This is a photo from the Kohl's site of the exact slow cooker I bought. It is a Hamilton Beach "Stay or Go" 6 quart. I highly recommend.

Last week I made a chicken bake thingy with cream of mushroom soup, peas, and stove-top stuffing.  It was eh.  The husband doesn’t like the mushier dishes, and it was only so-so.  BUT on Sunday, I tried my hand at a butternut squash dessert.  And Oh. My. Goodness.

Anywho, here’s the gist of what I did:

• roast a halved butternut squash (sans seeds and whatnot, 450 for an hour)
• remove from peel and place in mixing bowl
• add chopped apples (I used the only 3 Gala apples we had left, and large chunks worked well)
• stir with a couple tbsp honey and a squirt of fresh lemon juice to freshen up the taste
• I added some golden raisins because they are sweet and they seemed like a good idea.
• add a handful of walnuts, or however many of whatever nut you like
• add a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg and mix gently

Mix this dish together and then place in the bottom of your lightly buttered/oiled/greased crockpot.  Set the crockpot for 4 hours on low.  This was the perfect time because the apples were soft, and the squash was reminiscent of pumpkin pie consistency.  MMMMMMM.

I got my inspiration for the topping from Skinnytaste because hers looked oh-so-yummy.   I’ve been really into this blog lately after a friend of mine told me she had found some good recipes there.  We can all stand to cut some calories, right?  So I’ve been perusing the site every so often, and she has such great little tricks that don’t over-do the whole “low-fat” product thing, which I try to mostly stay away from since those products have more sugar.  Not to mention, they are NOT satisfying.  I got some 100 calorie packs a couple weeks ago, and I ended up eating 3 of the dadgum packs.  And I still wanted something sweet an hour later.  I say have the 3 stinking oreos, ya know?  And let me tell you, whole wheat flour is changing my world.  I am very pleased with all the recipes I’ve tried from Gina over at Skinnytaste, so I hope you give her a try as well.

So here’s what she used for her topping on her Cinnamon Apple Crisp:

• 1 cup Quaker quick rolled oats*
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (half stick) butter, melted

* I used rolled oats that I got out of a bulk bin at Whole Foods instead of quick oats because that’s just what I had on hand.  I’m sure either would be fine.

Mix the above ingredients and sprinkle over the squash and apple mixture in the crockpot.  Put the lid on, and get your errands done.  When you get ready for dinner, this little beauty will be waiting for your dessert.  Be forewarned: If you want something uber-sweet, this is not the recipe for you.  I really can’t eat super sweet desserts too often anymore; the effect is like that of Coke or carbonated sodas insofar as I get a stomach ache like you wouldn’t believe.

I knew I could enjoy butternut squash as a dessert, and I was right.  Add some frozen vanilla yogurt and wow!  It might not be fully fall just yet outside, but my kitchen is ready to go.

**Forgive me for not including a picture of the deliciousness!  It was too good!

I saved one for my lunch today, thinking I would get some marinara from the spaghetti line and be done with it.  But low and behold-It was Chicken Marinara day!  I asked the ladies to give me the goods minus the chicken patty.  They didn’t think I was nuts because they know about my current vegetarian status.  I microwaved my little pizza burger and voila!  It was seriously better–mainly because it also tasted like pizza AND chicken marinara.  I do believe I have a new favorite thing.

I give these sweet Morning Star Farms Tomato & Basil Pizza Burger babies a 5 out of 5 because they taste like pizza, they are vegetarian, and they make a mean "chicken marinara!"

If you were curious about my “french fries” that I mentioned above, this is how I make them:

In a small bowl, mix the following:

• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 (or 2) tsp of paprika, I really just eyeball it until the color is nice and red
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

1. Wash, peel, and cut up your potatoes into the size of “fry” you want.  I usually use white, but I only had red last nighy.  They worked fine.
2. Spray large baking pan (I use it for cookies) with Pam, spread your fries out, and drizzle the above oil mixture on them.
3. Move them around with your spatula until all coated.  You could do this in a separate bowl, but I try to conserve the dishes.
4. Cook on 375 until crispy on both sides, turning with a spatula when you start to smell the flavors wafting around.

