My Weight Loss Journey – Week 23

I was on vacation last week and attended a conference for several days, so I was not cooking at home which made this week a great way for me to test my resolve to make better choices, no matter what the situation.  I am attempting to make a lifestyle change here, and I know that I can’t always be in complete control of everything, all I can do is make the best choices possible, from what is available to me.

I think I did pretty well because I’m down .9 pounds for a total of 48.1 pounds! After seeing some pictures of me taken this weekend, I’m finally seeing my progress….plus my clothes are fitting much looser, I’ll have to go shopping soon. (I’ll be sharing some of those, along with my experiences at the conference in other posts.)

And now I want to share a dish I made a few weeks ago. I had intended to make it again while I was on vacation, but it turned out my friend and I didn’t get back to Ottawa in time, so we ate on the road. I will make it again soon though, because it was delicious! I got my inspiration from a zucchini lasagna dish on Skinny Taste, but I don’t particularly care for tomato based sauce, so I decided to try a slightly different variation. My recipe is also light on meat because I prepackaged my meat in smaller amounts to suit dishes for one person. The next time I make it I will add another 1/2 pound of meat to the recipe and maybe make a few other adjustments accordingly.

Zucchini Lasagna with Alfredo Sauce

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground chicken or turkey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 green pepper, diced
6-8 cremini mushrooms, diced
12-16 grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 large shallot (or use a small onion, or part of one), chopped/diced
2 small zucchinis, sliced in thin slices lengthwise
olive oil spray
1 cup Classico Garlic Alfredo Sauce
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Use spray oil on another, shallow frying pan, or a grill. Grill zucchini strips until they start to brown a bit. Remove slices to a plate as they brown and continue until all strips are cooked. You don’t want to cook them until they are mushy, you just want to cook them a bit to get some of the water out of them.

In a skillet heat olive oil. Add the ground chicken and start browning, breaking it up so that it is crumbly. Add oregano, and garlic and continue browning. Add the green peppers, mushrooms and shallot/onion and cook a few more minutes. Add grape tomato halves, and continue cooking several minutes more. Turn heat to low just to keep the mixture warm (or make the filling after the next step).

Add approximately half of the Alfredo sauce to the meat mixture, and mix it up. In an 8×8 baking dish, place a thin layer of the meat mixture.

Place a layer of strips over the meat mixture. Place another 2 layers of meat and  zucchini. Pour the remainder of the Alfredo sauce over the top and cover all of the noodles. Sprinkle two tablespoons of grated Parmesan over the entire dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 F. Remove the foil and continue cooking until the Parmesan starts to brown.

Remove from oven, let sit for several minutes, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

I’m hunting for more recipes to try out so if you know of any, or of a site I can investigate, please pass them along! Thanks for checking out my blog, more to come next week!