31 Days to Better Health - Day 28

Don’t you just love weekends?  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.  I am very happy to tell you that I managed to write a lot of this post on Friday which meant more time with my sweetie over the weekend.  *woo hoo* Today we are getting together with our friend Louis and tomorrow we are seeing Lauren (the nearly vegan nurse we meant at Hopkins).  I am not sure what else we will be doing this weekend but we will definitely being having fun.  J

I couldn’t help but notice that you guys have gotten quiet on me again.  Does this mean that you haven’t enjoyed the last few posts?  If you have any feedback please share it with me.  My goal is to write things that are helpful to you but I don’t know what that is if you don’t tell me.  Please remember that I haven’t gotten my certification in mind reading yet.  ;-)

I have received a few emails asking me if I learned what I have been writing about this month at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and the answer is no. The things that I have been writing about this month are a combination of things I learned:  managing people, taking management and organization behavior classes in college and graduate school, and trying to figure out what would work for me.  The ideas that I have written about this month are some of my favorites but there are many more where these came from. 

For those of you who are just joining us here is the recap of what we have accomplished so far to remind us all of how much we have covered during the first 27 days of January:


Day 1 – Defined Success and What is/was Holding Us Back
Day 2 – Determined our Purpose and Looked at Passion
Day 3 – Listed Our Goals for January
Day 4 – Listed the Things We Have Needed to Work on for a While
Day 5 – Looked at Optimism vs. Pessimism and Fear vs. Intuition
Day 6 – Practiced Conscious Eating
Day 7 – Hara Hachi Bu
Day 8 – Taking the Stress Out of Meal Time
Day 9 – Acknowledgments
Day 10 – No Excuses, Do it Anyway
Day 11 – Is it True?
Day 12 – Have You Really Connected With Someone Today?
Day 13 – Motivation is a Decision
Day 14 - Successfully Navigating Dinner at an Unfamiliar Restaurant
Day 15 - What Do You Want, Have You Asked?
Day 16 – Treating Others as You Wish to be Treated
Day 17 – Food as a Budget
Day 18 – Silence Your Inner Critic
Day 19 – Replace I Have to With I Want to
Day 20 – Identifying Your Rituals
Day 21 – Face Your Fears
Day 22 – Give Up the Diet Mentality
Day 23 – The Meaning and/or Purpose of Food
Day 24 – Trigger Foods/Situations/People
Day 25 – Words Have Meaning
Day 26 – Lose All-Or-Nothing Thinking
Day 27 -  Decide to live as if ……

Two-Bite Test:

Yesterday’s post required a lot of homework so I wanted to write a short and sweet one entry today to give everyone a break.  This is something that I read about years ago and once I put it into practice I realized how valuable it is and I think you will agree once you try it.

The two-bite rule applies to indulgent food.  The premise is that when you want to eat something that is decadent (by your standards), eat the food slowly and consciously like we talked about during day 6. But now we are going to add another aspect to the process. Now I want you to be very discerning about the food.  Let me explain what I mean using cheesecake as an example.

You are out to dinner and see your favorite dessert, cheesecake, on the menu.  You know the pastry chef was trained in Paris and is known for her desserts. Cheesecake has always been your favorite and this one is a bruleed version with a calvados, apple and walnut topping so you order it.  The cake arrives and it is gorgeous and you can’t wait to dive in.  This is where it is critical to slow down and take your time before you take the first bite.  We are going to look at this example two ways to help demonstrate this rule.

Option 1:  You take your spoon to crack the brulee top and it doesn’t snap.  Bad sign number one.  Then you put the cheesecake in your mouth and the texture is much denser than what you like a cheesecake to be.  Bad sing number two.  Just in case you have overreacted you slowly and consciously try a second bite this time with the calvados, apple and walnut topping and the cake.  The apple topping is too sweet and the second bite doesn’t get any better than the first.  Three strikes … this dessert is out.  You stop eating the dessert knowing that what you eat you have to burn and this isn’t worth the effort that it will take you to burn off.

Option 2:  When you crack the brulee top on the cheesecake with the spoon and it snaps.  Nice!  The texture of the cheesecake is soft and it has a light lemon flavor in the base. Now you have a second bite this time with the apple topping and that makes it even better.  Delicious!  This indulgence has passed the two-bite test.  Now the only question you have to answer is whether it is worth burning off and only you decide that.  Given yesterday you may also want to ask yourself if the “healthy you” would be eating this?  Maybe healthy you would have this if it were a special occasion.  Only you know the answer to that question.

The other way to think of this is life is too short to waste it eating subpar food.  You can use this rule with any food it doesn’t just apply to dessert.  I follow this rule whenever I am eating anything that I consider indulgent.  If I am going to eat something that is outside my usual food then it has to be delicious.  I always remind myself that I am what I eat and that helps me to make better choices. Additionally I tell myself that restaurant food always contains more calories and fat than my food and that if I eat I have to burn it off.  These ideas make it much easier to only eat “the best” example of whatever it is I am having.

One reason that I wanted to talk about the two-bite test is something that saw online long ago that I have never forgotten. At a different blog someone had baked a dessert (a cake I think it was) and they continued to eat it every day (for a least a week) until it was gone.  All I could think of was that by day three that cake had to be dried out and not very good and yet they continued to photograph it and eat it another 4 days.  By the end the cake even looked dried out in the pictures.  I was so surprised that someone would waste calories on old dried out cake and knew that I needed to write about that some time. That dried out cake would never have passed the two-bite rule and would have gone into the trash at our house.  I hope this explains the two-bite test.

Today’s exercise:

1.       The next time you have something that you consider decadent employ the two-bite test and see what happens.  Write down your experience in your journal.  Try to answer the following questions:

·         Does the food taste different when you take your time and really try to experience it?

