Swedish meatballs better than Ikea's

I went to Ikea last weekend to get some stuff for my upcoming move. As I passed the cafeteria, I realized that I have not made my Swedish meatballs in AGES. They are a little time consuming, but very yummy and surprisingly low in point. In Sweden they are usually served with a sweet cream-based sauce, but I have lightened it up by eliminating the cream and focusing on the sweetness by adding honey. Serve with boiled red potatoes and lingonberry jam (similar to a cross between red currant and cranberry) for a complete meal!

As we say in Sweden "smaklig måltid"

Swedish Meatballs
28 points in all of meatballs
Makes 20-30 meatballs
Comes out to about 200 calories in 5 meatballs

-1.25 pounds 85% lean beef
-1/4 cup bread crumbs
-1/2 cup milk
-1 egg
-1 small cooked potato
-1/2 half onion, finely grated
-salt, pepper, parsley

-Mix bread crumbs and milk, Season with salt pepper and parsley. Let stand until thick.
-Mash up cooked potato and mix into bread crumb mixture. Add egg and grated onion. Mix until smooth.
-Mix in ground meat until just blended.
-Spray large pan with PAM and heat to medium-high.
-With wet hands, roll meat mixture into 3/4 inch balls.
-Brown meatballs on each side until they no longer look pink, then simmer on low until cooked through.


SAUCE
5 points in sauce

-1 can beef broth
-1/4 cup honey
-Soy sauce
-Pepper & salt


-Remove meatballs from pan. Over low heat, add broth and mix rapidly with a wisk to loosen any bits.
-Mix in honey and soy. Reduce by half. Slowly add corn starch and mix well. Add pepper and parsley.

Manicotti that is good for you!

I love baked pasta. However, most baked pasta dishes are so high in carbs and fat that I tend to avoid them. That was until I started making my own versions of some of my favorite classic dishes. This stuffed manicotti is packed with spinach and tomatoes, reducing the calories significantly, while giving you an extra serving of veggies. Serve with a simple salad and some steamed cauliflower and you have a very healthy dinner providing you with at least 2 of your recommended 5 daily servings of vegetables.

Spinach-tomato Manicotti
4 points per manicotti shell (about 200 calories)
12 servings

12 manicotti shells
1 small container part-skim ricotta
20 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar Rinaldi tomato-basil sauce
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Directions
-Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
-Cook manicotti according to package directions.
-Drain diced tomatoes, reserving liquid in a medium sized mixing bowl.
-In a separate bowl, mix drained diced tomato chunks with spinach, ricotta, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
-Mix Rinaldi sauce into liquid from the diced tomatoes.
-Divide spinach-ricotta mixture equally between 12 cooked manicotti shells.
-Spray a 9X12 baking dish with PAM. Coat bottom of baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce mixture.
-Lay the stuffed manicotti into the baking dish. Top with remaining tomato sauce.
-Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

A lunch truck favorite re-born--Chicken special sandwiches

A few years back when I started working for my current company, I spent many days in Newark, NJ working at one of our local hospitals. Though the environment was stressful, the thought of a delicious, greasy, cheesy, chicken special sandwich that awaited me at the lunch truck (aka, the grease truck), kept me going through the morning, and my full stomach after lunch kept me going long enough to finish up my day. In order to prevent a heart attack, I had to modify my favorite sandwich to be not so unhealthy, yet still super delicious. This recipe is really easy, and satisfies any cravings you may have for a lunch truck special.

Chicken Special Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches
8 points per sandwich (about 400 calories)

-4 Calandras Sandwich rolls (or any other Italian-style roll that has about 100 calories in it)
-20 oz of boneless chicken breast, sliced into thin short strips
-1 tbs Italian seasoning
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-1 onion, sliced (slice onion in half, then each half into thin slices)
-1 green pepper, sliced into thin slices
-1/2 cup shredded cheese
-4 tbs ketchup
-PAM

Directions
-Mix together all of spices, toss with chicken slices and let sit for 10 minutes.
-Heat a large skillet, sprayed with PAM, over medium high heat.
-Saute onions and peppers until soft. Transfer to a bowl.
-Saute chicken until cooked all the way through (about 5-10 minutes).
-Add onions and peppers, and saute an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
-Cut sub rolls in half. Top each half with 2 tbs shredded cheese.
-Toast each sub roll until cheese is melted.
-Top with 1/4 of chicken/veggie mixture and 1 tbs ketchup.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.