August Already?

Can you believe it is August already? The summer is flying by!

As of today, Beren and I are on vacation, arrived at the Ormond house late last night. While vacations can typically be very dangerous for diets, it's much easier when the destination is your own full-equipped home. While I'm sure we will go out for a couple of meals, I plan to cook most of our meals so I have no excuse for holiday weight gain!

With this in mind, I got up this morning and surveyed the food stockpile, found it sorely lacking in fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein - staples of a "clean" diet. I also have to keep in mind the taste buds of Beren's girls who are with us this week. I might have mentioned their aversion to vegetables and reliance on processed garbage (they consider Pop-Tarts a food group) and while I won't contribute to their poor eating habits, I do need to ensure that they eat something while in my care. I'm confident that tonight's dinner won't be devoured by them but hopefully it won't be met with disgust either. (God, how I hate the teen years!)

The original recipe can be found here, I adapted it slightly to make it mostly-vegetarian and a bit healthier.

"Sausage" Pasta
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3/4 pound whole wheat pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces meatless sausage crumbles
1 medium onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic -- minced
14 1/2 ounces fat-free chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
14 1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.

In a large skillet, heat oil and sausage crumbles; cook through until thawed. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Add broth, basil and tomatoes with liquid.

Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to slightly reduce. Add chopped spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender.

Add pasta to skillet and mix together. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

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Serves 4 (generously). Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 438 Calories; 8g Fat (14.8% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 77g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 812mg Sodium.

Have a Beauty-Full Day,