"Hi, my name is Gloria, and I'm addicted to Spaghetti Squash."

Once upon a time, long, long ago….ok, not that long ago, like 3 years long ago, my food addiction was French Fries. Any kind of French Fry: crispy, steak style, wedges, seasoned, not seasoned, baked, fried. I never discriminated against any sort of French Fry! As I started changing my eating habits fries were the first to get the boot. This was not an easy task by any means and of course I still had French fries once in a while but as the days and weeks went on it got easier to not order fries. These days I find myself not really having a craving for them and I’m extremely picky about the taste of the fries now. They, I don’t really know who they is, but they say when you go a long time without a particular food you can lose the taste for it. I find this very interesting because this has definitely happened with my French Fry addiction. Now, don’t get me wrong, you will still see me eat French Fries at times but instead of a whole plate it’s a few and after those few it’s at that point that I realize they just don’t do it for me anymore. 

What does do it for me these days? Spaghetti Squash!!! I’m totally addicted, and when I mean addicted I mean I make it at least once a week for dinner with the hopes of having leftovers so I can eat it again the next day!!!  It’s so good! It took me a while to get the hang of cooking one though. The first time I bought one I seriously was like, “How the heck do I cut this in half without slicing my hand and making it look like a scene out of a horror flick!?!?!?” For those of you that have never had Spaghetti Squash, I HIGHLY recommend it. Even my 3 year old loves it!!! She has no idea it’s a vegetable! Do I feel guilty leading her to think that? Absolutely not!!! The minute I tell her it’s a healthy vegetable she will probably stop eating it just to be defiant. She’s really good at that! Spaghetti Squash is full of vitamin C as well as other important vitamins and minerals. Just as much as the taste of it, I love how it fills you up. High in fiber, a serving of Spaghetti Squash will amaze you with how filling it is! With only 42 calories, 0 grams of Fat and 10 carbs for a 1 cup serving, what’s not to love about this wonder vegetable! So, have I convinced you to run out and buy a Spaghetti Squash yet?!?!?  Just sitting here blogging about it is making me itch for my weekly SS fix!

Thanks to Pinterest, which I am also totally addicted to, I have found and tried so many yummy Spaghetti Squash recipes. I like trying a new one every week. Just a couple tips on how to easily prep it to be cooked:

TIP 1: Place the SS in your microwave for a few minutes. This will help soften it up and make it a little easier to slice in half.

TIP 2: After it is sliced in half scoop out all the seeds. Place both halves, cut side facing up, on a baking tray. Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on them and bake for 1 hour on 350. 

TIP 3: Once out of the oven, let cool about 15 minutes. Take each half and with a spoon start scooping out the shreds of Squash. It will slightly resemble spaghetti pasta. 

 I will be leaving you with my favorite Spaghetti Squash recipe….enjoy!!!!!! 

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Courtesy of www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

2 cups marinara sauce

3 cups cooked roasted spaghetti squash

1 cup part skim ricotta

8 tsp Parmesan cheese

6     oz part skim shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

 In four individual 5 x 7-inch oven safe baking dishes, ladle 1/4 cup quick marinara sauce on the bottom of each dish. Top each with 3/4 cup of cooked spaghetti squash and spread evenly. Top each with 1/4 cup ricotta.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese and .75 oz mozzarella on each.  Add the remaining sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  

Cover with foil and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges begin to bubble; uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serves 4.

TIP: If you don’t have personal sized casseroles, you can make one larger one in an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 lasagna or 1 piece

Weight Watchers Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 291.0  Fat: 13.7 g  Protein: 19.6 g  Carb: 21.0 g  Fiber: 2.7 g  Sodium: 358.3 mg  

When did it become November?!?!

