Lemon-Feta Pesto with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Riffing off my obsession with fat-free Feta I made this pasta. It's has many things I love in it, lots of garlic and lemon and of course some salty cheeses. If you are a WW point whore like myself you will also like it. Each serving is 5 or 6 points, not bad considering how teriffic this tastes. I've been making alot of these improvised pesto sauces because Tim can't have pine nuts (or so he claims) so jarred or prepared ones are out. It's kind of rediculously easy and tons of different things can my subbed in for the ingredients I have in this, like some baby spinach or arugula or lime juice and cilantro instead of basil and lemon, come on work your imagination!


1 package store bought basil (the kind in the little plastic "bed")
or about 3/4 of a cup of leaves
2 cloves garlic
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons fat free feta cheese (or any feta)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 ounces cooked whole wheat spaghetti (or any pasta), that's 1/4 of a package
8-10 grape tomatoes halved
Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients up to the olive oil in a food processor, chopper or blender. Pulse/blend until mixed, slowly add the oil while the machine is running. While the pasta is still hot add the pesto and tomatoes, divide into two bowls and top with a sprinkle or some shavings of fresh parmesan cheese.

My Current Obsessions

Since November I have been a "point" whore. I am going to Weight Watchers meetings and my life has changed forever (for the good or bad) because I will always know how many points are in most foods. This is of course a good thing for my jeans whose seams were pulling apart. This makes me a whore because I will do almost anything to get as much food for as little points as I can, ALMOST ANYTHING. When I find products that have low points and make me feel not just like a human eating but like I'm cheating and being bad and self indulgent and happy, I get a little obsessed with them. My current love affair is with Trader Joe's Parmesan Ranch Dressing. It has 1 point for 2 tablespoons, for anyone who doesn't know what that means it's 30 calories and 1.5 grams of fat for a ton of dressing. It tastes amazing, and no it's not because I have been eating only birdseeds of something, it's REALLY GOOD. A very close second is the Cilantro dressing. This Sh*t is so good my husband
has started eating salad with his lunch and dinner. In comparision there are fat free dressings by many compnaies, honestly most are barely edible, they are sticky, sweet, and taste fake. There are these "2 Good" ones that are sold by Wishbone I think, they are so chemically they don't need to be refiderated until they are opened, also barely edible. Moving on to cheese I've never been a cheese and cracker person but when I found out that regualr cheese had 3 points for an ounce, ouch, for some reason I was craving it all the time. I found this cheddar by Cabot that's not fat
free (thank God because then it would be gross) and it's only 1
point for 1 ounce. So basically I can have cheese and crackers and wine and not be very bad, thanks CABOT! Trader Joe's Fat Free Crumbled Feta is a great treat when you want a Greek salad or anything cheesey and salty, I sprinkle it on salads with vinegrette or on pasta. And last but not least this Greek yogurt that's fat free. Wow, I never spent much time with Greek yogurts but now I do, they are rich and cheesey and fantastic. My favorite thing to have this with is as a dip for carrots (with
some salad dressing or dried herbs mixed in or on a baked sweet potato or half of a roasted acorn squash. Let's hear it for healthy items that taste good, hooray! I want to stay in the jeans I own now but I never just want to eat to live. Sorry I know that is probably what I'm supposed to do because animals don't go out and spend $100 at a restaurant. But I like everything to taste good even if I have to go to the gym and do Pilates and plan out how to murder my teacher. These lowfat helpers keep her alive.

Date Night Talapia

This recipe is based on a dish I order over and over again at one of my favorite restaurants Las Mananitas in Chicago. The restaurant is very special to my husband Tim and I because we call it “our place.” All the waiters know us there because we sometimes go once a week. We went there to celebrate when I was a finalist for a TV show (Wickedly Perfect, I know I am glad I didn't get on, it was terrible) and when my husband got hired to perform for Second City and numerous other occasions that we have invented to give us a reason to go. We also went on one of our first dates there. Now, this restaurant is in the middle of Boys Town, which if you are not from Chicago is a gay neighborhood. The décor of Las Mananitas is kind of South Beach, very pastel, you get me? So of course it would make perfect sense to have one of our first romantic dates there. Just picture these two straight, pale, curly haired dorks oogling over each other. We are lucky they ever let us back in.


1 lb Talapia (fresh or fozen fillets)
2-3 tbsp sliced green olives with pimentos
1-2 tbsp diced pickled jalapeno (or leave them as slices)
2 tbsp capers
1 cup diced sweet onion (white or yellow is fine too)
2 cups chicken broth (or one can 15ounce)
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp dried Mexican Oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper and paprika
lime wedges (garnish)

Okay sauté the onions on medium (in a large skillet with a lid) for a minute or two in 1 Tbs. of oil, add the oregano and garlic powder. Swirl around then add the capers, jalapenos and olives. Increase the heat to med high add broth and fish and cover, cook for about 3-4 minutes (5-6 if the fish is frozen when you put it in) until the fish is white throughout. Serve with a sprinkle of paprika, drizzle of olive oil, dash of salt and lime juice.
This is also great with some thinly sliced carrot or diced tomatoes added. The real clincher is that Mexican Oregano if you can’t find it email me I’ll send you some, seriously I will.