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Faux Spaghetti Night!

One of Mike's (my hubby) favorite food is spaghetti, and every Wednesday is Spaghetti night at our house. I love pasta, but it was tough to eat a "single serving" of good spaghetti and feel full!

For awhile, I made spaghetti for my family but I started replacing 1/2 of my pasta with julienned zucchini or oriental veggies, then really decided I really wasn't missing the real noodles, and just ditched them all together.

Here is my Faux Spaghetti recipe (oriental version) that allows me to eat a great meal, get in lots of veggies, and still feel really satisfied and not missin' a thing!  Let me know how you like it!  It comes in at around 350 calories using 90% lean ground beef but you can use any type of meat you like.

Easy Faux Spaghetti (Oriental version)
Below are measurements for one serving, but you can easily adjust the quantities and make enough of the sauce for your whole family & use reg. spaghetti noodles.

Time:
15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Makes 1 serving


• 3 ounces lean ground beef


• 1 cup of Ragu Chunky Garden Combination pasta sauce
  If I have extra veggies in the fridge, I'll chop up and put in the sauce too


• 1 small can LaChoy Chop Suey Vegetables


• 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Brown however much meat you need for your family for the sauce, then portion out 3 oz. of meat for yourself, and set aside.


2. Open and drain a can of LaChoy Chop Suey veggies. Make sure its the small can because there's also a huge can.


3. Place drained veggies into a few paper towels and press down several times to remove the remaining water - Otherwise it tends to be too watery.  I use the whole can as one serving for this.


4. Portion out 1 cup of sauce from the jar before you mix in with your family's meat., set aside.


5. Mix your portion of meat and sauce together


6. Put your "Faux noodles" on a plate and top with meat sauce.  I usually reheat for a minute or so in the microwave again.


7. Add Parmesan cheese


8. Enjoy!!

Have other great healthy substitution ideas?? I'd love to hear them!

Day 1: 1/1/11

I was ringing in the new year...asleep!

I slept in until 11am this morning!! Very nice treat!  I did really well on my first day, except the sleeping in threw off my planned eating schedule.  I am eating 5-6 small meals throughout the day.  Because I slept in so late I've got a few hundred calories I didn't get in, but instead of cramming them in, I'll just record the numbers and let it go. I think that's a better plan.

Exercise: No real exercise today, but did do some walking when we went shopping. Was kind of a crazy day to start, but I've got the ball rolling now!!

Too Cool! I got an awesome Tweet from @Ilyse Baker, the trainer to Kim Lyons, Leann Rimes and other celebrities!  Thanks to @ScreenscapeS of course!  Wonderful and fun surprise!  :)
"Good luck. A great start for 2011. Go girl!"

• Weigh-In: 356 lbs. (START)
  


• x Breakfast: none


• x AM Snack: none


• √ Lunch: chicken breast, FF cottage cheese, pineapple


• √ AFT snack: Protein shake w/ pumpkin


• √ Dinner: chicken breast, broccoli, salad, SF jello mousse (very odd texture!)


• √ PM Snack: Protein shake


• ↓ Total Calories: 1,250 cal.


• √ Made a list of things I appreciate


• √ 15 minutes of Meditation.
  
  
  
  • I did a guided meditation that focused on slowing my breathing
  
  
  
  


• √ 3 minutes of active Visualization.
  
  
  
  • Visualization doesn't have to be on the subject of weight or even health to be beneficial to the overall body/mind! Just get to feeling good!
  
  
  • This is the upbeat, fun video I watched on Youtube
    
  
  
  
  


• x No real exercise, except walking when we went shopping. I'll revisit this topic again tomorrow.

All in all its been a really great day except for the craziness we've had with our new cell phones! :)

What was the best thing about your day today??