Cole's "Bauer Power" Smoothie

My cookbook, Slim & Scrumptious, hit the bookstores this week -- sooooo exciting! So in the spirit of celebrating its birth, Cole and I had a "Smoothie Off" this morning. Ian, jesse and Ayden were the judges.

The kitchen is a total mess and I'm trying to be a good sport. Yes, Cole won. Here's his award-winning recipe.

Add the following ingredients into a blender and mix:

1/2 cup vanilla, nonfat yogurt

5 whole strawberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 banana

1/2 cup skim milk

1 generous cup of ice cubes

Makes 3.5 cups (2 generous servings)

Matzah Lasagna for Passover

This is one of the most interesting recipes I've come accross. It's from one of my wonderful New York neighbors.... thank you Hinda Bodinger!! I lightened up Hinda's orginal recipe with reduced fat cheese and swapped in whole wheat matzah. Please give it a shot,....and if you do, tell all! Its very cool.

Matzah Lasagna

1 box of whole wheat matzah (rinse each matzah in water as you use it -- no need to soak)
4+ cups of tomato/pasta sauce
1 pound bag frozen, chopped, spinach, thawed
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 pounds shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese
Roasted vegetables, (to save time, feel free to purchase roasted veggies at store; eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc.)
½ cup water
*Optional chopped fresh basil, cilantro and fresh arugula to include in one of the sauce layers, along with about 4-5 cloves of lightly sautéed garlic
Lasagna pan or roaster aluminum foil

1. Spoon about a cup of the tomato sauce to form a thin layer on the bottom of the pan

2. Cover with a layer of gently moistened matzo, breaking to fit without overlapping

3. Squeeze spinach dry and in a medium size bowl, mix with ricotta cheese, the egg and the garlic powder.

4. Place the spinach mixture evenly on the matzah

5. Spoon on another layer of the tomato sauce.

6. Cover with a generous sprinkling of the parmesan, followed by the mozzarella.

7. Next, a layer of moistened matzah

8. Then, a layer of roasted vegetables

9. Cover with sauce, parmesan and mozzarella.

You can add about a ½ cup of water to the uncooked lasagna at this point. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 – 60 minutes.
You can remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

ML can be made in advance, cooled and frozen, ...or refrigerated and reheated in the oven.

Enjoy and Happy Passover to everyone who is celebrating!

My Turkey Meatballs are Cover Girls!

RUN and buy a copy of Woman’s Day magazine! They excerpted a few of my “Guilt-Free” comfort food recipes from Slim and Scrumptious, my brand new cookbook.

Holy pasta…..my meatballs and spaghetti made the front cover spread (yes, you can eat meatballs and spaghetti and still be in the best shape of your life!). The inside pages of Woman’s Day also provide you with my secret ingredients for healthy Mac and Cheese, Turkey Tetrazzini, and Crispy Parmesan Chicken. My mom and mother-in-law may have already snagged all copies in the New York area – my apologies!!

Here’s the link to learn more about my new book and recipe picks. http://bit.ly/anGwNk

Please try one, two, three or all of them…. And let me know what you think! I genuinely love all feedback.

Peanut Butter Spaghetti!

After a long day of soccer games, my kids begged me to make Peanut Butter Spaghetti. I forgot how much we looooove this recipe. It's my guilt-free version of classic Cold Sesame Noodles which is typically oozing with fat and calories.

The picture looks lame.... bland and boring, but this dish really does taste amazing. For some added color and nutrition, I typically toss the pasta with chopped scallions, cucumbers and carrots--but since our soccer team came in first place (Go Express!), I left the veggies on the side per my kid's request. For 1.5 cups, it's only 430 calories and provides 9 grams of fiber!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Joy's Peanut Butter Spaghetti
serves four

12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
¼ cup low-sodium, low-fat chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce, low sodium
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon optional hot sauce or Tabasco sauce (only for “spicy-lovers” like Cole Bauer!)
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
6 baby carrots, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ cup minced scallions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the whole wheat spaghetti according to package directions, until al dente. Drain the spaghetti, and toss with the tablespoon of sesame oil.

2. In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter, broth, soy sauce, sugar,and rice wine vinegar (add optional hot sauce, if you choose). Stir until smooth.

3. Toss the noodles with the sauce – make sure to thoroughly soak up all the sauce on the bottom of the bowl. Add the chopped cucumber, baby carrots and half the scallions. Toss to combine and season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with the remaining scallions. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.

*Note to moms: Only if you must, leave off the scallions, carrots and cucumbers.

