Tag Archives: Food Finds

If I’ve made one thing clear in our Food Finds and Food Fight series, it’s that I like pasta. And really, who doesn’t? I’m also quite conscientious of the pasta I do eat, and I’m always on the look for one that has quality ingredients (especially whole grains) and for those that aren’t too terrible on the nutrition label.

So, I found a pasta this past weekend and have been quite anxious to share it with you. It’s Pappardelle’s Pasta. I was wandering around the Farmer’s Market when I spotted a booth full of pasta- every shape, color and size you could imagine. Of course I raced over there. I was struck by the fact that out of the dozens of noodles on display, only one was a “regular” wheat pasta. There was such an intriguing variety of flavors that I had the hardest time narrowing down on the one to take home. There are dozens of flavors, and these caught my eye: Four Peppercorn, Lemon Basil, Orange Szechuan, Porcini Muschroom, Spanish Saffron, Sweet Potato and Yellow Bell Pepper. After much deliberation, I ended up with two- Lime Cilantro Linguine and Dark Chocolate Linguine.

I was nervous to research the nutritional values because I’ve learned anything that looks that good cannot possibly be good for you. However, I was pleasantly surprised. We’re pretty good sticklers to serving size, so the 2oz. serving of Lime Cilantro Linguine at dinner yielded:
Calories: 160
Fat: 0g
Sodium 95mg
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 6g
WW Points: 2.8

I’m not making this up! Papardelle’s Pasta is committed to making an artisinal pasta- it is all handmade by trained craftsman at their home in Denver. They use only pure durum semolina flour- none of that bleached, all-purpose flour you’ll find on the grocery store shelves. They do not use any preservatives or unnatural flavors. The entire process from finding growers for the flour, herbs and vegetables, to the slow drying of the handmade pasta is all handled with the highest level of care and attention. All of this to make a better pasta.

We had the Lime Cilantro Linguine with grilled shrimp and it was one of the best plates of pasta I’ve ever had in my life. The flavors were so bright and the pasta cooked to a perfect al dente stage. I just tossed it with a little olive oil and roasted red peppers.

We saved the Dark Chocolate Linguine pasta for dessert the next night and all I can say is pure heaven. With some fresh raspberries and just a sprinkle of powdered sugar- it was a decadent dessert that I’m going to try not to become too accustomed to. The nutritional values aren’t too scary or far off from the previous listing, and are as follows. It’s also one of only a handful of Pappardelle’s pastas that has any sugar in it.
Calories: 170
Fat: .5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 100 mg
Carbs: 33g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 8g
WW Points: 3

You’ll only find this pasta in two places – on their Web site and at the Farmer’s Market. They have a generous directory of Farmer’s Markets in the U.S. where you can find the product. One pound of pasta (which serves about 8 people) will cost $7.50.

I am not trying to tell you that I discovered honey. What a find that would be! What I am telling you is that I re-discovered honey. Being a natural sweetener, it is an ideal replacement for table sugar and even syrup. I thought I’d share with you some of the benefits that are naturally found in honey and even some of the ways it’s enjoyed in our house.

Honey has 64 calories per tablespoon and table sugar has 46. True, it has more calories than the sugar. However, honey is naturally more sweet than sugar- so you end up needing less.

When sugar cane is processed to become the white table sugar we all know and love, all of the inherent nutrition is stripped away. The sugar loses all of those vitamins, proteins and good-for-you enzymes. Since there is no processing for honey, it retains all of that. Honey is a great source of antioxidants, potassium, calcium, minerals and 22 amino acids. Honey also has a much lower Glycemic Index than sugar and is more easily digested, letting your body absorb the nutrients.