·         When you consciously think about the fact that you will need to burn off what you are about to eat does that cause you to naturally eat less?

·         Realizing that you deserve to enjoy the best, most delicious example of food you want (cheesecake, etc.) does that change how you view the food in front of you?

I think of this as life is too short not to eat “the best”.  If I am going to deviate from my eating plan then I expect that calorie investment (think food as a bank account) to be worth it to me.  I hope this makes sense.

Progress on my goals:

1.       Newsletters - Friday was hectic since I was busy writing the bulk of thee posts so there was no work on the newsletters that day.

2.       Body Bugg – I continue to wear my bugg and I have gotten back into using it the way I had intended when I purchased it.  Go me!  J

3.       Date with Dan – Dan and I have been going for a walk each night after dinner.  We are planning to go on a date this weekend.  *woo hoo*

4.        Measuring calorie dense food – I am making a little progress on this but I really need to focus on it with every veggie meal to help my body absorb the fat soluble vitamins.

5.       Working on my business –  My schedule got in the way of working on the business today. I am hoping that Dan and I will have some time to work on this together over the weekend. I value Dan’s opinions and would love to get his input.  If we don’t have time to do that this may have to wait until February.  *sigh*

How are you feeling about your progress so far?  I hope you feel like you have made a few lasting changes this month.  J

Random Thoughts:

Evening walks have definitely become a habit for us. We both enjoy getting out late when the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful.  It is wonderful to spend time outside each evening and spending time together.

I get a lot of questions by email about why a particular blog has been included on my blog roll.  Usually this would be because it is either not vegan or not healthy.  Many of the blogs on my blog rolls were added years ago and I haven’t looked at them in years. I am going through the list now and eliminating many that I no longer read. Expect my blog rolls to continue to change as I get time to review the list and add and delete items.  Also if you know of any blogs that I should add please let me know.  My goal is to develop a list of blogs that represent either:  healthy recipes, healthy veganism, health and nutrition in general, humor or artistic chefs who look at food in an unusual way.

Acknowledgements:

Have you made any progress writing acknowledgements?  I hope you are working on this exercise and enjoying it. I find that it helps me stay positive and recognize the things that I do every day.  Here are my acknowledgements:

·         I am very proud of myself for getting so much writing done on Friday to free up my weekend. It is nice when you know what you want to do and can make it happen. J  Since I had a little extra free time I was able to enjoy a leisurely morning and lunch with friends.

·         Thursday I decided to work on a very different recipe, the quinoa and blueberry breakfast bars.  It is definitely good to break out of my comfort zone in terms of cooking.  I think this recipe has promise and I am looking forward to perfecting it so that all of us have a healthy portable breakfast option.

Friday:

My food on Friday was again fast things that I could grab and go. I knew that I didn’t have much time since I was busy trying to write the bulk of three posts so that I could enjoy my weekend.  Here is my food from Friday.

Breakfast for me was two of the quinoa, oat, blueberry and nuts bars that I am working on. The flavor of these is good but I need to work on the texture.  I hope to have this recipe finalized next month.

I also had a grapefruit for a mid-morning snack.

Lunch was leftover kale and veggie stir-fry over black rice.  What would I do without my intentional leftovers?  ;-)

Dinner was very late and definitely made on the fly.  My brain was fried after spending the day writing and trying to be creative.  I literally had no idea what I was going to cook at 9pm.  Dan suggested smoothies but I wasn’t really in the mood for that.  However a hot soup from the Vitamix sounded appealing.  In the Vitamix I combined raw cashews, frozen spinach, frozen artichokes, onion, garlic, nutritional yeast and no-salt seasoning.

Happy thoughts:

Have you gotten into the habit of writing your happy thoughts?  I find it helpful to remind myself how often things go well and that I shouldn’t take these things for granted.   As always there are so many things to be thankful for that I almost don’t know where to start. Here are my happy thoughts:

·         I am thrilled to have gotten so much writing accomplished on Friday.  Knowing that I would have more time with my husband and friends this weekend was a wonderful feeling.

·         We both love spending time with friends and we had a nice time with our buddy Louis on Saturday.  Our sweet Aimee was also working on Saturday so we were able to spend some her too.  I couldn’t think of much nicer way to spend the afternoon than with friends. 

·         It was great to see everyone at the restaurant since this was the first time that saw them since going to hospital. They were all concerned and it was very sweet.  I am really not kidding when I say the restaurant is like “Cheers” for us.  I ducked into the kitchen before we left to catch up with Ian and he was prepping a vegan Thai vegetable dish for tonight. We may have to go back for dinner.  ;-)

·         Tomorrow we are planning to get together with Lauren, the nearly vegan nurse that we met at Hopkins earlier this month. She is the one who also lives nearby for those of you who don’t remember the story.  It will be nice to see her outside the hospital.  I already warned Ian that I am introducing a new vegan to mix; he took it better than I expected. 

·         Ian has added a healthy soup to the menu which we had for the first time today. It was vegan and had kale, white beans, sweet potatoes and I am fairly sure there was yellow miso in the broth. I will make it a point to ask him the details when we go in again so I can make my own version of it for all of you soon.  Dan, Louis and I all got the soup and it was very good.

Signing Out:

I spent most of Sunday writing for the blog and the business.  By the end of the day on Friday I was mentally exhausted. However I was also very happy to have a jump on my work for the weekend.  However it was all worth in on Saturday when I was able to take the morning and afternoon off.  We had a very nice lunch with our friend Louis and had time to fill in Aimee, Ian and the gang about our recent adventures.  I have no idea what we are going to do with our evening but I am looking forward to spending time without my computer.

Whatever you are doing this weekend I hope that you are enjoying yourself.  Tomorrow we will be working on vision boards in case you were wondering what the next post is about.  After that we only have two more health posts to go and we will return to our regularly scheduled programming.  ;-)  Talk with you all again tomorrow.

