Check your pasta nutrition

If you haven't read the nutrition facts on your box of pasta, please do so. There are finally lots of very tasty alternatives to the high sodium regular noodles. Ronzoni smart taste spaghetti has 180 calories (nothing special there), 5 mg of sodium -WOW (compared to 210 in regular spaghetti!), and 7 grams of fiber per serving. I didn't notice a bit of difference in flavor. It was delicious. There are also other "smart taste" types of noodles out there, so try something new next time you're in the store.

No-bake cookie oatmeal anyone?

I love my instant oatmeal. I'm currently hooked on the high fiber cinnamon swirl kind (just wish they made it reduced sugar as well). Now and then I like to stir in one tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/2 tablespoon of semi-sweet chocolate chips (13 chips in case you were wondering). It tastes just like no-bake cookies!!! Also, the added protein and fiber keeps me satisfied until lunchtime.
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The total calories are 290 with 285mg of sodium. The chocolate chips only add 35 calories and no sodium, but they certainly add to the flavor.
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Once it's warmer, I'll be switching back to smoothies or cereal for breakfast.

The Dirty Dozen

Okay, so this has nothing whatsoever to do with sodium, but I wanted to share it anyway.
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This is a list of the 12 "dirtiest" produce items you should buy organic. (By dirty, I mean the ones that contain the highest pesticide load.) I also found another list that included carrots and lettuce. I should add that I did my own taste test on the organic carrots vs regular ones and the organic ones are soooo much sweeter.
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1. Apples
2. Bell peppers
3. Celery
4. Cherries
5. Grapes
6. Nectarines
7. Peaches
8. Pears
9. Potatoes
10. Raspberries
11. Spinach
12. Strawberries

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I'm not a health nut by any means, but I don't see the point in eating homemade salsa if it's laden with pesticides. I have also switched to organic milk and will eventually switch to organic meat as well. That being said, I still won't give up all my processed foods. I know it's 1000x healthier to make something from scratch, but I'm not a factory.

Creamy Peas and Potatoes

Okay, so I didn't have new potatoes or fresh peas from the garden, but it still tasted pretty good. I just used the better homes and gardens cookbook recipe (using unsalted butter and omitting the salt). I also added turkey sausage to give it more substance and upgraded it to main dish status. This is such a cheap and easy meal to make. Yum!
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Anyway, my calorie totals are higher than the original recipe since I added sausage and doubled the amount of potatoes and peas (steamfresh sweet peas taste as close to garden fresh as you can get). This made 4 servings at 399 calories with 366mg of sodium (from the milk and sausage). Also, keep in mind that the total calories includes your serving of vegetables.
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Stop back by tomorrow for information on "The Dirty Dozen."

V8-Fusion

This is a lazy post as I don't have any new and exciting meals to blog about. I love love love any flavor of V8-Fusion juice, especially the mixed berry ones. I made a new year's resolution a couple of years ago to eat more fruits and vegetables and this juice really helps with that goal. FYI, I tried the V8-Fusion light juice but it just tasted like watered-down juice so I only drink the regular kind.
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On a side note, last night I made onion rings from scratch, but they didn't turn out as good as I hoped. They turned out crunchy but kind of bland and the onions dried out too much. Next time, I'll add spices to the coating and use thicker pieces of onion (as well as bake them for less time). I might also see what kind of dip I can come up with since I'm a huge fan of fry sauce (but not the calories or sodium).
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Oh, I also want to share with you another sweet treat I've discovered: Murray Sugar Free Fudge Dipped Mint Cookies (think thin mints). Man oh man are they good and the 2-year-old likes them too.

Sweet Treats

Okay, so there aren't very many "healthy" sweets out there but at least there are some decent alternatives. Sorry, this list is not intended to be sugar free, just low calories and sodium.

• Sunmaid Dark Chocolate Yogurt Raisins -I'm not wild about dark chocolate, but these are excellent!
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies from the American Institute of Cancer Research -go to their website at www.aicr.org and click on the test kitchen link on the lower right hand column (If you do decide to make the cookies, make sure to double the recipe, grease your pans, and don't worry about putting pans on different levels and switching them. Just bake them at a lower temperature and leave them on the same rack.) They taste like banana bread and I like to add craisins instead of raisins for a different twist.
• Reese's Puff's cereal -Now I don't eat these with milk. Yuck. However, eating one serving of them curbs my craving for peanut butter cups.
• Dibs ice cream treats -Just a handful of these makes for a perfect cool treat. (Just wish they still made the peanut butter ones. Those were awesome!)
• Skinny Cow mini fudge bars -Have one word for these: YUM!
• Kashi cookies -Decadent tasting, yet actually nutritious

Once the weather warms up, I'll add more frozen treats to the list. These are just my favorites for now....

What's for lunch?????

Monday and Tuesday we ate leftover chicken gumbo and I must say it was even better the second and third time around. Mmmmmm.

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Anyway, I had such a low sodium day that I decided to make one of my cheapo freezer pizzas for dinner. I ended up having 2 servings of the digorno garlic bread pizza which was 600 calories with 1080mg sodium. Now, you might say that's crazy, but it really wasn't for me. My total sodium for the day ended up around 2000mg, which is just fine by me.
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So, the above picture is one of my favorite lunches. Today I had fresh snow peas, celery, carrots, cucumbers, wheat thins (hint of salt), a wedge of laughing cow light swiss cheese, grapes (not pictured), and water. Anyway this lunch was 301 calories with 374mg of sodium (mostly from the cheese). This is the reason why I could have the pizza and eat it too.
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Some of my other fav lunches include grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pasta noodles with butter and garlic, tuna mixed with salsa and crackers to spread it on or a regular tuna sandwich. I used to love turkey sandwiches but once I looked at the sodium content, I stopped. I recently found one that has around 350mg per serving, so I'll have to crunch the numbers and see how that fits into a normal day. Considering the amount of sodium in bread and mayo-type spreads, it might not work out.
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Tomorrow, I'll be posting some of my fav sweet treats. Yay!!