Tuesday, July 2, 2013

MOD tries healthy recipies

A few days ago I decided to try for myself one of the delicious recipes from the American Diabetes Association website. Since I love pasta, I found a recipe that uses low carb Rotini. I started off making the ground beef and spinach sauce using this recipe: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/recipes/dreamfields-rotini-with-ground-beef-and-spinach.html



Ingredients (Makes 6 servings)
1 box Dreamfields Rotini, Penne Rigate or Elbows
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 pound (90%) lean ground beef
1 can (8 ounces) no salt added tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 package (10 ounces) spinach leaves, shredded
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt (optional)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Preparation
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beef; cook until no longer pink, stirring and breaking beef into pieces.
  3. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spinach, basil and red pepper flakes; continue cooking 3 minutes. Season with salt, if desired.
  4. Drain pasta. Add to skillet; toss with beef mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

 
Nutritional Information (1/6 of recipe)
401 calories
27 g protein
14 g digestible carbohydrates*
11 g total fat
4 g saturated fat
49 mg cholesterol
178 mg sodium
8 g total dietary fiber
 
I found that healthy cooking can be fun and delicious. People with diabetes can work with a diabetes educator or dietitian to design a meal plan that includes the foods they love. Foods high in carbohydrates raise blood sugar the most and need to be monitored throughout the day. Round your meals out with meat and non-starchy vegetables. For more diabetes friendly recipes look here: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/recipes/