Four Months Later...

Methinks you'll have to get used to once-in-a-while appearances from me from now on... I just can't keep up like I did before!  It might be a mix between having a toddler and not trying as many new recipes now that I have some cooking skill.

Since Thanksgiving, the hubs and I have been calorie counting and really trying to whittle down our weights.  I've been looking for lots of low-cal, delicious recipes and have tried a few things recently I thought I'd share with you.  So far I've lost about 16 lbs and am officially back down to pre-preggo weight (it sure took me long enough!).

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Alissa's Alfredo Lasagna

Okay, so this might sound like it's not-so-healthy.  It really depends on what you put in it.  I made it with RF ricotta cheese, a TON of spinach, lean ground beef, mushrooms, light alfredo sauce, and no-bake noodles.  If you portion it out, it's delicious and you don't have to feel guilty about it!  :-)

Pretty picture, right?

I have discovered the secret to yummy, light scrambled eggs... and I'm going to share it with you right now.  Are you ready?  Laughing cow cheese.  I've had this lunch almost every day for the past two months and it's filling, full of protein, and worth every calorie.

I use 1/2 c. of egg beaters, 2 wedges of any kind of laughing cow cheese, Old Bay, and pepper.  Sometimes I add mushrooms, spinach, a touch of lean ground beef... really, anything your heart desires in scrambled eggs is okay.  I like to put it on an English muffin (high fiber) with a Mushroom Lover's Morningstar veggie burger on the side.  I'm addicted.

Top with fresh salsa and a little guac or fresh avocado.  Heavenly.

Seriously.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

These were good, but I would recommend using pepperoni slices as suggested in the recipe.  They were good without, but needed something!  I also didn't have a tiny muffin pan, so I just baked them like cookies.

Alissa's Split Pea Soup

I made this with a bag of split peas... which I didn't realize would actually split or explode all over the pot as they started cooking.  I didn't take an after picture, but I should have!  I added potato, corn, chicken/veggie broth, mushrooms, and some spices.  It ended up thick and pretty tasty.

Next up...

Green Smoothies!  I've started having these more often lately.  Usually I add whatever we have in our house... banana, apple, strawberry, blueberry, etc.  Then you load it up with spinach or kale and add ice to get it the thickness you want.  I've been making them with soy yogurt and vanilla soy milk so that Liv can drink some, too.  Always yum.

Tilapia with Salsa and Black Beans

This is exactly what it says.  I made brown rice and mixed salsa into it, added black beans, and topped with tilapia (seasoned however you like).

Homemade Mexican Pizza

We are huge fans of Cheeseburger Pizza and just switched the toppings a bit to make it Mexican.  On this pizza, I used taco seasoned lean ground beef, fresh avocado, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, and shredded cheese.

Broccoli, Cheese, & Potato Soup

Tomato Soup

I couldn't find the exact Taste of Home recipe that I used for the tomato soup, but there are so many there!  I might have to try some others.  :-)

For Christmas, I got an immersion blender... and it's AWESOME!  Here I am using it!  :-)

Smooth soup!

Sorry that this post was so random.  I'll try to post new recipes as I make them so I don't have to have crazy posts like this one!

Hopefully you see something you'd like to try... enjoy!  :-)