Sunday Grocery Run: Notice the spaghetti squash trying to hide from me!
This past Sunday, I was a very ambitious little Sometimes Healthy girl. I planned out ALL of my meals for the week and set a budget for grocery shopping that would hopefully ensure I stayed on track for the Budget Diet all week. If you think that I stuck to the plan, then you clearly don’t me that well yet. Don’t worry – you’ll figure it our soon enough. Anyway, I’ll recap my meal prep and shopping spree in a later post about lessons learned on the budget diet thus far. But for now, let’s talk spaghetti squash! I bought it along with my other groceries on Sunday and couldn’t wait to get a little creative with my fave yellow vegetable that looks like a volleyball. As you recall, I had always been very intimidated by the spag squash, but a few weeks ago (girl vs. spaghetti squash round 1) I finally gave it a shot. And it was mmm mmm good.
This time around, the squash was HUGE. I had to attack it with the knife, to ensure it had lots of room to breathe while cooking in the microwave.
You're mine spaghetti squash!
(PS – Happy Friday the 13th. muahahahaha)
While it baked, I brainstormed what ingredients to put on top of the squash. I’m used to being able to pop into the grocery store whenever I want to get all the ingredients that I need to support my wacky creations. Well, with the budget diet, I just don’t have this luxury. Thus, I was forced to rummage through the pantry.
hmmmmm...what looks good?
I settled upon a fiesta theme: Nacho Spaghetti Squash (Wacky Food combo?) Warning, per usual, these pics make the food look less-than appetizing. Anyone want to give me a lesson in food photography?
First, per my last baked spaghetti squash dish, I lined the bottom of the pan with the shredded, cut spaghetti squash…but this time I added some taco seasoning.
a little taco seasoning BAM!
I layered that with some refried beans….Doesn’t this look gooooood?
Appetizing huh?
Finally, I topped it all of with some cheese, baked tortilla chips and salsa.
Mmmmm.....smells like genius.
Baked it at 350 for 40 minutes and here’s what the end result looked like:
Kind of like the previous picture but baked...
I guess I just wasn’t feeling very ambitious in the picture-taking department last night? Is this better?
Nachos on top of spaghetti squash? Yes please!
But needless to say, it tasted delicious and I have already eaten the leftovers for breakfast lunch today. And the spaghetti squash was so big that I had this much leftover to play with at a later time.
-
- What a generous vegetable!
Definitely a successful night in Spaghetti Squash land. I will not claim that this was the most brilliant dish, but it tasted good, satisfied my craving for a little comfort food and provided me with lots of protein and veggie intake. So, in Round 2, against a bigger, even more intimidating spaghetti squash, I win! 🙂
The Printed Word Lives On
Blogging has opened up a whole new world for me! For a girl that always dreamed of working at SELF magazine, it’s given me a creative outlet to write about what interests me most: healthy living with a side of random ;-). BUT, as much as I love the blogosphere, my heart belongs to print magazines. I studied journalism in college and have worked at a couple of magazines as well. At a given time, I will probably have 3-7 magazines in my purse at once, which probably explains why it’s so full.
Anyway, my point is that I love reading magazines. I love them in the bath, on the elliptical, on the Subway, in the park, in the dark, etc. I’ll admit that the iPad is pretty cool, but it will never replace the glossy pages of a magazine in my eyes. While health and fitness mags are generally my go-to, Food Network Magazine has been catching my eyes these days.
Their May issue is about Fun Cooking, and I literally couldn’t put it down. The people at the gym always look at me weirdly as I pound away on the elliptical, while reading about decadent items such as Chocolate Covered Banana Bread and Cheese Cake pancakes. But I just stare right back at them as if to say, “Live a little, you freak. At least, I’m not eating this ON the elliptical!”
This might seem counter-intuitive to some of you, but I’m going to share a couple of the interesting items I found in this month’s issue. Pretty sure, once you see, you’ll want to buy a copy (or at least enjoy a good read in the magazine aisle).
First off, the avocado love. 31 things to do with that super awesome healthy fat. They even share a recipe for avocado frosting….
Next, this adorable cake. Parents finding out the sex of their baby through the inside of a cake. HOW CUTE IS THAT?!
What about customizable
bread? YUMMY
And finally….Waffle Pizza. Simple as it sounds. A trendy restaurant in Cali serves pizza…with waffle as the crust. I’m already in love with this concept and will be testing out this wacky food combo ASAP (as soon as the budget diet challenge allows).
And since it’s Freaky Friday the 13th, thought I’d get a little superstitious for a change. Check out my fortune today:
Apparently, there is a once-in-a-lifetime “offer” headed my way….If anyone knows what it is, feel free to let me know 😉
Ahhh if only that were true….
Yes, cowboy that looks like Brad Paisely, I will ride off into the sunset with you. Send me an email, and I’ll give you my address. We can use the trails in Central Park….
Question:
What’s the best fortune you’ve ever gotten? Did it come true?
Oh my gosh HI! I love your blog!!
Mm, I love spaghetti squash. I will have to try your recipe!
I am obsessed with magazines, too! Thanks for sharing some photos from that FN magazine! I love the avocado ideas and waffle PIZZA?!? Dude, I am soo doing that!
I love that avocado list! I need to subscribe to that magazine. The other day, my Dove dark chocolate said “You are exactly where you’re supposed to be” – I thought that was pretty good. And I hope it was right!!
Your spaghetti squash creation looked so good! I’m going to have to try it.
I love magazines, too. Especially ones filled with great recipe and food ideas. I have never got the Food Network magazine, but after seeing this post I might have to.
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