Italian Lentil Soup

I'm sharing this recipe for Italian Lentil Soup with you because it is wonderful (and cheap), and it also utilizes frozen spinach...an ingredient that I am highlighting this week.  When I made this soup last week, I added 1/2 of a smoked sausage rope and sauteed it along with the veggies.  I sort of wish that I hadn't done this, because it took over the taste, but I knew that the sausage would help to make it a hit with my husband, and it had been sitting in the back of the fridge and needed to be used.  (He joked that even though I had wanted to leave out the sausage, he thought I should leave out the lentils!)

This made a HUGE pot, and I froze a lot in individual serving sizes to bring for lunch.  The soup holds up very well to freezing, and I recommend it as a hearty on the go meal to grab!

Light and Cheesy Manicotti

This recipe is fairly simple and definitely a delicious way to get some veggies in your diet!



1 package of sliced mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic

3 egg whites
15 oz light ricotta (or cottage cheese, blended)
splash of sherry (optional)
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 C mozzarella cheese
1/3 C Parmesan cheese

1 package of manicotti shells (cooked, cooled, drained)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Saute mushrooms and garlic with a little cooking spray about 5 minutes, when it's about cooked, splash the sherry in the pan and let the liquid cook out.
• Beat the egg whites lightly and add the mushroom mix, the spinach, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and half of the cheese.
• Spoon this mixture into the manicotti shells.  It helps to cool them first, but if not, just run under a little cold water and brace yourself for some warm/red hands!
• Place into a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover with the sauce and cook for 45 minutes.  At the last five minutes, cover with remaining cheese.

Serve with a salad and some garlic bread!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheesy Manicotti, Homemade bread, salad
Tuesday: chicken burritos with black bean salsa
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Falafel sandwhich &greek salad
Friday: blue cheese stuffed chicken breasts,  roasted potatoes, another veggie
Saturday: Go out for dinner
Sunday: Tortalinni with fresh pesto, bruscetta

Eat More Spinach!

I think most of us can agree that the more veggies in your diet the better.  Last year,  the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a national study on fruit and vegetable consumption, which found that only 26% of American adults eat vegetables three or more times a day (not including french fries).  I try REALLY hard to get my 5 servings of fruits/veggies a day, but I often fall short.  So this week, I'm going to feature one recipe a day that used frozen spinach.  (And no, I don't count french fries as a vegetable either.)

Frozen spinach is a cheap way of adding a nutritional punch to your meals.  I purchased a 10 oz package of frozen spinach at Publix today for $1.09, and have been able to get it for free on occasion with the right sale/coupon match up.

Frozen spinach also has a way of sort of disappearing into whatever meal you add it to, so you may be able to get your kids to eat spinach without even really knowing it.

A Real Power Food:

This food is very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Vitamin B6 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese and Selenium. But do watch out because it can tend to be higher in sodium.

So come back everyday this week to learn a new way to include this super veggie in your dinner plans!