Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Healthy Eating W.F.M.W. - Fettucine Alfredo Lite

I know what you’re thinking? ”Surely you jest?? Fettucine Alfredo Lite?! Oh puullleeeezzz!”

But directly from the helpful pages of Cooking Light magazine comes a figure friendly recipe for Fettucine Alfredo. To give you an idea of just how friendly it is, normal rich decadent Fettucine Alfredo has 910 calories per serving, including 63g of fat, 236mg Cholesterol, 1197mg Sodium and 56.2g total carbs. This trimmed down version only has 399 calories per serving with only 13.5g fat, 34mg cholesterol, 822mg sodium and 48.9 total carbs.

And may I suggest a subscription to Cooking Light magazine? It’s a magazine that has not only great healthy tasty recipes, but also tons of other useful non-cooking related ideas for living a healthier, thinner, happier, less-stressful, longer life. (And they didn’t even pay me to say that! Although I’d love for them to give me my next subscription for free.) Works for me!


Fettuccine Alfredo

1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons 1/3 less-fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot cooked fettucine (8 ounces uncooked pasta)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Cracked black pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese, and salt, stirring with a whisk until cheeses melt. Toss sauce with hot pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and chopped parsley. Garnish with black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 4 one cup servings.

Pair this with a nice salad and some whole wheat french bread that has been sliced, toasted and then rubbed with a peeled clove of garlic (leave out the butter). Yum!

OK, so it's not carrot sticks and rice cakes. But you can't eat that stuff all the time.

Feeling hungry? Me too. Meet you over at Rocks in My Dryer for more great recipes.

12 comments:

Jane said...

I have made this with shrimp which I cook up in the garlic quick and then remove before continuing with the other steps. I can attest it is wonderful! Rich, but not too rich. A favorite in our house too. If you use Barilla Plus pasta, you cut down on carbs there too and get a good amount of protien and fiber.

Milehimama @ Mama Says said...

I used to make a "lite" alfredo sauce with evaporated milk and then make a thin white sauce. Lots of garlic to liven it up - but this sounds even better!
I like the whole wheat blend noodles better than the whole wheat ones. They are much "lighter" and less "wheaty".

Mama Says

Anonymous said...

Oh, sounds so delicious!!! My husband loves alfredo. I need to start making it for him. I will have to use this recipe to do so. Thanks for sharing!

Susanne said...

I was wondering who of us would take the challenge to give Shannon a lite recipe for alfredo! This sounds excellent.

Chris @ Come to the Table said...

We love alfredo sauce so I will be trying this one!

Beck said...

I know a certain husband who is going to be pretty delighted when I make this!

Luke and Valerie said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting on my granola recipe. I wanted to hop over here and tell you that I love your 'ugly doll' pic in your profile!!! I want to start making those- I think they are so cute!
Have a great day!

Nichole said...

I love Cooking Light. I let my subscription run out, though. I'm thinking I might re-subscribe. That looks really good!

Michelle said...

My husand really likes fettucine alfredo, so I'm going to have to make this - thanks!

BTW - I've tagged you!

Anonymous said...

Here's yet another husband who loves fettucine Alfredo!

Overwhelmed! said...

Ann, I'm definitely going to have to try this one. I love alfredo sauce but it's just so bad for you. At least with your recipe I wouldn't feel quite as guilty.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my Strawberry Spinach post. :)

Amy said...

Mmmm! Yummy!! I've got to try this one. It will have to be "spaghetti alfredo" if I do it tonight though. :)