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. 

Dorm Life

Are you a student on a tight budget with random cooking and eating patterns? If you are we all understand that its hard to keep a well stocked, healthy but also compact amount of food in your dorm/apartment. So I have gathered a few essential food items for all of you students to keep in your dorm or apartment. 

Cans:

*Tuna/salmon- this is a must!!! You can use this for sandwiches and wraps, or adding it to pasta or risotto to make the meal more substantial. 

*Tomatoes- canned tomatoes are also essential because they are so versatile! you can use these for any quick pasta sauce and many other things!

Dry Staples:

*Chicken stock- this is definitely something you need to have. It can be used to make many different soups, flavour cous-cous, in stir-fry, and many other things. A little of this stuff goes a long way which is essential for you students! (get the reduced sodium type).

*Whole Wheat Pasta- I know I have mentioned the benefits of this in another post but I feel I cannot stress this enough! Whole Wheat pasta is very good to have around. It is very healthy and tasty too! 

*Brown rice- another food that is good for you! much healthier than white rice and can fill you up! ( a little goes a long way!!) It is also cheap!

*spices spices spices! spices are a definite-have in your dorm/apartment! spices add life to any bland food! 

*Peanut Butter!!! peanut butter is a must! you can do so much with peanut butter its crazy, and it has a TON of protein in every serving.

*Cereal. I am a strong believer in cereal. I love cereal, you can eat it any time of the day and it still tastes great, and there are a ton of good tasting healthy cereals out there. 

*Oatmeal! This is definitely one of my favorite foods to keep around. You can eat this at any meal and it is so good for you! 

Freezer/Fridge:

*frozen fruit: this is a must have because you can use this for anything!!! You can put them into smoothies, add them to yogurt in the morning, or top on low-cal ice cream for a great dessert!

*yogurt and cottage cheese! These are very healthy food items and yummy too!

*Frozen vegitables- a must have! everyone needs veggies and these are super easy to prepare  and easy to store!

**jello! a tasty dessert that is super low cal. Just be careful because you you could eat tons of the little individual acs of jell-o if you arent careful (its that good!!)

Tuscan Tuna Salad with Pita

I made this for lunch last week and was pretty satisfied. If you are not a fan of tuna though you should stay away because it is very "tuna-y." This is perfect for a light lunch and is ready in 10 mins. Another plus is that it can be made and stored in the refrigerator for several days. It is only 288 calories per serving (1 cup of tuna salad in a whole wheat pita loaf) 8.5 grams of fat, 53 mg of cholesterol, 33 grams of protein,  27 grams of carbohydrates, and 7 grams of fiber! 

All you need is:

2 6-oz cans chunk light tuna, drained

1 15-oz can small white beans (cannellini or great northern) rinsed

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 scallions, trimmed and sliced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground pepper (to taste)

4 loaf whole wheat pita bread

Combine tuna, beans, tomatoes, scallions, oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Mix and put 1 cup of ingredients into 2 whole wheat pita bread pockets and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings, (1 serving= 2 pita wraps 1/2 cup each wrap)

Soup Anyone?

This low cal halibut minestrone soup recipe is from Costal Living Magazine. It is a great dish to make on a cold day and the best news is it isn't that expensive and doesn't take much time to make (Ready in 25 mins!)! Here's what you'll need to make 4 (2 cup) servings:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried italian seasoning

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups organic vegetable broth or low-fat chicken broth

16 oz skinless halibut fillets cut into pieces

1 cup frozen cut green beans

1 cup cooked fusilli pasta

1. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute for 3 mins.

2. Stir in tomato paste, seasoning, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. 

3. Stir in fish and green beans and cook for 5 to 7 mins (or until fish is cooked through). 

4. Stir in pasta and cook for 5 mins or until pasta is heated through

5. and Voila! serve 2 cups of soup for each person!

5 healthy and energy packed snacks!

I know that between lunch and dinner you start to get hungry again so I have decided to create this post to give some healthy ideas for snacks that will not only satisfy your urge to eat but also give you energy for the rest of the day or night. 

1. A small apple sliced (or 1/2 cup of banana sliced) with a tablespoon of peanut butter

This is a great snack because midday snacks should only have about 100 calories or 15 grams of carbs and this is low cal and low carb. The natural sweetness in fruit takes a long time to metabolize and the protein in peanut butter will give you a long-lasting form of energy.

2. 6-8 oz of non-fat yogurt with 1 to 2 tablespoons of granola

This is a good snack because the mix of grains, nuts and often dried fruit in granola goes great with the calcium and protein-packed yogurt. 

3.  1/4 cup of dried fruits and nuts (trail mix)

This is good because nuts are slow burning food that provide sustained energy due to their mix of good protein and fats. Dried fruit gives the mix a bit of sweetness but with the added benefits of fiber. A handful of this stuff is best though because too many carbs can cause low blood sugar which would cause mid-afternoon drowsiness. 

4. A few (3 or 4) whole grain crackers with a tablespoon of hummus

Eat this as a snack because whole grains are complex carbs that serve as some of the best energy boosters that fill you up without making you feel sluggish. Hummus contributes fiber to the snack and a little olive oil both of which help calm hunger pangs. 

5. A whole-grain, high-protein bar

Pre packaged cereal bars are the perfect snack while at school, work, or just on the go. Be sure to choose bars with at least 5 grams of fiber and protein, but with less than 15 grams of sugar. Be cautious of meal-replacement bars that are overloaded with calories.