One Sip and You’ll Surrender

Strawberry Basil Caipirinha

Take a sip, close your eyes, and be transported to Rio De Janeiro…Brazil’s national cocktail is a perfect drink for summer and you’ll love this lightened up version with a twist.

 

Muddle together 4 strawberries and 3 large basil leaves with a packet or two of Splenda (to taste) and some club soda. Add the juice from ½ a lime and 1-2 shots of cachaça. Shake with ice and serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lime wedge or a strawberry.

 

Put Da Lime In Da Coconut

This simple cocktail is great for laying out by the pool. It’s simple and tasty and the calorie count is about as low as it gets for something that tastes like a dessert.

 

Shake up the juice from ½ a lime, 1-2 shots of Bacardi Rock Coconut and enough club soda to fill the glass. Pour over ice and serve with a lime wedge.

Thai Curry Tofu

So this is more of a product review than a recipe, but we’ll call it a two-fer. I’m not at all into curry or tofu, but these two things together are delicious! Never something I though I would like, but gave it a shot just in case. It’s spicy (but not too spicy) and flavorful and just really good. I like to eat it with chopsticks just for fun. This is such a quick thing to whip up, it’s nice when you’re whooped at the end of the day and just want something easy to throw together.

 

Start off by steaming a bag of frozen broccoli and cooking up some mushrooms.

Cut up extra firm tofu into bite size chunks (serving size is 1/5 or 1/4 of the package depending on brand) and sauté in a pan until there is a nice golden color on the edges.

In a separate pan, heat up a ¼ cup of Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce.



Mix it all together and you’re set!

 

Nutritional information:

Calories: 250

Fat: 13

Carbs: 24

Protein: 19

Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

I’m starting out with my favorite healthy recipe. This is so delicious, you would never guess it was a lighten up version. It has a sort of alfredo-ness about it, but not as rich. It’s just creamy and flavorful and seriously yummy. You’ll crave this whether you’re trying to cut back or not. Here’s a recipe for 2 servings.

 

Start off by boiling some Dreamfields spaghetti (1” dry circle) This is low-carb pasta that seriously doesn’t taste any different from normal stuff. I hate whole wheat pasta – it tastes like cardboard. I also can’t get into shirataki noodles – way too weird of a consistency. The Dreamfields is right on in taste and texture, just make sure you cook according to the instructions on the box. If you overcook your noodles, the carbs will creep back in.

Combine 2 wedges of Laughing Cow light garlic and herb, 1 Tablespoon of fat free sour cream, 1 Tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese, and garlic salt to taste. You’ll want to heat this up in the microwave for 30 seconds or so just to make it smoother. Stir this sauce into drained and heated frozen spinach (a 10 oz box is good) and cooked baby bella mushrooms ( I used about 10-15). When your pasta is finished cooking, drain it and mix in the spinach/mushroom sauce. I like to sprinkle the top with fresh diced tomatoes. Feel free to add some chicken in the mix, but I prefer it without.

 

Nutritional information per serving:

Calories: 304

Fat: 4.5

Carbs: 19

Protein: 16.5

Lighten Up

The next handful of recipes I post are going to have a healthier, lower cal, lower fat spin on things. Nobody craves diet food, but these recipes are tried and true winners and you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. I’ve adapted most of them from the popular Hungry Girl books, just tweaking them a bit to my taste, or if they’re good as is, I’ll give you a review so you can try it for yourself. I’ll categorize this new little series as “deLIGHTful” :-)  Enjoy!