From My Kitchen: Spaghetti Squash Casserole (THM S)

I had a couple of spaghetti squash I wanted to use a few weeks ago. So, I asked for some ideas on how to cook it. After reading some suggestions, I came up with this recipe. I used some of the basic ideas shared by a fellow Trim Healthy Mama mom in one of my groups, but came up with the measurements myself, tweaking it to my liking.  I loved it so much, I had to make it again as soon as I had some more spaghetti squash in the house. 

For this recipe I used two small spaghetti squash. Or maybe you'd consider them medium sized, I'm not quite sure.

First take the spaghetti squash and poke around 9 to 12 holes in it with a small knife, such as a steak knife. Make sure to get those holes deep enough to avoid exploding squash. Microwave it on high until it gets a bit tender, tender enough to cut in half. I cooked mine for around 6-9 minutes. I checked it every few minutes or so, to see if I could get the knife through it easily.

After it is tender enough to cut, cut it in half (be careful not to burn yourself) and scrape out the seeds and icky stuff. 

Then rub on extra virgin olive oil. After that, sprinkle with mineral salt, black pepper, and garlic powder (these are my go-to seasonings).

Turn them upside down and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

After the 40 minutes, the spaghetti-like flesh should easily scrape out. So, scrape it out and put it in a bowl.

Add 1/4 cup of butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Mix it together and place it in a 2 quart baking dish that has been sprayed with coconut oil spray.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.

This pairs perfectly with Parmesan Chicken and green beans.

Ingredients:

2 small to medium sized spaghetti squash

Extra virgin olive oil

Mineral salt

Black pepper

Garlic powder

1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1- Stab each squash with 9-12 holes with a sharp knife. Microwave 5-9 minutes until tender enough to cut through easily.

2- Cut in half and scoop out seeds and icky stuff.

3- Rub on extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.

4- Place upside down on cookie sheet, and bake for 40 minutes.

5- Scrape out flesh and place in a bowl. Add cut up butter and Parmesan cheese. Mix together.

6- Spray 2 quart baking dish with coconut oil spray, spoon squash mixture into pan, and sprinkle on cheddar cheese.

7- Bake for an additional 30 minutes.

8- Serve and enjoy.

Time For a Long Overdue Update

Well, it has been a while since I posted here. Good news is, I haven't been gaining weight like I've done during my past long hiatuses. I have continued to lose weight following the Trim Healthy Mama plan and getting regular exercise. Gonna have to update my sidebar. I have now lost...

Technically over 70 pounds. I am not sure of my exact weight loss as of today, because I am participating in No Scale November. However, at my last weigh in I was

190.9 pounds.

At the end of October, exactly 10 months after starting Trim Healthy Mama, I had lost 73 pounds!

I can't wait to see what I weigh at the beginning of December!

Here is my latest before and after picture. The before picture is from around Christmas 2015, right before I started THM. The after picture is from this past Tuesday.

I do have every intention of posting here regularly again though, so I won't have to wait til then to post. Hoping to start sharing my meals again, and some recipes I have come up with.

Today's Meals: June 18th 2016

Meals for today: June 18th 2016

S breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with mushrooms, green peppers, radishes, spinach, and 3 sliced sausage links all mixed together. Strawberries. Green tea

S lunch: Chicken salad on a Flax Wasa cracker made with leftover chicken breast, mayo, mustard and seasonings. Mushrooms with a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese, Green pepper slices. Piece of Trimtastic Zucchini Cake with strawberries.

E dinner: Leftover chicken breast, 1/2 sweet potato with 1 tsp butter and cinnamon. 1 slice Ezekiel bread with 1/2 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese. 4 carrot sticks

Yesterday's Meals: June 17, 2016

Meals for yesterday June 17, 2016

S breakfast: 3 egg omelette, mushroom, spinach, tomato, cheese. 1 piece Trimtastic Zucchini Cake (THM cookbook) with chopped strawberries. Green tea

S lunch: 1/2 can tuna mixed with 1/2 mashed avocado. Cucumber sticks, green pepper slices, cheese. Another piece of yummy cake with chopped strawberries.

