cheese. Broil soup in the oven until cheese is golden brown and melty, about 5 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Pasta with Artichokes

This is a great pasta dish to make along side some grilled chicken or fish.  It's easy to make, not much preparation, and definitely can be done in 30 minutes or less!  I actually made it twice in one week, and everyone who ate it loved it very much!  The first time I only put artichokes in it.  The second time I added portabella mushrooms, zucchini, and grape tomatoes.  Another good addition would be toasted pine nuts.  

Pasta with Artichokes

(serves 6-8 people)

1 box pasta, any kind, cooked

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1 bag frozen artichokes (Trader Joe's has a good one!)

7-8 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1 cup wine

juice of 2-3 lemons

zest of 1 lemon, optional

1 bunch parsley, chopped

Start by preparing the pasta and while it's cooking do the following: In a deep large pan melt the butter and the olive oil over medium heat.  Once melted add the frozen artichokes (halved tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, and zucchini too, if you are using).  Let veggies saute for a few minutes then add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper to the pan.  Saute for another 7 minutes and add white wine (whatever you have left in the fridge) and the juice of 2-3 lemons (and zest, if using).  Deglaze the pan and scrape the little bits off the bottom.  Add cooked pasta and chopped parsley, mix to combine and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese! Enjoy!

NOTE: If you want more of a saucey sauce, add more wine, butter, and olive oil at the end.

This is the one with the extra veggies...the tomatoes end up breaking down adding to the sauce! It's really delish!

Figs are back, Hooray!

Walking home from work the other day I spotted figs at the corner fruit stand....I was exstatic! I've been waiting since October for fig season to be here, and finally it's here! HOORAY! See I only became a fan of figs this past October when my mom bought a bunch for the Jewish holidays but I only actually tasted one during the holiday of Sukkot, which is the last of the holidays.

Once I decided I loved the taste of figs it was too late and there were gone for the season. So I've basically been dreaming of eating a fig for a long while now....you can probably guess how excited I was to see them at the stand on the corner!

The ones the guy at the fruit stand was selling were kind of mushy, so I thought I'd skip buying them there and visit the supermarket to see if they had any...NOPE, they didn't. My next move was the World Wide Web. Freshdirect is a great resource for finding seasonal fruit and vegetables that are not always sold in your good old supermarket. I was so excited to order them, along with a bunch of other stuff!

I think I'll eat some for breakfast and the others I thought to make a brie and fig mac and cheese, just like the one they make at S'mac in the east village, NYC. But then I came across this recipe and it seemed better suited for me. The S'mac version recipe that I found online uses shitake mushrooms and rosemary and in my opinion those two ingredients just don't fit into the puzzle for me! Sorry S'mac! Anyway stay tuned for the results, meanwhile I'm enjoying my figs, plain and simple!

Quinoa, Take 2

NOTE: This photo is of the salad minus the mixed greens! Now you have a visual!

So I was invited to my friend's house for a BBQ and of course I offered to make something to bring. She said make a salad. Lately I've been eating a lot of quinoa and actually looking for it more and more on menus. I haven't had much luck finding many restaurants that serve quinoa. Oh well, I was going to make a salad that contained quinoa for the BBQ. I went with a Greek themed salad. I bought red inca quinoa at the supermarket for the salad. Now, not sure if you remember that last time I made quinoa, but if you click here, you'll remind yourself that it wasn't a big hit. I finally can say that I think I just overcooked it, if that's even possible.

I totally forgot to take a photo of this recipe, but I swear I made the salad and literally there was not a leaf left in the bowl! Everyone enjoyed it very much and my views of quinoa have changed forever. I can't wait to make this salad again!

Here's the list of ingredients you'll need to make this easy, healthy, protein-packed, light summery, and perfect-for-a-bbq salad!

Greek Style Quinoa Salad (serves 8 people)

1 cup uncooked red inca quinoa (if you prefer white quinoa that's fine too!)

1 container of mixed greens

1 red bell pepper

1 container of grape tomatoes cut in halves or quarters

1 english cucumber peeled and chopped

1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 bunch parsley chopped

1 block of your favorite feta (I used Israeli feta)

Greek Dressing

the juice of 1 and a half lemons

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

1. In a pot bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and then cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Pour cooked quinoa in a sieve and then rinse quinoa with cold water to cool off. Drain and set aside.

