Super Low Fat Lazy Day Lasagna

Well, after a visit to my mom and dad for a funeral then a visit from my sister in law who is in culinary school, I'm going to admit defeat.  I have NO self control!  I MUST be diligent on my menu planning, shopping, and following through.  Today I ate kettle korn (not just a handful, either...), a pulled pork on  sourdough with onion rings, and pecan rocca.  Thats before dinner.  *Sigh.  I was guilted by myself into a super healthy dinner.  I was CRAVING lasagna  but you know the story on that.  FATTY McFatFat.  I made a few minor modifications.  Unfortunately, my family was exploding, so pictures weren't a priority.  Here is my Super Low Fat Lazy Day Lasagna:

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 60 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb 99% Fat Free Turkey
1 small onion
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 24 oz package fat free cottage cheese
1 8 oz package of Weight Watchers Italian Blend cheese
2 T Oregano
1/2 C. Egg beaters
1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles (UNCOOKED)
1/4 cup water

Steps:
Preheat oven to 350*.  Dice the small onion.  Combine it in a skillet with turkey and brown turkey.  Add tomato sauce to this mix and set aside.  In a bowl, combine cheeses, oregano, and egg beaters.  Mix well.  In a 9X13 baking dish, spread 1 cup of the meat mixture.  Place 3 noodles on top of this.  Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture on these.  Place 3 more noodles.  Pour the rest of the meat mixture on top of these, and top with three more noodles.  Top this with remaining cheese mix.  Take 1/4 C. water and spread around edges.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes (until the water is absorbed).  
Let stand 10 minutes and serve hot!

Here is my big deal with Italian food...why do we feel compelled to serve it with bread?  Salad, yes, but there are enough carbs in most Italian dishes to satisfy the biggest addict.  I always feel like "Yes, I would LOVE a giant bowl of bread in a funny shape with a fatty sauce and a side of bread in a funny shape with fatty butter all over it to satisfy my deepest carb-a-liscious desires!"  Seriously, try something different.  This would be super yummy with a squash soup, especially now that it't getting cool, or the asparagus I made with steak on October 15.  Just don't feel compelled to ruin a really healthy meal with more of something you are already getting a lot of, and don't need that much of!  Branch out.  Experiment!
By the way, my family LOVED this lasagna.  My husband said he wouldn't mind if I made it every day.  I have NEVER gotten a complement like that from him on a lasagna.

STEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night was Gordon's 35th Birthday!!!  In the spirit of staying healthy and low fat, but giving him what he wanted, I made filet (steak), lemon Parmesan asparagus, and baked potatoes, then a dessert of lemon meringue pie!
Ok, for the steak, I got it from the butcher, not the packs of steak that I used to buy.  This way I got a MUCH leaner steak that I didn't have to trim down.  I didn't season it at all, since it was a nice cut.  Just 10-15 minutes on the grill, and it was done.  Baked potatoes, same thing.  Just poked some holes, some tin foil, and in the oven they went!  The asparagus is one of my favorite veggies to prepare, and easier than I ever though possible.
Ingredients:
*1 bunch asparagus
*2 small lemons
*1/3 C shredded or peeled Parmesan cheese
Directions:
* Preheat oven to 350*F
*Line a cookie sheet with tin foil
*Cut white tips of the end of the asparagus and discard
*Spread asparagus on the cookie sheet
*Thinly slice 1 1/2 of the lemons - squeeze juice from the remaining 1/2 lemon onto the asparagus
*Sprinkle cheese over the asparagus evenly
*Top with slices of lemon
*Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how al dente you like your veggies

Keep it Tight Tilapia

Satisfy your taste buds and set your metabolism on fire with this delicious recipe! 

Ingredients

• ¼ cup / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp / 5 ml paprika
• 1 tsp / 5 ml ginger
• 1 tsp / 5 ml fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp / 5 ml dried mustard
• 1 tsp / 5 ml oregano
• 1 tsp / 5 ml chili powder
• 4 tilapia filets, thawed

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine olive oil, garlic and seasonings.
3. Dip each filet into the seasoning and place it on the baking sheet.
4. Pour any remaining seasoning over the filets on the sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.

I served this last night with "fries".  Fries are zucchini strips with 2T olive oil, a tsp of salt and pepper in a 9x13 glass baking dish.  I roasted them for 15 minutes at 400 before I put the tilapia in, then for the additional 10 the fish was cooking.  YUMMY!  

The final result was a hit with everyone.  There were even requests from the three kids for more "fries!"  SUPER easy, and good for you too!

