Stuffed Zucchini

As you may have read, one of my goals for this year is to stay on top of my healthy eating so I can reach my target weight. I'm not trying to do anything drastic, just get a little more slim so I feel more confident come shorts and dress season. I was very good over the course of 2012, I lost 10 pounds doing basically nothing but portion control, but I sort of quit paying attention around November and gained half of it back. Oops!

Seeing as how this year mostly consists of me completing my Master's thesis, managing my habits is a little challenging. One of the ways I've been maximizing my efforts is by using an app called "Lose It!". This app is pretty straight-forward: you enter your height and weight, your target weight, and your frequency of exercise and it'll create a calorie budget for you. Every day I track what I eat (calories AND nutritional information) as well as how I exercise. This has helped me tremendously, partially by reminding me of proper portions, and partially because I know that if I get up and lift some weights for a bit I'll earn enough calories to "pay" for an extra snack or dessert.

In order to stick to my calorie budget I've slowly been cutting back on carbs (nothing drastic, just one less serving every few days or so) and substituting vegetables. This isn't so much of a dieting move as it is a lifestyle change. Two years ago I got my veggies from Spaghettios-- tonight I had two types of veggies and no grains at dinner, so I've come a long way, people! It's become a lot easier to incorporate veggies now that I have picked up a variety of ways to cook my favorite ones.


This is a recipe I tried for the first time tonight and it's definitely going to become a regular member of my vegetable club. It's very quick (about 5 minutes) and easy, super delicious, and you can completely change the flavor to suit your mood (and not get bored with it) just by swapping a few ingredients. Check it out!

Stuffed Zucchini

First I preheated the oven to 375. I sliced 1 zucchini in half lengthwise and scooped out the flesh. I chopped this up and put it in a small bowl. Then I added 1/4 cup diced tomato, a few shakes of garlic powder, some chopped onion, about 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs, a handful of chopped parsley, and a little cheese (you can use whatever kind you like). I mixed this all up and then spooned it back into the zucchini halves. This went into the oven for about 15 minutes and it came out delicious.

This recipe really is satisfying and filling, and it's a great way to get carbs that won't stick to your butt. Plus it looks super impressive, so you can make this for your next party or gathering if you're trying to make a statement about how awesome you are. It's what I plan to do. Enjoy!