Vegan Mofo 23.1: Chanterelle and Celery Salad and Braised Artichokes and Potatoes

I am still in shock that I enjoyed the gym so much Monday morning. I loved being around other people my age that were exercising. I found the entire experience to be very energizing. Dan is now worried I am going to turn into a gym rat. On the bright side at least he will know where to find me. On the down side it could result is less cooking. ;-) I think that is the part he is worried about, LOL. However if I start planning meals and using my slow cooker and pressure cooker more often it should be fine. It isn’t like I would start serving us processed food. That is simply not an option for me.

After Dan went to work I had to run to the grocery store because we were down to our last 3 frozen bananas. Seriously that is a crisis at our house. Thankfully Giant (one of our local grocery stores) almost always has bananas at every stage of ripeness. Good thing that was the case today too. I was able to find 5 very ripe bananas that were ready to go straight into the freezer. Since we can use 5 bananas in a day (2 for Dan’s smoothie, 1 for my smoothie, and 2 for his strawberry banana soft serve) we need plenty of bananas on hand.

Lunch today was nothing special. I had a baked sweet potato (with wet hots), the lemon and mustard roasted veggies, plus roasted rutabaga, beet and onion. I also had two unpictured Brazil nuts to have with it for my healthy fat and daily dose of selenium.

Dinner was as easy as lunch. I mixed chopped roasted Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, rutabaga, and beet with cooked brown rice. I heated these together in the microwave and then stirred in chopped spinach and topped it with brown rice. This dish was very heavy on the veggies and light on the rice. If you prefer more rice to veggies I would suggest you add a little fresh lemon juice for additional flavor.

Backlogged recipes:

Late last week I made two recipes that we enjoyed. Somehow they didn’t make the blog. I suppose I was busy doing something, but who knows what it was now. Here are those recipes:

Chanterelle and Celery Salad with Truffle and Soy
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2/3 pound of fresh chanterelle mushrooms (you could substitute other fresh mushrooms)
½ teaspoon liquid aminos (or low sodium soy sauce)
1 lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon cornstarch
4 stalks celery, sliced thinly on the diagonal
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons walnuts that you have chopped
¼ teaspoon truffle oil (or substitute truffle salt and then omit the liquid aminos)

Directions:

Combine the mushrooms, liquid aminos, and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed pan with a lid. I used enameled cast iron. Cook covered for a few minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid. Remove the strained mushrooms leaving the cooking liquid in the pan. Store the mushrooms in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Dissolve the cornstarch in a little water and add to the pan and cook to tighten the sauce. Refrigerate the sauce until needed.

To serve combine the celery, parsley, tomatoes, cold cooked mushrooms, and the cooled sauce and toss to combine. Pile the salad onto a plate and top with the chopped walnuts and a tiny amount of truffle oil for aroma.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories 87.49
Calories From Fat (55%) - 48.46

Total Fat - 5.76g
Saturated Fat - 0.59g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 158.84mg
Potassium - 423.4mg
Total Carbohydrates - 8.67g
Fiber - 2.63g
Sugar - 2.62g
Protein - 2.46g

Comments:

Since I don’t typically use either liquid aminos or oil I bet this recipe was unexpected. This was actually an experiment for Thanksgiving. While Dan and I liked it I think the celery and parsley leaves added more flavor than the remainder of my family would find enjoyable. If I had fresh truffle slices those would have been perfect in this salad in place of the truffle oil. Overall I enjoyed this dish a lot but it does have a big flavor punch.

The next recipe is a simple Italian dish that is mostly traditional. Of course I eliminated the typical olive oil but that was the only major change. Here is what I did:

Braised Artichokes Braised with Potatoes and Peas (carciofi con piselli e patate)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 red onion
4 cloves garlic
1 pound small red new potatoes (I cooked them whole to maximize the nutrition)
2 ounces dry white wine (like pinot grigio) or veg stock
4 ounces water
20 ounces frozen artichoke quarters or halves
½ lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups peas
¼ cup parsley, minced

Directions:

Combine the onion, garlic, potatoes, wine or veg stock, water and artichokes in a heavy pan with a lid. Cook covered until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a paring knife. Now add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and cook until the peas are hot. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley and serve.

Nutritional Information (assumes you used the wine not veg stock):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 245.99
Calories From Fat (2%) - 5.55

Total Fat - 0.68g
Saturated Fat - 0.08g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 227.21mg
Potassium - 1278.35mg
Total Carbohydrates - 50.82g
Fiber - 13.26g
Sugar - 4.28g
Protein - 11.69g

Comments:

I love this dish because it is easy and fast yet it tastes great. This is one of those dishes I could eat for days. If you like potatoes, artichokes and lemon this might be the dish for you. Dan liked this a little better than the salad (above) and he isn’t the biggest fan of artichokes. Imagine he doesn’t understand why I am always confused about what to cook. Nothing like having consistency, LOL.

Christmas?:

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Every year Cross Keys does a nice winter display with adorable lighted deer throughout the complex. They are just starting to put them out and are testing the lights. I thought you might enjoy this picture I snapped last night.

Vegan Meetup:

Dan and I have decided we are going to the Baltimore dinner on December 15th. I will fill you guys in on how this works out.  I have no idea what to expect.  This is not something either of us would typically do. We will see how if coming out of our comfort zone is a good thing, or not.  ;-)

Happy Thoughts:

Tuesday morning has been good so far. Here are my happy thoughts this morning:

• Somehow I was able to fall asleep and stay asleep last night. It seems to be easier to shift our sleeping schedule than I expected. That has been a very pleasant surprise.

• We were up and at the gym bright (well not so bright) and early this morning. The picture above is the gym when we arrived this morning. It feels so wrong to be working out this early in the morning, LOL. We both got a good hour of cardio in this morning.

