Cheesy Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

Some days, you just want cheese. I've found that the best way to have cheese is to make it the cornerstone of your meal, in place of meat. This Artichoke Spinach Lasagna hit the spot perfectly!

It didn't need much lightening up: I swapped out fat free feta for the the normal feta, figuring the feta was there to add tang, and not to melt. I also used Ragu light spaghetti sauce, one of the lowest calorie for the volume sauces I've found. I also happened to use a slightly larger pan, which meant one fewer layer (slightly less noodles), and made the servings visually larger. My version worked out to 5 WWPs per serving, even with tons of good mozzarella goodness.

Fettucine Alfredo

I continued my experiments in "silken tofu as a cream replacement" with this recipe for fettuccine alfredo. It was great -- the entire family enjoyed it.

High Protein, Low Fat Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

I wanted to experiment with cream soups made without cream (yes, an oxymoron). I love the texture of cream based soups; the high fat content not so much. I ran across the idea of using silken tofu to "creamify" soups, so last night I hacked the recipe for Fire Roasted Tomato Soup that's on the Muir Glen website Muir Glen is the maker of the most decadent Fire Roasted Tomatoes ever -- these are staple in my pantry.

I followed the recipe as written, with the exception of adding 6-7 ounces (half a package) of pureed silken tofu instead of cream at the end. I drained the tofu in a colander first, then sliced it up, added it to my blender with some vegetable broth, and ran it until it was a smooth thick gloppy texture. (You *might* be able to add sliced silken tofu to your soup and use an immersion blender for the pureeing of the tomatoes and tofu together -- I'll try this next time, since I used the immersion blender for pureeing the soup itself.) I added the pureed tofu to the soup about 10 minutes before serving, heating thoroughly.

My husband's comment: "Taste just like La Madeline's." And since that is the epitome of cream of tomato soup to me, I called it a success.

Here's the numbers for the tofu swap:
whipping cream: 400 calories in 4 oz (no protein, 40 grams fat)
vs
silken tofu: 80 calories (8 grams protein, 4 grams fat)
So the swap saved 320 calories and 36 grams of fat overall.

Additional note: I think choosing tomato soup -- with it's high acidity -- was a good choice for my first silken tofu recipe -- the acid cuts the tofu flavor in a way a mushroom soup might not.

It was low enough in calories/points that I was able to pair it with two "cheese toasts" -- a third of an ounce of Beecher's Smoked Cheese melted over a 1 oz slice of Central Market's MultiGrain Mini Baguette and a quarter of the container of Boursin Light on another 1 oz slice. (For the record, the Boursin light did not really melt, although it was tasty. The Beecher's was a wonderful full fat cheese that melted and was fabulous!) (2 WWPs each cheese toast.)