E dinner: Chicken and rice soup, thrown together like this: leftover chicken breast, 1/2 cup brown rice, sliced carrot. The carrot was cooked in 1 cup of chicken broth until tender. Then I threw the chicken and rice in, plus some pepper and garlic powder. Nummy

Snack with movie: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mixed berries. 1 cup Skinny Pop popcorn 

Yesterday's Meals: June 16th, 2016

Meals for yesterday: June 16th, 2016

E Breakfast: Apple Pie Stovetop Granola (from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook) with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 1/2 cup cottage cheese (for added protein) with 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries thawed. Green tea

S Lunch: 1/2 can tuna mixed with 1/2 mashed avocado spread on 1 flax Wasa cracker. Spring Mix salad with radishes, green peppers, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese topped with oil/vinegar dressing.

S Dinner: Trim Train Taco Soup topped with shredded cheddar cheese. Grilled cheese made with 1/2 Lavash bread and a mix of mozzarella and cheddar cheese fried up in butter. Romaine with ranch dressing.

For dessert the rest of the family was celebrating Amelia's birthday with boxed chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I took this opportunity to make the Trimtastic Chocolate Zucchini Cake (from the THM Cookbook) for the first time. Yum! I also had several strawberries. 

Today's Meals: May 28th, 2016

Meals for today: May 28th, 2016

S Breakfast: 3 Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, green peppers, radishes, and spinach. Slice of Nuke Queen Bread toasted with butter. 1/2 container vanilla 000 yogurt with 1/2 cup mixed berries. Green tea

S Lunch: Leftover chicken (I had more than what is pictured. Ate some while making the children's lunch). Salad made with spring mix and ranch dressing. Green pepper slices. Nuke Queen bread with butter. 

Dessert was 2 pieces of skinny chocolate

S Dinner: Ended up eating out at Burger King. It was unplanned. Whopper with bacon and cheese, no bun with a side salad and ranch dressing. 

I had 1 serving of Aldi's 85% dark chocolate (Moser Roth) as dessert on the way home.

Today's Meals: May 27th, 2016

Meals for today: May 27th, 2016

E Breakfast: Egg white omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach with a tiny sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. 2 slices cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with 1 wedge Aldi's brand spreadable cheese (like Laughing Cow Cheese) with some sugar free berry syrup (from Gwen's Nest) on top. Green tea.

S Lunch: Salad with romaine and spring mix, green pepper, radishes, mushrooms, muenster cheese, 1/2 can tuna fish with mayo, oil/vinegar dressing. Other half can of tuna with mayo on flax Wasa cracker. 1/2 a "serving" of skinny chocolate. 

S Dinner: Leftover pork roast (warmed up in chicken broth), Brussel sprouts with butter and seasoning (I would have loved more, but the children actually like brussel sprouts, shock shock), slice of Nuke Queen bread with butter (first time making it. It turned out a bit dry because I cooked it longer as I thought it wasn't fully cooked. I don't have a glass bread pan,so I used a Corning Ware bowl, so I wasn't sure how long to cook it.)

Dessert was another few pieces of skinny chocolate. Which took me 1 piece above the recommended 1/3 of a batch per day. But, it is so good! 

Today's Meals: May 19th, 2016

Meals for today: May 19, 2016

S Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1 cup sliced strawberries. Green tea.

E Lunch: 1 3/4 cup Trim Train Taco Soup (had to share with the hubby), 1/2 serving Baked Tostitos Scoops, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup Caramel Gluccie Pudding (from the cookbook)

S Dinner: A serving of low carb pancakes from Gwen's Nest with some butter and sugar free berry syrup (also from Gwen's Nest). 4 sausage links. 1/2 container 000 banana creme yogurt with 1/2 tbs peanut flour.

