About a month ago we brought our son to a Pediatric Endocrinologist for some special testing due to his weight. Long story short our entire family has taken on the path to eating right and exercising even more. I'm very proud of my hubby and son for doing just that! They have lost a great amount of weight just this past month! And my son has added 500 calories to burn.. if not more.. to his exercise program. With in this first month people have already complimented him!
So I'm trying to be creative in our menu's.. trying to buy very LITTLE boxed items... and more fresh produce or frozen veggies... it's been hard.. my coupon days are pretty much over when it comes to food... BUT.. I'm okay with that.. if I have to sacrifice more for my food budget now.. than medical bills later... I'll be okay knowing that my family is maintaining a healthy life style.
I won't lie.. it hasn't been super easy.. but manageable enough that the three of us have become a great support system.. and it hasn't bothered me that I've lost 12lbs myself!! Ü
So.. here is a dish I made last night that was OUTSTANDING! And I thought I would share!
Triple Cheese-Spinach Manicotti
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup finely shredded fresh parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped --I omitted
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 ( 15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained,and squeezed dry
1 large egg
12 manicotti shells, cooked without salt or fat
cooking spray
1 ( 26-ounce ) jar fire-roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce ( such as Classico)-- I used what I had on hand
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well, and set aside
3. Spoon cheese mixture evenly into cooked manicotti, and arrange in a 13-X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour pasta sauce over stuffed manicotti; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yields 6 servings WW points 8 points/serving.. however I kept out the pine nuts and if you check all the points for your items.. I believe you'll find that the point value is less... A green salad would compliment this dish!
Hope everyone had an AMAZING 4th of JULY!! Happy Birthday U.S. of A!
8 comments:
Can you just come stay with us and be our personal chef? That looks so yummy!
Looks and sounds delish!
Last time I made manicotti, I cheated and stuffed them with fat free string cheese sticks and then shoved in some spinach...super easy and yummy, too!
Oh yummy! And I applaud you guys for all supporting each other!
Yummy :) And good for your whole family getting on board, y'all will do great and feel so much better :)
If you haven't checked it out Eating Well is a GREAT magazine and their website is really great and has TONS of great recipes.
Good for your son! That's terrific! Your recipe looks delicious!
Love, Mere
Way to go on the weight loss for everyone in the family!!!! Summer is a good time to start that kind of thing with all the fresh produce around!
BTW, keep meaning to tell you our fresh air kiddo is coming Aug. 11! How about your boy?
Same, I try to put the best I can in my kids, unfortunately, white pastas are an outlaw however, carbs and I broke it off ten years ago... :)
That looks amazing! I joined WW about three weeks ago..first diet program of any sort I have ever been to, and its been fun. I love the cheerleading and support. Thanks for letting me know the points, etc
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