Weight: 212.6
BG: ? (I've misplaced my meter. Must find it today...)
I didn't post over the weekend, but it's more difficult to keep up with some things over the weekend. For example, I can't always get to the scale on the weekends first thing, so that eliminates being able to do the daily weigh in. Things got moved, so I'm missing my BG meter. Then I gave in to a little temptation.
Thursday, I went out with my daughter, my brother, and his wife (and their nephew). Before reaching our intended destination, we went to the local Waffle King for brunch. I am not a breakfast food eater (I don't eat eggs and would rather skip things right now like waffles and pancakes), so I got a patty melt. My daughter (little K, or k) ordered chili (she's not much for too many breakfast foods either, plus it was almost lunch time anyway). She wanted fries, so I got fries with my sandwich and split them with her. So, there's bread and potatoes. We went swimming until it was almost time for her dance class. Everyone (else) was hungry, so we stopped at Sonic. I was going to get their pretzel cheese & bacon dog, but they are out of pretzel rolls, so I just got the peanut butter bacon shake (small). (Really, it should just be called a peanut butter shake. I mean, there was bacon bits in there, but it really didn't impact the flavor or anything.) Sugar (although paired with some protein.) Dinner was at a local restaurant -- grilled & blackened grouper with a baked potato and a salad. Again...potatoes.
Point being, I went way past any level of carbs I should have had.
Friday, the usual breakfast. We went for Chinese for lunch. Instead of eating off the buffet, we got carry out. Soup (Wanton for k and egg drop for me), steamed dumplings (I had a couple, so, some carbs there), and chicken and broccoli (with a little steamed rice -- again...carbs).
Dinner, though... I made an zucchini lasagna. I knew k wouldn't eat it, so I bought some whole wheat penne and made a baked penne for her.
Recipe for Zucchini Lasagna (please note that I'm a "to taste" person and not an exact measurer or "chemist cook." If you are interested in this, feel free to modify. I should note you can also used thinly sliced eggplant, but I would lightly fry the slices until they are slightly brown because it helps make sure the eggplant is well cooked.)
2-3 zucchini
spaghetti sauce of your choice (Mine was semi-homemade Gia Russa -- see below for what I did!)
Ricotta cheese
1 egg
Italian seasonings
Italian cheese, shredded
Slice your zucchini lengthwise into thin slices. For uniformity, a mandolin is pretty useful, here. In a large bowl, mix the Ricotta, egg, seasonings, and some shredded cheese together. To your 9 x 12 pan, put a layer of your sauce down. Then layer your zucchini. (If it's really thin, you might want to put down a double layer, especially if, like me, you really sliced up 5 or so zucchini.) On top of the zucchini goes the Ricotta mixture, then a layer of sauce, some shredded cheese, and repeat. Get a few layers in, but the top should be sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and turn up to 350 for the last 15 minutes.
For my sauce, I started with a little evoo and/or butter in a pot. I added chopped onion, salt, and garlic powder and sauteed until the onions began to get translucent. Brown a pound or so of ground beef (I generally use either ground round or ground chuck. If I were cooking just for me, I would use ground turkey instead.) When the meat has browned, drain and return to pot. If I had some dry red wine (I prefer burgundy, but it can be difficult to find), add some now. Let it cook down for a moment or two, then add your diced tomatoes, jar of favorite sauce, and appropriate Italian seasonings. (I add basil, oregano, and garlic, but a general Italian seasoning blend will do). Let your sauce simmer until it is well heated through.
Notes:
Sauce a little thin? Add in some tomato paste. Note that tomatoes are acidic, so adding in extra tomato generally requires a little extra seasoning. Go for salt to break up the acidity instead of sugar. Once or twice, I have added sugar, and it gets kind of a fake taste -- or a Chef Boyardee taste. If you love the Chef, add a couple spoonfuls of sugar. If you've graduated past Chef, steer clear of sugar. (Whoa...didn't you know that Chef actually adds hfcs...because the sweet taste gets the kids addicted to it?)
When choosing a jarred spaghetti sauce, I try to find one that does not have added sugar. Gia Russa is a little more expensive, but I love their Cherry Tomato sauce. (For the above, I used 2 jars, and I had 1 Cherry Tomato and 1 Alla Vodka sauce, so I mixed them.)
I had way too much zucchini, so I tossed the rest in a pan with a little oil (evoo/butter) and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic and cooked until tender.
I didn't use all the ricotta or all the sauce. I boiled a box of whole wheat penne according to package directions, then drained the pasta. The pasta went in the bowl with the leftover ricotta. I mixed pasta and ricotta until the pasta was well-coated, the dumped into a casserole dish that was big enough to hold it all. On top of this went the leftover sauce and a layer of shredded cheese. I put in in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 350 -- pasta was already cooked, so all it needed was to heat through and melt the cheese. The adults all preferred the zucchini, but k wouldn't try it. Yes, there was more of that than what she could eat, but portions were frozen and will be great on nights when whatever I cook is something she refuses to eat. (And I really should do more things like that and buy less Chef...)
Moving on...
Saturday, I had my normal breakfast. Saturday is our errand day...so we're out and generally guaranteed to eat out. We decided on Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits (which pretty much means there will be carbs in that meal). There are no options beyond fried on the local menu, so chicken tenders (and spicy chicken with spicy dipping sauce means I only ate 2 of the 3 tenders.) Can't go to Popeye's and not get red beans & rice (small side) and a biscuit. I know my BG had to be through the roof after that. For dinner? I think we heated leftovers, so more zucchini lasagna for me!
Sunday...normal breakfast. For lunch, there were boiled peanuts in the house...and I know I had something else, but it alludes me for now. For dinner, I picked up a rotisserie chicken, heated up some frozen green beans, and cooked a spaghetti squash.
Spaghetti Squash Skillet
Pierce 1 spaghetti squash and microwave. Start at 7-8 minutes, then add 5, then 2 minute increments until the squash gives a little when you squeeze it. (So much easier to cut! Plus, it is steam - cooked from its own water.) Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Use a fork to scrape out the flesh (this will give it that spaghetti appearance). Heat a pan over medium heat with a bit of butter in it. Add in squash and toss in melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Once well heated, add some shredded cheese and toss. Serve when cheese is melted.
Want to kick it up a notch? Use Swiss and add some chopped bacon or pancetta.
Okay. This has been super long. I've got to start taking pictures to accompany all this, especially the recipes and other food references.
Have a great day!
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