Shrink the stomach time

After a long holiday weekend, my stomach is due for some major shrinking so I can go back to my normal caloric intake for the day (~1400 cals).

For breakfast I did fruity cottage cheese with cantaloupe and green grapes.  Growing up, my Grandma (Mom’s Mom) would scoop the innards out of the cantaloupe and put the cottage cheese directly in, and then top it with additional fruit.  So yummy and refreshing!

A fruity breakfast

Lunch was the small portion of coleslaw I had left and 2 funfetti cake cookies (shhh, don’t tell).  For my snack later, I had a Nugo Dark — my vegan protein bar delight

After work and after takin’ the dog for a walk, I whipped up a green…err, brown…monster.  In it went, 1/2 cup frozen spinach, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 medium banana, and 1 tbsp dark chocolate whey protein powder.  It was a little runny, but quite tasty!

Brown 'Green' Monster

Hunger had been getting the best of me all day and I knew that my orowheat thin veggie sandwich wouldn’t cut it for din-din.  So I snooped around to see what I could create and Mexi pasta it is!  My ingredients are less ‘fresh’ than I’d like them, but in a pinch, they’ll do   Oh and everything is sort of eyeballed since it’s a no fuss recipe.

Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta (2-3 cups (ish))
1 can diced tomatoes Shoot, no diced tomatoes…did peas instead
1 can sweet corn (no salt added)
1 lighlty sautéed red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
1/3 cup fat free cottage cheese
Packet taco seasoning (if available)
Mexi shredded cheese
Milk
Tapatio sauce
1 can black beans (optional)
Cook the pasta al dente and while you  sauté the onion. Drain your corn and your beans (keep the tomato juices). Simple tip: always wash your canned beans. This prevents undesirable bean effects later Throw everything (minus cheese, milk, and sauce) into a 9×9 casserole dish (or you can do a 9×13 and just have a shallow pasta). Stir everything up. Then drizzle about 1/2 cup skim milk over the mixture for some moisture. Douse that puppy with Tapatio (unless you’re a wuss and then go easy) and top it with some ground black pepper and whatever else you desire! Throw it in the oven at 375 for about 20-25 minutes (covered). Remove from oven, top it with as much mexi cheese as you like and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Wa-la! Mexi pasta.

Love me some onions!

Rinse those beans!

All mixed up, pre-baking

Other options for add-ins are sautéed veggies (bell peppers, zucchini, squash, etc), chicken sausage, and jalapenos. You can top it with crumbled tortilla chips for some texture.

Holy tasty goodness! Yay for Mexi Pasta!

Enjoy

Another tip: pack your lunch the night before.  Saves soooo much time and headache.  I even pack my breakfast since I tend to eat that at 9a.  A cute lunchbag always helps!

Houndstooth lunchbag (and Naava appearance)

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