Easy Cafe Style “Chicken” Marinara at Home

Layer the following:

• Spaghetti Noodles
• Pizza burger
• Slice of cheese
• Hot marinara sauce
• Grated Parmesan

On a separate note, you can instantly play “Food, Inc.” on Netflix.  We watched the whole thing yesterday, and it is really astounding and informative.  I highly recommend that you watch it.

Gorton's has a new line of All Natural Grilled Fish Fillets. I give them a 4.5 out of 5. Definitely an easy and healthy protein choice.

I got the Lemon Butter Salmon at $3.99 at Publix last week. I will confess that I also picked up a less healthy breaded option, too. But back to the healthy stuff. For $3.99, you get 2 healthy doses of protein that are not plagued by high sodium content. Usually, pre-packaged and flavored food like this are FULL of sodium. These were surprisingly low in it, and the other stats on the package were pretty impressive, too. I did some research on Gorton’s and even though there was a recall back in 2008, they seem to be a pretty trust-worthy company.

I always like to have a frozen dinner back-up, and these little fish fillets will become a staple in the winter for us.

Lance Armstrong is a spokesperson for FRS healthy energy supplement. Doesn't this picture that appears at the top of their website just make you want to work out?

I ordered this after reading about it on Hungry Girl’s Q & A.  She loves it, and I just HAD to know what it is like.  When I visited the site, I entered my zip code to see where it could be sold around here.  I feel like we’re pretty metropolitan in Nashville, even if it is still the south.  When I hit enter (my mistake), there were no search results.  Apparently, you have to click the little arrow in the boxy thing in which you enter your zip code.  My pressing enter made the site think I was searching their site for something.  So I decided to try the free trial.  Of course it isn’t free, but I didn’t care.  Actually, I still don’t care.  It was totally worth it.  And the long wait I had to endure, refreshing my UPS tracking status site to see when they would “scan” and “arrive” and “depart” and………..eventually………..deliver to my front porch.  It was only a week, but I was super pumped about trying this stuff.

You get the fruity chews and the concentrate, pictured here in the big white bottle, in your trial.

And I had good reason to be pumped.  It is tasty.  When you order the trial, be aware that you cannot pick which flavor you want.  That was okay with me because Hungry Girl attested to the deliciousness of the Low Cal Orange which is what they sent.  I did some research on quercetin, the main ingredient.  Like any natural or herbal supplement, it can interact with certain prescription drugs and their absorption into your body.  So do you research or ask your doctor/pharmacist before you try this stuff.  Which, by the way, is completely available at GNC and Publix in my area.  Did I mention that I figured that zip code boxy thing out…AFTER I had been to the grocery story for the week? “It’s okay,” I thought, “It will be coming to my front door soon.”

It finally got here yesterday evening, and I’m a fan already.  The trial comes with the low cal orange liquid concentrate, a bag of fruit chews, a cute little 2 oz. plastic measuring cup, and a gift.  The “gift” is a black and white aluminum water bottle.  It looks pretty snazzy.   The fruit chews are tasty in pomegranate blueberry, and I cannot wait to throw 2 oz. of this stuff into a smoothie this weekend.

My official review is 4 out of 5 because the free trial isn’t free.  Other than that, this stuff tastes good and has tons of good vitamins (especially the B) in there.  It also gives a nice natural energetic feeling whereas coffee just makes me want to jump out of my skin sometimes.  And the Low Cal Orange flavor reminds me of the orange-flavored drinks that I loved (and didn’t always get to drink) in my childhood.  I’m sipping it right now over some crushed ice, and it is nice. There is a slight “diety” after-taste, but it doesn’t bother me.  Other reviews boast that their other flavors are more impressive (like peach mango and wild berry that tastes like raspberry juice).  I can’t wait to try them, too.  They also offer more flavors in their powdered form which can be easily thrown into a bottle of water in a hurry.

