Weekly Fuel: A Guilty Tasting Dinner

As I have mentioned previously I have been using my family as guinea pigs. Ever since my wife and I began running it has sparked quite and interest in all around improvement of health in the family. So while I am here we have decided to go for it and all get to that optimal health together, under my guidance. Even people I did not think would be on board are on board. So I was inspired to post this because of the comments at dinner. Over the past week I have been guiding the family as to what should be eaten for breakfast and lunch, all the while teaching what certain foods can do to your daily caloric intake, as well what wholesome food can do for your belly. Now for the comments: mmmm... Wow...., what is this...., and most important, I feel so full on such a small portion. Well I got news, it wasn't just your belly that was full, it was your mind as well. that fact that the food tasted rich and unlike the misconception of "health food"  tasted good. It tricked you mind into thinking that you ate something guilty and satisfying. These types of dinners are not magic it's just a home cooked meal with conscious choices for ingredients and portion size. So enough ranting and down to the nitty gritty. The good stuff.  I’m fairly certain that the star of the night was the spaghetti squash, along with that was a simply sautéed piece of chicken breast and a tomato salad.

All of this packs just; 300 calories, 8.2 grams of fat, 17.4grams carbs and 28.3 grams protein.

sauteed chicken breast
serves: 6
Ingriedients:
3-8 oz chicken breasts
slat and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
3 thyme sprigs for each side

Directions:
Place one breast at a time into a heavy plastic zip top bag, pound it out to 1/2 inch thick with a rolling pin. once all chicken is pounded, place on sheet tray. Crack fresh pepper and sprinkle garlic powder onto. put thyme sprigs on each side and let sit for and hour. heat a non stick pan to med-high heat and then spray with pan spray. season the chicken with salt just before it goes into the pan. cook on each side to a golden brown and until its cook through. let rest and portion by cutting each breast in half.

Spaghetti squash gratin.
serves 6
Ingriedients:
1 spaghetti squassh
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
heat the oven to 375
poke hole all over the squash with a fork, bake in a 375 oven for about an hour or until the squash is soft.  once cool enough to handle remove the steam in and split in half long ways. remove seeds with a spoon careful not to remove too much flesh(you will lose a little this way). now using a fork scrape the flesh out completely and put in a bowl with spinach, sour cream and cheese. mix throughly and season with salt and pepper. place into a 8x8 pan and bake for 15 min on 375, then put on broil for 3 to 4 min until the top browns slightly. after 10 minutes of rest cut into.

Tomato salad
Serves 6
Ingredients:
12 large capri tomatos(quartered)
1 avocado(sliced)
1 red bell pepper(julienne)
1 tbsp aged balsamic
1 yellow onion(sliced 11/2 inch thick)
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
heat oven to 375
Lay the onions on a sheet tray, spray with pan spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until soft and sweet.
once onions come out of the oven, rough chop and put in a bowl, mix that with all other ingredients and let sit for one hour. season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken and squash.