1 Serving = ¼ of recipe (about 1.5 cups)
Calories: 430
Protein (gm): 17
Carbohydrates (gm): 73
Total Fat (gm): 9.5
Saturated Fat (gm): 1.5
Cholesterol (mg): 0
Sodium (mg): 653
Fiber (gm): 9

Youngest Joy Fit Club Member

Gina Before at 284 pounds....
Gina currently at 140 pounds....

Meet my friend, Gina Pizzo. Gina struggled with obesity and endured nasty name calling throughout her childhood. After the heartbreak of her mom's passing to breast cancer, she made a triumphant effort to finally lose weight and gain back her health.

Gina is a first year college student who has lost the "Freshman Forty" versus gaining the "Freshman Fifteen". And if that's not enough of a feat, she lost one hundred pounds the year before starting college. That's a total of 140 pounds!

Joy, Gina and Dennis (Gina's wonderful dad!) at the Today Show 3.15.10

She is truly an amazing young woman with a smile that will make you melt. Click on this link to watch her inspiring story http://bit.ly/dAxX0z

Pasta with (Pumpkin) Meat Sauce

Just made this for dinner and my kids devoured it! They watched me mix pumpkin into the sauce and still licked their plates clean,.... really.

Here's the simple 1-2-3 recipe:

1. Prepare whole wheat rotini or penne pasta according to directions, drain and set aside in covered pot.

2. Brown one package (1 pound - 1.25 pounds) ground turkey meat, at least 90% lean. When turkey is cooked through, add one 26-ounce jar of marinara sauce (I used Ragu Light, no sugar added) and 1/2 cup 100% canned pumpkin puree. Mix thoroughly until bubbly hot.

3. Add turkey pumpkin-tomato sauce to pasta and toss. Top with 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese or 4 Mexican cheese and thoroughly mix until cheese is melty and blended throughout pasta.

Try it and let me know what you think!!

Food Network Meets Joy Fit Club

This morning I met two wonderful people -- Paula Deen and Kim DiMondo. Paula needs no introduction and is truly one of the nicest, most down-to-earth women ever. We shmoozed about everything from chocolate crumble to the lack of seatbelts in the 70s. Her sons were incredibly handsome, personable and just as lovely. Jack is her first and only grandson and is drop dead gorgeous!

Kim DiMondo is my newest Joy Fit Club member. She is pure sunshine. For today's blog I'm sharing her personal weight loss story below (in her own words). I'm certain you'll feel inspired.

Kim DiMondo Story
As a child, a burn trauma led me to seek security, comfort and love in food which began my 25 year battle with obesity. Despite loving parents, family and friends who desperately wanted to help, I was never able to obtain a healthy body weight.

From childhood into adulthood I was on a perpetual archeological dig, hunting for a treasure map to a thin body. Seeking out easy solutions, I tried diets that started on Mondays & Sundays. I ate foods that were low calorie, low carb, no carb, and tasted like cardboard. I exercised, took diet pills, went to diet doctors, starved myself, and of course had my thyroid examined multiple times. But still my A+ efforts failed.

It’s no coincidence that the rest of my life was also unmanageable. Beyond the insanity of my dieting woes was the emotional anguish of literally carrying the weight of an 8th grader. I was unhappy in corporate America, but had no idea what career would suit me, and no self esteem to find out. Instead, I was an overachiever who disguised my pain with a cheery smile and uber-friendly personality. I dressed myself well (from the waist up) and avoided my reflection at all costs. I did however use a compact mirror to admire my thin ears and fat-free blue eyes. The irony…I was so big yet felt so invisible at the same time.

Then in April of 2003 I gave up! I resigned to living at 260lbs. and that’s when the answer appeared.

I finally realized that I couldn’t lose the weight because food was a symptom, it wasn’t the problem. It was my mind and spirit that was the issue – my body was a casualty. Once I was willing to accept that I ate over what was eating me, I found freedom. How did I do it? I took action! I got honest and faced my real demons (the reasons why I ate). I let go of my failed diets and put together a food plan that was tailored to my wants/needs. I worked on an exercise plan that was fun and fit into my lifestyle. Then for the 1st time in my life, I saw real results. Not just in my weight loss (that was a fringe benefit) but in how I truly felt about myself from the inside-out.

For the past five years I’ve maintained a 100+lbs. weight loss and live in a normal sized body. But most importantly, I have a healthy mind and spirit that have truly given me a life I love.
Today, I’m a certified weight loss coach and personal trainer and helping others believe that they too can be a success story.

Have a great night everyone!

xo, Joy