Get Cookin' With This healthy menu can be prepared in a flash and really satisfies.

Do you ever have days when you wish you could download a few extra hours from the Web? Too many things to do and places to go...and then there’s dinner to fix. When you’re suffering from the ravages of (no) time, try a three-in-one meal—appetizer, entrée, and veggies in one bowl—the pasta salad. And no, I don’t mean that mayonnaise-induced nightmare of canned tuna and macaroni you see at lunchtime salad bars. Toss together a deftly seasoned mix of your favorite shaped pasta, white beans (canned will do, as long as they are well drained), and poultry (pick up a grilled chicken breast at your favorite take-out). Add the feta cheese, artichoke hearts (buy frozen and quickly microwave them), and fresh vegetables in this case—and serve it on a bed of dressed greens. For dessert, try this quick twist on everybody’s favorite comfort food—banana pudding. Then slow down. The best part is ready and waiting for you: dinner.

Menu

Best Chips and Salsa

Pasta Salad with Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding Mousse

Menu Nutrition Information:
Total Calories	3142
Menu Per Serving Information:
Calories Per Serving	785.5
Fat (gm)	23.6
Fat (%)	27
Protein (gm)	41.2
Protein (%)	21
Carbohydrates (gm)	102.7
Carbohydrate (%)	52
Saturated Fat (gm)	4.9
Monounsaturated Fat (gm)	12.6
Polyunsaturated Fat (gm)	2.5
Sodium (mg)	1286.5

Best Chips and Salsa

Any day now I expect a big-time chip maker to copy these and make a fortune. Remember: You saw them here first. Plus, these chips don’t require an avalanche of salt to qualify as a bona-fide snack food, though you can sprinkle them with a flavored salt or herb mixture before popping them into the oven. Store leftovers (don’t expect many) in a covered container. Serve with bottled salsa or choose a fresh variety from your dairy case.

2 flour tortillas (do not use corn tortillas)
Nonfat vegetable spray
1 cup fresh or bottled salsa
1 cup nonfat sour cream or nonfat plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Stack the tortillas and cut in half. Restack them and cut in half again. Repeat this process until you have wedges approximately 1 1/2 inches at the widest end.
Coat a baking sheet with a film of vegetable spray. Spread the chips in an even layer and bake for 8–10 minutes and remove from the oven as soon as they begin to turn golden. DO NOT OVERBAKE.
Place the salsa in a serving bowl. Top with the nonfat sour cream or yogurt and serve with the chips.

(Serves 4)

Hands of Buddha

If your market stocks bunches of super-delicious baby bananas, miniature fruits about 3 inches long, snap them up. But don’t mistake them with Hands of Buddha, a gnarly fist of banana-like fingers, for the real banana deal. An intensely fragrant curiosity, you don’t eat it, but set it on a countertop to infuse your kitchen with a soothing, citrusy aroma.

Menu Nutrition Information:
Total Calories	485
Menu Per Serving Information:
Calories Per Serving	121.3
Fat (gm)	1.8
Fat (%)	14
Protein (gm)	3.9
Protein (%)	13
Carbohydrates (gm)	22.5
Carbohydrate (%)	73
Saturated Fat (gm)	.5
Monounsaturated Fat (gm)	0
Polyunsaturated Fat (gm)	0
Sodium (mg)	374.1

Pasta Salad with Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

This recipe is a two-parter. Prepare a batch of salad dressing, cover, and refrigerate what you don’t use and save it for another occasion. Some folks shy away from making their own dressing, but it couldn’t be easier. Just add the ingredients to a blender jar and whisk at medium speed. More flavorful than bottled dressing, use this recipe as a basic vinaigrette and keep on hand for any salad. Start with this basic ratio of 3 tablespoons vinegar to 1/2 cup oil and vary the flavor with your favorite herbs, mustards, and vinegars. It improves with age and tastes fresh for a week. Make sure you add the shallots at the end to prevent them from becoming pureed. A blender aerates the dressing, but you may also whisk the ingredients with a fork or wire whisk, making sure you mince the garlic first.

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
4–5 tablespoons shallots, coarsely chopped

Place the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and garlic in a blender jar. Blend on high speed for 10–15 seconds.
Reduce the blender speed to medium and add the oil in a steady drizzle. Continue blending for 5–8 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and whisk again with the shallots. Set aside but whisk dressing another 5 seconds before adding it to the salad.

