Lasagna in a bowl

The kids love this.

Noodles for those who are not carb conscious, or
steamed zucchini, or spaghetti squash
spaghetti sauce
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
ground beef, cooked and rinsed

Heat meat, spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese and cook noodles. Layer them in a bowl. I usually do this order: Squash, beef, ricotta, mozzarella, sauce, parmesan. I like to make sure the mozzarella is in between warm stuff so it will melt. It is pretty delicious. I really like it with the zucchini regardless of healthy reasons.

More on yogurt

I found out that the greek yogurt (FAGE) that I love is much higher in protein than regular yogurt. So not only does it taste better, it's better for me. Unfortunately, it's at least twice the price and not available in my little town. So I bought one tub of it in Denver and I will savor every bite. :)

Yogurt and tartness

I was becoming sick of yogurt for breakfast and the texture was making me want to gag. I got some plain Dannon natural, fat free yogurt and tried a trick I had learned about online. I added a couple of teaspoons of applesauce (unsweetened) to the bowl of yogurt. I still added stevia, and my Kashi Go Lean crunch, but it made the yogurt taste so much better. It's not as tart and it somehow breaks up something in the yogurt and it's really yummy. I'm not doing a very good job of describing what it does, but it's a good thing. You have to be careful not to add too much, because then it changes it too much and then it's soupy and like applesauce more than yogurt.

Salmon Patties

I adapted another recipe for this.

Canned salmon (The cans the size of tunafish cans, get boneless and skinless.)
1 egg per can of salmon
1 handful of bread crumbs per can of salmon
1 T Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
season to taste, dill, parsley, seasoning salt, etc.
onion, chopped, I used green onions, you could use any kind

Mix ingredients together in a bowl, form into patties, cook in a non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Turn once browned.

Steamed Squash

We have been harvesting zucchini and yellow squash from our garden and eating it steamed. It's so yummy! I put a tiny bit of butter, salt and pepper and then for a real treat a sprinkle of shredded cheddar over the top. I try to be sparing on the butter and cheese, because that's a lot of fat, but in small amounts I think it's okay.

Prunes (warning, TMI)

I don't know why, exactly, but prunes have never delivered their promised results for me until recently. I purposely ate 5-7 of them, hoping to achieve regularity after traveling. They worked! By that evening I had a successful bathroom trip. The only problem is that they give me really bad gas. I used to have gas frequently before I had my surgery. Since surgery I don't have gas very often at all. I think part of it must have been that the huge amounts of sugar I was consuming was wreaking havoc on my system, including making me gassy.

If I'm going to continue using prunes as a laxative, I think I need to reduce the number I eat to about 3 and see how that works.

Chicken and Mushrooms

I've been enjoying baked chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and/or onions. I sprinkle a little barbecue seasoning on it for extra yumminess. If the mushrooms are fresh, there isn't much need for extra flavor.

Instead of sauteeing the mushrooms in oil or butter, I use olive oil cooking spray, then sprinkle with a powdered butter flavoring while it's cooking. It works very well.