We like to support local honey growers and buy honey from local sellers on vacation as a souvenir or from our local farmer’s market. I like to think it tastes better, too! Some of the ways we eat honey include:

• Replacing pancake syrup on our homemade blueberry pancakes and whole grain french toast
• Drizzling over a bowl of strawberries instead of covering them with sugar
• Using in a fresh fruit salad instead of whipped cream
• Adding a little to my citrus marinade for chicken and fish

Here are a few tips I found at Whole Foods for introducing honey into your cooking:

• Substitute 1/2 to 2/3 cup honey for every 1 cup of sugar
• Reduce liquid by 1/4 cup for each 1 cup of honey used
• To improve volume of baked goods, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per 1 cup honey to neutralize acidity. If the recipe calls for sour milk, yogurt or sour cream, no extra baking soda is needed.

Sources: www.benefits-of-honey.com and www.calorieking.com

My Food Find this week is so refreshing and has a not-too-sweet, crisp flavor. V8 Fusion is a new line of juice from the popular vegetable juice maker. For people like me who don’t care for veggie juice- this V8 Fusion Acai and Mixed Berry juice is a fantastic and uber-healthy alternative.

Learn more about the acai berry that fills this V8 Fusion with antioxidants.

We’re big fans of Italian food in my house. We’d eat pasta or pizza every night if we could get away with it- but we can’t. My Food Find this week is HoneySuckle White’s Italian Turkey Sausage.

I’d had a craving for stuffed shells for a while, but wouldn’t give in because I just didn’t want to let myself eat the Italian-style pork sausage and lean ground beef combo I typically use. While grocery shopping I spotted the HoneySuckle turkey sausage, and figured I’d give it a shot.

My Recipe
We were pleasantly surprised. The flavor is fantastic, it crumbled just the way I wanted and I didn’t feel bad for eating it. I added chopped mushrooms, shredded carrots, chopped sweet red pepper and fresh basil to my sauce, packed the mixture into whole grain pasta shells, sprinkled the top with a little parmiggiano-reggiano cheese and baked a fantastic pasta dish, with a healthy kick.

How does the turkey sausage stack up to the pork and lean ground beef (2.5oz serving)?
CALORIES FAT
Turkey: 100 5g
Pork: 234 18.6g
Beef: 125 7.1g

You should definitely consider this turkey as an alternative to make your favorite recipes healthier. HoneySuckle White, and its sister brand ShadyBrook Farms, make a quality product with a broad variety like Turkey Brats and Tenderloins (also good, and will save calories at the summer cookouts!). It’s definitely something you can sneak in and your family won’t quite notice the difference.

Grab this $1.00 coupon and try it out. Let us know how you use turkey in your recipes.

Granola bars have been a staple snack of mine for years. I used to eat box after box of the Quaker Chewy Granola Bars chocolate chip flavor. It was just enough chocolate and I figured the “granola” aspect was good for me.

Until one day about a year ago I was at the store and noticed a new granola bar on the block- Kashi TLC (Tasty Little Chewies). After comparing the two nutrition labels, I immediately switched. I’m a huge fan of the Cherry Dark Chocolate Kashi bars, my husband loves the Honey Almond Flaxseed and the Trail Mix aren’t too bad either.

When you compare the labels- the Quaker ingredients are filled with the usual processed junk that you can’t pronounce and wouldn’t really recognize anyway. The Kashi ingredients are things you could probably find at your grocery store, or a nice health food store.

The Quaker ingredients, while they have some whole grains and even fewer calories, list things like partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils (with a note “Adds a dietarily insignificant amount of trans fat), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids and artificial flavors.

The Kashi ingredients don’t have anything fake, artificial or trans fat related, not even one mention of the word “sugar”. In the Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate, you’ll find hard red winter wheat, long grain brown rice, red tart cherries, dark chocolate, honey and natural flavors.

I’ve included both nutrition labels so that you can compare for yourself. I’m especially fond of the generous fiber and protein found in the Kashi bar and I’m willing to take the extra calories to have better ingredients. These Kashi Bars have 2 Weight Watchers Points and for diabetics, equal a 1.5 Carb exchange.

See other Food Finds from Diets In Review.