Today's Meals: May 17, 2016

Meals for May 17, 2016

E Breakfast: Stovetop Granola- Apple Pie version with 1/2 chopped apple. 1/2 cup plus a little more of unsweetened almond milk, container of 000 strawberry yogurt.

S Lunch: Chicken salad made with leftover chicken breast, mayo, mustard and seasonings, spread on a Wasa Flax cracker. Spring mix with 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup blueberries, drizzle of olive oil. Green pepper slices and pickle slices.

S Dinner: 2 cups Trim Train Taco Soup, Grilled cheese made with 1/2 Lavash bread with mozzarella and cheddar, fried in butter.

S Snack: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and some turkey slices

Today's Meals: May 16, 2016

Meals for May 16, 2016

S breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, ham slice, 1/2 container 000 vanilla yogurt with 1/2 cup mixed berries. Green tea.

Deep S lunch: Salad (romaine, spinach, spring mix), green pepper, mushrooms, chicken breast, oil/vinegar dressing, deviled eggs (made with 1/2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp mustard, 1/8 tsp apple cider vinegar and seasonings (I use pepper, mineral salt, garlic powder).

E Dinner: 1 cup Dreamfield's pasta, ground turkey, 1/2 cup no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Lettuce, carrot sticks, 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese, 1/2 apple (Picture shows the entire apple, but half of it went to the kids)

Today's Meals: May 15, 2016

Meals for May 15, 2016

S Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs (because I had them in the fridge and didn't have time for anything else), a small slice of ham and 1/2 container 000 vanilla mixed with mixed berries.

E Lunch: 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 1 wedge Aldi's version of Laughing Cow cheese, turkey slices, mustard, spring mix. cucumber sticks, green pepper, mushrooms with 1 wedge laughing cow cheese, 1/2 serving baked Tostitos, 1/2 cup grapes

S Dinner: Grilled cheese made with 1/2 piece of the Joseph's Lavash bread, cheese and pepperoni. Just Like Campbell's Tomato soup (From the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook). 4 strawberries.

Fuel Pull Dessert: Caramel Gluccie Pudding (From the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook)

Today's Meals: May 14, 2016

Meals for May 14, 2016

E Breakfast: Apple Pie Spice Stove Top Granola (from the THM Cookbook) with 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk. 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup mixed berries. Green tea.

Deep S Lunch: 2 Hard boiled eggs with salad (romaine and spring mix) green pepper, cucumber, mushrooms, chicken, oil/vinegar dressing.

S Dinner: at the truck stop while visiting with hubby's parents: 3 egg omelette with tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, pepper, bacon and cheese. Had them substitute the hashbrowns for mixed veggies (celery, pea pod thingy, broccoli, carrots)

Dessert on the way home: 2 squares 86% chocolate with 4 largish strawberries..

Chicken and Rice with Veggies Soup

1 32 container chicken broth

5 smallish carrots sliced

1/2 of a green pepper chopped

1 sweet potato cut into bite-sized pieces

chopped up broccoli (would have liked more, but we only had a small crown left)

1 cup cooked brown rice

leftover chicken breast cut up (about 2)

Put chopped veggies in a large pot and add the chicken broth. 

Bring it to a boil and cook until veggies are tender. 

Add the chicken about 5 minutes after it starts to boil. 

When the veggies are done, add the rice. 

Stir and serve.

Serves 4, but in our house it served the 6 of us because the children don't have as much as we do.

This is an E meal because I used chicken breast and my carb sources are the rice, sweet potato and carrots. It also had the non-starchy veggies to make it more filling. There was a little bit of fat from the butter that the rice was cooked with and the Laughing Cow Cheese (less than 5 grams). I figured that I had about 1/4 of the sweet potato and 1/2 serving of rice in 1/4 of the recipe. I added a slice of Ezekiel bread for a little more carbs. I spread it with Asiago Laughing Cow Cheese. Had lettuce and tomato salad on the side.