Singing for a smaller me

If there's one thing I can say about myself, it's this: I love trying new foods. (Hell, I love food. Would I be writing this if I didn't??) I've made a point of never saying no to something unless it's truly foul. Some things are good, some are great, and some are just bad. Really, really, really bad. And some things I just have to share because they're too good not to share.

Here we go with a list of the bad, the good, and the OMG I just had to share this with you:

• Greek Yogurt
  
  I was enthusiastic about jumping on the Greek Yogurt bandwagon. What's not to love? It's got protein, it's low-fat (non-fat), and just about every store is carrying some variety or another. After hearing its praises sung here, there, and everywhere I picked up a package of plain Greek Yogurt at Trader Joe's a few months back and dug in. Yuck. Eeeeewww. Icky. It was gross. I threw it away three bites in.
  
  Understand, it took me a long time to acquire a taste for plain ol' normal yogurt. It wasn't a gross taste or anything, I just didn't like it. My tastes have changed over time, however, and heck - I even get hankerings for it time and again.
  
  Still, there's something about greek yogurt that just makes me want to gag. Even so, I tried to keep an open mind: maybe something other than plain greek yogurt would do the trick. So I bought greek yogurt with strawberries. Nope. Texture - yuck. Taste - eeew. Garbage can - you betcha. I'll keep trying it though. One of these days I might actually develop a taste for it.
  


• Whole Wheat Pasta
  
  For some time, I've been eager to start cooking with whole wheat pasta, but a little apprehensive over the hubby's reaction. While we were shopping at Costco a week or so back, I finally sprung at the opportunity to buy an 8-lb bulk package of Garofalo Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti (all the while reassuring the DH if he didn't like it I'd make him the regular stuff).
  
  It sat in the cupboard for a week, a victim of my concern and the fact that I rarely cook pasta. Yesterday morning, though, I heard its siren call. Pasta it was, but in my world pasta is never the only part of the dish. Mentally cataloguing what we had on hand, I sent the hubby off to the store after work to pick up shrimp and shallots.
  
  Verdict: a resounding success. The hubby couldn't tell the difference except for graininess and that didn't bug him. W00t!!
  
  Here's last night's recipe if you're interested:
  
  Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Whole Wheat Pasta with Zucchini
  
  POINTS® Value: 7
  Servings: 4
  Preparation Time: 15 min
  Cooking Time: 20 min
  Level of Difficulty: Easy
  
  Ingredients
  1/2 package Whole Wheat Spaghetti (approx 4 1/2 servings)
  1 lb shrimp, cleaned and de-veined
  2-3 sprays Cooking Spray (Misto! Woot!)
  2 medium zucchini, chopped
  1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped
  2 cloves garlic, chopped
  1/8 cup parsley
  2 tbsp oregano
  1/4 tsp salt
  1/8 tsp black pepper
  cayenne pepper to taste
  dash of ginger
  1/4 cup lemon juice
  1/2 cup vegetable broth
  1 tbsp butter
  
  
  
  
  1. Prepare pasta according to package. Meanwhile, spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
  
  
  2. Add shrimp and cook until just pink (or buy them cooked like I did!!).
  
  
  3. Add zucchini and cook for three minutes, then add shallots and garlic. Cook until fragrant, approximately one minute.
  
  
  4. Dump in you spices (parsely, oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, ginger) and saute for half a minute at the most.
  
  
  5. Pour in lemon juice and vegetable broth and add tbsp of butter. Turn to low heat and let simmer for five to ten minutes.
  
  
  6. Drain pasta, place back in pot and toss with Shrimp mixture.
  
  
  
  Makes 4 two-cup servings.
  


• Fabulous Find: Trader Joe's Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad
  
  In my quest to cram as much food as I can down my gullet while consuming the fewest possible POINTS, I came across this tasty treat at Trader Joe's:
  
  
  
  At just 50 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving (for a total of 100 calories and 4 grams of fat per container!), this really packs a punch. Not only does it satisfy that whole egg salad craving, it also satisfies that whole spicy food craving. Sadly, there is no picture of the contents because I ate it all!!!
  
  Opening the container up at lunch today, my original intent was to eat half the salad and leave the rest for lunch tomorrow. This was not the case. I was so pleasantly surprised that I whipped up another wrap on the spot. For a great and filling lunch, take one La Tortilla Factory Large High Fiber Tortilla, a cup and a half of uncooked baby spinach, half a container of this bad boy, and wrap it up. Heaven, I'm in heaven . . .