My first homegrown zucchini!

Last night I finally got to pick something from the garden. A beautiful zucchini! I couldn't wait to cook it. I wanted to try to keep it as fresh as possible, not alter the zucchini too much by means of breading etc, so I could actually enjoy the flavor of my very own zucchini.

I decided to roast it in the oven with just a few spices. 

I chopped the zucchini into disks, and put them into a gallon ziplock bag. I added about a tablespoon of Olive Oil, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and thyme. Shook it all up, and spread them out on a foil covered cookie sheet. I baked at 350* for about 20 minutes, sprinkled them with a little bit of Parmesan cheese, and put them back in the oven on broil for another 2-3 minutes. They tasted amazing! I ate a few just like that, and a few dipped in a little bit of Cucumber Ranch salad dressing.

Soo so good!

Can't wait to pick a few more! I have a couple that look like they'll be good to go by the weekend!

Updated Garden Update!

The zucchini continues to take over the garden, however, I got to pick my first one last night! I also have about 20+ tomatoes going right now, can't wait to pick the first one! Got a little time with those though, all of them are still bright green.

Garden update!

So, here is my conclusion:

I CAN, in fact, keep a plant alive!

The garden is completely flourishing, and I'm loving every second of it. I cannot wait until I have fresh veggies to use! My zucchini plant is continuing to take over, to the point where I think next year I'll give zucchini's their own bed.

Check out the progress:

Zucchini Plant taking over..

First Big Boy Tomato of the season is doing well :)

Plum Tomatoes are doing great too!

First Zucchini!! About 3" in length now!!

Low Calorie Mexican Pizza!

When I'm stuck for dinner, I tend to usually make this, or something like it. It's quick, easy, and low calorie. Here is my version of mexican pizza!

What you'll need/Breakdown:

Low Carb 10" Tortilla: 80 Calories

Low Fat Shredded Cheese: 120 Calories (I used a mexican blend, 1 1/2 servings)

Fat Free Refried Beans (canned): 30 Calories (2 tablespoons)

Light Sour Cream: 40 Calories (2 tablespoons)

Salsa: 10 Calories (2 Tablespoons)

Scallion

Taco Seasoning

Cumin

Total: 280 Calories

HOW TO:

Lay tortilla on a microwave safe plate. Spread the refried beans over the tortilla, and sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.

Add taco seasoning and cumin to your liking over the cheese.

Microwave until cheese melts fully, I usually microwave this at 70% heat for a minute and a half to start, and continue in 30 second intervals until melted fully so that the cheese doesn't over cook and get hard. 

Once melted, spread sour cream, then salsa over the top, and sprinkle chopped scallions.

Cut into 6 pieces with a pizza cutter and you're done!

Baked Cheesy Zucchini and Squash

Last week I decided to re-work a Pinterest recipe that I had found. It sounded great and combined two of my favorite things, zucchini and cheese. How could it go wrong? Well, other than my biggest zucchini having a strange bug that had tunneled through the whole thing, it tasted great! (No, the bug zucchini wasn't used, so this recipe for me definitely had way more yellow squash then zucchini.)

Here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

Two Medium Zucchini

Two Medium Yellow Squash

A reduced fat bag of shredded cheese (I used a 4 cheese mexican blend)

Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Basil & Parsley

Non stick Spray

Baking Dish

Preheat oven to 350*. Then spray down baking dish with non stick spray. Then cut up the squash and zucchini and combine in baking dish.

Add in all spices to taste (extra garlic and basil for me!) and mix.

Fold in shredded cheese (I used about 1 cup of cheese). Use a little bit of extra cheese to cover the top off.

Place in oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or longer, depending on the crunch level you want on the squash and zucchini. Mine took about a half hour, and I also mixed it up one time in the middle to move the cheese around. Once the veggies are at the doneness you like, put the oven on broil to brown the top of the cheese.

Serve with a chopped up scallion on top, and you're done! 

At only 60 calories a serving (makes 6 servings) this is an awesome dish to curb your cheese craving, while getting a fair amount of veggies at the same time! 

Enjoy :)

Todays Bento

Breakdown:

Cheese Cubes: 120 Calories (8 pieces)

Turkey: 66 Calorie

Rosemary Wasa Toasts: 70 Calories (2 sheets)

Laughing Cow Cheese: 35 Calories

Cucumber: 2 Calories

Hummus: 70 Calories (2 tbs)

Baby Carrots: 31 Calories (22 pieces)

Total: 394 Calories

Todays Turkey Wrap Bento

I made this wrap for lunch yesterday, it tasted amazing so I decided to make it again. You can see the specific ingredient breakdown of the wrap HERE.

 Breakdown:

Turkey, Veggie, and Hummus Wrap: 299 Calories

Laughing Cow Swiss Wedge: 35 Calories

Rosemary Wasa Toasts (2): 70 Calories

Total: 404 Calories

Awesome 300 Calorie Wrap!!

I made this wrap for lunch yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I could eat it every day and not get sick of it. I even brought another one today in my Bento lunch. So fresh and tasty!

Heres the Calorie and ingredient breakdown:

Sundried Tomato Wrap: 150 Calories (SOMEONE find me lower calorie wraps!!)

Turkey: 66 Calories (2 oz)

Hummus: 70 Calories (2 tbs)

Cucumber (chopped): 2 Calories

Carrots (shredded): 4 Calories

Tomato (chopped): 7 Calories

Salt, Pepper, Dill to taste.

Total Calories: 299 Calories!

Thats it! Even with a 150 calorie wrap.

And the garden begins..

This past weekend was CRAZY. We filled the sandbox around the swing set with six yards of sand, had my parents over to help, and about four of our friends over to help as well. So we put the all guys on sand patrol, and my mom and I started the garden. We decided on planting; Plum Tomatoes, Big Boy Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, and Yellow Squash. ALL of my favorites!

A frog decided to make its way in to the planter box as soon as it was set up to welcome the garden, so our little man was fascinated, he loves frogs!

Within the next few days, we added some small fences for the vines to grow up.

Since then I've also planted marigolds around the border (another compliment to my mom for the idea, and the flowers) to deter bugs away. I'll get a photo of that soon, because it looks crazy pretty. 

The cucumber plant has grown the most, and is already starting to sprout flowers! I can't believe how fast those showed up..

I think one of the biggest reasons I'm excited about this, is the time that little man and I will have this summer taking care of the garden. He's the best little helper. I remember, growing up in New York, my grandfather ALWAYS had a vegetable garden (much bigger than mine of course, I'm just a rookie). That would be one of my favorite parts of summer, helping him in the garden, and of course, the first tomato sandwich of the season. I've already promised him the first tomato that I grow on my own. I can't wait to sit with him and make a sandwich with it. Now I get to enjoy the time in the garden with my son, like grandpa and I got to enjoy it when I was younger.

Here's my big boy helper watering the plants.

..and look.. there's even a rainbow.

Quick & Easy Turkey Wrap

Heres a quick and easy snack or lunch on the go!

Light veggie cream cheese: 60 Calories (2 tbs)

Turkey: 33 Calories (1 oz)

Cucumber: 2 Calories

Tortilla: 75 Calories

Dill, Salt, Pepper, whatever spices you want to taste

 

Total: 170 calories