Some Yummy Sounding Recipes

Yesterday was important because I put into practice my goals. How do I feel about yesterday? Pretty good!

Normally, I drink 6 or 7 cans of Diet Coke at work and then 2 or 3 more at home. I had one (in the a.m. before work) and a half (in the p.m. after work). I drank 6 cups of water out of my fun blue cup. A little short, but better than "normal". I got a tummy ache and I think it's because my stomach didn't know what to do with the H20- I normally only "drink" what I accidently swallow in the shower.... +1

I took a small portion of some left over chicken pot pie to work for lunch, instead of my normal Double Cheeseburger, Large Fry at McDonalds routine... another +1 for me.

However, I forgot about my Michelle Obama arms routine...whoops! Tonight after school I will devote myself to 4 minutes of arms. -1

So I'm up 1 point for yesterday! Yay! (If you were wondering, this is just my own silly scoring system, not some cool, real one.)

I found the below two recipes in the July issue of All You magazine. I'm going to make them for the girls at work for lunch on Friday. Each lunch will equal 429 calories...not bad there and it sounds tasty!

Pasta Salad w/ Eggplant, Zucchini, and Squash
1 medium eggplant, ends trimmed
2 Zucchini, cut into small pieces
2 yellow squash, cut into small pieces
1 lb short pasta (i.e. penne or shells)
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 c loosely packed fresh basil leaves, sliced (I'm going to sub spinach)
salt & peper to taste

1. Preheat a broiler and bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place cut side down on a broiling pan. Broil until skin is crinkley and hard, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and carefully scrape out flesh, discarding skin.
3. Add zucchini and yellow squash to boiling water and bring back to a boil. Cook for one minute or until just tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove, transfer to a colander and run under cold water. Drain on paper towls and pat dry. Keep water at a full boil.
4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, depending on package directions. Draining run under cold water. Shake colander to remove as much water as pssible, and place pasta in a large bowl. Add oil, vinegar, eggplant, zucchini, and squash. Stir in basil (spinach); toss well and season generously with salt & peper. Serve at room temp.

293 Cal, 8g Fat, 5g Fiber, 9g Protein, 48g Carbs

Lightened-Up Cheesecake Bars
Crust:
10 reduced-fat graham crackers, broken into pieces
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling
3 8-oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temp.
2/3 c sugar
2 large eggs + 2 large egg whites, at room temp.
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 ts. salt

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Mist foil with cooking spray.
2. Make crust: Mix graham crackers, sugar, salt until well combined. Add butter and mix until it comes together. Press misture evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set. Let cool on wire rack.
3. Make filling: With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla, and salt.
4. Spread filling evenly over crust. Tap pan on countertop 3 or 4 times to burst air bubbles in filling. Place pan on a large rasting pan and put in oven. Pour hot tap water into rasting pan until it comes up about an inch around baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is just set. Cool completely on a wire rack, then cover with foil and refigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
5. Use foil over hang to lift out of pan to decorate and serve. (I'm going to serve it in the pan- classy!)

136 Cal, 9g Fat, 0 Fiber, 4g Protein, 10g Carbs.