• The pool at the gym was much less crowded this morning. Yesterday it was packed. I am making notes so I can see when will be the best time to use it. I heard a rumor that Michael Phelps works out here. I am keeping my eyes peeled for that so I can let you know and maybe get a picture.

• We have been enjoying our unseasonably warm weather the last few days.

• Today I am going to prep some recipes for Thanksgiving to make Thursday less hectic. I am looking forward to spending some time in the kitchen today.

Signing out:

It is time for me to get my strength training out of the way and get cooking.  I also need to get caught up responding to email. For those of you waiting for responses I apologize. Email is on my list to tackle today.

I hope all of you have a great day. Talk to you again soon.

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Much to my surprise Dan actually left work earlier than usual today, before 6:30pm if you can imagine. This meant I didn’t have dinner ready since he has been working late this week. When I need a quick meal zucchini pasta always works.

The sauce I made today is a raw version of a creamy tomato sauce that typically has vodka. I used raw cashews in place of cream and added wine vinegar for the vodka. Both Dan and I liked the way this turned out. Here is what we had tonight:

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, spiralized
14 ounce can artichokes hearts, quartered
2 large tomatoes, rough chopped
½ cup raw cashews (soaked for at least 30 minutes and drained if not using a high speed blender)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 medjool date, pitted
½ tablespoon wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 basil leaves, julienned
2 sprigs oregano, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the tomatoes, cashews, garlic, date and wine vinegar in your blender and process until smooth. If you are using a high speed blender it is not necessary to soak the cashews. Taste the sauce once it is smooth and add black pepper and/or adjust seasonings to your taste.

To plate, place the zucchini pasta on the base of the plate, top with sauce, artichokes and herbs. Serve cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 342.51
Calories From Fat (28%)-  97.36

Total Fat - 11.67g
Saturated Fat - 2.01g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 222.92mg
Potassium - 2031.13mg
Total Carbohydrates - 55.28g
Fiber - 18.31g
Sugar - 17.78g
Protein - 16.16g

Comments:

Both Dan and I enjoyed this dish. The sauce is rich (from the cashews) yet still light and with a hint of sweetness from the date. I will definitely be making this again since we both enjoyed it and it was quick.

Unrelated note:

I wanted to let you know why there have been fewer posts recently. I seem to have lost my blogging voice temporarily. Over the last week or so I haven’t felt like I have much to say. Additionally I haven’t felt much like cooking. I assume this will pass but at the moment I am riding it out while I wait for things to return to normal.

The raw cracker experiment from yesterday turned out different from other raw crackers I have made. It isn’t exactly what I wanted but they are thinner and very crisp. I am moving in the right direction with the crackers but we aren’t there yet. But given the results on the latest recipe I am fairly sure I will come up with a raw version of Mary’s crackers at some point. I think it is only a matter of time.

I made another version of lentil pate late this afternoon. It is still chilling so I am not ready to post the recipe yet. I hope to be able to sample it early tomorrow so I can share the recipe. This version is seasoned like traditional pate.

For now I need to run. A certain husband “needs” strawberry banana soft serve while he watches sci fi. Talk to you tomorrow.

Artichoke and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

Yesterday was a lazy and relaxing day for me. After I finished with my “must do” list I spent the rest of the day doing things I enjoy, specifically yoga and reading. It was a great “ all about me” day. I really need to do that a little more often.

Since I was so busy, doing nothing, I didn’t plan dinner. This is the sort of meal I make when I need something healthy that doesn’t take a lot of time. In the past I would have used olive oil and pancetta to sauté the veggies (but no more) and this would have been over pasta, and finished with parmesan cheese. My tastes have changed so much that I don’t miss the oil, pancetta or cheese at all. (Who am I?) I added the lemon to this to add fresh acidity to the dish for extra flavor since I have eliminated so many other flavorful components. Fresh parsley would have been great in this, but I am out.

This recipe works just as well with frozen or canned artichokes. I have even made it with marinated artichokes and that works surprisingly well and adds more acidity, which I love. If you need a quick dinner one night this is a good one. Here is what we had last night for dinner over brown rice.

Artichoke and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
Serves 2 hungry adults

Ingredients:

1 yellow or red onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking so allicin can develop)
½ cup water
10 baby artichokes cleaned and quartered (or use frozen artichokes)
28 ounces fire roasted tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon Chianti vinegar (or any wine vinegar)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges – for serving
Brown rice or pasta to serve sauce over

Directions:

Water sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the artichokes, tomatoes, vinegar, and seasonings and simmer until the artichokes are tender.

Serve over rice or pasta with a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze over the dish for a little fresh acidic bite.

Nutritional Information (does not include the rice):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 240.39
Calories From Fat (7%) - 17.91

Total Fat - 2.14g
Saturated Fat - 0.41g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 619.26mg
Potassium - 1736.58mg
Total Carbohydrates - 52.67g
Fiber - 16.82g
Sugar - 4.08g
Protein  - 12.9g

Comments:

This is one of my go to sauces when I haven’t planned dinner. I like knowing that artichokes are very high in antioxidants. My hubby likes anything with a tomato based sauce, so we are both happy. Each serving of this sauce contains 2,800IU of vitamin A, 50mg of vitamin C, 210mg of calcium, 7mg of iron, 260mcg of folate, 260mg of phosphorus, and 140mg of magnesium. I also like that this dish is so high in potassium and fiber.

Unrelated Note:

Today my plan is to get one or two of my backlogged recipes posted and spend some time in the kitchen. I have a pound of white beans cooking now. I like to make beans ahead of time and keep them in the freezer in 1 cup containers to use like canned beans (which I gave up buying to try to reduce our overall BPA consumption). The white beans will be used for one of my “cream” soups without cream tonight.

