Meal Plan/Grocery List 6

Hard to believe that I've been at this meal planning for 6 weeks already...doesn't seem like it's been that long. I do truly hope that at least some of you are benefitting from it and are finding it helpful and useful in making some delicious and healthy meals for your families. This week was a busy one for my family, a little more running around than originally expected and not as many meals eaten at home, so we have a couple extras to take us into the weekend. I tried another new spaghetti squash recipe this week and it was AMAZING! I am so completely sold on spaghetti squash! My new favorite thing to cook with! Here's the meals for this week:

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Hawaiian BBQ Cupcakes
Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps
Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
Enchilada Casserole

Dessert for this week is (once again):
Glazed Brownies

And for quick breakfast or afternoon snack:
Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

And lastly, to make your life one step easier, the grocery list:
Meal Plan/Grocery List 6

So there you are! Happy cooking this week!

Hawaiian BBQ Cupcakes

Hawaiian BBQ Cupcakes

I keep saying it, over and over, but we have yet to try a cupcake recipe that we don't love! This one was no exception AND it was super easy and fast to put together. There was only 3 layers (then repeated) and was just a quick and easy and yummy dinner to put together! I will say, they didn't hold up as well when I reheated them the next day for lunch as other cupcakes have, and I'm not entirely sure why, tasted just as good, just didn't hold shape quite as well reheated. But if that's my biggest complaint, then I think we're doing pretty good!

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c. cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded

½ c. chopped fresh pineapple (if you have to use canned, drain, and don’t buy any in syrup)

4 T. BBQ sauce

1 T. chopped scallions

16 wonton wrappers

4 oz. (about 1 cup) 2% shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375, spray 8 cups in a muffin tin.

2.   In a bowl, combine the chicken, pineapple, BBQ sauce and scallions. Stir well to combine.

3.   Put a wonton wrapper in the bottom of each of the 8 muffin cups. Using half of the chicken mixture, divide evenly among the muffin cups. Then using half of the shredded cheese, divide evenly among the muffin cups. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients: wonton wrapper, chicken mixture, shredded cheese.

4.   Bake 18-20 minutes, then let sit about 5 minutes before serving.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 4 per serving. 

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing) 

Recipe from Emily Bites

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Last night's dinner only added fuel to the fire of my new obsession with spaghetti squash! I have yet to try anything that I don't love with spaghetti squash and it only makes it all the better that using it really fills me up and keeps the point values low!! This really tasted like a real lasagna, I couldn't believe it! I think next time, I will probably try sauteing in some mushrooms and garlic with it as well. I admit, I did give it a sprinkle of garlic powder at the last minute when I realized there was no garlic in this recipe. I will say, buy the biggest spaghetti squash you can find. This one asks for 5-6 cups, I bought the biggest one that Woodman's had and it barely gave me 5 cups. I bought an extra smaller one just incase I needed more, but decided at the last minute to just fix the one and it gave me just enough. And I love that this recipe gives me 12 servings, the hubs had 2 pieces, and I had 1, so even though he took a couple for lunch today, we'll still have plenty of leftovers!!!

Ingredients:

1 (10oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach

1 c. onion, finely chopped

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 ½ c. pasta sauce

1 ½ c. fat free cottage cheese

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

2 large egg whites

1 large spaghetti squash (5-6 cups cooked)

½ c. part skim shredded mozzarella

 

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half length-wise and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Place halves face down on baking sheet and cook for 45-50 minutes. When done, using two forks, scrape out the insides and put all spaghetti squash in a separate bowl. Then turn oven temp up to 425. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2.   While spaghetti squash is roasting, begin preparing the other layers to the lasagna. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, sauté the onions and spinach (best if it’s not totally frozen, but can be). Cook until onion is translucent and spinach is not frozen. Remove from pan and put in a bowl.

3.   In the same skillet, cook ground turkey. Drain off any excess grease. Add basil and oregano and pasta sauce. Cook until heated then add to the onions and spinach and stir well.

4.   In a separate bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and egg whites.

5.   Begin layering the lasagna. Using half of the spaghetti squash, spread it out on the bottom of the baking dish. Then using half of the cheese mixture, spread on top of spaghetti squash. Third, using half of the meat mixture, spread over the cheese mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients: spaghetti squash, cheese mixture, meat mixture. Then sprinkle the ½ c. mozzarella on the very top.

