If you never try, you'll never know

     So far the Christmas season has been kinda blah. It would be nice if we had a little bit of snow. Not so much that it paralyzes the town, but just enough to get the ball rolling.  Well, I am pleasantly surprised that I lost a pound during Thanksgiving. I started this weight loss journey at the end of June and I have lost 28 pounds so far. Wow, thank heavens for Yor Health meal replacement shakes. They really help to control the overindulging one would do during the holidays. It is the only protein shake, I have found that doesn't taste that bad. I did try Spiru-tein protein shakes, but I couldn't get past the fact that there was microscopic blue-green algae in it. That made me think of pond water, and all the things that float around in ponds, thus ruining the whole protein shake experience.

     Darn weight loss anyway, I am hopeful, but at the same time, a little PT SD about it. I have been down this road before. I have to be serious, because I don't have too many more "do overs" when it comes to weight. At some point my body is gonna say "nope!". This past time around was hard, I quit smoking almost 3 years ago, it will be 3 years March 22, 2011. Well, if you did not know it already, cigarettes keep ya thin! Terrible price to pay to be a supermodel. Anyway, my weight just kept creeping up, even though I  thought I was behaving. Long story short, I gained 50 pounds, and would do just about anything to drop the weight. Enter, Dr. J.R.Bookwalter and his Yor Health MR Plan, he gave me the nudge, I needed to start the process. I am grateful to him because he is teaching me, a Chef, about food. After it enters the body and what happens in the digestion process. Allow me to let you in on a little secret, no more carbohydrates! Or if you are like me, stick to the carbohydrates that do not raise the blood sugar too quickly. You can have that baked potato! ,just not all the crap you put on it, which by the way, sadly, I LOVE. oh well.

     So, if you don't already know, I adore Italian food, and I have developed a recipe for those of us that are fluffy. ;) 

Spinach and Feta Lasagna

1 box Whole wheat lasagna noodles
1oz of butter
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 pound of frozen spinach, thawed
1 cup crumbled feta
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 ozs butter
1 1/2 ozs flour
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
2 cups fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans of your favorite spaghetti sauce mine is Don Pepinos Spaghetti sauce 28oz cans
1 16 oz jar of fire roasted red peppers
1 bag 4 cups reduced fat shredded mozzarella

In a pot, boil 1 gallon water with 2 tsp salt. When boiling, add box of whole wheat pasta and boil 10 minutes. Drain and cool down. In a saute  pan melt the 1 oz of butter and saute 1 diced medium onion and garlic until translucent, add the thawed spinach and cook until warm. Remove from pan and cool. When the spinach is cool, squeeze excess water out. Season with basil, salt and pepper, mix in feta and set aside.  In a sauce pan, melt the 1 1/2 ozs of butter and saute the small diced onion until translucent, add the flour and turn heat to low and cook for a few minutes. Add the milk and simmer until it is thickened. When thickened, whisk in the ricotta , basil, salt and pepper. Now it is time, to put it all together. Grease a 13x9 pan. Lets build! layer some sauce add some noodles, spread some ricotta mixture over the noodles, and add quarter of the spinach mixture. Dust with cheese and sprinkle with sauce. Layer more noodles and add more ricotta sauce and dot with sliced roasted red peppers, sprinkle with cheese and sauce. Repeat until nothing is left, top with sauce and cheese and bake in 350F oven until a golden bubbly brown. I would serve it with yummy artisan bread...but ahem...that is why I am making a skinny recipe..cause I likes the bread. :)

 Fat is not a moral problem. It's an a oral problem.~Jane Thomas Noland