Before Dan left for work today he saw the white beans soaking and immediately said, “Are you making white chili? I love your white chili.” (Big smile) Well, I wasn’t going to make white chili but it looks like I am now. He knows how to get his way doesn’t he? It must be nice to be king. ;) As he likes to say, “It is all about him.” Don’t tell him, but it really is all about him. I don’t want it to go to his head.

I will be back later with another recipe as soon as I get a few things accomplished at home. The feline royalty needs to be attended to now. Nothing like cat grooming to make my morning complete, and potentially bloody. Wish me luck.

Artichoke and Walnut Salad

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. I think it is an Italian thing. I am always on the lookout for a new way to serve artichokes. This salad with walnuts is a nice change. You can also make this salad with hazelnut oil and hazelnuts if you prefer.

This salad is light but flavorful. The Dijon flavor does not overpower the salad. The walnut oil adds a nice flavor that echoes the toasted walnuts.

One of my favorite things about this salad is that it is something you can make quickly and most of the items are always in my pantry.

Artichoke and Walnut Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

28 ounces of brined, canned artichokes, drained
½ tablespoon of walnut oil (or canola)
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
½ tablespoon of sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the walnut oil, Dijon mustard and sherry vinegar. Whisk to emulsify the dressing. Toss the artichokes in the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve check the dish for salt and pepper and adjust as necessary. Add the toast walnuts just before serving so they remain crunchy.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 93.76
Calories From Fat (38%) - 35.91

Total Fat - 4.21g
Saturated Fat - 0.39g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 761.33mg
Potassium - 22.55mg
Total Carbohydrates - 11.33g
Fiber - 1.84g
Sugar - 0.1g
Protein - 3.65g

Comments:

If you are an artichoke fan this salad is a nice change from some of the more common salads. I liked the textural contrast of the walnuts to the soft artichokes. This salad would be great on a crostini that was topped with almond feta.

Fattoush – my way

If you like lemon you will like fattoush. I first had this at a Lebanese restaurant and instantly loved it. The original recipe is high in calories from the olive oil in the dressing. My version of fattoush uses chia seeds to emulsify the dressing with much less fat. I kept the important parts of the salad, the small dice of tomato and cucumber, the lemon juice, sumac and toasted flat bread.

If you are unfamiliar with sumac it is a ground dried berry that has a tart lemony flavor. I buy my sumac on-line from Zamouri Spice.

Fattoush – my way
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat roll up, torn into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon of olive oil
10 cups of mesclun greens, torn into bite sized pieces
½ cup of fresh parsley, leaves picked
1 cup of red tomatoes, finely diced
1 cup of yellow tomatoes, finely diced
2 cups of cucumbers, finely diced
¼ cup of broccoli sprouts
3 tablespoons of lemon dressing (recipe below)
14 ounces of brined artichokes, cut into bite sized pieces
2 teaspoons of sumac powder

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed skilled. Toss the flat bread pieces in the oil and cook over medium heat until the bread is crispy. When crispy turn off the heat and finish the salad.

Put all the vegetables into a large bowl and toss with the dressing. When the vegetables are evenly coated sprinkle with the sumac powder and toss to coat.

Place the salad and top with the crispy flat bread pieces so they stay crispy as long as possible.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 284.18
Calories From Fat (31%) - 87.75

Total Fat - 10.36g
Saturated Fat - 1.34g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 965.78mg
Potassium - 1155.62mg
Total Carbohydrates - 39.64g
Fiber - 15.49g
Sugar - 7.41g
Protein - 15.02g

Lemon Dressing for Fattoush Salad
Makes 12 tablespoons

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of ground chia seeds
juice and zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of water
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients and stir so the chia seeds are evenly distributed. Stir every few minutes while the chia seeds are absorbing the water. The dressing is ready to use in 10 minutes and will hold in the refrigerator for days.

Nutritional Information (per tablespoon):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 44.62
Calories From Fat (72%) - 32.07

Total Fat - 3.71g
Saturated Fat - 0.46g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 40.32mg
Potassium - 15.08mg
Total Carbohydrates - 2.61g
Fiber - 1.87g
Sugar - 0.14g
Protein - 0.77g

Comments:

This salad is light but filling. It is a good salad to have if you are eating late and don’t want a heavy meal to digest before bed. I make this a lot of lunch since I normally always have lettuce, tomato, cucumber, lemon and flat bread in the house. If you like feta, the almond feta would be nice on this salad.

Rice Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

The weather was quite hot and unpleasant today on the East Coast so I decided to have a cold meal for dinner. One farmer at the market this morning had a basket of huge tomatoes that were begging to be stuffed tomatoes. Since I wasn’t turning on the oven I thought putting a cold rice salad would be good, and it was.

The rice salad is very much Mediterranean inspired. I am a bit of an artichoke and caper fiend so they end up in many recipes I make up. If my husband were a fan of olives those would have been in this rice salad. A little olive oil in this salad would also have been good if you aren’t obsessive about your fat intake.

Rice Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large beefsteak sized tomatoes
1 cup of cold cooked rice (I used short grain brown rice colored with a little turmeric)
14 ounce can of brined artichokes, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of capers
¼ teaspoon of oregano, dried
1 – 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, optional

Directions:

Cut a large opening in the top of the tomatoes. Scoop the tomato seeds out with a spoon. Sprinkle the inside of the tomatoes with a little kosher salt and invert the tomato on a tray with a rack to allow some of the excess moisture to release.

Mix the rice salad together (rice, artichokes, capers, oregano, and vinegar). Taste the rice salad for seasoning and adjust as necessary. If you are using the pine nuts add them now and stir them into the salad.

Stuff the salad into the tomato and serve cold.

