Italian

Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

Pasta Primavera

Pasta pasta pasta where do I even begin?
Pasta can get a pretty bad rap due to it’s often fattening cream sauces, high carbohydrate count, and low nutritional value, but I’m here to tell you that not all pasta is bad! You can still eat pasta and lose weight, or maintain your toned figure. The keys to eating pasta are knowing what kind, and how much.

“Pasta doesn’t make you fat. How much pasta you eat makes you fat.”
– Giada De Laurentiis (Health Magazine, May 2012)

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Weather you are trying to maintain or lose weight, you could virtually eat anything that you want, as long as you know the correct amount and portions!

Today’s recipe is a healthy Pasta Primavera made with whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta is made from flour that uses the entire grain and contains slightly more protein, and two to three times more fiber than refined pastas allowing you to stay fuller longer while stabilizing blood sugar levels.


Pasta Primavera
Serves 1

1/2 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
1 cup bell pepper (I used 1/2 cup red and 1/2 cup green)
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/2 cup yellow onion
1/4 cup nonfat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth (I use Pacific)
2 Tbsp pine nuts
1 tsp  salt-free Italian seasoning (I use Frontier)
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Cook the pasta to package instructions. Chop the bell pepper, onion, and mushroom and cook in vegetable broth in a pan over high heat.  While the pasta and vegetables are cooking, combine the ricotta, Italian seasoning, garlic, and pine nuts in a separate bowl and mix evenly. Once the pasta has finished cooking, strain and combine with the ricotta mixture. After vegetables have finished cooking, gently fold into the pasta and ricotta. Serve hot.
Note: If you are allergic to nuts, you can omit the nuts and cook your veggies in 1 Tbsp of olive oil (instead of vegetable broth) for your plant based fat serving.


The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: bell pepper, mushroom, onion
Whole Grain: whole wheat pasta
Protein: nonfat ricotta cheese
Plant Based Fat: pine nuts

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Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

Light & Crispy Pizza

I’m a quarter Italian, so sometimes… I just need my pizza. Here, I have found a guilt free, low carb alternative to your favorite naughty Italian dish: pizza! Your taste buds will love this healthy personal sized crunchy creation. It’s important to never deprive yourself of what you really want, and this is proof that you can eat anything, as long as it’s properly portioned and balanced.


Light & Crispy Pizza
serves 1

½ whole-wheat pita pocket – cut long ways around the outer edges/perimeter
¼ cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella
1 vine ripened tomato
1 cup spinach
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Cut the pita in half along the outer edges so that you have two full circles. Place ½ of the pita on a baking sheet (place the other half back in it’s packaging). Coat the pita evenly with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the pita becomes slightly golden and crispy. Remove the pita from the oven. Slice the tomato and place slices over the surface of the pita. Sprinkle mozzarella on top of the tomatoes and place back in the oven. Bake for 5 more minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Remove from oven, top with spinach, drizzle with balsamic, slice, and enjoy.

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: tomato & spinach
Whole Grain: pita
Protein: reduced-fat fat mozzarella cheese
Plant Based Fat: olive oil

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