Carbonara under 500

I am having the most fantastic day. I was headed for church this morning and I was taking my sweet time getting ready, and I was running late. Too late to grab a coffee. Magically, by the time I got close to the church I had time to spare to go to the Starbucks across the street. When I pulled up to the window I went to pass the Starbucks boy my debit card and he said "Don't worry about it, coffee is free for ridiculously good looking people". Ha! In actuality it was free since the car in front of me placed an order that took FOREVER and I was waiting for a very long time. Patiently. (another joke, I was not very patient) After church there was a barbecue, and if there's something I love, it's free food. I went the the gym from there, and my favorite eye candy was also working out. I also went to yoga today and not once did we have to do child's pose, which is my least favorite.

However, Sunday night is fast coming to a close, and it means that Monday morning is coming fast. I do not like Monday mornings...

A while back I made a spaghetti carbonara using a recipe by Nigella Lawson. While delicious, it's completely indulgent. (And if you didn't make it the first time you read about it on my blog, what the heck are you waiting for? It's really fantastic)

Since it is indulgent, I have to consider it as a luxury. And luxurious, it is. The sauce is made from pancetta, cream and cheese. When watching one's waist and heart, the indulgences must be few and far between. I love carbonara though, and when I saw a recipe for a healthier version of it, I had to make it. The recipe comes from Cook Smart for a Healthy Heart. I made it without the roasted tomato salad, those of you who clicked the recipe link.

The recipe replaces pancetta or bacon with proscuitto which is dry fried (without the aid of oil) until crisp. They also replace heavy cream with reduced fat cream, though I went so far as to replace the cream with skim milk. The sauce is given texture with the aid of some ricotta cheese, which I love. One of my most favorite carbonaras comes from a restaurant called Chianti's, where you can order it dry (not creamy and saucy) and I think it's so good this way, and the ricotta in the recipe is reminiscent of that.

Since the sauce is light, I didn't use whole wheat, I used Catelli Smart spaghetti instead. And even with proscuitto, eggs, cheese and pasta a hearty sized serving comes in at 471 calories. Amazing.

Though it isn't nearly as good as Nigella's version, I did find it incredibly good and a decent substitution.