"Healthy" Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie
High in protein, low in fat, and gluten-free: mom's traditional dinner without all the calories!

8 oz. rice spaghetti 
4 egg whites
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 lb. ground turkey breast
Pepper, oregano, parsley and garlic to taste
1 16-oz. container of low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese
4 oz (1 cup) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

1 jar of Newman's pasta sauce (or pasta sauce of your choice - Newman's just happens to be my personal favorite) 

Optional: spinach, tofu

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9"x13" glass pan.  

Brown the chopped onion and green pepper and then the ground turkey breast, adding pepper, oregano, parsley and garlic to taste.  While browning, cook the rice spaghetti al dente, drain and rinse well.  

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and mix in Parmesan cheese.  Next, add the cooked spaghetti and toss until evenly covered.  Spread the spaghetti mixture into the bottom of the glass pan as your "crust".  Spoon the entire container of cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust and add spinach, green peppers and/or tofu chunks on top if you choose.

Spread the ground turkey breast on top of the cottage cheese mixture, cover with the spaghetti sauce and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.  

Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Voila!

Healthy Food? Me?

Sitting at lunch the other day, I didn't know exactly how to respond when the girl next to me said,

"What's with you and the healthy food? I mean, do you really always eat that way?"

I glanced over at her country-fried porkchop microwave dinner and then down at my homemade spaghetti pie. Hmmm. In my journey from a size 12 to a size 2 and by going gluten-free, I had almost forgotten about microwave dinners. Having been teased many times about eating "bird food" over the last couple of years, her comment didn't surprise me too much. But my spaghetti pie? Healthy? Well...yes, I guess it is! But more importantly, it's a delicious lunch that I'm always excited about, and let's just say she didn't look especially thrilled when her pork chop came sizzling, or rather, squeaking, out of the microwave.

So after lots of experimentation and ruining just a couple of meals, I'm excited to share thoughts, recipes and lessons that will hopefully help you with cooking, creating, and concocting as well as preventing you from eating squeaky microwaved pork chops. I'll share tips on making meals healthier, leaner and gluten-free and welcome your comments and suggestions.

Welcome to my kitchen.