6.   Bake for 35-40 minutes.

7.   Let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting into 12 even pieces.  

Yields 12 piece – WWP+ 4 per slice

Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing.

 Adapted from Dashing Dish

Warm Cinnamon Bites

Warm Cinnamon Bites

I made these for dessert last night after intending to do it for like a week and a half. I don't know what I was waiting for. I had them put together in like 5 minutes or less (because I already have cinnamon-sugar mixed up for my cinnamon-sugar toast obsessed child) and they were so delicious! I had two, which was 3 points, then I had to walk away because if I stood there, I would have kept eating. However, I did find myself wandering back over later because I had quite a few points left after dinner last night, so I ended up with 4 altogether!!! This is a new go-to dessert!!! These would also work as a sweet breakfast snack, as my child was begging for one this morning I realized that cinnamon rolls are a breakfast food as well!

Ingredients:

8 oz. reduced fat crescent rolls

4 teaspoons sugar-cinnamon

½ c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375.

2.   Unroll crescent and separate into 2 squares (4 crescents each). Press perforations together as best you can to make two squares. Sprinkle 2 tsp of cinnamon-sugar on each square.

3.   Roll up one section at a time, starting on the longer side and press firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch seams to seal. Cut each roll into 10 slices, a total of 20 slices for the whole recipe.

4.   Place rolls on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

5.   While baking, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk and when rolls are golden brown, remove from the oven and drizzle evenly with icing.  

(store in an airtight container and microwave for a few seconds before eating again later)

Yields 20 servings – WWP+ 1 point each or 3 points for 2 

***I don’t know where the original recipe came from. I feel bad not giving credit where credit is due, but when I printed it from online, it didn’t print a web address with it, and I don't remember where I found it. Although I remember the girl saying that her mom got it from a weight watchers meeting, so I guess in the end we credit Weight Watchers.***

Meal Plan/Grocery List 5

Another week has passed. Are you enjoying any of these recipes? I surely hope so! We've had kinda a crazy week with cooking, I haven't gotten to some of my recipes yet because we had leftovers one night and another night I made the same recipe twice because we liked it SO much the first time! So my groceries should last me through the weekend, which is always nice. My newest addition to my cooking regiment is Spaghetti Squash!!! I've heard a lot of people talk about it, but hadn't ever tried it. I search a bunch of recipes and I found one that I wanted to experiment with and it was amazing!!! That's the one we made twice this week. It tastes really good and it's super low in points because it's mostly vegetables which is a huge bonus!! I have decided that I'm going to try and incorportate a spaghettti squash recipe into my meal plan once a week. Tessa even ate it, it really does have the consistency of spaghetti, but and great way to get tons of extra vegetables in without dealing with those pesky carbs that make the point values of everything shoot up! If you've never tried it, don't be scared of it, I'm going to challenge you to give it a try, we are so glad that we did. I was able to eat a whole filling dinner last night for only 3 points, love it! (oh, and don't let the Spicy title of the recipe throw you off, it does have a jalapeno in it, but I am a major baby when it comes to spicy food, and I just made sure to get all the seeds out and it was really, seriously, not spicy to me, just very flavorful!)

And yes, you are going to start seeing some of the meals repeating from previous meal plans. I always try to incorporate one or two new ones, but let's face it, no one makes new recipes all the time, and you wouldn't want to! When you find something you like, who doesn't want to have it again??

So here's the meals for this week:

Dinners:
Spicy Spaghetti Squash
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Margherita Pizza
French Dip Cupcakes
Chicken Tortilla Soup

Dessert:
Warm Cinnamon Bites

Snack:
Cucumbers with cheese spread

For this snack, it's simple, just sliced cucumbers with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese spread in between. You can do whatever flavor you want, although I recommend the Creamy Swiss (and bonus, it's on the grocery list anyway for the French Dip Cupcakes). I think I made about 5 little cucumber sandwiches with 1 wedge of cheese.

And here's your grocery list to complete it all:
Meal Plan/Grocery List 5

Happy Shopping and Happy Cooking!

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Sorry! No picture! I took one, I swear, but it has disappered from my phone!