2. Place the mixed greens into a large salad bowl. Cut the vegetables to your desired size and place in the salad bowl. Place chickpeas in the bowl as well.

3. Place cooked quinoa and parsley in the salad bowl. Break up the feta with clean hands and place in the salad.

4. To make the dressing combine ingredients and pour over salad. Toss to combine ingredients and enjoy!

Mozzarella Sticks

Mozzarella Sticks just like you remember them when you were a kid, or maybe you still eat them. These sound/look pretty amazing and seem easy to make! Click here for a link to the recipe...All you need is string cheese, panko bread crumbs, some herbs, eggs with a splash of milk and your favorite store bought marinara or try my really easy tomato sauce!

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Baby Arugula

Sliced Beets (for recipe click here)

Sliced Granny Smith Apples coated in lemon juice (to prevent browning)

Fried Goat Cheese cakes (click here)

Lemony Dressing (recipe below)

I put the apples slices in a baggie with the lemon juice so that the arugula doesn't get soggy. As you can probably guess, I am going to be taking this salad to work tomorrow for lunch, hence the plastic container. So the day I brought this salad to work the beet juice kinda got all over, so maybe those should go in a separate baggie as well.

Lemony Dressing (serves 2)

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

a few dashes of red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and drizzle over salad. YES, IT'S REALLY THAT EASY!

Make Your Own Tapas

So you know I love Sala 19, a tapas restaurant in NYC, well anyway there are many things that I love there. I was making an arugula, apple, beet, and goat cheese salad and wanted to make my goat cheese into fried cakes, like they do at tapas restaurants. Except I was not putting the honey on it for my salad. It turns out that it's a pretty easy tapas to make (another easy one is my other favorite, bacon wrapped dates).

If you do want to do it like they do at tapas restaurants all you need to do is follow my recipe and then drizzle honey or agave nectar on the warm little cheese cakes and there you have it, your own tapas minus the bill. Here's the recipe for the fried goat cheese....

Fried Goat Cheese

goat cheese log

panko bread crumbs

2 eggs with a little water (to make an egg wash)

flour

pan with olive oil for frying

honey or agave (optional for drizzling)

To make the cheese cakes, cut the goat cheese log into slices that are about 1 inch thick. (If the cut doesn't come out clean it's okay. You'll just use your hands to roll them into a ball and then smoosh them down when frying them in the pan.) Place each goat cheese cake in the flour, shake the excess off, then dip them into the egg wash, then into the panko bread crumbs. Set cakes aside. Prepare a frying pan with olive oil and warm the pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot place the breaded cheese cakes in the pan to fry up. You can smoosh them down now, use a fork or small spatula. Cook each side until golden brown. Top a salad with the cooked fried goat cheese or drizzle some honey or agave for an at home tapas appetizer! Enjoy!

Eggplant Mozzarella

Eggplant Mozzarella (not parmesan)

serves 4

2 eggplants sliced into rounds and grilled

2 cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups real easy tomato sauce mixed together with 1 cup Rao's Marinara sauce

3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pour some tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dish of your choice. Place grilled eggplant on top, covering the dish's surface area. Sprinkle 1/2 the spinach leaves on the eggplant slices and then sprinkle with cheese, salt, and pepper. Pour more sauce on top of the cheese and then repeat layering ingredients until you run out making sure the top layer is cheese.

Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes. Enjoy!

Truffle & Herb Mac and Cheese

The last time I made macaroni and cheese was on Valentine's Day. I had tried something new. I normally always just follow Ina Garten's recipe for mac and cheese but that day I tweaked it just a bit by adding white truffle butter to the roux and to the bread crumbs that topped the mac.

It's been a few months and it's time for another dose of mac and cheese! This time I'm going to change it even further. I've been to restaurants where they prepare a herb mac and cheese and it's usually good. I'm going to kick it up another notch, sorry I had to say that, by adding in some herbs and garlic.