It does sign you up for the AutoShip program.  If you’re not into it, you can cancel anytime.  It is a great deal, though, because you always get a discount and you can set up how often (or not often) you want to order stuff in the mail.  They set you up with an account, and it is easy to poke around and see what your options are.  The first 3  orders are 30% off, the next 3 orders are 40% off, and every order after that is 50% off.  If you like this stuff, that is a deal.  It can get pretty pricey at the GNC.  I checked.

Veggie Patch's Meatless Meatballs: These puppies are GOOD. Besides the fact that their consistency is yummy and even more appetizing than some meatballs I've had, they taste nice, too.

They are GOOD and filling.  I think they would even be good in an appetizer…you know the ones that Southern folks serve at parties in their crock pots?   The ones you eat with toothpicks and chase around your plate with a slightly sweet sauce on them?  I have no idea what those are called, but I would bet these would be good in that, too.

Mix ‘em with some marinara and noodles, and oh my!  I had wanted to make this another one of my noodle adventure blogs, but my hubby has not had time (and slightly refuses) to go by Whole Foods on his way home for some more shirataki noodles.  I’m not that upset for 2 reasons:

1. He has been going to the gym twice during the work week, and there is just no time on those days.
2. Publix has agreed to stock them for me!

The idea occurred to me last night after an awesome 45 min spin class.  I might add that this grand idea came to me in spite of the sweaty muscle-bound guy with the very un-rad tattoo on the bike next to me.  Yeah, the guy with hair gel who gave me advice on my bike (unsolicited, I might add), but then didn’t know how to clip in his own bike shoes to the pedals…who continued to make silly faces and pedal backwards like there was something wrong with his bike…and left early.  Oh, there’s nothing worse than dudes like that.  Not even newbies.  Did I mention his tattoo was very large and of something circular and grey and blobby? I bet you’re thinking of a similar dude you may have encountered.

Spin class never has this much drama in the other 11 months of the year.  Anywho, I digress.
I needed stuff for our Greek Tabouleh and Hummus night, so I stopped by Publix, my favorite grocery of all time (besides the Ingles supermarkets of the Carolinas, of course).  Publix has all kinds of weird stuff that I bet folks asked them to order for them.  So that’s just what I did.  I marched myself up there, filled out a form, and they’ll call me when they start stocking them on the shelves.  OH MAN!

#1: I started laughing out loud during one of my classes today for no reason. My students were quite perplexed, as was I, because it was a serious laughing fit. Tears filled my eyes. THAT kind of laughing. And I didn’t even have my extra-special Portland Brew icy coffee beverage yet. I was in one of those mid-afternoon foggy states of being, we were trying to go over their homework, and the kids were extra chatty. It just came out of nowhere. I think I am going crazy. But I swear something was funny. I just don’t know what.

#2: I was thinking of buying the Hungry Girl 2oo Under 200: 200 recipes under 200 calories book.

I'm thinking of buying the Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 book. Any thoughts?

Has anyone read this? Somehow I wandered onto the Hungry Girl site this week, and I have been consumed with reading all their recent food finds and food news. I’m usually not into “fat-free” or “reduced fat” foods just because there are some pretty unnatural things that go in there. (Of course, I like the taste of Diet Coke better than regular, too, so yeah). Some of their recipes actually sound great. And I came across some things I already intend to try. One is the Gorton’s grilled fish (I love frozen stuff) and the FRS Health Energy supplement. They had a really good offer on a “free” trial. It’s not actually free. But I do get a free gift. Plus they have Lance Armstong on their site. And I love him. (I have a communication degree, so I know all about advertising ploys, but dang it, I want to try this stuff and I DO love Lance!)

—

I will be trying the fish tonight and I will post a review for your viewing pleasures. Yes, I am aware that they probably got the fish from Taiwan or somewhere that has oodles of mercury and other crap in their water. I just don’t care anymore. I try very hard to be health conscious in many other ways. And I freaking like fish.