Calories: 183.25

Calories from Fat: 78.5

Total Fat: 9 g

Saturated Fat: 1.7 g

Total Carbs: 2.6 g

Fiber: 1 g 

Protein: 23 g

Sodium: 153 mg

Cholesterol: 57 mg Sugar: 0.2 g

Last night was our first night eating out.  We did pretty well!  Chick-Fil-A has a LOT of options for grilled chicken, and since they fry in peanut oil, even their fried stuff isn't that bad.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fruit.  DELISH!  Gordon had the spicy chicken wrap with no dressing (27 grams of fat in the dressing.  Wow.) with a side of fruit and a diet Dr. Pepper.   I'm super excited to see what our weigh in results are next Tuesday!
On a slightly different subject, Annika (the new baby.  11 days old today and SUPER cute!) has gained 10 oz in the past 11 days!  Her birth weight was 6#4oz, and she's at 6#14oz!  This healthy eating is really doing amazing for breastmilk!

Honey Glazed Pork Chops.
Delish.
I took 4 butterflied pork chops, trimmed them, and split them, and threw them in the crock pot.  I added 1/3 cup honey, 4T Dijon mustard, a bit of ginger, some cinnamon, ground cloves, salt and pepper, and let them cook for 4 hours.  These were only 280 calories per chop, and served them with wild rice and mixed veggies (both microwave).  I didn't even get a picture taken before the family devoured them.  Even the three year old thought they were good :)
I should say, also, that I'm working really hard to increase my water intake.  Bleh.  I dislike water.  Even flavored with Crystal Lite or whatever, just not a fan.  I would rather drink tea.  Fortunately, green tea helps boost metabolism and isn't super high in caffeine  which makes it breast feeding friendly.  I also put a few Fiber One snacks in the diaper bag.  I got the brownie types.  They are pretty delicious.
Today (Thursday) we eat out.  Pre-planning where and what is KEY.  Chick-Fil-A, thank you for having yummy options that are low in fat!

Triglycerides

So my husband Gordon doesn't do the "doctor" thing.  I'm an ICU nurse, and he doesn't do the doctor thing.  He's a smoker, overweight for his height, and doesn't exercise.  Can I just say that his whole "no doctor" thing really bugs me?  Much to my elation, right before our last baby was born (8 days ago), he decided to go in for a physical.  YAY!  Chest x-ray (clear), urinalysis (clear), blood pressure (normal), cholesterol/triglycerides...WHOA BUDDY!  His triglycerides were 210!  Now triglycerides are basically just the fats floating around in your blood and in the world of doctors, they want your number to be under 150, hence my roar about his number.  As of the moment he said 210, life as he knew it was OVER.  No more Taco Bell as a dietary staple.  Walking and core training are mandatory.  I'm not a bad wife.  I'm not a drill sarge, but good grief, this is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with...not the next 10 years before he has a massive heart attack and dies, and truth be told, I just had a baby (my 6th pregnancy in 7 years with three living children.  One miscarriage and two stillbirths) and I don't exactly NOT have some weight to loose.  I'll not only plan the attack on triglycerides, I'll lead the attack!  Pinterest lowfat, lowcal meals, here I come!  I'll (hopefully) be posting our progress and our plan as we go.
Here are our Monday and Tuesday meals and reactions:
Monday:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/index.html
To start, I didn't use all 6T of olive oil.  I used 3 and tossed the potatoes them with salt and pepper.  I didn't use the lemons or juice till the end.  I mixed the potatoes with the green beans.  I replaced the chicken with boneless, skinless chicken breast, placing them on top of the beans and potoatoes.  I trickled some lemon juice on top of the chicken, and topped them with sliced lemon.  The rest I followed, and all in all, I think the fam enjoyed it.  I'll be making it again.
Tuesday:
http://runsforcookiesrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/08/turkey-loaf-meat-loaf.html
I followed this recipe exactly...mostly.  I didn't have any applesauce, so I made some with one honeycrisp apple.  My family LOVED it!  We'll be having this again, for sure!

Feel free to comment on what has worked for you in getting and staying healthy.  There will be no crash diets here, either.  Just good old fashioned eat less, exercise more.

Starting Info:
Sara: Weight: 157   5'7" BMI: 24.6 (Normal, but HIGH normal)
Lab work to come, will be off due to recent delivery
Gordon: Weight: 204.5   6'0"  BMI: 27.7 (Overweight)
HDL 39 LDL 73 Tgl 210