Recipe for Diet Carbonara.....REALLY!!!

Since I provided nothing but a little humor yesterday on the recipe front, I figure I would use today's post to provide you all a recipe I CAN whole heartedly recommend.  Who does love Carbonara?  Such creamy, bacony, carbohydratey goodness.  This is traditionally a dish I eat until I'm sick due to it's extreme richness.  I know I'm going to pay for it, but I simply don't care.  The stomach ache and indigestion is worth every bite.  So, how you all ask, can a dish that brings on stomach upset via fat laden content, actually be on the diet plan?  And no, you get more than a single noodle!!  I have to give kudos to my sister for this one.  She cobbled this together one night while at my parents.  I am so glad she shared it with me and it has become a fast favorite.  It is a bit higher on the point side, so you have to plan a bit of your eating during the course of the day accordingly.  At any rate, I hope you enjoy as much as we do here at diet headquarters!

Carbonara a la MEG: Serves 1 = 12 points

From the kitchen of MEG

• Serving Size point value based on using slightly more peas/onions that 1/2 cup each.  If you want to keep to 11 points use 1/2 cup peas and 1/2 cup cooked onion.
•  If you want to serve more than one, best suggestion (while a bit of a pain) is to do the exact same thing in a separate pan.  It's very hard to evenly divide tiny bacon bit like pieces and pasta...most dieters want every possible scrap they can get.  I'd take the extra dirty dish knowing I got every possible bite any day of the week!

Ingredients:
-1 Slice Turkey Bacon chopped into small pieces (Not sure if all brands are the same value...I use the ones with the South Beach Logo): 1 point
-1/2 to 1 cup of frozen peas depending on how many you like: 1 cup = 1 point
-1/2 to 1 cup chopped onion: 1 cup cooked onion = 1 point
-1 to 2 tsp minced garlic (all depends on how much garlic you like): 0 points
-1/4 cup Fat Free Half & Half: 1 point
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese: 2 points
-1 cup dry Dreamfields Brand Penne* (yields close to 2 cups when cooked): 6 points
-Salt and Pepper to taste


1.  Cook pasta
2.  While pasta is cooking spray pan with Fat Free Cooking Spray.  Sautee onion until soft and slightly browned.  Add  bacon and brown with onions.  Keep the pan at a slightly higher heat to achieve browning...just be careful not to burn.  Stir in garlic.
3.  Reduce heat to medium and add peas to pan.
4.  Add Half & Half and simmer on medium/low for roughly 5 minutes.  About a minute into this process add the grated cheese stirring well.  Half & Half needs to be hot to melt the cheese.
5.  Salt and Pepper the mixture to your taste.
6.  Add cooked pasta to pan and coat with mixture.


*A note about the pasta.  If you can find Dreamfields brand (I've seen penne, rotini, elbows, linguine, spaghetti most commonly) I'd use that.  It is the ONLY low carb pasta that I've found doesn't taste like cardboard...honestly I can't tell the difference between it and regular pasta.  Make sure you point out each type as they do point out differently, but generally you save a point using the Dreamfields.  You can also use a whole wheat pasta and this also tends to save you a point, again please check as all brands can vary.  I am just not a huge fan of whole wheat pasta.


And there you have it...diet carbonara.  Obviously it's not the real thing but it's a very nice "comfort" pasta meal if you are looking for something richer than a salad.  Can't you just taste the bacon and cream?

A close up for maximum salivation.

A few other ideas if you want to fiddle with the consistency of the recipe is with the addition of egg products.  You could consider adding an actual egg (2 points).  I'd scramble the egg in just before you add the cream so you can actually scramble the egg.  If you want to save on points you could use only egg whites (o points) or 1/4 cup egg substitute (1 point).  I'd follow the same process as an egg.  It all depends on taste and how many points you want to make your meal.  I am a texture person through and through so my first inclination when my sister made this recipe was to add the scrambled egg bits in.  I have actually not tried yet (am sure I will at some point) as I really think the meal is nice as is.


Hope you all enjoy and perhaps will forget for a moment you are dieting.  Until tomorrow, happy healthy eating.