Instead of making the typical Super Bowl party foods, I decided on a hearty one-dish meal. My recipe for Baked Ziti is healthy and filling. Plus, reheated leftovers are delicious. In order to provide nutritious stats for this pasta dish, I made some of my typical swaps. I used ground turkey breast, fat-free cottage cheese, light pasta sauce, and fat-free mozzarella in place of these high calorie varieties. Baked ziti is incredibly easy to make; you don't even have to boil the noodles before baking. This would be perfect for a quick week night meal. I will definitely be making this again soon.

Also, for all of you weight watchers, I will be adding the weight watchers plus points to each nutrition analysis beginning with this recipe. Over time I will be going back to previous posts to add this calculation as well. Hope this helps!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta sauce, water, cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, turkey, and penne.
3. Pour into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes.
4. Remove dish from oven. Sprinkle with additional cup of mozzarella and bake uncovered for 5 minutes.

Nutrition: 276 calories, 32g carbohydrate, 34g protein, 2g fat, 5g fiber
weight waters points: 5
weight watchers + points: 7

Ok, so with the temperature still in the mid-90's it is hard to imagine that chilly fall nights are anywhere in the near future. Contrary to the weather, football season is almost here. One week from today, the defending national champions will kick off a football season filled with as many victories as the last. Along with Alabama football, comes all sorts of tail-gating treats. One particular food that I tend to associate with screaming fans and touchdowns is chili. A bowl of chili typically provides a high-fat meal, but with my make-over, this easy recipe is full of lean protein and fiber. This is perfect for knocking the chill off, or in my case, dreaming of even the slightest chill gracing the humid southern air. The recipe is best served with houndstooth and a side of Roll Tide!

1. Mix together chili mix, cooked ground turkey, diced tomatoes, and kidney beans in a medium sized pot over medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Top with greek yogurt, fat-free cheese, and green onions if desired.

I am on vacation at the beach for a week before jumping back into the school routine. While we are mostly dining out at local seafood restaurants, I planned ahead and saved some recipes that I cooked last week to post while I am away from my kitchen. Since I don't care to spend much time sitting in the condo on my computer, these posts will be short and straight to the recipe. Unlike with most of my other posts, you will be spared the rambling of nutrition information. Although, now that I think about it, I really want to share with you all the exciting ways to make a healthy spaghetti dish...okay it is just way too pretty outside. I'll save it for a rainy day.

This virtually fat-free dish is so delicious and cooks in a crock pot. You can prepare it, leave it, and come home to a warm Italian entree. Add a salad and dinner is served.

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook ground turkey over medium heat until completely cooked (no pink). Mix in minced garlic.
2. In crock pot or slow cooker, add cooked ground turkey, seasoning mix, water, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper. Cook on the low setting for 4 to 6 hours.
3. Thirty minutes prior to serving, stir mushrooms into sauce mixture in crock pot.
4. Boil noodles and top with sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

Sandwich shops are one of the most popular lunch restaurants because they are fast and widely accepted. Traditionally, most of them served the common cold cut options with several choices of toppings- usually creating a fairly healthy meal. Today, there are many more sandwich types, as each restaurant aims to dominate the competition. Now you can order a sub with meatballs, pizza toppings, triple meat, fried chicken, or steak. For customer satisfaction, many places offer up to 50 condiment options, including creamy dressings and mayonnaise-based sauces. As it has become harder to decide what to order, it has also become more difficult to manage weight loss or weight maintenance while eating sandwiches regularly. Some sandwich chains have started offering lower calorie and lower fat options for consumers that are looking for healthier lifestyle. Those options are usually the more simple, smaller sandwiches. Often the specialty sandwiches are of the highest calorie count. For example, the popular Subway Meatball Marinara 6 inch sub contains 580 calories and 23g of fat. Therefore the footlong packs in 1160 calories and 46g of fat. Many other restaurants that are marketed as "healthier" choices, serve sandwiches with over 1000 calories; While they may have some healthy selections, check the nutrition information because not all sandwiches are created equal.

In order to make a healthier version of the meatball sub sandwich, I first swapped ground beef for 93% lean ground turkey. I added plenty of herbs and spices so that the meat swap does not cause any loss of flavor. Typically I prefer to cook with 97-99% lean ground turkey breast, but the meatballs need a little more fat to hold them together and to create a juicy, succulent bite. Many people do not realize how many calories come from the bread that a sandwich is served on, not to mention the amount of carbs. To drastically reduce these stats, I chose to serve the meatballs on light wheat hot dog buns, that add only 70 calories. I used my homemade marinara sauce that I also used for my lasagna recipe to create the perfect splash of tomato flavor. Just like with the lasagna, you can substitute store bought marinara sauce if you are short on time, but the flavor just does not compare. You can make the meatballs and sauce and store them in the refrigerator so that you can just add them to the hotdog bun for a quick lunch or dinner. The buns can also be toasted if you need a little more support for the meatball filling. The meatballs contain parmesan cheese in them but you can add some fat-free mozzarella cheese to your sandwich for the complete experience. If you look closely in my pictures above, you might see a few green specs. Those happen to be diced jalapenos. While I am not a fan, the boyfriend believes the spicier the better so if you are up for the heat, toss some hot peppers in the meatball mixture and the sauce. You might have started to notice the trend of my boyfriend's recipe evaluations frequenting my blog posts. Many of these recipes have been selected for my blog based on his current cravings. He got the meatballs this week to have for his lunch because he bought me the cutest little kitchen gadget, a meatball scooper. He knows if I have a new cooking tool, he is bound to get whatever he asks for as long as I get to play with my new toy. As far as flavor goes, I have only been told that these make for the best meatball sub you will ever try. The best meatball sub you will ever try...and it is low in calories and fat? If you don't believe it is possible- try it for yourself!

1. Prepare recipe for Homemade Tomato Sauce and continue to simmer on low or pour jar marinara sauce into a large pot and heat on a low simmer.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, onion, garlic, and Reggiano Parmigiano cheese.
3. Using your clean hands, mix all the ingredients until combined. 
4. Form small meatballs, about the size of a ping pong ball.
5. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides.
6. When brown, add the meatballs to the sauce and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Spoon about 5 meatballs on each hot dog buns, top with extra sauce and 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese if desired.