In January I began student teaching, and in February I completely took over and was teaching 5 classes until the end of April, which was about 45+ hours of work each week. I was also working at a truck manufacturing company for 8-12 hours a week. In April, I was also working at the Garden on the weekends. Needless to say, I had little time to cook. Jack left for deployment a couple of weeks ago and I want to lose some weight before I go dress shopping in July, so I decided to start a diet. I am trying out the Alli diet and taking the pills (basically just eating lowfat and fat free food, sticking to 15 grams of fat each meal). I decided it was time to hit up the WW cookbook again.
Jack and I decided to try out this Mom-and-Pop Italian place down the block and were immediately hooked. Their pasta dishes are heavy, creamy and delicious. We started going once a week until Jack left. Now I won't go there by myself, plus it wouldn't really work with my diet. However, I have been craving their creamy Italian sauces and I'm going through withdrawal. I decided to turn to the WW cookbook.
I chose the Linguine Alfredo. The recipe called for fat-free cream cheese, which I have never heard of or seen in my entire life, but I humored the book and went to the store to look for it. Of course, they didn't have it. I wanted to make it anyway so I used 3 wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb. I was going to use 4, but as I was making it, it looked thick and creamy enough after 3. The recipe added broccoli, red pepper and carrots. The addition of vegetables made me eat less pasta. Vegetables are good like that. I used whole wheat pasta because I don't buy regular pasta anymore.
This sauce was really good. May need a little pepper, and it got cold really fast. But it was thick and flavorful and it satisfied my craving. 1 and 1/2 cups is 6 grams of fat, and that was a good amount for lunch. For dinner, I might need to eat a little more. Thumbs up!