Nutritional Information (without optional ingredients):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 151.27
Calories From Fat (8%) - 11.48

Total Fat - 1.4g
Saturated Fat - 0.09g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 481.38mg
Potassium - 411.07mg
Total Carbohydrates - 34.19g
Fiber - 4.43g
Sugar - 0.02g
Protein - 4.66g

Comments:

This was a nice refreshing salad. I like the delicacy of the rice salad with the “meatiness” of the tomato flesh. Even without the olive oil this salad had plenty of flavor. It would be beautiful served on a bed of lightly dressed baby spinach leaves. Vegans and omnivores alike enjoyed these tomatoes this evening.

Brown Rice, Artichoke, Sun Dried Tomato and Caper Salad

Saturday night we had a black bean and garlic sauce vegetable stir fry and I made extra rice so that could use it on Sunday. I decided the rice would make a nice cold rice salad, which was the main component of dinner on Sunday. Much to my surprise I was able to keep the fat percentage down to 11% and yet make a flavorful rice salad. I will be using the 6 to 1 ratio for acid to fat going forward since it worked so well here.

This rice salad gets most of its flavor from the sherry vinegar, which I adore. You could also use red wine vinegar if you prefer. If fat is not a big concern you could add a few diced black oil cured olives, or toasted pine nuts to this salad. Both would be delicious, and would have been included if fat were not an issue for us.

Both my husband and I enjoyed this salad. It would make a great picnic dish since it doesn’t contain mayo or animal products.

Brown Rice, Artichoke, Sun Dried Tomato and Caper Salad
Serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

4 cups of brown basmati rice, cooked and cold
3 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
½ tablespoon of canola oil
14 ounce can of brined artichokes, drained and cut into bite size pieces
12 sun dried tomatoes, finely diced
2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon of capers
6 cups of baby spinach, rinsed and spun dry

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients (except the spinach) and toss well to evenly distribute. Refrigerate the rice for a minimum of a couple of hours to allow the flavors to marry. Check for salt and pepper before serving.

To serve, line a bowl with the baby spinach and top with the cold rice salad.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 304.22
Calories From Fat (11%) - 33.55

Total Fat 3.92g
Saturated Fat - 0.53g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 569.04mg
Potassium - 836.18mg
Total Carbohydrates - 60.37g
Fiber - 7.14g
Sugar - 4.82g
Protein - 9g

Comments:

Normally I would have used double the amount of oil in this salad. However, I learned with this salad that it isn’t necessary. I wouldn’t eliminate the oil completely, since fat is required for the body to process fat soluble vitamins. We served this salad over baby spinach for the nutrition. Dark leafy greens are packed with nutrition and we are trying to eat as many of them as we can each week.

This recipe makes 4 large servings. We ate this as our main dish and it was almost too big. With the reduction in overall fat I have been intentionally increasing our serving sizes to keep the calories up.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Artichoke and Olive Spread and Almond Feta

If you are following the blog you know that we have a few par cooked pizza crusts to be used this week. Since we will be eating pizza for a few days I needed to come up with a few variations. Today I knew I wanted to make an artichoke based spread. This pizza is light and refreshing and has a nice blend of subtle flavors. If you like a more mild pizza this makes a good recipe. The baby arugula was added for a little bitterness, which I enjoy. I couldn’t resist a little drizzle of unfiltered olive oil for flavor. Sometimes the Italian in me demands to do something traditional like drizzle finishing oil on pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Artichoke and Olive Spread and Almond Feta
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/5 of whole wheat pizza dough, par cooked
1 batch of artichoke and olive spread
2 tablespoons of almond feta
1 cup of baby arugula
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, unfiltered is best in terms of flavor intensity

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with baking stone on top shelf.

When the oven reaches temperature smear the artichoke and olive spread evenly on the par cooked pizza crust. Top with almond feta and bake on the pizza stone until it is heated through (about 4 minutes). Remove pizza from the oven and top with baby arugula and a drizzle of olive oil. Cut in wedges and serve immediately while still hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 353.71
Calories From Fat (30%) - 105.38

Total Fat - 13.64g
Saturated Fat - 1.25g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 345.38mg
Potassium - 191.06mg
Total Carbohydrates - 60.38g
Fiber - 8.11g
Sugar - 1.42g
Protein - 9.64g

Comments:

If you are looking for pizza topping variations this is a good one. If we had organic lemons in the house I would have added a little lemon zest to the top of the pizza as a finishing touch. Other than the lemon I can’t think of anything else I would add to this pizza.

Artichoke and Black Olive Spread

I wanted a subtle spread to use as a base for pizza tonight that didn’t overwhelm my almond feta and this is the spread I devised on the fly.

Artichoke and Black Olive Spread
Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

14 ounce can of brined artichokes, drained well
12 black olives
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of pickled peppers

Directions:

Put everything in the food processor and puree until thoroughly combined and well minced.

Use this as a dip, spread or as we are tonight, on a pizza.

Nutritional Information (for the entire recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 71.1
Calories From Fat (56%) - 39.8

Total Fat - 4.67g
Saturated Fat - 0.61g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 411.32mg
Potassium - 132.16mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.29g
Fiber - 3.15g
Sugar - 0.25g
Protein - 1.56g

Comments:

This is a good spread on a cracker, as a dip for vegetables or as the base of a pizza. It is so quick and easy to make there is no need to purchase the jarred varieties of artichoke salsa that are sold in my local market. If you want to change the spread you can add a few diced sun dried tomatoes, more garlic or olives, fresh herbs or pine nuts.

White Bean and Artichoke Dip

I made a pound of white beans earlier today for my tomato and white bean penne. With the remainder of the beans I decided to make a bean and artichoke dip. I make many different variations of bean dip. I use all different types of beans, and a lot of different flavorings. Garlic tends to make its way into most of my bean dips. I love the flavor or garlic and the idea that it may be helping to protect us from cancer. The flavor combinations that work with bean dips are almost endless and are limited only by your imagination. If you are going to keep your dip low fat it is important that you add a lot of flavor with spices and seasonings.

