Moderation, Moderation, Moderation...

As I mentioned above, I live by the philosophy of all things in MODERATION.  When I think about moderation and feeding my family, I think of pizza and carrot sticks or macaroni and cheese with a side of broccoli.  I do not think that there is any food that is off limits.  In fact I don't think it is the end of the world if you don't eat one single healthy meal in a whole day.  But what I do believe is that if you are going to eat pizza, add some spinach or red peppers or serve veggies and dip on the side. If you are going to have two glasses of wine, then have three or four glasses of water.

Where I find this most helpful is in restaurants where it seems that the menu for kids is always the same, "Chicken fingers, pasta with sauce, burger, mac and cheese, quesadilla and all of it with fries".  To balance against the fried, super carb, extra cheesy kids menu, I either order a side of veggies or I bring my own.  The easiest thing you can do is pack a small container of green peas or mixed vegetables to take with you to the restaurant.  It also gives you something to give your kids as soon as you sit down, instead of the saltine crackers that have zero nutritional value and always seem to fill them up before dinner arrives.  I know, you think I am absolutely crazy, but my children gobble them up like candy.  I buy those very large bags of frozen peas and frozen mixed vegetables from Sam's and just pull out as much as I need at a time and pop it into the microwave for about one minute.  Just try it, you may be surprised.  If you are not surprised and your kids look at you like you have three heads, keep trying it.  If they see that those snacks are the option and they are not going away, they will change their minds.  Other healthy items that you could use in the same way are drained and rinsed black beans, baby carrots, sweet red pepper strips or cucumber spears.  Fruit is not a horrible option either, but if you want to get to the point where blueberries are dessert, you might not want to serve them before the meal.  But we can talk about that more later.

So now the big question of the day - WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
Tonight we are having leftovers, but darn good leftovers none the less.  I made this recipe on Monday night and purposefully made enough to eat it one more time in the week.  Pasta is always a big hit in my house and I hope this is a hit in your house as well.  It has some great veggies with the pasta sauce and spinach, but you could up the nutrition by serving it with a fresh salad.  My kids really gobble the salad when I add some mandarin orange segments or dried cranberries.  Bon Apetit!

BAKED ZITI
Serves: 6 adults or my family 2 meals

1 pound dry WHOLE WHEAT ziti or penne pasta
1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (you can buy frozen chopped onions too if you hate chopping or need to save time)
3/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 pound ground beef (I prefer the 4% fat version or you could use ground turkey breast or even italian turkey sausage or leave the meat out if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (don't hesitate to buy the jar of chopped garlic and keep in your fridge, it is a big time saver)
1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 T dried oregano
1 24 to 26-ounce jar of pasta sauce (read labels for sugar content, some of them really add a lot of sugar)
1 15-ounce container of part-skim ricotta cheese
1 10 - to 16-ounce box/bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes.  Add the beef and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes.  Spoon off and discard any excess fat (if you use 4% fat meat, you probably won't have any fat to remove).  Add garlic and oregano and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the pasta sauce and cook for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Add the drained pasta to the pot and toss.  Add the ricotta, spinach, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and toss again.  Spread the mixture in a 9 X 13" baking dish.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.  Bake until the mozzarella melts, about 15 minutes.

To make ahead for the week...
Assemble, but don not bake the casserole.  Cover with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for no more than five days.  Keep covered and heat in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Uncover and heat until the mozzarella melts, about 10 more minutes.

To freeze...
Assemble, but do not bake the casserole.  Cover tightly with two layers of aluminum foil and store for up to 6 months.  To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or thaw partially in the microwave.  Cover and heat in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and heat until the mozzarella melts, about 10 more minutes.

Tip...
If you love to make casseroles ahead but hate the way it takes your dish hostage, try this...  Before placing food in the dish, line it with several layers of foil.  After freezing, lift the foil and food from the dish and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.  When you are ready to thaw the food, remove the plastic wrap and foil and return the icy block to its dish