Hello Friends! I know, long time no talk! First, I must apologize for the long stretch of time it has been since my last post. There are just not enough hours in a day!!! Second, I decided to change the name of my blog from “Fat to Fit and Everything in the Middle” to “Healthy Diva Diaries” In no way do I believe I’m a Diva but I thought it sounded cute. I also wanted to rid my blog name of the word “Fat” and replace it with “Healthy”. I really did miss blogging and lately have felt this overwhelming urge for some therapy in my life. Since I can only do so much retail therapy on a Stay-at-home Mama’s budget and so much Wine Therapy on the Weight Watchers way of life, I decided I needed to start blogging again. Here is just a short re-cap on what I’ve been up to since my last post:

April: Committed to No-Processed foods for 30 days. I went 25 out of the 30 days without any processed foods. The five days I cheated were due to two bachelorette parties followed by two days of being hung over and well, not quite sure why I cheated on that 5^th day but nonetheless I was pretty proud of myself. It was hard but very rewarding. I honestly noticed a difference in the way I felt and looked. My skin was brighter and my belly a little tighter! 

May:  With my brother’s wedding scheduled for the end of the month I amped up my workouts! Jillian Michaels and I had a party in my living room twice a week. I, of course, continued to go to Zumba twice a week as well. The other two days I worked out were on my elliptical. Yes, the crazy woman in me worked out 6 days a week that month. Let me tell you, I felt AMAZING by the time the wedding came. The most rewarding thing was seeing a picture of the back of me from the wedding and thinking, “Where did those back muscles come from?!?!?”  Special thanks to Jillian and my awesome Zumba instructor Nancy!  

June: My beautiful cousin Chrissy, from Australia, came to stay with me for three weeks. We did a lot in those three weeks, which left little time for exercising. Unless you count shopping, because I’m pretty sure we shopped every other day while she was here!!!  By month’s end I knew I had to get back into the program. My biggest fear is ending up back where I started 72 lbs ago. So, my healthy obsessions came back in full swing.

July & August:  Though I started working out again, due to how busy of a summer we had, I only averaged 3 to 4 days a week. Between summer vacations and social events, I managed to maintain my weight. Which is great, but my ultimate goal was still five lbs away. 

September & October: A funny little thing called Stress can really do some crazy things to your body. I suppose the bottle of wine you consume very frequently can as well but I’m just going to go ahead and blame it on the stress.  There is research that indicates that our bellies store fat cells in times of stress.  I do believe the current state of my belly is proof of that! 

So here we are in November! Working on de-stressing and de-bloating before the craziness of the holidays begin.  On another note, I did land myself a part time job last month!! I’m working at an awesome Tanning Salon called Healthy Glo. Kind of funny that the salon is called Glo Tanning and my nickname is Glo. A couple of my T-shirts for work say “Love Glo”, they have them in Men’s sizes too. I think that is going to be the perfect Christmas gift for my husband ;-) Here’s to making the rest of 2012 healthy and happy!

Leaving you with a recipe for a de-bloating, de-toxifying and not so tasty but able to chug it down, water. I drank a pitcher daily for 1 week and it really did work! Planning on making another batch this weekend!

Sassy Water

Featured on Prevention Magazine’s Website: www.prevention.com

In a pitcher, combine 8 ½ cups water, 1 tsp freshly grated ginger, 1 medium cucumber (peeled and thinly sliced), 1 medium lemon (thinly sliced) and 12 small Spearmint leaves. Let flavors develop overnight and drink the entire pitcher by the end of each day. Enjoy ;-)

The "S" Factor

I love hanging out with my friends and going out on dates with my hubby. The holidays are fun and summer is even more so! Quite frankly, I love being a social butterfly!! I think life is just too short to not have fun! However, being social can wreak havoc on your waistline, if you’re not careful. Lately I have been finding myself getting very anxious before social events. All the food starring me in the face saying “You know you want a little piece of me.”  Or, you tell yourself you’re only going to have one glass of wine and before you know it there’s an empty wine bottle sitting on the counter. The anxiety has always kind of been there since I started my weight loss journey but I’m pretty sure I’m more anxious about it these days because I only have 5 more lbs to lose and let me tell you, they are the hardest 5 lbs I’ve tried to lose this whole journey! You would totally think it would be easy!  Social events tend to make me either maintain my weight for the week or put me up a little. 

