Spaghetti Carbonara with Asparagus

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2 Tb grated parmigiano cheese
salt, pepper

1 lb asparagus, chopped into long pieces

10 oz spaghetti, regular or whole grain
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
4 oz nitrate free ham, cut in pieces
1/4 cup soaked dried tomato halves, chopped

Beat eggs, cheese and salt and pepper in large bowl while water for pasta is coming to boil. Cook asparagus in water 4 minutes, scoop out and set aside. I put them in a colander in the sink so I can pour the pasta water over it to reheat at the last second. Put spaghetti on to boil and while timing, cook (in another pan) garlic for a bit in oil adding ham and tomatoes half way through the cooking time. Scoop out a mug of pasta water and then drain spaghetti and immediately dump on egg mixture, stirring quickly. Add ham mixture and continue to stir, adding a bit of pasta water to thin if needed. Serve with asparagus on side, unless you have asparagus lovers in your house, then you can add the raw veggie to cook with the spaghetti during the last 4 minutes of its cook time.
Serves 4- 10 points plus per serving

Menu Monday December 5-11th

When I plan out my week, I try to keep similar Points Plus values to my meals and snacks in order to make things easier. Breakfast tends to be 6-7, lunch a bit less, supper around 10 with a couple snacks or a beer in there as well. As the weeks go on, feel free to comment things so that I can tailor the menu a bit. Also pay attention to the suggestions at the bottom if you are dealing with "selective" eaters in your house. All recipes I am posting with be four servings unless otherwise noted. If there are two of you in the house, you have two choices. Handy huh? You can either half the recipe or you can make the full batch and have left-overs for your lunch the next 2 days. Remember, that little scale that is somewhere in your kitchen is your friend...

Monday (Run 2 miles, strength)
Oatmeal, blueberries, brown sugar, milk
Open face with 4 ham slices, 1 swiss, mustard, lettuce, apple, carrot sticks
Big raw salad, 2 PP worth dressing, Spaghetti Carbonara, asparagus
Almonds

Tuesday (Spin)
1 egg and 2 whites, wedge laughing cow cheese on English muffin
1 slice toast, peanut butter, apple, celery
2 grilled chicken thighs(5oz), 1 cup brown rice, broccoli, tomato and red onions with balsamic
MGD 64

Wednesday (Run 2 miles, weigh in)
1 small or 1/2 large muffin, string cheese
Kids Flatout, can tuna, olive oil mayo 1Tb, lettuce, grapes, 1/4 oz chocolate
4 oz lean steak, winter squash, sugar snap peas
5 c air popped corn with hot sauce
cheese stick

Thursday (Step class, strength)
Mulitgrain bagel, 2 T hummus
1 sliced boiled egg, 8 Triscuit, grapes, carrots
1 can Progresso Lentil soup, 5 saltines
1/2 c cottage cheese, pineapple

Friday (Run 2 miles,)
Kashi Golean, 1/2 cup milk, banana
Open face 3 slice turkey, mustard, lettuce, 1 cup Progresso minestrone
Fish fry, pizza or something I have been craving for the week keep to about 20 points

Saturday (P90 or kickbox tape)
Soft cooked egg, 1 slice toast with 1 T strawberry jam and 1/2 slice swiss, fruit of choice
Any leftover soup from the week, cereal or an open face sandwich with veggies
Chili, leftover rice, pickles, onions (stay away from cheese, you can't taste it anyway)

Sunday (Day off)
Kids choice, I may or may not eat it, or will stick with cereal
My birthday, so who knows? Will not eat breakfast as we have brunch on Sundays so will try to make good choices depending on where we go and what I had for supper on Friday.

One thing to remember, I weigh in on Wednesday, so Friday tends to be my splurge day. If you are a Sunday weigh-er, that might not work for you.

The Garden

Here it is, in all its 20,000 square foot wonder, complete with a few weeds

Squash, cucumbers, peas and onionsThe root bedBeans, pole beans, potatoesTomatoes, peppers and sweet corn

Menu Monday May 8-15

Hello all, it has been busy with school, life, work for hubby and celebrating #2 First Holy Communion. Spring is finally here and the boys came over yesterday and dug up my garden spot with their gianormous tractors! I will post pictures soon of the 20,000 sq foot space so you can see the craziness I am talking about. In the mean time...

Breakfast
Cranberry white chocolate muffins
Eggs and toast
Breakfast banana splits
Pear cheese quesadillas
Cereal
Pancakes and bacon
Brunch

Lunch
Nut butter and jelly sandwiches, banans
Hard boiled eggs with soba noodles, veggies
Meatballs and rice, snow peas
Egg salad sandwich, veggies
Ham and cheese sandwiches, grapes
Panini, chips

Supper
Sesame crusted tilapia, gingered green beans
Beef snow pea stir fry, rice
chicken Fricassee, salad
Salmon with sweet potato crust, cilantro rice, relish plate with lime
Pizza
Pulled pork butt, coleslaw, biscuits with cinnamon honey butter
Thai green curry chicken with veggies, rice