Spinach Ravioli (Healthy)

Spinach Ravioli (Healthy)

Who doesn't love pasta. It is so good, but so carb intensive. Many of the cheeses and meats that go with pastas can also put a dent in your diet. You can have pasta and have a healthy meal. The secret with this recipe is to use thin store bought wonton wrappers to minimize how much pasta you are actually eating without even noticing, using non-fat ricotta and other leaner cheeses, and including lots and lots of spinach. I also included a bonus healthy dessert recipe at the end which uses the left over ricotta cheese.

Yield: 21 Raviolis 

Ingredients:

0.5 Tablespoons of olive oil

16 ounces of fresh spinach

0.25 cups of shredded part-skim mozzarella

2 large eggs

42 wonton wrappers (Nasoya square wrappers work well) (you'll want extra in case a wrapper breaks)

2 cups of fat free ricotta cheese

0.25 cups of Parmesan Cheese, grated (or any other type of salty hard cheese)

Crushed garlic

Nutrition per 4 Ravioli:

Calories: 331, Fat: 7 g, Carbohydrate 42 g, Protein: 24 g

1. Start by heating up the olive oil in a medium pot. Mix in the garlic and constantly stir it around for a minute or two to brown the garlic without burning it.

2. Add in as much spinach as possible. You may have to work in batches. I had to work in two batches. The spinach will really shrink down.

3. Put the wilted spinach in a colander to drain while you prepared the other parts of the filling.

4. Whisk the two eggs in a large bowl.

 5. Add in the cheeses and whatever spices you'd like such as Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, nutmeg, etc. Go bold!

6. At this point, the spinach will have drained a lot of liquid, but you'll need to press more out. With a wooden spoon press the spinach against the colander. The spinach will shrink even more.

7. Roughly chop the spinach.

8. Add the spinach into the cheese mixture and mix until homogenous.

9. Put a light coat of flour on a large baking pan that is line with wax paper.

10. Take a single wonton and place it on a plate. Brush the edges with some water.

11. Put two tablespoons of filling in the center of the wonton wrapper.

12. Put another wonton wrapper on top and press the edges together. Fold the edges to really seal them. This is probably the most difficult step.

Place the finished ravioli on the floured baking pan and brush the top of the ravioli with some water.

13. Repeat until all the filling is gone.

14. Place ravioli in boiling water. Do not crowd the pot. You will need to do this step multiple batches.

15. Once the ravioli float to the top, they are done. You can get them out of the water with a mini sieve.

16. Place the wontons on a paper towel lined plate to dry.

Enjoy your ravioli with some pesto, extra Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes.

Bonus Recipe, Tiramisu Pudding 

The original recipe is available here: http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/954-super-ez-no-bake-dessert-recipes

1. Combine in a medium bowl:

• 1/2 a cup of fat-free ricotta cheese  
• 1/2 a packet of sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix (I also tried cheesecake pudding mix with much success
• 1/4 a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 a cup of Cool Whip free (or generic)

 

2. Add some unsweetened cocoa powder on top