A Junk-Foodaholic's Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle : A Junk-Foodaholic's Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Recipe for Low Carb Lasagna

Following is an example of how you can take a favorite 'high-carb' recipe and transform it into a wonderful low-carb dish.

What I did is substitute spinach for the lasagna noodles. My family loves it so consequently, I make this yummy dish once every other week.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it makes 2-9x13 pans of lasagna so you cook once and have dinner for several nights. And trust me, no one complains about eating these leftovers!

Low Carb Green Chili Lasagna

5 pounds Ground Chuck
Salt and Pepper to taste
16oz fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 stick Butter
4 - 8oz cans Tomato Sauce (with Basil, Garlic & Oregano)
2 tsp Garlic Powder
15oz carton Ricotta Cheese
8oz carton Sour Cream
8oz pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Green Onions, chopped
3 - 4oz Green Chilies, chopped
2 - 11oz pkg Baby Spinach leaves
5 oz pkg Parmesan Cheese, shredded
4 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

In a large pot, brown ground beef. Drain beef, then season meat with salt and pepper to taste.

Saute mushrooms in butter until tender. To the ground beef, add mushrooms, tomato sauce, and garlic powder. Simmer on medium-low.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together Ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, and green chilies. Set aside.

Grease 2-9x13 pans with butter or non-stick spray.

First Layer: Spinach

Open one of the packages of baby spinach leaves and divide the spinach equally between the two 9x13 pans.

Second Layer: Meat Mixture/Parmesan Cheese

Put a very thin layer of the meat mixture on top of the spinach in each 9x13 pan. Keep in mind, you will need to split this meat mixture up into four parts (2 layers x 2 pans). Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top of the meat mixture.

Third Layer: Green Chili/Cream Cheese Mixture

Divide the mixture evenly between the two 9x13 pans and place the green chili/cream cheese mixture on top of the meat mixture.

Fourth Layer: Spinach

Open the second package of baby spinach leaves and divide the spinach equally between the two 9x13 pans, layering it on top of the green chili/cream cheese mixture.

Fifth Layer: Meat Mixture

Divide the remaining meat mixture equally between the two 9x13 pans, layering it on top of the spinach.

Sixth Layer: Parmesan Cheese/Mozzarella Cheese

First, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top of the meat mixture in each 9x13 pan. Then top each pan of lasagna with 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and if the mozzarella isn't quite melted, cook for another 5 minutes, uncovered.

Makes 12 servings.

Carbs: 6.5 per serving.

The amount of carbs in a lasagna made with pasta is 36.5 per serving. And believe me, you won't miss the pasta.

Bon Appetit!

Thanks for reading!
Laura

© 2011 Thanks for taking the time to read A Junk-Foodaholic's Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle. Please feel free to peruse my blog for more great content.Mine and My Husband's Other Websites: HealthyPickyEater.com | PaulsHealthBlog.com

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Craziest Thing I've Ever Done

Well, I didn't win anything, but I did accomplish something. If anyone ever asks me, "What's the craziest thing you've ever done?" I can tell them, "I was stuck on a truck for 62.5 hours!"

I went into the competition prepared to win. Along with my shorts and 'Stuck on a Truck' t-shirt, I wore compression socks (much to my husband's chagrin) . I bought a back brace, though I never had to use it. I had three pairs of tennis shoes, a pair of Timberland's and a pair of Crocs flip flops to rotate throughout the contest. But the most important thing I did (and the reason why I hung in there for 62.5 hours) is I snacked on low-carb, healthy foods, drank mostly water, and took lots and lots of BarleyLife^TM.

I also had an amazing pit crew. I know I wouldn't have lasted more than 24 hours without them. My pit crew members were my husband-Paul, my daughter-Rachael, my son-Dylan, my mom, Joloyce, my sister-in-law-Cathy and my brother-Jeff. They made sure I had something to eat and drink and was rested. They also sat in the bleachers and interacted with me, to keep me awake and alert.

