Healthy Living Week 3

Week 3 has been a real battle. I tried hard to not let the mind win, but I’m in need of great support to get back on track. My back pain has been a set back and I’m trying to learn to deal with it, but it makes working out very difficult. I know there is some level of working out I can do and I just have to do it.

Plus not all weight loss happens from working out – you have to work on what you are putting in your body. 

I will say that my clothes are fitting a bit better, even though the weight loss isn’t significant. Sometimes it’s not all about the number on the scale, but for me, I have to keep that in mind so I keep trudging forward.

I did go to Chicago this past weekend for a friend’s birthday and although I did allow myself to indulge, it could have turned out a lot worse.

One slice of deep dish (how can you not), some fried chicken (a little too indulgent) but a very healthy breakfast. I did limit my alcohol intake to help cut down on empty calories and we walked a lot.

All in all, the scale was only up .5 after the weekend so I was proud.

I made a wonderful lasagna for me and my guy on Monday night and it turned out scrumptious. Though it was a bit richer, I know every ingredient I put in it and used low-cal, low-fat when I could.

So my goal for this next week is to really get back on track and work my hardest to get to my goals. Small steps begin with the first step, so it’s back to veggies and salads for lunch and portion control. 

Here is my best guess at how I made mine. I really just threw it together.

Throw It Together Lasagna
Sauce:
1 lb. Italian Sausage (Italian turkey sausage could have been used but the store was out)
1 jar Rinaldi Spaghetti sauce
3 tsp. minced garlic
1- 14. oz can diced tomatoes (drained)

Brown Italian sausage. Drain off the grease. Add the garlic, sauce and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. 

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
4 oz. finely chopped mushrooms
1 cup Italian cheese blend shredded cheese

Filling:
6 oz. onion and chive cream cheese (couldn’t find a low fat option)
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 Tbsp. pesto (Classico brand was what I had at home)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian cheese blend shredded cheese

1 tsp. onion powder
dash of salt
few cranks of pepper

Use a hand mixer to combine the filling together into a consistent mixture.

Put half the sauce into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 X 13 pan. Then lay down three of the noodles. Put half the cheese mixture evenly over the noodles and top with half the chopped mushrooms. Then put half the remaining sauce down. Add another layer of noodles, top with remaining cheese mixture and remaining mushrooms and add the final noodles for the top. Cover with sauce and remaining cup of cheese. Place in over at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with garlic bread.

It’s even better the next day! I let my guy take some of the leftovers so he had lunch for work and his coworkers were jealous.