 

I don't know what happened to my picture, I swear I took one, but it is missing from my phone. The next time I make it (which will probably be soon considering how delicious this was!!!) I will be sure to take another picture to post with the recipe. This casserole was super easy to put together and it really did taste like chicken parmesan. We had my parents over for dinner the night we made this and they both loved it too! The only downside is that it is an 8 point dish, which is getting to be a higher point dinner for me now that I'm losing more and more weight, because as the weight goes down, so do the points they allow you for the day, but it was worth it to eat a light lunch to enjoy this dinner!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. fresh basil, finely chopped

2 c. marinara/pasta sauce

6 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

3.5 oz. garlic croutons, roughly crushed (leave some bigger chunks) 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2.   Spread the cubed chicken in the single layer across the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the minced garlic and fresh basil over top of it. Spread marinara sauce over the chicken next.

3.   Divide the two cheeses into halves, sprinkle half the mozzarella then half the parmesan. Sprinkle all the croutons on top of the cheeses. Then sprinkle the remainder of the mozzarella and parmesan on top of the croutons.

4.   Bake for 40-45 minutes.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 8 points  

Recipe adapted from Emily Bites

Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

Spicy Spaghetti Squash w/ Black Beans

So this was my first venture into the world of spaghetti squash and let me say, I am a HUGE fan! Dinner was so filling and so low in points!! My plan is to post a spaghetti squash recipe every week! Also, I will say, I was a bit nervous making this because spicy is not really my thing, but I'm trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and believe it or not, this was the first time I have ever cooked with jalapeno in my life. I omitted the chili powder when I made it last night because I wasn't sure how spicy the jalapeno would make it, and either I'm just really getting used to spicier things or it really didn't make that much of a difference, so next time I will definitely add the chili powder because it really wasn't what I would consider spicy. Tessa even ate it! Stay tuned for some more awesome spaghetti squash recipes...can't wait!!!

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 tsp. olive oil

½ c. onion

1 jalapeno, seeded & minced

½ c. red pepper, chopped

1 c. black beans, drained & rinsed

½ c. sweet corn, frozen

1 tsp. chili powder

1/3 c. cilantro

1 T. lime juice

1 tsp. sea salt 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375. Cut spaghetti squash in half and clean seeds out of the inside. Lay face down on a baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until tender. When cool, take 2 forks and scrape away at the inside, it will fall apart and look like little spaghetti noodles. Set all squash aside in a bowl. Save squash shells for serving (can also be served in a bowl).

2.   Heat oil in a skillet, and add onion, jalapeno and red pepper. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Add beans, corn and chili powder and sauté another minute or so. Add cooked squash, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Cook another 1-2 minutes until heated through.

3.   Fill squash halves (or bowls) with filling and serve!

When in the skillet, I just flattened out the mixture, then using my spatula divided into 4 portions. The hubs at 2 of them (and was completely full afterwards!) and I had 1 serving, so ¼ of the whole recipe.

Yields 4 servings – WWP+ 3 points

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing)

Recipe from WholeFoodsMarket

Taco Cupcakes

Taco Cupcakes

Yet another incredibly yummy cupcake recipe! These had just a smidge of spicy to them, not too much, but you could make it spicier or not as much depending on which salsa and queso you purchase to use. I have already eaten up all the leftovers of our taco cupcakes because they were so good!!! With all of these ingredients, they really filled up the muffin cups and some of the cheese and stuff kinda melted over as they baked, but it doesn't matter because they were just...that...good. I highly recommend trying these!

 

Ingredients:

½ lb. extra lean ground beef

16 wonton wrappers

1 T taco seasoning

¾ c. canned black beans, drained & rinsed

5 T + 1 tsp. white queso dip

1 c. chunky salsa

4 oz. (about 1 cup) 2% shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375, spray 8 cups in a muffin tin.

2.   Spray large skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Add ground beef and taco seasoning and brown the beef. Add the black beans and continue to cook, warming the beans.

3.   Put a wonton wrapper into each of 8 muffin tins. Using half the queso, divide evenly among the cups. Then using half the meat and bean mixture, divide evenly in the 8 cups. Using ½ c. of the salsa, divide evenly over the meat mixture. Lastly, using 2 oz. of the cheese, divide evenly among the cups. Then repeat layering with remaining ingredients: wonton wrapper, queso, meat mixture, salsa and cheese.

