Recipe for “Roasted Spaghetti with Mozzarella, Basil and Tomatoes”

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 pint red grape tomatoes
• 1 pint yellow grape tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt and some for the pasta water, divided, adjust to suit your own taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided, adjust to suit your own taste
• 3 cups (about 1 large bunch) arugula, washed and stem ends removed
• 1 cup basil, leaves removed from stems
• 6 to 8 sprigs tarragon, leaves removed from stems
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large ball fresh mozzarella, cut into small dice
• 1 loaf crusty bread

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil, generously salt the water and cook the spaghetti to al dente, according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve about a cup of the starchy cooking liquid.
3. On a baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, the salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast until tender and bursting, about 10 minutes.
4. While the tomatoes are roasting, start the pesto: In a food processor, add the arugula, basil, tarragon, pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times, add the Parmesan cheese, then drizzle in the remaining olive oil with the machine running until it's all combined.
5. Scoop pesto into a mixing bowl, add the reserved pasta water, drained pasta, roasted tomatoes and mozzarella and toss to coat.

P/S: For more healthy, delicious recipes, please visit the archive section.

Recipe for "Tomato Mascarpone Bruschetta”

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 10 leaves fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to suit your own taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, adjust to suit your own taste
• 4 large slices crusty peasant bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices then cut in half on an angle
• Some extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1.2 cup mascarpone cheese (if you can't find mascarpone, substitute with cream cheese)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes and basil, season with some salt and pepper and then stir to combine. Set aside while you are toasting the bread on the grill.
3. Drizzle the bread slices with a little extra virgin olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Place them on the grill until they're lightly marked and toasted on both sides. Remove the bread from the grill to a platter then spread each piece of bread with some of the mascarpone. Top with some of the tomato mixture.

P/S: Don’t forget to check out the archive section for more healthy delicious recipes.

Recipe for “Ratatouille Pasta!”

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 head garlic
• 1 medium eggplant/aubergine, ends removed, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 2 to 3 medium zucchini, ends removed, quartered and into small chunks
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeds removed and cut into small chunks
• 1 large onion, cut into small chunks
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound penne
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup (a large handful) grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to pass at the table
• 1 teaspoon of salt, adjust to suit your own taste
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, adjust to suit your own taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Cut a sliver off the top of the garlic head just large enough to expose the cloves. Tear off a large square of aluminium foil and place the garlic in the centre. Drizzle a small amount of oil over the head and wrap the foil up around it. Place in the oven and roast until golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.
3. While the garlic is roasting, cut up the veggies and place everything except the tomatoes on one or two large baking sheets, along with the thyme leaves.
4. Once the garlic has been roasting for about 15 minutes, drizzle the veggies with oil and season them with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast them in the oven until tender and caramelised, about 30 minutes.
5. Once the veggies have been in the oven about 10 minutes, place the tomatoes onto another baking sheet, drizzle them with oil and hit them with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss them into the oven with the other veggies and roast until they've burst and shrivelled up slightly, 15-20 minutes.
6. Once the veggies have about 10 minutes left to go, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook to al dente according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, save about 3/4 cup or so of the pasta cooking liquid into a large serving bowl. Drain the pasta and reserve.
7. Once the garlic is done roasting, allow it to cool enough to handle, then hold the head in your hand over the bowl with the pasta water and squeeze out all of the roasted cloves into the bowl. Add the tomatoes and mash everything together.
8. Add the roasted veggies, drained pasta, parsley and grated Parmesan cheese to the bowl and toss it all to combine.
9. Pass some additional Parmesan cheese at the table along with the bowl of pasta.

P/S: Don’t forget to check out the archive section for more healthy delicious recipes.

Quick Tips for Cooking Diet Meals

Some tips for you all when you cook or eat your Diet Meal:

1. Eat a balance diet with rice or pasta, meat, vegetables and fruits
2. Cut down on your portion of food slowly. If you reduce too abruptly your stomach will not be able to take it, you may get gastric or may even feel dizzy caused by the hunger.
3. Remove the fat while eating meat
4. Avoid eating chicken skin, where there is a lot of fat underneath it.
5. Use less oil during cooking.
6. Have more meals with smaller portion.

        

#Remember, we ARE what we EAT! :) Cheers…

My Slimming Experience

Many people may think that slimming recipes are not that delicious, that is not true. Slimming recipes can be very tasty. Here is how my story starts...

I had a great work opportunity to be stationed in California, US for about 1 year. There are many choices of food in the Silicon Valley--Western, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, French, Greek, Indian, Mediterranean etc. Some people may know that the US servings are pretty big and I normally could not finish it. But sometimes the food is so nice and delicious that I could not help it! Four months had passed and I know that this may leads to weight gaining so I decided to start cooking some slimming home-cooked food for lunch and dinner and only eat out during weekends.

I coupled my diet with daily exercise too and about 2 months later, I lost 5lbs. During the 4th month, I went back to my home country for a short break and my boyfriend (he is my husband now) could hardly believe seeing the new "me" because I lost so much weight ~10lbs. At the end of my assignment, I lost a total of 18lbs!

Ladies out there, go ahead with your slimming plan! I did it! When climbing up the stairs, I felt that my body was so light now! I felt more confident too! You have to believe in yourself and be determined and disciplined too with your slimming plan.