Remember a few days back I posted a recipe for potatoes?? Well, I am going to use the greeen garlicky herb oil with the addition of 1 tablespoon chopped basil and add it to the cheese sauce before I add the cooked macaroni. I think it's going to be super delicious!!! Just in case it's not as delicious as I think it sounds, I decided to make two separate mac and cheeses. I made one small ramekin of the herbed mac and cheese and then made a bigger one of the regular truffle mac and cheese that I always make, I know that one would be good. As for you weird people who don't like green foods, I know a couple of you folks, yes you....just omit adding the green garlicky herb oil and your mac and cheese should turn out green-free!

After eating the ramekin of the mac and cheese with the herbs it is safe to say that it's my new favorite. It's a more mature macaroni and cheese, for us adults. The mixture of truffles and garlic gives the dish a fantastic aroma and taste. Serve this meal along with an arugula and tomato salad and it is sure to be a hit!

Here's the recipe...

Truffle & Herb Mac and Cheese

(serves 8 people)

1 pound elbow macaroni

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, separated

2 tablespoons white truffle butter

½ cup flour

1 quart skim milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

8oz shredded sharp Cheddar

12oz shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup green garlicky herb oil (with basil added)

1 ½ cups bread crumbs

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and set aside.

In a deep skillet, melt 6 tablespoons butter (5 tbsp unsalted and 1 tbsp truffle butter) over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps.

Pour in the milk and cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Add in the green garlicky herb oil. Off the heat, stir in both cheeses and stir until melted. Add the cooked macaroni and stir until macaroni is well coated.

Melt the remaining butter (1 tbsp unsalted and 1 tbsp truffle butter) and combine with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle on top of macaroni.

Transfer the mixture to a 3-quart baking dish. Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Laughing Planet Style Burritos

I went to college at Indiana University of Bloomington. During my years in Bloomington I discovered one of the best burrito restaurants I ever ate. I don't think I even ate burritos before this time. Everything was organic and freshly made to order. The restaurant is called the Laughing Planet Cafe. I would eat there at least twice a week. What I loved about the burrito was that it had brown rice rather than spanish rice inside. I don't like spanish rice in my burritos. When I graduated from IU, I was very sad to leave Laughing Planet burritos behind, but luckily I got to go back for homecoming the following year!

When I did come back the year after graduating I told my friends that I was going to find a way to bring some burritos back to NYC. There was no way that I would leave Bloomington without a burrito or 2 or 10! I actually did bring back 10 burritos. I carried them in a lunch box and even got stopped at airport security with them. They asked me to see what was inside and I have to say I was pretty embarrassed. One of my friends does have a picture of this day, however, I need to get it scanned to my computer. (If any of you have it, please send it my way!)

So the burritos and I got back to NYC safely and from that day on for lunch or dinner I ate one of the burritos. They were delicious still! Last year I had the chance to go back to Bloomington once more for my friend's bachelorette party and of course we had a meal at Laughing Planet. I got the black bean and spinach burrito! Ohhhhh did I miss it!

There just isn't a place in NYC that is like Laughing Planet, at least none that I have found. I like to be able to hold my burritos without my hands getting dirty, like brown rice and fresh ingredients in them too! I used to like Burritoville that was the closest I ever got but then the one on the upper east side closed down! If you know of any good burritos in NYC please leave me a comment. Until then I will be eating my own version, that comes pretty darn close to Laughing Planet. The calorie count for my burrito was a total of about 515 calories and 22 grams of protein! That's a great lunch or dinner option! Here's my version...

The Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/4 cup mexican cheese blend, 1/4 of an avocado, 1 wheat wrap, sauteed spinach with Pam Spray, 1/2 cup black beans, and salsa (as much as you like)

All the ingredients for the filling was already warm when placed in the wrap (spinach, beans, and rice). The burrito after I folded it like a fool. The problem was that my wrap was to small and my fillings were too much for the wrap I used. It didn't really matter though because I was careful when I flipped it in the pan, so nothing came out. See photo. The key is to keep it together in the pan to get crunchy, if you can succeed doing that then you will be golden!

After both sides were crunchy and the filling was warmed through I wrapped the whole burrito with aluminum foil. I tried to get it nice and tight in the foil so that it wouldn't fall apart as I ate it.

I have to say that usually I'd want a side of guacamole to eat it with, but putting the avocado inside the burrito saved me a step and actually tasted wonderful! I liked how it got all warm and mushy, avocado in each bite!