1 16-ounce package low-carb or whole-grain penne rigate or ziti

1 40-ounce jar Victoria White Linen Collection All-Natural Marinara Sauce (you can get this at Costco)

1 package bulk mild Italian sausage

1 package bulk hot Italian sausage

1 package white button or cremini mushrooms

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 16-ounce container ricotta cheese

½ cup fresh grated parmesan or Romano cheese

1 unce package shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, until soft but very al dente.  Reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta.

 

While pasta is cooking, pour marinara sauce into large deep-dish lasagna pan.  Brown sausage in large saucepan and transfer cooked sausage into lasagna pan using a slotted spoon, leaving fat from sausage in pan.  Wash mushrooms and slice into pan with sausage fat.  Sauté mushrooms until they give off liquid and are soft.  Drain and transfer mushrooms to lasagna pan.  Grind black pepper over mushrooms and sausage.  Lightly stir ricotta into ingredients in lasagna pan.  Mix remaining cheeses and add 1/3 of cheese into lasagna pan, reserving the remainder.

 

Add pasta to lasagna dish and stir.  Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest for ten minutes.  Serve with a robust red wine.

©2011 Nicole Wiese

©2011 Nicole Wiese

This fresh fall salad makes two large servings for a meal, or four smaller servings for a starter course.

Dressing:
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup cranberry raspberry juice (100% juice)
1 small mandarin orange (Satsuma or clementine), juiced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salad:
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 head romaine lettuce
1 red pear
1 Fuji apple
1/4 cup coarsely shredded or shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine vinegar, juices, sugar, salt, pepper and parsley in a small bowl.  Blend with hand blender for a few seconds, then drizzle in olive oil while blending.  Let dressing rest while preparing salad.

Toast walnuts in a dry pan (don’t use a non-stick pan for this) over medium heat until fragrant, stirring frequently.  Be very careful and watch them, as they can burn very quickly.

Wash and dry and coarsely chop romaine.  Put lettuce into a large bowl.  Cut meat from apple and pear and chop into ½ inch slices or chunks.  Add to bowl, toss with dressing, and top with cheese and toasted walnuts.  Serve immediately.

Try to get a bit of lettuce, fruit, cheese and walnut in each bite.  We had a nice glass of red wine with this salad for lunch.

Makes 4 servings, 4 pieces per serving

 

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

¼ tsp fine salt

1 egg

1½ tbsp half and half

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

¼ tsp paprika

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

8 pieces string cheese, wrappers removed

1 cup marinara sauce

2-3 cups peanut oil

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with half and half.  In another bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley, paprika, onion and garlic powder.

Slice string cheese pieces in half crosswise, for a total of 16 pieces.

One piece at a time, roll mozzarella sticks in flour with one hand (dry hand) and shake off excess, then dunk in egg/milk mixture with the other hand (wet hand), then place in panko crumbs (dry hand again).  Scoop crumbs all over the mozzarella stick with your dry hand and press firmly to adhere.  Gently grasp the ends and place in a single layer on a plate. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated, leaving space in between pieces on the plate.  Place the plate on a flat surface in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes if you can wait that long.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line a plate with three or more layers of paper towels.  Put marinara sauce on the stove in a small covered pan to heat.  Heat 1½ inches peanut oil in a Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add mozzarella sticks four at a time. Watch closely and roll over gently once lightly browned.  Total cooking time should take less than two minutes.  If cheese bubbles and leaks, they’ve been in too long!

Remove from oil with slotted utensil to paper towel-lined plate, keeping earlier batches warm in the oven.

Serve immediately with hot marinara sauce in a ramekin for dipping, being careful not to burn your tongue like I did!

©2011 Nicole Wiese

You can also use steamed broccoli or other raw vegetables like carrots, zucchini, red peppers and/or pea pods if you don't like mushrooms and/or spinach.  Just remember, the harder the vegetable, the earlier in the cooking process it must be added.

2 tbsp peanut oil

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieced

8 oz white button mushrooms, halved or quartered

2 shallots, sliced into ¼-inch thick slices

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp fresh minced ginger (or ginger from a jar)

1 tsp fresh minced garlic (or garlic from a jar)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds, unsalted

8 oz fresh spinach, chopped

Sauce:

1/3 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tbsp Aji-Mirin

4 tsp corn starch

Mix ingredients for sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat peanut oil in large, deep pan over high heat.  Add chicken and stir-fry until just beginning to brown.  Add mushrooms, shallots, and crushed red pepper, stirring constantly until mushrooms give their liquid.  Add ginger and garlic and let simmer for about five minutes.  Add sauce and brown sugar, and let simmer for another 5 minutes, until nice and thick and chicken is cooked through.  Add almonds and spinach and stir until spinach is all wilted.

