The Incredibly Shrinking Raineys!

As part of "Operation Make Room for Baby" the Raineys are getting themselves together. We embarked on our journey of wellness about three weeks ago, and I can proudly say we are both 15 pounds lighter and feeling good! We started a weightloss program, and even though it totally sucks, it is working. When it is all said and done, I will formally give my opinion of said program so that if you are interested/motivated/whatever you can make an educated decision about whether it is right for you. Info about this particular program seems to be lacking in general, so you are welcome to my opinion. Anyhow, what I will say is that we have a finite list of foods to choose from, that's it. No more, no less. Which, makes it kind of hard. It's easy, bc they tell you exactly what you can eat, but it's hard bc it gets boring when you don't like a lot of the stuff on the list, or can't find it in your grocery store. So, we must learn to be creative. A PERSON CAN ONLY EAT SO MUCH GRILLED CHICKEN AND VEGGIES! Oh, and lettuce......that's another story. We eat LOTS of it. I'm tired of salad, and quite frankly the lettuce irritates my IBS so.......I guess you can't gain weight if it runs right through you, right? So I thought I would share some of my very healthy meals I have been making lately that are pretty good!

A picture's worth a thousand words, right? Ok, so I'm not a five star restaurant chef who makes works of art, but I am a very good cook and this was pretty good tonight. I call it "Spaghetti" and Meatballs. Note that the fake out is the spaghetti, there is real meat in the balls. :-) Looks pretty good huh?

So a part of this diet we are on is that nothing can come from a can, and you can't use real salt. So I made my own marinara sauce and we use light salt around these parts. Ok, here is my recipe for "Spaghetti" and Meatballs:

Serves 2

1 Large Summer Squash

8 oz lean Ground Beef, the leaner the better!

Your favorite seasonings (I used Mrs Dash Tomato Basil Garlic, Garlic and Onion Powders, Dill, and Morton's Light Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper)

Marinara sauce:

5 pounds of your favorite tomatoes (I used Romas and Cherry)

Mortons Light salt

Pepper

Italian seasoning mix

Basil

Fresh Garlic

Making your own tomato sauce is easy, it just takes several hours to cook down. But to start, either spray some Pam, or a little drizzle of EVOO in the bottom of a dutch oven and start heating. Chop the tomatoes however you like and throw them in the pan. Add your garlic whole or chopped, seasoning and salt and pepper. Put the lid on it, and check it occassionally so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. Let it sit and simmer for an hour or so and then either use a stick blender or a real blender or a food processor and puree to your favorite consistency. Return to the pan and let it simmer for at least two more hours. Taste it occassionally and add more salt, or seasoning, or whatever until it tastes how you like it. Easy huh?

Meatballs

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix 8 oz of ground beef with your favorite seasoning and do so generously, but don't go overboard with the salt. Add a handful of bread crumbs and a little bit of water to make it all come together. Spray a skillet with Pam and preheat. Next shape your meatballs into whatever size you want. Brown them in the pan and then transfer them to a baking sheet lined with foil (so you don't have to wash it later) and a wire rack. Once the meatballs are browned put them on the wire rack so the grease drips on to the pan and off your meatballs. Next bake them for 15 minutes.

"Spaghetti"

Use a mandolin to cut slice your squash into shoestrings and then blanch them. (Blanching means you boil the squash for one minute and them immediately put the little strings in ice water to stop them from cooking)  I hear you saying, "why not just use spaghetti squash?" Two reasons: takes an hour in the oven to cook and it's not on the plan, something about it has too much sugar in it or some other nonesense. This literally takes 10 minutes.

Now all that's left is just putting it together! Enjoy!

I LOVE soup! Of every shape and size (except seafood). Imagine my disappointment when the peeps at the center gave me "protein" soup. YUCK! So, I got creative. Ladies and Gentlemen.....I give you

Incredibly Healthy Tortilla Soup

In your crock pot put:

3 cups fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth (yes, it exists and no it's not terrible)

3 Roma tomatoes diced

1 Summer Squash diced

1 Bell Pepper (I used green, it's cheaper) diced

2 whole chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and other yucky stuff

2 tsp chile powder

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp Morton's Light Salt, or more to taste.

Cilantro to taste

Lime juice to taste

Black Pepper to taste

That's it folks throw it in the crock pot before bed, set it on low and it will be ready by morning you can pack yourself and yummy lunch that is delicious and packed with yummy veggies! Serve it with a Mission Thin Corn Tortilla! 

I plan on adding more creative recipes as I find them! Stay tuned!