4.   Bake for 18-20 minutes and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 4 for one, and 9 points for two.

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing)

 

Adapted from Emily Bites

Banana Chocolate Chip Donuts

Banana Chocolate Chip Donuts

My sweet girl and I made these for breakfast this morning and they were delicious! I bought a donut maker at Target a couple weeks ago and am always searching for yummy donut recipes. These turned out so good! I would have loved to have eaten 3 or 4 for breakfast, but I restrained myself to only 1. I wanted to make the recipe (mostly) as it was the first time, however, next time I think I'm going to try and couple of tweaks to see if I can bring the point value down to 2 instead of 3. Not sure if they'll taste as good with the changes, so I'm posting the original recipe for now, and will post the changed one after I get a chance to try it and see how they taste. These are great for a quick breakfast or a yummy after dinner dessert!

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium bananas)

½ c. raw cane sugar

½ c. fat free Greek yogurt

¼ c. butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt.

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

2 T. raw cane sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1.   Heat donut maker and spray each donut iron spot with cooking spray.

2.   Using an electric mixer (preferably with a whisk attachment) add the mashed bananas, sugar and greek yogurt. Mix well. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until blended. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips. In a separate bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon for topping.

3.   Put all the dough in a large Ziploc bag and seal shut. Cut the corner out so you can pipe the dough into the molds. Fill bottom half of donut molds. Sprinkle just a little cinnamon and sugar on top and close donut mold. Cook 6-7 minutes then put on a cooling rack to cool. Spray pan again and repeat process until all dough is used.

 

***Can also be baked in the oven in a donut pan (or so the original recipe says) 325 for 12-15 minutes. 

Yields 24 servings – WWP+ 3 points  

Recipe adapted from Janie's Kitchen

David's Story

My post this morning is something that my husband wrote. He wanted to share a few of his thoughts on what he's been through on his weight loss journey in hopes that it will encourage and inspire. I won't say anymore, I'll just let him share.

For those of you who don’t know me I am David, I am the husband of the master mind behind Yum to the Tum Megan. First off I want to say how incredibly proud I am of her. It’s great for me to see the fulfillment that she receives out of taking what we are learning and sharing it with all of you. I hope it is making as big of an impact in your life as it is mine.  

I wanted to take a minute to share a very small part of my journey and hopefully encourage all of you. I have battled with health and weight my entire life.  Over six years ago I weighed in at a whopping 366 lbs. I was pre-diabetic, hypertensive and had already begun to lose circulation to my extremities. After an eye-opening Drs. Appointment I knew I had to make a change.  Over the course of three years I lost 166 lbs. I can’t say that it was all downhill there; I had several times where I fell off the Wagon and actually gained weight back. By the time my little girl Tessa came along I was back up to 296 pounds. Once again here I was in a familiar situation but this time it was not only about me It was about this little life that God had given me and I wanted to be there for her. I lost another 98 pounds putting me at my lowest weight of 196 pounds.  I really felt like I had accomplished all that I wanted to accomplish I ran a sprint triathlon finally saw the number that I wanted to see on the scale all is good. Unfortunately for me meeting those numbers were good enough, and I became complacent. The combination of complacency and the battle with infertility were enough for me to gain over 60 pounds. By this last Christmas I was back up to 266 pounds. 

So you may be asking what can I take out of this story. What encouragement or wisdom can I gain from this? The first thing is none of us are perfect we all have our up and down moments, some more drastic than others. You can’t change what you have or haven’t done in the past so move on dust yourself off and persevere. Secondly, the scale is obviously a great tool in weight loss, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. For so long my goal and accomplishments were solely based off the numbers I saw on that scale.  My translation of being healthy was what I saw on the scale, and that is why it was a rollercoaster ride for me. Don’t base your success according to the scale only, make healthy habits your lifestyle. For example: eat more greens, consume less sugar and artificial sweetener, eat lean cuts of meat, be active, last but not least, water, water and more water.  So yes shoot for a number but don’t let that number be what drives you. Focusing on your healthy lifestyle first is key and will ultimately bring success on the scale. Think of the long term benefits that the number on that scale will have on you and your family, and never settle for complacency your better than that. Set a goal for yourself, and honestly challenge yourself we are so much stronger than we often times give ourselves credit for. Let me fill you in on my health goals this year. I am challenging myself to ride a minimum of 75 miles on the bike a week. I would also like to see myself free of artificial sweeteners, and supplementing with more water in my diet. As a reflection of all of these lifestyle changes I would like to see myself weigh in and maintained at 190 lbs. No more rollercoaster dieting for me!! Be accountable it is so much easier to accomplish your goals as a team than it is alone. We can and we will do this together!! Never give up and continue to achieve your goals you can do it!!