Mojitos are a GREAT summer drink. They are basically a lime and mint flavored drink – most often served with rum. But kids love the flavor, so make a batch of virgin mojitos without the rum – not only will the kids love them, but without the rum, the calorie count is seriously low. So get lotsa limes, lotsa mint and get ready to smile.

Virgin Mojitos

1 serving (12 oz.)
20 calories per serving

6 mint leaves
1 T Splenda or Equal
Juice of one lime
12 oz. can diet lemon lime side
Garnish with fresh mint and lime slices

Mull mint leaves and Splenda at the bottom of the glass with the handle of a wooden spoon. Add lime juice and stir. Pour in soda and stir well. Garnish with lime slices and extra mint.

Refreshingly sweet with a spicy ginger flavor – this is a great drink !

Ginger Tea

8 servings
73 calories per serving

8 c water, divided
1/4 c minced ginger
1/4 c honey
1/4 c molasses
3/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c cider vinegar
4 c seltzer
Lemon slices for garnish

Mix 3 c water and ginger and boil 2 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit 20 minutes. Strain the mix through a fine strainer into a large pitcher. Add honey, molasses, lemon juice and vinegar and mix until all dissolved. Add 6 c water then chill overnight. As you serve, mix tea with ½ c seltzer and garnish each glass with a lemon slice.

What a great afternoon pick-me-up! Sweet, chocolately, just the right amount of coffee, and nice and cold. (Much like a Wendy’s Frosty)

Frosty Mocha Drink

4 servings
118 calories per serving

1 ½ c skim milk
1/3 c chocolate syrup
2 T instant malted milk powder
2 T instant coffee
3 ½ c ice cubes

Combine milk, syrup, malted milk and coffee in a blender. Then add ice in a couple batches blending in between each batch and then serve immediately.

Add a layer of healthy spinach, use low fat cheese and FiberGourmet pasta and quickly you have a healthy alternative and a fan favorite

Baked Mac and Cheese

4 servings
366 calories per serving

3 T breadcrumbs
1 t oil
½ t paprika
20 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
1 3/4 c skim milk, divided
3 T flour
2 c shredded low fat extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1 c low fat cottage cheese
1/8 t nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces FiberGourmet penne or elbow pasta
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with Pam. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika. Squeeze out spinach in a colander so it is very dry. Mix ¼ c milk with flour. Heat 1 ½ c milk until steaming and them whisk in the rest of the milk and continue whisking until it is thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar until melted. Then stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook pasta about 4 minutes (do not cook all the way or it will be too mushy after it bakes). Mix pasta and cheese and place half of it in the baking dish. Then add the spinach and top with the rest of the pasta. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mix and then bake 30 minutes or until golden.

Festive, fruity, summery and a great drink for entertaining.

Sparky Sangria

10 servings
155 calories per serving

1 c cherries, sliced off the pit or pitted and sliced
1 c blueberries
1 c raspberries
1 c strawberries, sliced
1 nectarine, chopped
2 c apricot nectar
750 ml bottle white or red wine
2 c lemon lime seltzer

Add fruit to nectar and chill an hour or more. Add wine and seltzer just before serving.

This is very different from your typical mac salad ! Instead of pasta, this recipe uses rice and adds some nice fresh Spring veggies. What a great dish to serve at your next barbecue !

Spring Rice and Veggie Salad

8 servings
150 calories per serving

4 c cooked minute rice (white or brown) – after cooking , cool to room temperature
1 c halved grape tomatoes
1 c fresh asparagus spears (cut into 1 inch pieces), boiled 3 minutes then rinsed in cold water
3/4 cup light mayo
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T chopped parsley
Juice of one lemon
Grated zest of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well and serve. (you could also chill this and then serve – but I like it best room temperature)

I find chai tea so soothing and relaxing. This is a way to prepare it with just simple ingredients you have at home rather than using a special chai mix.

Sweet Chai Tea

1 serving
53 calories per serving

½ c hot brewed sweet orange tea (I used orange blossom white tea, so the cup of tea is very light in color)
½ c very warm skim milk
1 T Equal spoonful
¼ t vanilla
1/8 t ground cloves

Combine all in a coffee mug and stir well. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

For those that like a little sweet with their savory, this is a great quick pork dish. The meat comes out nice and tender and the caramelized glaze is quite good ! Try Serving with Mushroom and Zucchini Orzo.

Caramelized Pork

4 servings
200 calories per serving

1 lb. pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch slices
2 t canola oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 T brown sugar
1 T orange juice
1 T molasses
½ t salt
¼ t pepper

Flatten the pork slices to ½ inch thick each (place between pieces of plastic wrap and pound with the bottom of a heavy skillet). Brown the pork in oil on medium high heat and then remove from the pan and keep warm. Saute the garlic in the same skillet for 30 seconds and then stir in the brown sugar, OJ, molasses, salt and pepper then return the pork to the pan and cook 4 minutes.

Simple, versatile dinner that is ready in no time and tastes like a million bucks. You could easily substitute chicken or pork and leftover meats would be great to use here. You can also sub in any frozen veggie mix.

Beef Ramen Bowl

4 servings
255 calories per serving

1 lb. beef sirloin cut into thin strips
2 c water
3 oz. Asian or Beef flavor ramen noodle mix
1 lb. fresh stir fry veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red peppers)
¼ c soy sauce
Pam

Spray a skillet with Pam and cook beef 5 minutes or until browned then remove from skillet and keep warm. Boil stir in veggies and heat to boiling and continue to cook 4 minutes or until veggies are a bit tender. Stir in seasoning packet and broken up noodles and continue cooking 3 minutes. Finally add soy and then add beef and heat through.

This taste very similar to the pumpkin lattes you get at the big coffee houses And with only 132 calories per NICE SIZE serving, you can’t go wrong ! Thanks to Torani for making some kick-butt sugar free syrups.

Pumpkin Latte

1 serving
132 calories per serving

5 oz. hot coffee or espresso
½ c skim milk
3 squirts Torani Pumpkin syrup
2 T pure pumpkin puree
4 T Redi-Whip whipped cream
Cinnamon

Mix milk with syrup and pumpkin puree. Microwave for 1 minute to heat through. Pour in coffee and top with whipped cream. Finally sprinkle with cinnamon just before serving.