Day One hundred and thirty-one

Purees for the freezer: Green puree (which is a blend of spinach, broccoli, and peas; Recipe: Sneaky Chef).

Mini drop-meatballs (turkey). Meatballs take me forever to make, so I decided to make seven lbs. worth and freeze for future use. Given the giant bowl of turkey I had in front of me, I decided to make them drop meatballs, and save myself some time. I bake them to save myself the extra time of frying, and also they're so much healthier.


Dinner: Magic wontons (which are just the turkey meatballs from above, wrapped in wonton wrappers and lightly pan-fried; Recipe: Sneaky Chef), steamed veggies, and oranges.

Day One hundred and thirty

Breakfast: Whole wheat carrot apple muffins (recipe: Annabel Karmel), with fresh cantaloupe. My little daughter made these with me, she loves feeding carrots and apples into the food processor to be shredded. They were SO good!

Dinner: Leftovers- ended up using that turkey tetrazzini from the other night sooner than planned!

Day One hundred and twenty-nine

Dinner: Tilapia with pineapple-mango salsa (recipe: Allrecipes.com), whole wheat couscous, and steamed broccoli.

Day One hundred and twenty-eight

Dinner: Pizza, steamed vegetables, and fresh cantaloupe. We were supposed to have leftovers tonight, but no one was in the mood for boring leftovers on a Friday evening. So, my husband ordered pizza, and we all loved him for it!!

Day One hundred and twenty-seven

Dinner: Turkey tetrazzini (crockpot; recipe: Crockery Cookery), steamed carrots, and apples. We had a big bowl of leftover turkey breast from the other night's mini-Thanksgiving, and this was a good way to use up that extra turkey. I doubled the recipe and froze half to use for a future dinner.

Day One hundred and twenty-six

Whole wheat braided loaf (dough made in the bread machine). I used to be afraid of braiding bread, but thanks to my friend Christie, it's now a piece of cake. ;)

Bread: After.

Dinner: Spaghetti squash Parmesan (with butternut squash puree), mixed vegs, and sliced pear. This is my older daughter's absolute favorite meal. Her (known-to-be-very-picky) friend stayed for dinner and told her mom she "loved" this dinner. I was so thrilled to see a picky kid eating so healthy.

Here's the recipe.  It's inspired by my friend Danielle, who first made this dish for her boyfriend's birthday dinner.  It’s incredibly simple to make, and has an additional health boost hidden inside. To make this dish, cook both a spaghetti squash and butternut squash. Either wash, pierce with fork, and microwave each for 2-3 minutes per lb, or prepare the spaghetti squash as instructed here and butternut squash as instructed here. Next, scoop the spaghetti-like strands from the spaghetti squash into a 9 x 13 baking dish (I always prefer glass dishes). Gently mash the butternut squash, and mix 2/3 cup of butternut squash with one cup of your favorite marinara sauce. Mix well into spaghetti squash strands. Spread two cups of shredded light mozzarella cheese over the top of the baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly. The butternut squash may seem like a surprising addition, but it mellows the tartness of marina, and makes it more

Day One hundred and twenty-five

Lunch: Spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs.

Dinner: Roasted turkey breast, mashed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, gravy, and healthy creamed spinach. Somehow, we ended up with a mini-Thanksgiving in the middle of a snow storm!


Purees for the freezer: Butternut squash

Day One hundred and twenty-four

Dinner: Three-bean turkey chili (with carrot puree, butternut squash puree, and shredded zucchini) served over brown rice, with light shredded cheddar and light sour cream; fresh sliced strawberries, and green beans. Perfect for a freezing cold evening!

Day One hundred and twenty-three

Dinner: Chicken or beef burgers (chicken for the girls and I; beef for my husband) on whole grain sandwich thins with romaine lettuce and tomato, egg noodles in a light cream sauce, vegetable medley, and orange slices. Eating vegetable medley is getting really old, but good vegetable options are so much more limited in the winter, and I feel better knowing we are at least getting variety. I vow to find something more interesting the next time I'm at the store!

Day One hundred and twenty-two

Dinner: Balsamic chicken and vegetables (crockpot; recipe: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow), quinoa with diced zucchini, and vegetable medley.

Day One hundred and twenty-one

Dinner: Turkey, brown rice, and vegetable casserole; salad, and cantaloupe.

Day One hundred and twenty

Breakfast: Whole wheat blueberry pancakes.

Dinner: Chicken potpie with a whole wheat biscuit crust (crockpot; recipe: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow), green salad with steamed veggies, and cantaloupe.

Day One hundred and nineteen

Breakfast: Egg white omelet with cheese inside of a whole wheat bagel thin, and strawberries.

Lunch: Steamed veggies (alongside leftovers from last night's dinner).

Dinner: Black bean veggie burgers (recipe: Double Delicious) on whole grain sandwich thins, and strawberry/blueberry fruit salad.

Day One hundred and eighteen

Barbecue chicken and cornbread casserole (crockpot; recipe: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow)

Dinner: BBQ chicken and cornbread casserole, green beans, and cantaloupe. This recipe was interesting-- the cornbread cooked in the crockpot right on top of the chicken. It was a little saucier than I'd like, but my husband, who loves BBQ, was all about it.

Day One hundred and seventeen

Breakfast: Strawberry-blueberry smoothies

Fruit salad. We were at my parents' for Sunday dinner, and fruit salad was my only "cooking" of the afternoon.