Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I've been all about zucchini these days. I put it on the side of everything, and I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into a dish! It's great! Here's one of my newest favorites that I am totally in love with: The Cheesy Zucchini Bake. You're probably thinking I'm off my rocker if I'm going to call this dish a healthy one, but I kid you not, folks: this dish is as healthy as it gets! You'll love it :)

Here's What You'll Need to Get Cooking:
3 Medium Zucchinis
3 Medium Squash
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic
1 Tablespoon of Dried Minced Onion
1 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon of Garlic Salt
2 Teaspoons of Dried Thyme
4 Eggs (Substitute Egg Beaters for a lighter option)
2/3 Cups of Light Sour Cream
1 Cup of Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Let's Get Cookin'
1. Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Slice zucchini and squash into 1/4" slices (if spears are too large, cut them down the middle first).
3. Heat oil in a large, nonstick frying pan.
4. Saute and stir squash, zucchini, garlic, onion, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt, and thyme until squash softens slightly. Remove from heat. Be sure not too cook it too long, or the veggies will become mushy when baking in the oven.
5. Beat together eggs (or Egg Beaters), sour cream, cheeses, and lemon juice in a medium sized bowl.
6. Place half of the sauteed squash and zucchini mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.
7. Spread half of egg mixture over top of sauteed zucchini and squash in casserole dish.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the remaining ingredients.
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling. Serve hot!
10. Enjoy!

 Find this recipe, and all of my favorite recipes, on my Nutrish & Delish board on Pinterest! Happy Cooking :)

85 Calorie Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I don't know about you guys, but there is nothing that I love more than cruising Pinterest for a delicious recipe that I can make healthy. Well, last week, I found one that takes the cake (no pun intented). I found a way to make strawberry cheesecake cupcakes that have no butter, eggs, oil, or any of that other celulite enhancing garbage! All you'll need to whip up these tasty treats is 4 things:

1 box of Pillsbury Strawberry Cake Mix
1 tub of Fat Free Cool Whip
1 box of Instant Sugar Free Cheesecake Pudding
12 ounces of Diet Cherry 7-Up

Now, Here's What You Do:
1. Empty contents of cake mix into large mixing bowl. Add 12 ounces of Diet Cherry 7-Up, and mix well with electric mixer.

2. Once everything is mixed, resist all temptation to eat the batter. This is, without a doubt, the toughest part of the entire process. However, licking the spoon is highly encouraged. :)

3. Place cupcake liners in a cupcake pan, and fill approximately 5/8 full of batter.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, and let them cool for at least 30-45 minutes before adding the icing.

5. While you're waiting for those puppies to cool, start whipping up your cheesecake icing!

6. Empty contents of Fat Free Cool Whip and Instant Sugar Free Pudding mix into a medium sized mixing bowl, and stir until everything is well blended. There should be no powder left over from the pudding mix.

7. Once your cupcakes are compeltely cooled, you may add the icing. When making them for Daniel and I to eat at home, I just used a spoon to add the icing. But, when taking them to a BBQ last weekend, I put the icing in zip-lock bag and snipped the bottom corner so that the icing would look a bit prettier.

Gettin' Cutesy
For an added touch of cuteness, I sprinkled on some chocolate sprinkles, and handmade some chocolate designs to place on top of the cupcakes. They looked great! You can skip them, but they only add about 15 extra calories, so I figured, why not?!

As you can see, my soon-to-be Nephew was REALLY enjoying the cupcakes ;)

A Crowd Pleaser!
Here's the best part: nobody knows they are healthy! People were going to town on them, and then confessing to me that they felt guilty about how they are going to have to do double time at the gym to burn them off. When I told them that each cupcake is less than 100 calories, they couldn't believe it! They were so moist and delicious, I even had my future Father-in-Law impressed :)

Find this recipe, and all of my favorite healthy recipes, on my Nutrish & Delish board on Pinterest!

A New Way to Inspire

As if sharing my weight loss journey with you all wasn't rewarding enough, the amazing people at Transformationpics.com, got in touch with me asking if they could share my story with their readers as an inspiration to reach their health goals. Of course, I was honored to do so. Check out the page that they dedicated just to me :)

While you're there be sure to browse through the other inspirational people who have lost an amazing amount of weight! They are truly an inspiration, and I feel so humbled to even share the same title as them. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for your support, kind words, and encouragement.

Here's What You've Missed....

Hey guys! I know, I know... it's been WAY too long since my last post. But, you wouldn't believe the things that have been going on! Well, for starters, Daniel and I got engaged!!! Yep, that's right! I'm getting married, and I cannot wait! We have set the date for September 21, 2013, so stay tuned for all kinds of budget friendly wedding planning tips, wedding dress workouts, and, of course, healthy recipes!

Daniel proposed to me by tricking me into going to a park, where he was there with his friend's band. Once I got there, he sang me our song, right before he proposed :) Oh, and he had the whole thing captured on video! Best. Day. Ever.

Celebrating the Engagement!

To top it all off, we are also in the process of purchasing our first home! So, needless to say, things have been a bit hectic over the past month or so. But, I am starting to get things under control now, so I am all yours again! It's good to be back :)

The ring! :)