I took my first nap at twelve midnight, Sunday morning, on one of my fifteen minute breaks. My husband told me he would wake me up two to three minutes before it was time to get back on the truck. Instead of the nap refreshing me, it unsettled me more than anything. When I got back on the truck, I was shaking from head to toe.

Then about fifteen minutes later, the bank staff informed us that due to the thunderstorm, they were moving us inside the bank for safety reasons. We then all laid down on the floor and went to sleep.

Two hours later, they woke us up and led us back to the truck. By this time, my feet were killing me. All I could think of was that I was in pain. I felt miserable. Shortly after returning, I took both hands off the truck... I was done. My husband and daughter were there to take me home. They both said I acted like I was drunk. I don't remember much about those last few moments.

'Stuck on a Truck' was a great experience, though I will never do it again. I was told by a good friend of mine, Tim Secor (previous Stuck On A Truck competitor), that competing in this contest would be the hardest thing I have ever done. He was right. It was so much harder than I could have ever imagined!

I thought I was tough and I guess I still am. But I can't be stuck on a truck long enough to win one. As I write this blog post, there at twelve people still 'Stuck on a Truck'. Almost eighty-six hours... unbelievable!

Since coming off the truck, I have slept twelve hours. I'm still not caught up though, so I'm going to bed to get some more sleep!

Thanks for reading!
Laura

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

It's On... Thursday, 4/28/2011 is the Big Day!

Hey everybody!

Tomorrow is the big day! In less than 14 hours I will be 'Stuck on a Truck'! The Toad Suck Daze festival actually kicks off at noon Friday but the Stuck on a Truck contest starts a day earlier.

I have spent the last two and a half weeks preparing for the big event. I bought a 9 ft x 10 ft tent, an inflatable mattress, a lantern, and other paraphernalia.

The reason why I need all this stuff is so that on my breaks, I have a place to rest. All the contestants get a five minute break every hour and a fifteen minute break every six hours.

I am gathering everything together to take down to the Centennial Bank parking lot tomorrow morning. All of the contestants have to be onsite at 8 o'clock in the morning to take a drug test.

All 25 of us contestants appeared in the Log Cabin Democrat paper this morning with a short little bio about each of us. You can read the bios here: http://www.stuckonatruck.com/contestants2011.php

I am excited! Be sure to check my progress at http://www.stuckonatruck.com/index.html. You can click on either 'Contestants' or 'Webcam' to see how I'm doing.

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it! :)

Thanks for reading!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

It's Official... I'm a Stuck On A Truck Contestant!

I went to Centennial Bank Monday night to find out if I would be an actual contestant.

The bank lobby was filled with Stuck on a Truck wannabees and their friends and families.

After passing out Stuck on a Truck t-shirts, we waited for the 25 contestant names to be drawn.

After hearing so many names called before mine, I was getting a little nervous. You can imagine my relief when the lady said, "And the 25th contestant is... Laura Eilers!" Whew... that was a close one!

Naturally, I took it as a sign. The last name called... the last person standing! :)

Wish me luck! I am soooooo excited! You can read the newspaper article here.

Thanks for reading!
Laura

Thursday, March 31, 2011

I'm a Stuck On A Truck Contestant!

Well, one step closer to being a contestant anyway!

At 5 o'clock today, I heard The Point 94.1 announce my name over the airwaves. I promptly called the radio station and claimed my spot.

I'm so excited! I have to go by Centennial Bank tomorrow and make the claim official.

The Point 94.1 has already announced 16 names and will call out 44 more over the next two weeks.

On April 18, 2011, Centennial Bank will draw 25 contestant names and 2 alternates. So I'm not an official contestant yet but hopefully, on April 18th, I will become one.

Thanks for reading!
Laura

© 2011 Thanks for taking the time to read A Junk-Foodaholic's Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle. Please feel free to peruse my blog for more great content.
Mine and My Husband's Other Websites: HealthyPickyEater.com | PaulsHealthBlog.com