Serve alone for a low-carb dish or with brown rice.

Copyright 2011 Nicole Wiese

This is a great low-carb dinner recipe and makes a fantastic leftover lunch the next day.  If you’re not eating low-carb, add toasted whole-wheat Greek-style pitas (no pocket) and quinoa or couscous cooked in chicken stock instead of water.

Chicken Marinade:

1-1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets or tenderloins

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbsp dried Mexican or Greek oregano

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Pork Marinade:

1-1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin sliced into ½-inch thick medallions

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbsp dried Mexican or Greek oregano

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Tzatziki:

1 med cucumber, seeded and shredded and patted dry

2 cups plain Greek yogurt, drained

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic juice (juice from a jar of minced garlic)

1/4 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

Wooden skewers

Mix ingredients for tzatziki and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.  Mix ingredients for each marinade in a gallon-size zipper bag, add meat and marinate in the fridge for 1-3 hours.  Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before finishing prep.

Once skewers are soaked, preheat grill to high and thread meat onto skewers.  Grill on oiled rack for 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked through, depending on thickness of meat.

Serve with lemon wedges, tabbouleh, hummus and tzatziki.

Copyright 2011 Nicole Wiese

After doing some fairly comprehensive reasearch, I have decided to apply a new paradigm to my culinary life.  With calorie restriction becoming more mainstream and being endorsed by health watchdogs like Dr. Weil and Dr. Oz, I feel this could be the way to potentially gain months (or even years!) of additional time on this earth, something priceless beyond belief.

I am very strictly counting calories, but that's it.

I am not restricting any foods, or food groups, or fats, carbs, protein or even fast food or junk food, but the more I want to eat, the more careful I have to be about the caloric density of the foods I consume.  I find that when I eat calorie-dense foods, sometimes a little goes a long way, and sometimes I end up hungry.  I have learned already that hunger is not an emergency, and extreme fullness is actually a very uncomfortable feeling.

Hunger is best controlled by have six "mini meals" of about 200 calories each, carefully balancing each meal and snack, making sure there is protein, fat and carbs at every snack or meal.  Alternatively, I sometimes have bigger meals and smaller snacks.  I have discovered that fruits and vegetables go a long way when calories matter.  Fast food and junk food do not.

Here is an example of a daily menu:

Breakfast:    2 eggs & 2 pieces Canadian bacon - 230 calories
                    Coffee w/half & half & Truvia - 30
Snack:         3 prunes - 60
Lunch:         15-bean & ham soup - 280
Snack:         String cheese - 80
Dinner:        2 Buffalo chicken legs (no skin) - 156
                    Carrot and celery sticks - 60
                    Ranch dressing - 80
                    1 glass white wine - 80
Snack:         Homemade dark chocolate brownie - 189

Total Calories: 1245

No hunger, no deprivation, because I still eat what I want, just less of it.  I never let myself get too hungry, and I savor every bite.  When you know you have fewer bites during the day, you learn to truly enjoy every single one!

I have not successfully stuck with the 1200 calorie goal every single day, but I try every day, and I am very aware of where I am in my calorie count all day long.  I know when I go over I need to get some additional exercise that day or the next morning.

My calorie count may seem really low, but that's because I am very sedentary lately, with a full-time desk job and not much (if any) exercise each day.  On days when I do get exercise, I try to eat just a little more to compensate, maybe 100 or 200 calories.

Over the holiday, I was getting a lot more exercise, so I was able to eat (and drink) more without gaining, despite a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and lots of red wine!

At Thanksgiving, I had a full plate at the main meal, but didn't have any bread at all.  Instead, I filled my plate with with a little bit of each of the following:
            
            one slice turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy
            spicy sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole
            homemade cranberry sauce
            sliver of apple pie with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream
            sliver of pumpkin pie with a bit of Cool Whip
            glass of red wine

So much better than filling up on white bread!

Since we ate early (11AM), I had only coffee for breakfast and a very light dinner (some leftover turkey and a bit of pumpkin pie).  I also avoided snacking on anything but veggies and spinach dip during the day, and if I wasn't hungry, I didn't eat!

This tasty breakfast pizza also makes a quick and easy dinner in a pinch, and the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a group.

