Pasta & Sauce - The Easy Diet Plan Lunch & Dinner Menus

The Easy Diet Plan - Weight Loss Plan #2 - Part 1 Here

Pasta & Sauce- Oh yes, prepared pasta makes a nice, quick, easy meal!

Tom and I try to keep a sealed container of cooked pasta in our fridge at all times. And we enjoy all varieties - from spaghetti to bowtie pasta. Just by switching the types of pasta, we can feel like we're enjoying a brand new dish, even when using the same sauce.

Another favorite that we like to add to pasta is prepared grilled chicken strips. Prepared roasted chicken is also a great basic source that can be used to create a myriad of recipes.

We cook the prepared chicken strips using butter flavored cooking spray on the stove top, then add to the pasta. An assortment of veggies (such as asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms and black olives and the list goes onward!) can also be cooked and added to the pasta dish.

Oh those sauces. Because pasta contains a considerable amount of calories for what it is (about 200 calories per cup), special attention is required in choosing a sauce, because wouldn't ya rather eat more pasta than sauce? Well, maybe not, but the pasta does work well in filling up the tummy.

White or red? Meatless or meaty? Vegetarian or not? Spicy or not?

Red sauces tend to contain less calories than the white-based sauces, but not always so check the labels. One of our favorite sauces comes in a can and is ultra economical. It's the traditional variety of Hunt's Spaghetti sauce and contains a scant 50 calories per 1/2 cup serving.

And don't forget the grated parmesan cheese which is much lower in calories than one might think - a skinny 10 calories a teaspoon. Other side dishes that go well with pasta include crusty Italian bread, healthy bagged spring greens and other salad combinations, carrot and raisin salad, and pickled beets.

If you enjoy pasta more than sauce, enjoy 1 and 1/2 cups of pasta + 50 calories worth of sauce for a total of 350 calories. Next, add 100 calories of your favorite bread (rolls, breadsticks, garlic bread, etc.). Also get in those oh-so-important veggies by enjoying either a lettuce/tomato/cucumber salad served with balsamic vinegar (5 calories per serving) or 2 cups of green beans OR 1 cup of green beans and a plum for dessert.

One plum that is about 2 inches in diameter contains about 30 calories, 4 mg of calcium, 6.3 mg of vitamin C, and 125 mcg of beta carotene and 48 mcg of lutein + zeaxanthin (important for eye health).

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