MacGyver Meals, Part 2

First off, I did decide to weigh-in this morning afterall, and was thrilled that I met my goal of 136 pounds.  At this point, I imagine that the weight loss will be pretty slow since I’m down to the last 10 pounds, so my new goal will be 1 pound per week.  I’ve also decided to do the next Cinch Detox the week of March 7.  I have a wedding to attend that Saturday (March 12) and I’d love to wear a dress that has always been a tad tight.

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Starting Weight:   144 pounds  (December 28, 2010)

Current Weight:   136 pounds  (February 25, 2011)

Total Loss:   8 pounds

Next Week’s Goal:   135 pounds (March 4, 2011)

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I’m on a role with my creative recipes (aka “MacGyver Meals”) this week!  I made the Crabacado Tacos last night and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!  And even better, it helped me use up some random ingredients I needed to get rid of.  The only thing I’d change is next time I’ll use a wheat flour tortilla instead of corn.  I just don’t like the strong taste of a corn tortilla – kind of overpowers the other ingredients.  I think I’ll even suggest these to our [Ruby Tuesday] Executive Chef as a possible dish for our restaurants since we have all of these ingredients in-house.

1. 2 taco-size whole wheat flour tortillas
2. 2 oz crab meat (I used Ruby Tuesday jumbo lump – leftover from a food show)
3. 1/4 avocado, chopped
4. 1/4 cup red cabbage, chopped
5. Lime wedge / splash of lime juice
6. 2 Tbs pina colada sauce (mine is leftover from Red Lobster, but you could also make your own.)

 

Since I had most of the can of crab leftover, and also a bunch of frozen asparagus (more Ruby Tuesday food show leftovers), I found a recipe for Asparagus Crab AuGratin.  I prepped everything last night and plan to bake it and try it out tonight.  I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, but you can go to the recipe by clicking on the below picture.  I made it as directed except I used low-fat cheese, whole wheat flour, and omitted the butter in the last step.  Looks yummy – we’ll see if it tastes as good as it looks tonight.

I also made some more Sugar-Free Coconut Brownies (click here for the recipe from my January 31 post), and I swear they are the most delectable brownies I have ever had!  I know they would not be deemed “healthy”, but I’d rather have my 100-calories of daily chocolate in the form of a brownie!  They have no sugar and the fat is all healthy coconut oil fat, so they’re really not that bad for you.  I debated trying to make the mix from scratch rather than use a mix, but let’s be honest, Pillsbury really does do it better than I can…

Another Monday

My how the weeks are flying by… tomorrow is February!!  It sure didn’t feel like it yesterday – 65 degrees and sunny.  It made me really crave Spring, but somehow I’m sure the groundhog will see his shadow on Wednesday and our miserable winter weather will return for 6 more weeks. 

I’m off to a good start this week with another well-stocked refrigerator after several hours of Sunday prep.

… although I can’t say that I’ve only eaten my perfectly-portioned meals today.  The first thing I did when I got to the office was try a big piece of cake and a brownie that someone brought in to share.  Why is it I can’t say NO?  I think I have a split personality – obsessively Healthy Rebecca and Obsessed with Sugar Rebecca.  Hmmm…

I made several new recipes for this week.  First, the Apple Pecan Breakfast Pilaf.  Here are my ingredients:

I did not have pecans or brown rice, so I instead used walnuts and quinoa.  I was also left wondering if the 1 cup of coconut milk was a typo, or if it should have specified what type of coconut milk – the thin variety (like regular milk), or the thick canned variety.  1 cup of the liquid type seems like it would be way too runny, but 1 cup of the canned would be 450 calories!  So I used 1 serving of the canned, which is 1/3 cup.  I sampled the finish product before portioning it out and it was pretty tasty and kind of like thick oatmeal, although my husband didn’t care for the natural flavor of the quinoa with the fruit and coconut milk.  So I guess I’ll have to finish all of these myself:

 

Next, I had some pureed spaghetti squash leftover from work and decided to make a Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese. 

YUM YUM YUM!!  Even my husband liked this one.  Here’s the recipe I found online and then modified to make it healthier:

Squash Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 pound whole-wheat pasta (elbow macaroni or spirals work best)
• 20 ounces fresh or frozen pureed winter squash
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 ½ cups sharp low-fat grated Cheddar
• 2/3 cup grated Monterrey-jack cheese
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard or mustard powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the squash and milk into a large saucepan.  If using frozen, start by cooking over low heat and mixing until the squash is thawed. Then turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cheeses, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir well to combine.  Be sure to break up any clumps of squash so it’s evenly distributed. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

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Lastly, I made my own version of the California Cilantro Chicken Burrito Bowl.  Mine is more like Cilantro Chicken with Avocado & Black Beans Bowl.  I had a bunch of random veggies leftover from last week that I wanted to incorporate into this dish:

This dish was pretty good, but did not “wow” me.  I ate it cold, because some of the ingredients (such as avocado) wouldn’t taste right heated.  I might make it as directed next time and see if I like it better.  I was trying to cut down on the carbs also by omitting the rice.

Dinner is supposed to be Edamame Cashew Ginger Stir-Fry, but my husband and I will be out running errands, so I might end up eating on the run.  So I’ll review this recipe later this week!

If you read yesterday’s blog, you might have seen that I also had a sugar-free chocolate coconut brownie on the menu.  We ended up finishing these off yesterday – YUMMY!  But for those who wondered, the recipe is simple… 1 box Pillsbury sugar-free bownie mix, made as directed except sub the oil for coconut oil, and add a 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut.  They taste like a cross between brownies and fudge.  If you wanted to cut down on the fat content, you could also sub part or all of the oil with unsweetened applesauce, but they’ll turn out more cake-like.  Most of the boxes now offer substitution tips for healthier options.