Seafood Alfredo

Creamy, rich Alfredo sauce goes perfect with a seafood medley of scallops, lobster and shrimp. One of our faithful readers, Patty, describes her favorite restaurant dish as "(literally) to die for" - it's just that good. Knowing this entrée can pack in nearly 800 calories per serving and more than a quarter of your daily value for saturated fat, this is a dish worthy of a recipe rehab. Thanks, Patty, for the request!

With a few simple substitutions, I was able to lighten the meal to less than 500 calories and only 3 grams of saturated fat. Since it is the Alfredo sauce where most of the calories and fat are lurking, I've replaced the traditional heavy cream and butter with evaporated skim milk thickened with a little cornstarch and low fat cream cheese. Even though shrimp and lobster have high levels of dietary cholesterol, it's actually the saturated fat in the sauce that can lead to high blood cholesterol levels, not the lean protein from seafood. Nevertheless, for good LDL/HDL balance the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, so I will control the portion sizes for the seafood by adding vitamin packed broccoli. Instead of serving this with the traditional fettuccine, I will use the whole wheat version to add a little fiber.

Now we may not be able to convince the restaurant chef to lighten up his entrée, but seafood Alfredo my way is something that can be consumed more often without risking your heart health and cholesterol levels.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces whole wheat fettuccine (or other whole wheat pasta)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets, chopped
• 8 ounces sea scallops
• 8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 ounces cooked lobster meat, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 cup evaporated skim milk
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)
• Salted and pepper to taste
• Fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Serves: 6

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to instructions.
2. While the pasts is cooking, sauté onion and garlic with the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the broccoli, shrimp, scallops and wine. Cover and cook until the seafood is firm and broccoli is tender (about 5-8 minutes). Add lobster meat and heat through (another 2 minutes). Remove from frying pan and set aside, keeping warm.
3. In a small bowl combine the evaporated milk and the cornstarch and stir until smooth.
4. Add the milk and cream cheese to the frying pan and heat on low until the cheese is melted and the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the vegetable seafood mixture.
5. Serve over the cooked pasta.

Nutritional Content (per serving):

439 calories, 10 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 50 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 39 g protein, 479 mg sodium, 270 mg calcium

Looking for a simple side dish recipe for fettuccini Alfredo? We got it - Guilt Free Fettuccine Alfredo.

Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your most favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REHAB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us an email at reciperehab [AT] thatsfit [DOT] com.