Cheap Meal #1 Pizza!!!

Hey so I know this economy is hurting everyone but especially you college kids who are low on cash to begin with. So in light of the current "economic crisis" I have begun looking for some healthy recipes that are even cheaper than ones I have posted previous to this one. This is a nice recipe and its really quick.  And better yet, its only about 2-3 dollars per serving (this makes 6 servings).  This is just one of the many amazing recipes from eatingwell.com and if you click on the picture it will take you directly to this recipe on their page. ENJOY!

What you need:
1 pound of prepared (frozen)  whole-wheat pizza dough 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced 

2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto cut into strips (about 1/2 cup) 

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or to taste)

1 cup of shredded fontina or part-skim mozzarella cheese 

2 cups packed chopped arugula

1 cup chopped tomato 

What to do:

- Put oven rack in the lowest position in the oven and preheat your oven to 450 degrees. 

- Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray

- Roll dough on a semi-floured surface to about the size of the baking sheet. Move the rolled out dough onto the baking sheet and bake until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom (about 8-10 mins). 

- While the dough is baking heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, prosciutto and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring continuously, until the onion begins to brown (about 3 mins).

- Evenly spread the onion, prosciutto, and crushed red pepper mixture over the crust and top with cheese.

-Place the pizza back in the oven and bake until golden brown and the cheese is melted (about 8-10 mins). 

- Remove pizza from the oven, top with arugula and tomato, and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

This recipe makes 6 servings. In one serving there are 306 calories; 11 grams of fat; 28 mg of cholesterol; 33 grams of carbohydrates; 13 grams of protein; 2 grams of fiber; 600 mg of sodium; and 140 mg of potassium

Pasta Pasta Pasta!!!

Hey I have been traveling the past few weeks and have not had a lot of time to keep you guys up to date... sorry about that, but anyways I cooked for my family before I left and I made a tasty low-cal pasta that they loved! This recipe is a pretty simple one and it takes about 15-20 mins to prepare. I got it from eatingwell.com but changed it a little bit.* It makes about 6 servings and there is only about 310 calories per serving with only 3 grams of fat but with 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber! thats really good for dinner! I served this pasta with a small salad with low-cal italian dressing and a small piece of baguette.

What you need: 

12 oz of whole wheat Fusilli (or any pasta of your choice)

1 2-oz piece of pancetta finely diced

1 Small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

1/2 Cup of Vodka **

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup half-and-half

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoons of crushed red pepper (or to taste-- you can add more if you want a bit more spice)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

A pinch of freshly ground pepper (or to taste)

What To Do:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook Fusilli until tender (about 12 mins, or according to package directions).

2. While the pasta is cooking, cook the pancetta in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp (about 4 mins). Then drain on a paper towel.

3. Lower the heat under the saucepan to low heat and add onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent (1-2 mins). Increase the heat to high, add vodka and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by about half (2 mins). 

3. Stir in tomatoes, half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce and crushed red pepper. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened (9-10 mins).

4. Drain the Fusilli, serve topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the pancetta, basil, and fresh ground pepper. Enjoy!!

* I used fusilli instead of penne, pancetta instead of capicola, and I stirred in the basil, pancetta and freshly ground pepper into the sauce before serving). 

**the pasta sauce can be made without vodka if you are underage and unable to buy vodka. The Vodka adds a little tang to the sauce but the alcohol does cook off in the sauce so if you can get some it is not illegal to eat this pasta if you are underage! 

College Campus Eating

Hey whats up? I know it's been a while but while i've been away I have been busy looking at different college campuses and when I was there I checked out the different food options to help you guys eat the healthiest foods on your campus. 

So I visited Miami of Ohio in Oxford Ohio, Purdue in West Lafayette Indiana and ate in their dininng halls. I noticed that most colleges have a salad, fruit, and bar, a sandwhich section, some sort of stir-fry, a grill section, some sort of mexican section and italian section, and then snack and drink and dessert sections. So I will give you some picks and passes for items in each section.

The Grill:

Pick: A grilled chicken sandwhich, on wheat/whole grain bread or a wheat bun.

Pass: Stay away from the chicken nuggets (usually only 6 nuggets, without any of the sauces (which are high in cals) racks up about 300 calories). 

The Wok/stir-fry section:

Almost anything you get from this section is going to be pretty healthy it almost always has no fat, just be sure to stay away from (or only put a little) of the sauces on your meal because those are usually very high in sodium and calories. 

Pick: Brown Rice, Green Peppers, sliced mushrooms, sliced onions (all vegetables are good to have in a meal so you can pretty much pick any vegetable you want and you will have a healthy meal.) Shrimp is a good thing to put in your stir-fry. As for sauces or toppings, go for low-sodium soy sauce, or don't get anything. The vegetables and meat should give enough flavor to the meal anyways. 

Pass: White Rice, cheese, Fried Rice, sweet and sour sauce (its almost 60 calories and 9.9 grams of sugar in one serving).

Italian (pasta/pizza)

Pick: Always try to get whole-wheat pasta if possible, rather than the normal white pasta, with marinara sauce topped with some parmesan cheese. 

Pass: normal "white" pasta with Alfredo sauce. As far as pizza goes, there really isn't such a thing as "healthy" pizza but you definitely want to stay away from the BBQ Ranch type pizzas that have a lot of sauces.

Mexican food:

Pick: corn tortillas, steak or carnitas in your tacos or burritos, salsa, a little bit of guacamole, lettuce.

Pass: flour tortillas, sour cream, usually the chicken in these places are high in calories, but that does not go for everywhere.

As you can tell it is very hard to make a general guideline as to what types of foods you should eat and what you shouldnt seeing as every college dining service has different types of foods and cooks them all differently. I would suggest looking on your colleges website for nutritional information because I have found that many college campuses have their own type of nutritional information page. For example, this is Miami of Ohio's nutritional information.