Easy to make

Serves 2
Takes less than 30 minutes, including prep

 

Ingredients:

 

2-4 slices thick-cut bacon

1/3 to 1/2 cup marinara sauce

1 garlic clove

2 eggs

2 whole-wheat pitas, Greek style (no pockets)

3/4 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Directions:

1.      Place a cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

2.      Chop bacon, or cut with scissors, into 1/2-inch pieces.  Fry until crisp in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, then scoop with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess grease.  Don’t drain the pan!

3.      While bacon is cooking, pour marinara sauce into a small bowl.  Press garlic through a garlic press or mince finely and add to bowl with marinara.  Mix well.

4.      Break eggs into a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Add beaten eggs to hot pan with bacon grease and stir until fully cooked.  Remove from heat.

5.      Spoon desired amount of marinara onto pitas, then top with a thin layer of cheese.

6.      Break up eggs and sprinkle on top of cheese.

7.      Add bacon pieces and top with a bit more cheese if desired.

8.      Carefully place completed pita pizzas onto hot cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and center of pita pizza is hot.

9.      Cut into quarters with a pizza cutter and enjoy with a small bowl of grapes and a glass of milk.

 

©2010 Nicole Wiese, Menus4Life

1 multi-grain baguette, cut into quarters

2 tablespoons mayo, tangy dressing or salad dressing

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

8 ounces very thinly sliced cooked pork roast (leftovers are great for this!)

4 ounces very thinly shaved cappy or other spicy ham

2-4 slices aged Swiss cheese

2 dill pickles, sliced very thin

2 tablespoons salted butter

 

Slice two of the baguette quarters lengthwise, then hollow out centers to make room for fillings.  Mix mayo, mustard and black pepper in small bowl, and spread evenly on all four pieces of bread.  Evenly layer meat, cheese and pickles on one half of baguette, then top with other half of bread.  Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and place sandwiches in pan, flipping to coat both sides of bread.  Place another heavy, flat-bottomed skillet on top of sandwiches and weigh down with canned goods.  Flip sandwiches after about four minutes, and cook other side for about three minutes.  If you want fillings to be warmer, cook longer at lower heat so bread doesn’t burn.  Serve with a cold mug of light beer and eat hearty!

Extra virgin olive oil

1 pork loin, about 4 pounds

Kosher or sea salt and fresh ground pepper

4 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves

1 large bunch fresh thyme

1 large bunch fresh rosemary

1 20 oz package button mushrooms

4 medium carrots

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes

1 large stalk celery

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large sweet onion

2 lemons

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup dry cooking sherry or dry white wine

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Drizzle about ¼ cup olive oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan.  Butterfly the pork loin lengthwise down the middle of the lean side, not quite cutting all the way through.  Stuff the opening with sprigs of rosemary and thyme.  Flip over and position meat in the center of the roasting pan, fatty side up.  Drizzle the meat with olive oil and salt and pepper thoroughly.  Line the bottom of the pan with remaining sprigs of thyme, and very finely chop (I always use kitchen shears to chop fresh herbs) about one tablespoon of rosemary leaves into the bottom of the pan, then add a bay leaf to each corner of the pan.

Wash and trim the ends off the mushrooms and toss them into the bottom of the pan, halving if they are large.  Peel carrots and cut up carrots, celery and potatoes (you can also peel the potatoes) into 1-inch cubes and add to pan, along with cloves of garlic around sides.  Halve onion and make ¼ inch slices, breaking up and spreading over top of meat and veggies.  Wedge lemons and squeeze over meat and veggies, putting the spent wedges into the pan when done.

Pour chicken broth and sherry or wine into pan and put in oven for three hours, or until thermometer reads about 160 degrees.  Check periodically and if pan is getting dry, add more broth, water or wine.  Remove from oven, cover pan with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.  Slice pork and serve over veggies and broth in a wide, flat bowl.  Serve with remainder of the bottle of dry white wine and enjoy!

Lemonade made with lemons fresh from the tree is absolutely amazing!  Meyer lemons from the grocery store make a great substitute if you don’t have access to home-grown lemons.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

½ cup raw sugar

1 bottle San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water

2 cups crushed ice

 

Directions

Juice lemons, straining juice into large glass measuring cup until you have one cup. Add lime juice and sugar. Stir and allow sugar to fully dissolve in juice. Pour mixture into large pitcher, then add San Pellegrino and crushed ice. Stir well and serve in tall glasses garnished with lime or lemon slices for a refreshing treat!