White Bean and Artichoke Dip
Makes 8 – ½ cup servings

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked white beans, well drained
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons hot crushed peppers
14 ounce can of artichokes, well drained and chopped fine

Directions:

Add white beans, limes, chili powder, garlic, pepper and hot crushed peppers to the food processor and puree. Add the finely chopped artichokes to the bean dip and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I serve this with carrot, celery and cucumber sticks. It is also good on crackers or toast.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 182.21
Calories From Fat (3%) - 4.6

Total Fat - 0.56g
Saturated Fat - 0.12g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 292.58mg
Potassium - 802.03mg
Total Carbohydrates - 35.73g
Fiber - 9.65g
Sugar - 0.72g
Protein - 11.48g

Comments:

This bean dip has a lot of flavor and texture. Lime is the most predominant flavor followed closely by the chili powder and hot crushed peppers. I like the textural variation this dip gets from the minced artichokes. This is good as a dip or a sandwich spread if you are looking for something to hold the fillings into a sandwich.

I love that one half cup of this dip has more then 9 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein for under 200 calories. One of the reasons I like beans and bean dips so much is that they are such a great source of protein and fiber for so few calories.

Whole Wheat Penne with Tomato Artichoke Sauce

When I need a quick dinner I frequently turn to salad and some type of pasta. Tonight we wanted something tomato sauce based for the prostate cancer protection. I had a little of my basic tomato sauce in the freezer and decided to add plain canned tomato sauce to extend the sauce and mellow it out a little. I was making dinner for my husband and parents tonight, and my 80-year-old mother is not very tolerant of spicy food. So, you do what to need to do to make everyone happy.

This sauce was born out of necessity one evening when I wanted artichoke and tomato sauce and didn’t have any frozen artichokes. I grabbed some marinated artichokes, gave them a quick rinse and drain and tossed them into the sauce. To my great surprise the marinated artichokes added a nice acidity that I didn’t plan, but really enjoyed. Adding the marinated artichokes has the same impact as adding capers or olives to the sauce. I now add marinated artichokes to my sauce intentionally.

Whole Wheat Penne with Tomato Artichoke Sauce
Makes 7 servings (provided you have a large salad with this main dish)

Ingredients:

5 ¼ cups of basic tomato sauce
28 ounces of tomato sauce, canned
13.25 ounces of whole wheat penne pasta
2 cups of marinated artichoke hearts, quartered, drained and lightly rinsed

Directions:

Combine the spicy homemade tomato sauce with canned plain tomato sauce and cook over a very low flame so that it simmers gently, for an hour. This slow cooking will reduce the sauce so that it coats the pasta as you see in the photo above.

Cook the penne pasta in 6 quarts of salted water until the pasta is al dente (about one minute less than the package indicates).

While the pasta is cooking quarter, drain and rinse the marinated artichoke hearts. Add the artichokes to the tomato sauce during the last few minutes of cooking so that the artichokes will heat through.

When the pasta is cooked toss it with the sauce and serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount per Serving
Calories - 302
Calories From Fat (7%) - 22.57

Total Fat - 2.59g
Saturated Fat - 0.07g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 813.94mg
Potassium - 733.85mg
Total Carbohydrates - 59.8g
Fiber - 11.73g
Sugar - 8.98g
Protein - 11.49g

Comments:

This pasta has a nice background of flavor from the hot peppers, olives and vegetables. I tend to like my sauce with bigger flavors but this is a great compromise if you are making dinner for people that aren’t big fans of heat. While this sauce is somewhat mild, it may still be too spicy for children.

Fortunately we have a few servings of this left over for lunch. This pasta reheats well in the microwave, like most pasta dishes. When I pack this for lunch I add lightly cooked broccoli to the dish. Combining lightly cooked broccoli and tomatoes enhances the cancer fighting abilities of both items (or at least that is what researchers that know more about this than I do claim).

Spicy Tofu, Raw Cashew and Artichoke Dip or Spread

(pictured: Spicy Tofu Spread on Toasted Sprouted Hemp Seed Bread with Broccoli Sprouts)

I consider myself a recovering cheese addict. I practically worshipped at the altar of the cheese gods. We used to buy a lot of cheese at Costco, and that was for a family of two. So you can imagine how much cheese I have consumed in my lifetime. Goat cheese and ricotta were both frequently in my refrigerator. I loved the soft spreadable texture and how the cheese would snuggle the fillings into a sandwich. This tofu spread (or dip) functions in much the same way as soft cheese. The texture is not quite as firm due to the artichokes, but I like the flavor they add, so I give up a little firm texture for the added flavor.

If you are looking for ways to increase your consumption of tofu this is a great recipe to try. Many years ago my husband told me he would eat tofu provided it didn’t taste like tofu. I have become very adept at making tofu that tastes like other things.

Consuming Dairy products is not good for anyone’s health. If you look at the saturated fat content of all cheeses I think you will be surprised. Additionally consuming dairy has been linked to an increase in cancer. Even if you aren’t vegan, replacing cheese with tofu anywhere you can is a good idea, in my opinion.

Spicy Tofu, Raw Cashew and Artichoke Dip or Spread
Makes 25 (2 tablespoon servings)

Ingredients:

14 ounce of extra firm tofu, thoroughly drained
1 cup of raw cashews
1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons of hot crushed peppers (wet hots)
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
10 sun dried tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place everything in your food processor and puree until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 43.39
Calories From Fat (51%) - 21.96

Total Fat - 2.63g
Saturated Fat - 0.39g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 227.15mg
Potassium - 136.39mg
Total Carbohydrates - 2.89g
Fiber - 0.71g
Sugar - 0.62g
Protein - 3.02

Comments:

This soft spread is good on bread as a mayonnaise replacement to hold the ingredients into your sandwich. Today I served it on toasted sprouted hemp seed bread with broccoli sprouts on top. This recipe is also good used as a dip for raw vegetables or dolloped on top of roasted vegetables.