Pasta Salad

Notice the Greek triumvirate of Feta cheese, olives, and lemon—a winning combination in any salad. The pasta and beans form a complete protein, so you can make this a vegetarian entrée, if you wish by simply replacing the chicken with walnuts, grilled vegetables, and croutons.

Tossing Technique

When you toss them together, bulky items such as pasta and chicken weigh down delicate greens. I prefer the more appetizing presentation of a composed salad. Blend the central ingredients with dressing and arrange them in the center of a selection of your favorite lettuces.

2 cups cooked, skinless chicken breast, shredded
1 cup cooked or canned white beans, well drained
1 1/2 cups cooked pasta, preferably penne or fusilli
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, steamed or microwaved according to directions
1/4 cup each fresh basil leaves and Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
Salt and pepper, as desired
2 cups salad greens, washed and shredded
1 cup fresh, sliced vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, and cucumber
1 ounce Feta cheese, crumbled
12 olives

Place the chicken, beans, pasta, and artichoke hearts in a bowl and add 6 tablespoons of the dressing. Toss lightly; add the basil, parsley, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss until thoroughly blended.
Arrange the greens on individual plates. Mound equal portions of the salad in the center and garnish with the fresh vegetables. Sprinkle with the Feta cheese and olives and serve.

(Serves 4)

Healthy Pantry

True or false: Brown sugar is healthier because it is less refined than white sugar. The no’s have it. Brown sugar is simply white sugar coated with molasses to give it color and taste. It’s a bit of stretch to argue that brown sugar is healthier than white, but it is true that molasses contains many nutrients—not enough to qualify this sweetener as one of the basic food groups, however. Brown sugar does enrich baked goods, such as cookies, and gives that distinctive butterscotch flavor to some desserts. So keep a box on hand if you are a baker, but don’t confuse it with a health food.

Menu Nutrition Information:
Total Calories	1929
Menu Per Serving Information:
Calories Per Serving	482.3
Fat (gm)	20.3
Fat (%)	38
Protein (gm)	33.2
Protein (%)	27
Carbohydrates (gm)	42.1
Carbohydrate (%)	35
Saturated Fat (gm)	4.1
Monounsaturated Fat (gm)	12.5
Polyunsaturated Fat (gm)	2.3
Sodium (mg)	858.9

Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding Mousse

Forgot To Freeze the Banana?

If you don’t keep a frozen banana or two in your freezer (they make great snacks), the mousse may take a little longer to firm up.

Who says rich desserts require eggs and whipped cream? Use your blender to whip up this frothy mixture and pour into individual ramekins to freeze while you finish up dinner. When you’re ready for something sweet, crumble a favorite cookie on top and serve. A blender makes quick work of this dessert, but using a mixer makes for a mousse that’s as light as a cloud. Though I like the presentation with the crushed crumbs, I’ve seen overanxious folks use a cookie as a spoon and just dig in.

4 frozen bananas
3/4 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
3 level tablespoons brown sugar
4 chocolate wafer cookies, such as chocolate grahams, icebox cookies, or another unfrosted favorite, crushed into coarse crumbs

A Word About Cooking

Isn’t mousse that stuff you put in your hair? Or something chocolate? Actually, mousse is a French word that simply means froth or foam. An airy confection of ingredients, the cloud-like texture of a mousse results from beaten egg whites and/or cream (in this case, yogurt) blended with pureed or finely minced ingredients, whether fish, fowl, or fruits. And don’t forget chocolate.

Peel and slice the bananas into a blender jar. Add the yogurt and sugar and blend on high until frothy, using a milk shake attachment, if available. Or prepare in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thick and frothy.
Pour the mixture into individual serving dishes and place in the coldest part of your freezer for 40–45 minutes or until it is the consistency of soft ice cream.
Top with the crushed cookie crumbs and serve.

(Serves 4)

Health Notes

Bananas provide one of the best sources of potassium available. Snack on a banana after a workout to help replenish electrolytes lost through perspiration.

Menu Nutrition Information:
Total Calories	727
Menu Per Serving Information:
Calories Per Serving	181.8
Fat (gm)	1.4
Fat (%)	7
Protein (gm)	4.1
Protein (%)	9
Carbohydrates (gm)	38.1
Carbohydrate (%)	84
Saturated Fat (gm)	.3
Monounsaturated Fat (gm)	.1
Polyunsaturated Fat (gm)	.1
Sodium (mg)	53.6