Tag: Leftovers

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Weight Loss Exercise

Healthy Pasta Recipes

There’s one thing you should always have in your pantry and that’s pasta. Pasta cooks in a matter of minutes, is delicious, versatile, kid-friendly, and goes well with just about anything. Even if you think you “can’t cook”, there are dozens of healthy pasta recipes that are quick and simple enough for anyone to make. Here’s why you should always have pasta in your kitchen:

It’s Versatile

Pasta comes in all shapes and sizes. It also goes well with anything, including beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetables. Even if your cupboard is bare, simply toss your cooked pasta with a little olive oil, chopped garlic, and fresh basil. Add a little grated Parmesan cheese and dine like a king.

From a simple meal to an elaborate dinner, pasta can make any type of meal you can imagine.

It’s Cheap

Food is not getting any cheaper, but pasta remains an affordable option. Best of all, a healthy pasta recipe does not make you feel like you’re eating on a budget, even if you are. Everybody loves pasta, including your wallet.

It’s Delicious

Picky eaters in your family will perk up when you serve pasta. For hundreds of years throughout the civilized world, pasta has been and will always remain a classic favorite.

It’s Easy to Cook

If you know how to boil water then you can cook pasta. Boiling pasta takes a few minutes only. If you have pre-made sauces all you have to do is simmer or heat up the sauce. You can feed a hungry crowd quickly and easily with healthy pasta recipes. There’s no need to toil for hours in the kitchen.

Leftovers are Delicious Too

Leftovers are often unappetizing but that’s not the case with pasta. Simply make a new sauce or topping and you have a completely different meal. Be creative and try new, healthy pasta recipes. You’ll never look at leftovers the same way again.

Quick and Easy Healthy Pasta Recipe

This pasta recipe is easy to make. You will need:

? 1 lb penne

? 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved

? 6 oz. soft, mild goat cheese, crumbled

? 2/3 cup brine-cured black olives, coarsely chopped

? 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain. While pasta is cooking, toss tomatoes with a little salt. Let the juices exude. In a large bowl, toss hot pasta with goat cheese. Add tomatoes with juices, olives, basil leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Meal Sizes and Frequency


Meal sizes and frequency are very important. Over the years people are amazed by how much food I eat at work in a day and part of this can probably be explained by decent genetics but more importantly I make sure that I have a higher metabolism by eating more smaller meals.

Most people will eat Breakfast lunch and dinner or even less often as in the case of my parents where the only real meals are breakfast and dinner. I on the other hand eat at 7:30, 10:00 12:00 3:00 5:30 and 8:00. I have been eating six times a day for years. My only large meal is dinner the other feedings are smaller snacks even lunch and breakfast.

There are a few reasons to eat small meals often:

  • One reason to eat a smaller meal is that your body can not metabolize as much food as the average North American eats so some is wasted and some is stored as fat.
  • Secondly, if you go a long time between meals your body stores food as fat to get you between meals when your blood sugar drops.
  • Thirdly, you blood sugar will fluctuate a lot during the day if you have a big meal then a long break and then another meal and you will feel your energy constantly going up and down.
  • Fourthly, you can really vary what you eat and enjoy food more when you do not have four or five things to eat at a time.

Here is a sample of what my day will have for food:

7:30 Bagel and Natural Peanut Butter
10:00 Apple, protein bar, coke
12:00 Frozen lunch entrée or leftovers from last nights dinner
3:00 banana, chocolate bar and a granola bar
5:30 a regular dinner, Meat, vegetables and maybe desert
8:00 popcorn or fruit

You will notice that this is not the best diet, I really have some work to do still but the meals are spaced and the sizes are smaller.

One of the most important ways to look at food and meals is that you should eat six meals a day and each of these meals should have about 30 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates. This kind of meal is important as it will give you the energy you need to get through a great day including a hard workout. With a meal this size as well you should not gain weight and you should not waste any protein, your body can assimilate this much protein every three hours or so.

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Weight Loss Exercise

10 Portion Control Tips for Fast Weight Loss

Portions are some of the hardest things to control. It is fairly simple to think, no cookies but when it comes to 2 cookies, what is 1 more cookie? Looking to use leftovers but do not want to eat them all? Here are some tips to control your portions and help you lose weight.

Portion Control Tips

1. Break down all leftovers into single serving meals and store them that way. This way when you pick them out of the refrigerator you are not tempted to eat more than one serving.

2. Salad, just the lettuce and vegetables, are very low in calories and very high in proteins and fibers. This will fill you up and limit the amount of other food you eat. Feel free to eat as much as you want, but use as little topping as possible.

3. Break up the snacks into individual sized bags and keep them out of reach. You are less likely to get up and eat multiple bags of chips than you are to clean out a single large bag that is right next to you.

4. Eat small snacks and meals throughout the day. To do this, break the food up into portions while making it and then eat one portion every few hours, as opposed to eating one large meal and being hungry later.

5. Do not place the food in front of you while you are eating. Instead, serve the food in a different room than you are eating. Eat in the living room but dish out the food in the kitchen. Out of sight, out of mind.

6. Use a vegetable as a main course and meat as a side dish. This will limit how much meat you eat and increase your intake in healthy vegetables. This is good for decreasing fat and calorie intakes.

7. When eating out, designate half of the food as take home before you even start to eat. This way it is off your plate and away from your fork. This will also limit the size of dinner, making it a great way to limit calories.

8. If possible, order off the senior or the kids menu. These foods are smaller in size and they are often cheaper. If that is not possible, consider ordering a half or lunch sized meal.

9. Indulge in a small amount of forbidden foods every now and again. This does not mean eat a whole box of girl scout cookies (my diet un-doer) but rather have just the serving size and hide the box after that.

10. Drink plenty of water with your meal or snack. Often times the water is what your body is really craving, but since thirst is ignored and hunger is satisfied, the body says it is hungry instead of thirsty. In addition, the water will make you feel more full.

Enjoy these little hints to help you maintain a healthy portion controlled diet. Remember, even if you do not follow a diet, simply by eating less you can lose weight. These hints can help you do just that.