The January Buzzword is "Healthy!"

I think I ate ALL the sugar cookies...

Last night my daughter turned to me and said, “I didn’t have any of the sugar cookies!” I quickly said, “They were there with the other cookies.” Other cookies being in the realm of 10 dozen cookies we baked representing each persons favorite cookie. What I didn’t say was….. I ate them all.

I must have because I feel like I did and my soon-to-be-wearing-a-bikini-on-a-cruise-to-somewhere-warm-and-sunny chubby little belly is very valid evidence that I did.  It’s really hard not to. Our Grandmother Alice’s Sugar Cookies are thin and delicate and sugary and like…. well…..potato chips but sweet. You can’t eat just one.  But now they are gone and we can get back on track right?

Start over so to speak?  Get back to Healthy!

Did you overindulge this holiday season? Do your pants feel a little tighter? Feeling a little sluggish? Was "Eat Healthy" on your resolution list? "Get Healthy" was on the cover of Oprah Magazine along with Dr. Oz and a 28-day plan to a "Healthier You" (which I read every last bit of).  I am thinking that lines up perfectly with Alice & Louise’s mission.

It is our mission to help people create a healthy lifestyle through home cooking and good food.! We have heard from lots of people that they “just don’t know how to cook” or “no one ever taught me to cook.” Or the most often uttered, “I am too busy to cook.” We have always believed that the kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s where most people tend to gather at the end of the day and during a party. Its a place to reconnect with your family, your roommate, your neighbor, your friends. Its warm, it smells wonderful and cooking for others really does make you feel good. 

We are on a mission this year to teach you to cook, to maybe change your lifestyle through healthy cooking and to teach you to save time with home cooking.  Not only that, you will see that you save a bunch of money, too. Cooking at home with fresh ingredients is far cheaper (and healthier) than any drive-through, restaurant or pizza delivery.  We will be sharing recipes, shopping lists, tips for saving time & money in the kitchen and creative ways to entertain family and friends.  As Chef Lilienne says….”just cooking at home without opening boxes is a great start.”

For “I just don’t know how to cook” or “no one ever taught me” check out Basic Techniques & Trends for All Foodies You will learn about abundant flavors and cooking with fresh ingredients in any of these classes.

Know the difference between a chop, dice, mince, chiffonade? Better sign up for Basic Knife Skills and Techniques. Nothing better in the kitchen than knowing the best way to wield a chef’s knife!

For “I am too busy to cook” join us for Four Frantic Nights. We will teach you how to create  four less-than-30-minute meals with a short shopping list. Or you can learn how to Rock your Crock for total time saving cooking!

If you already adore cooking and food the way we do, we have some choice classes and experiences for you too! Cooking with Wine ,  Fine Art of PHO or  Tapas 101 with wine pairing  just to name a few!

So Cheers to Healthy Eating for a Healthy Lifestyle this Year!

Eating Healthy translates to a healthy body, healthy mind and better overall long-term health. If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter via email click here.  We won’t clog up your inbox, but we might change your life!

And if you "like" us on Facebook, you will get last-minute notice of discounts on our classes!

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Here is a “good-for-you recipe” to try this week from Lilienne’s Kitchen!

“Skinny” Vinny DiGuissippe Lasagna

There is no need to compromise on taste, flavor and texture when it comes to making really good authentic lasagna.

The very good news is that using lower-fat meats, like turkey or chicken sausage and lean ground turkey breast for the meat, gives you the lean protein, but you lose the fat.

We’ve made some sneaky substitutions to the cheeses as well. The best news ever is that fresh mozzarella cheese has only  0.5 more grams of fat than the lower fat packaged mozzarella, which has so much less flavor and the texture of a rubber band. We’ve amped up the flavor with fresh garlic and lots of herbs and added white wine and lots of veggies.

• 1 pkg. of fresh whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cans san marzano tomatoes
• 1 lb. of ground turkey breast
• ½ lb. of hot or mild turkey or chicken Italian sausage
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup each, chopped celery, carrots and onion
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 zucchini, diced
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 tsp. Truvia
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh bay leaf
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1 8 oz. Container low fat cottage cheese (the one with fiber is great)
• 1 8 oz. Container of fat free ricotta
• 1 8 oz. Pkg. of fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese, reserving ½ cup for topping the lasagna
• ½ cup egg whites (I used the Egg Beaters brand)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook the turkey and sausage in the olive oil and cook until cooked thru. Add the vegetables and garlic and saute until fragrant and tender. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the herbs, salt and pepper and truvia and tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon. Let the sauce saute for about 20 minutes while you prepare the cheese filling.

Combine all the cheeses together with the egg whites and set aside.

Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with non stick spray. Layer about 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of fresh noodles, cutting them to fit if necessary. Top the noodles with a layer of cheese and more sauce. Continue layering and finish with noodles, sauce and top with reserved cheese.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with non stick spray and cover the lasagna. Place the casserole on a foil lined cookie sheet and place into a 350 oven for about 1 hour. Test for doneness, the lasagna should have puffed up and you will see bubbles in the corners of the pan.

Remove from the oven and let it sit for at least 20 minutes prior to cutting so you don’t end up with Lasagna soup, which is not a good thing.

Bon Apetit!

Alice & Louise