Sicilian Inspired Chickpea Sandwich Filling with Artichokes

Question: How can I use chickpeas on a sandwich that doesn’t involve hummus?

Answer: Try a smashed chickpea sandwich filling.

I love hummus, but sometimes need a change. This sandwich filling also uses chickpeas but instead of pureeing them I smashed them lightly. The purpose for smashing the chickpeas is to keep the filling from rolling out of the sandwich easily. The lime juice (acid) was added for flavor, without resorting to salt. The filling needed a little oil for flavor. I use a lot of hot crushed peppers. I love the flavor and heat the peppers add without a lot of calories. The marinated artichokes were included for both flavor and texture. The slightly firm texture of the chickpeas was a nice contrast against the softness of the artichoke hearts.

Sicilian Inspired Chickpea Sandwich Filling with Artichokes
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried chickpeas, cooked and drained
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of hot crushed peppers
½ teaspoon of dulse granules (or substitute kosher salt to taste)
1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, drained thoroughly and roughly chopped

Directions:

Cook chickpeas and drain thoroughly. Add lime juice and olive oil to chickpeas while still hot so they absorb the flavors better. Using a potato masher, crush the beans roughly. Add the remaining ingredients to the chickpeas and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 128.17
Calories From Fat (28%) - 36.34

Total Fat - 4.16g
Saturated Fat - 0.54g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 227.53mg
Potassium - 287.92mg
Total Carbohydrates - 20.31g
Fiber - 5.39g
Sugar - 0.3g
Protein - 4.56g

Comments:

I served this chickpea salad on a sprouted whole grain wrap with broccoli sprouts and lamb’s quarters. The broccoli sprouts were included fro their cancer fighting potential. The lamb’s quarters was included for their high nutritional values. This filling would also make a nice topping for a green salad.

Whole Wheat Pizzette with Almond Feta and Marinated Artichokes

This entry is more a combination of items that I made previously on this blog than an actual recipe. It is an example of what you can do if you have the pizzette and almond feta in the refrigerator (or freezer).

Whole Wheat Pizzette with Almond Feta and Marinated Artichokes
Makes 8 pizzette, serves 4 with a salad and vegetable sides

Ingredients:

¼ cup of almond feta (not topped with oil and thyme)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of parsley, finely minced
½ teaspoon of fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems
freshly cracked black pepper
8 whole wheat pizzette
1 marinated artichoke, cut into eights

Directions:

Mix the almond feta, olive oil, parsley and thyme until well blended. Spread 1/8 of the almond feta mixture onto each pizzette. Top each pizzette with the marinated artichoke and freshly cracked black pepper.

These can be served cold, warm or hot.

Comments:

This makes a fast snack, or a nice addition to green salad for dinner.

Pasta with Peppers, Onions and Artichokes in Tomato Sauce

We eat a lot of pasta in our house. As I like to say, it is an Italian thing. Pasta makes such a fast dinner, and is a versatile food. About 5 years ago we made the switch to whole grain pasta and now white flour pasta seems too “squishy” and almost flavorless. Whole grain pasta is so much healthier for you that it is worth trying if you haven't made the switch yet.

This sauce is low in fat and calories and contains many vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene (a carotenoid) and have been widely studied for cancer preventing properties. It has been theorized that lycopene reduces most types of cancer. According to studies, the body is better able to absorb the lycopene when the tomatoes are cooked (as is the case for canned tomatoes) and are consumed with fat (olives, pine nuts and olive oil in this recipe).

The bell peppers are full of vitamins A and C, which are powerful antioxidants. Red bell peppers are also full of lycopene like tomatoes and consuming them is inversely related to many forms of cancer.

Artichokes are antioxidant powerhouses containing many different variants. They contain quercitin like onions, which is a flavonoid that is anticarcinogenic. They also contain rutin with is anti-inflammatory as well as helps to prevent cellular proliferation. The anthocyanins also lower cancer risk and promote urinary tract health. Besides tasting great, artichokes are very good for you.

Pine nuts are full of vitamins A, C and D. Pine nuts are also full of monounsaturated fat that is beneficial for the cardiovascular system. The vitamin D in pine nuts is known to help with the absorption of calcium and to boost the immune system

Pasta with Peppers, Onions and Artichokes in Tomato Sauce
Serves 6 as a main dish

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, diced
6 stalks of celery from the heart, diced
4 carrots, sliced lengthwise then cut into coins
3 red or yellow peppers sliced, 1/2" strips
1/2 cup dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
28 ounces diced tomato
14 ounces tomato sauce
15 ounce can of artichokes, drained and cut into 1/4's
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon, oregano - dried
1/2 teaspoon, thyme - dried
12 silican olives pitted and minced
1 tablespoon jarred crushed hot peppers (aka wet hots)
Salt and pepper to taste
13.5 ounce box whole-wheat penne, cooked according to package directions

For garnish - whole wheat panko, minced garlic, pine nut toasted in a little olive oil until lightly brown and mixed with fresh minced parsley, optional

Directions:

Sauté onions, carrot, celery and garlic in the white wine for approximately 5 minutes, or until softened slightly. Add the remaining ingredients (except pasta and garnish) and cook covered over low for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to marry. If the sauce starts to become to thick add more wine, vegetable stock or water to thin it out. Toss the cooked pasta with sauce and garnish with the breadcrumb mixture if desired.

Comments:

This is a light healthy pasta that is still somehow substantial due to the whole wheat. We eat a variation of this pasta at least once a month.