When the FRS arrives in the mail, I will be posting a review of it as well. I am kind of excited about it. A little natural afternoon pep-me-up that Hungry Girl approves and loves that does not require me to leave school on a Starbuck’s run is always a good thing. Plus, it’s supposed to optimize my exercising.

Oh! I also learned that healthy fiber evens out carbohydrates. That’s where “net carbs” come from. Neat!

#3: I bought a stability ball for $9 at Wal-Mart. At least I think that’s what they’re called. The Abs class at the gym is too early for me to reasonably get there after work (and the instructor doesn’t do the exercises with us). My dog, Lucy, freaked out when I used the included air foot pump to inflate the thing. It was kind of funny that she was doing this weird thing with her mouth…almost like chattering. Anyone ever heard of this? After blowing it up and bouncing around the living room, I tried some of the exercises with it. It’s way more fun than crunches, and I definitely feel it more in my whole abs region. I give it a thumbs up! The booklet that comes with it shows tons more exercises, and I can do them whilst watching American Idol. Sweet!

I then decided to try them as a Ramen noodle replacement. Don’t judge me–we only keep Ramen in the house for the occasional crunch in salads and the like, so I have all these left over sauce packets. I tried the noodles with the packets, and they were like Ramen noodles–except with way less carbs. And I didn’t feel weighed down like I often did in college after eating these. A little (almost) guilt-free treat! I’m sure I soaked up enough sodium, though.

I really want to try these little noodles with marinara and Morning Star Farms “meat” balls (which I have just discovered). I also discovered that there are WAY more noodles in that little water-filled bag than I originally thought. At Whole Foods, they are $1.79 per package. It’s really not that expensive because one pouch fed two people. And since I’m not into leftovers, that is just fine with me.

I was toying with the idea of ordering them online, but shipping ranges from $9.00 to $13.00 because of the refrigerated nature of the noodles. This would be worth it if I lived where they aren’t sold or I wanted to buy in bulk. I’ve tried to find them as a dry product to no avail. I’m going to look for an Asian grocery a little closer to home today.

Next on my list of noodle dishes: rice noodles. They’re not low in carbs like the shirataki noodles, but they are hella afforable. I’m thinking lemon grass and chili.

Last January, all the spin class regulars had to start calling to reserve our spots.  And if we got there 1 minute after class started, we were just not going to get a bike.  I really loved my instructor, though.  She can totally tell if you’re not even trying. I mean, put some resistance on that bike!   Not just because she says so, but because you can really hurt your ankles if you don’t have enough resistance.  Some of those folks stopped coming in February.

In lieu of all these new resolutions, magazines and television shows are really trying for their readers and viewers.
I saw a segment on The Rachael Ray Show last week where the oh-so-dreamy Chef Rocco was visiting.  I usually can only handle Rachael in small doses, but she does have some good finds from time to time.  Chef Rocco was there to showcase some healthy “Must-Try” food options.  Several that interested me were:

• TVP or Texturized Vegetable Protein
• Pepquiño Cucumbers
• Shirataki Noodles

I looked for the TVP at Whole Foods yesterday (another mad house in the new year), but I didn’t find it.  I got side-tracked by all the folks trying to mow me down in the spice and bean/rice/dried fruits aisle.  I will have better luck next time.  I was also not too worried about it because my main focus this month is going to be noodle bowls.  I was inspired by the shirataki noodles that have “no calories or carbs!” in the words of the great Rocco.  I did find them at Whole Foods in the refrigerated tofu/vegetarian section.  They were a little on the expensive side for the amount of noodles, but they might be really filling.  I’m trying them tonight in a brothy soup (I’m thinking healthy ramen noodles!), and I will post on my noodle bowl adventures in the coming weeks.

These noodles have no net carbs or calories so you don't have to give up delicious pasta dishes when cutting carbs.