Another reason I think I feel more anxious is also the fact that since the last weekend in February I have had something going every single weekend. And it doesn’t stop here; it’s going to keep going into the summer. I don’t have a free weekend until the first of June!! I swear I’m not complaining because like I said, I love to be social and I’m so looking forward to the bachelorette parties, bridal showers and weddings in the weeks ahead. All of these social events coming up are going to make losing the last 5 lbs, before summer (because that’s my goal) extra hard.  So really, my 2 reasons go hand in hand. I know I’m not alone in this. The “S” factor is challenging for those losing weight, maintaining their weight and even for those wanting to lose weight but don’t know where to start. 

As I try to keep my anxiety at bay and just let myself relax and have a good time at all the social events without worrying that I am going to gain 5 lbs just by looking at all the food and alcohol, I feel I need a game plan. And not only do I need a plan, I need to make a promise to myself to stick with it. So, what’s a girl to do:

1.       Thou shall fill up on healthy protein, grains, fruits and veggies before I head out the door.

2.       Thou shall not go thru the Taco Bell drive thru, or any other late night food joint, after drinking all night.

3.       Thou shall refrain from sugary alcoholic beverages and while I’m at it, thou shall also refrain from drinking a whole bottle of wine.

4.       Thou shall not order “high in fat/calories” meals at restaurants. Even if it looks healthy. Ask how it is prepared. (Example, “Is the dressing a vinaigrette or is it creamy?” “Is the fish baked with butter or oil?”

5.       Thou shall socialize. After all, a party is about the friends, not the food!!!

6.       Thou shall keep thy eyes on the prize. Which is more rewarding, reaching thy goals or eating deep fried goodness?

7.       Thou shall keep up with a workout routine.

8.       Thou shall write down EVERYTHING consumed. You bite it, you write it!

9.       Thou shall only make one trip to the food spread at a party, with the smallest plate thy can find.

10.   Thou shall shake thy tail feather on the dance floor.

I will be leaving a healthy recipe with you today. I made this the other night for my family and it was delish!

Sweet & Sour Meatloaf (Courtesy of www.hungry-girl.com) served with a side of Sweet Orange Roasted Baby Carrots (Courtesy of www.weightwatchers.com)

Ingredients:

Loaf
1/4 cup chili sauce (the kind stocked near the ketchup)
1/4 cup low-sugar grape jam/jelly
1 1/4 lb. raw extra-lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (Like egg beaters) (I just used 2 minus the yolk)
1/4 tsp. each salt and black pepper

Topping
2 tbsp. chili sauce (the kind stocked near the ketchup)
2 tbsp. low-sugar grape jam/jelly

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

To make the loaf, mix chili sauce with jam/jelly in a large bowl. Add all other loaf ingredients and thoroughly mix. Transfer to the loaf pan; if needed, smooth out the surface with a spatula or spoon.

In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients. Evenly spread topping over the loaf. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until meatloaf is cooked through. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Nutrition Facts per serving (1 slice):

Calories: 227

Fat: 5g

Sodium: 521mg

Carbs: 17.5g

Fiber: 0.5g

Sugars: 11g

Protein: 25g

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 5

Sweet Orange Roasted Baby Carrots:

Ingredients:

1 pound(s) uncooked baby carrots   

1 tsp orange zest, freshly grated   

1/2 cup(s) unsweetened orange juice, fresh   

2 tsp canola oil   

1/4 tsp table salt   

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon   

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss all ingredients together in a 13 X 9-inch baking pan until well-coated. Cover with foil and bake, shaking pan once to toss, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Uncover pan and roast until carrots are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving. Serves 4. 

Weight Watchers Points Plus Values: 2 per serving