Diet Tip of the Week

Out with the old: Pasta of the Past (200 calories per cup)

Diet Makeover: Make your own pasta.. out of vegetables (20 calories per cup uncooked, 30 calories per cup if you boil 1-2 minutes)

Zoodles of Fun 

It doesn't matter if it's spaghetti with marinara, meatballs, pesto, clam, or another sauce. No matter how you serve it, Americans love their pasta. The problem: spaghetti and its relatives have around 200 calories per cup. At a typical restauant, you can multiply those 200 calories by 3 or 4. This Mother's Day, take a stroll to Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Walmart, or log onto Amazon for a $15.00 skinny kitchen gadget- the Vegetti Spiral Vegetable Cutter. Vegetti has 12 stainless steel blades that effortlessly slice through vegetables for endless pasta strips (try cucumbers, carrots, yellow squash, zucchini). Similar cutters can be found by GEFU, Ouddy and Brieftons. Make a simple zucchini spaghetti dish with perfect pasta texture. Spoon on your favorite fresh tomato or marinara sauce, or toss sauteed garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil per 2 cups (Adds 60 calories per cup). Another option is toss your Zoodles with a quick homemade avocado yogurt lemon dill dressing. With heart-healthy fats and nutrient rich vegetables, give your mom the gift of health this Mother's Day.

Zoodles in Avocado Yogurt dressing.

1/2 ripe avocado

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 Tbs. mayonnaise

2 Tbs. fresh dill sprigs

2 Tbs. onion

2 Tbs. lemon juice

Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate leftover dressing for up to a week.

Makes 1 cup Per 2 Tbs: 45 calories, 150 mg sodium

Adapted from Nutrition Action Healthletter, May 2015

Sincerely,

Dr. Deborah Neiman MD,

Sari Greaves, RDN & Noelle Lusardi, CPT

49 U.S. Highway 202 Far Hills, NJ 07931

908-470-2235