The Scale MOVED!! :)

YIPPEEEEEE!!!!  :)

After 3 whole weeks of no movement, other than gaining 2 pounds over St. Paddy's Day weekend... I have finally seen the scale go down... albeit it's only 2 pounds... but hey, I'll take it!  2 Pounds is 2 pounds closer to my goal!  I started at 190... I'm now 176... that's 14 down (36 to go) ... look at me doing math! ;)

So,  I've gotta share with you my latest recipe finds... that we all loved!!

My friend, Raquel brought it to my attention that spaghetti squash makes a great substitute for pasta... as I have been missing my empty, comfort food, starchy carbs... you know.... potatoes, noodles, chips, etc...

and so I decided to give it a shot!

Started by cutting open the squash and scooping out the seeds (I used 4 squash, for my whole family).  Cook the squash in 1/4 inch of water til' soft then scrap it out into a pan with a fork, or cut it up like noodles.  

While it's cooking I sauteed an onion and garlic (I did 4 cloves, love garlic), cayenne pepper to taste (cayenne pepper burns fat*bonus*) and salt to taste (or for us, Mrs. Dash), OH and some fresh thyme.  

I sauteed them in olive oil, sprayed instead of poured.  

In a casserole dish, I spread out the squash noodles, on top I poured a mixture of lowfat grated cheddar cheese and lowfat sour cream (1/4 cup) of each, spread my sauteed onions on top and covered with another 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese and some cut up green onions!  

Bake it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees... and then try to tell me it's not a comfort food?!  Delish!

On the side I made cauliflower pancakes.  Again, wash, cut and cook your cauliflower til' soft in a little water.  Smash it up, mix it together with an egg or two, depending on if you use half the head of cauliflower or the whole thing.  Add salt (or Mrs. Dash) to taste, 1/2 cup of lowfat grated cheddar, and again, cayenne pepper to taste.  Sautee for 3 minutes on each side! These were amazing!!  My kids wanted 2nds, and 3rds but I had to cut them off for fear that their little tummy's might get to painful with gas bubbles!

For dessert, yep, I'm allowed that now that dark chocolate is not only heart smart but also helps to burn fat.... I found these cute little cake lollipop molds at Five Below.  I made an oil-less, butter-less cake mix using my Mom's homemade applesauce instead.  Melted dark chocolate and milk in double boiler (next time I'll use less milk, mine came out a little too runny/gooey... but we ate them anyway) and rolled the cake balls in crushed peanuts, almonds and sprinkles!  The kids had a blast doing this with me and I've discovered they will do just about anything for a cake ball... including sweeping my floors! ;)

I had two and I was satisfied.  Sweet tooth happy, weightloss happy.  Win-Win!!