Stuffed shells and nachos

Wouldn't you know that I finally decided to start this healthy living blog the day before I decide to go on a total calorie splurge. Isn't that just the way of things? But this is a good lesson. You see, I don't feel one bit guilty. Most of the time I eat quite healthy and I'm very active, so on my splurge days, which really aren't too often, there is no need to feel bad, right? Everything in moderation most of the time :-)

With that said... today started off great. Upon waking I had a glass of orange juice to hold me over until I had a chance to make breakfast. Before I was a mom, I ate as soon as I woke up. Now, that's a luxury I can rarely afford. After all I have a little mouth to feed first. But that's another story.

When I finally did get to eat I had a big bowl of old fashioned oatmeal. I mixed in about a tablespoon of ground flax seed. If you haven't heard the health benefits of this little seed google it! There is no excuse not to add it to any cereal, baked good and numerous other dishes. But I digress... Into my oats I also mixed a handful of chopped pecans and a teaspoon or two of real maple syrup. top it with a splash of milk and voila- a fabulous and healthy way to begin your day! High in protein, fiber, healthy fats and a variety of other nutrients

For lunch I heated up leftover stuffed shells. Of course these were no ordinary stuffed shells. I am always looking for ways to make standards more nutritious and decadent. This was no exception. The shells themselves were nothing special, you can boil any stuffable pasta for this recipe, but look for a whole grain or legume based one if you can find it. The filling is what makes this special. I sarted by roasting a cut up head of cauliflower, an onion cut into large chunks and a handful of garlic cloves. I coated them in a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and put in a 400 degree oven until sligtly golden. I put the roasted veggies into a food processor with about a cup and a half of soft tofu and 1/4-1/3 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese. I processed until smooth and added salt and pepper to taste. This is a great substitution for the traditional ricotta cheese. It's loaded with protein, calcium and a ton of other valuable nutrients. Bonus- it's delicious. Anyway, I topped the stuffed shells with homemade roasted tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and dried oregano and baked until heated and bubbly.

It heats up well, so you can make a large pan and eat it for a few days.

Tip to reduce waste and calories... I often make more food than Josh and I will eat before it goes bad. When this happens I freeze individual sized portions in pyrex containers. These are great becasue they can safely go from the freezer to the microwave. Having these quick and easy frozen meals on hand are great for when you don't want to cook. By keeping them handy you avoid calorie-packed take out or highly processed store-bought frozen meals.

Now I told you that today was a calorie packed day, and thus the splurge begins...

for dessert after lunch I had a small dish of ice cream topped with Hershey's chocolate sauce and honey roasted peanuts- YUM!!! That was supposed to be my big treat for the day. Unfortunatley I went to the movies with some girlfriends and our kids. We were out longer than expected and returned late. Man, was I hungry. Originally I had planned on fajitas (I still had chopped veggies from last night left). But my tummy was screaming for nachos instead.

Alas, these were at least modified to have some nutritional benefit, at least. I spread a think layer of tortilla chips on my toaster over broiler pan on top I spooned refried beans. I sprinkled a little cheddar and topped that with cut up onion and tomato. When I have all the ingredients on hand I also use scallions and blackbeans. I sprinkled just a bit on taco seasoning acoss the top and broiled until crispy. HERE'S AN IMPORTANT TIP! After removing from the broiler squeeze a bit of lime over the nachos and if you have it sprinkle with chopped cilantro- wow! I like to eat my nachos with guacamole (this is what I did tonight). But salsa and fat free sour yogurt are great, too.

So I've had ice cream and nachos in the same day (with no exercise to speak of), but am I done yet? Nope! I just had to have a chocolate cookie and a glass of milk to top it off. Man, was that tasty. And guilt- heck no. I'm a nursing mom. I figure the cravings are my body's way of telling me a needed an extra few calories today. :-) Mission accomplished.

You might have noticed that this post is riddled with mistakes. That's because I'm too bushed to edit tonight. Please forgive and laugh at any blatant errors. Hopefully this is somewhat coherent.

Until the next time, happy eating and happy living!