ClearlyFabulous

I take my health seriously, at least when I’m not eating thin crust pepperoni pizza and eating gummi bears after a night of drinking too much.  But how seriously (and costly) should I take my health?

Today at lunch I headed to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to pick up some healthy, organic eats:  whole wheat pastry flour (for the best whole wheat pumpkin muffins ever), pumpkin butter (my fave brand McCutcheon’s), pearl barley, quinoa, natural peanut butter, everything crackers, multigrain savory thins… and ahem, a few (well, four to be exact) bottles of wine.

Jory and I walked about the Whole Foods store, searching for the above mentioned whole wheat pastry flour in every single corner until we asked for help.  I was AMAZED by how expensive things were – raw organic peanut butter for $21.99 a jar?  Yogi brand ginger tea for $4.99?  (I bought the exact same stuff at TJ’s for $2.99.)  I could go on and on and on…

So, after I spent $13 for barley, quinoa, pumpkin butter and whole wheat pasty flour, I noticed an advertisement for personal shopping curbside service.  Seriously?  It isn’t already bad enough that you are spending $3.99 per lb for heirloom tomatoes and $6.99 per lb for chicken sausage, but you also want to spend some EXTRA fee for personal shopping with curbside pickup?

I make a decent chunk of change, but I cannot IMAGINE spending $250 on groceries for a week and a half AND being too lazy to walk around the (expensive ass bourgeoisie) store to buy said $250 groceries so instead spending MORE money…  I am confused at best.  At the very least, I am positive that I will NEVER make enough money to buy all my groceries at Whole Foods and get them curbside delivered to my convertible Audi. I mean, how else can I afford all that premium gasoline? 😉

So, Jamison and I are doing 10 days on Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet to rid ourselves of sugar cravings and prep ourselves for a new healthy lifestyle.  You guys know how challenging eating healthfully is for me, due to my love of Mexican food and steakhouses and cheeseburgers… But I have a goal to drop 30 pounds by the end of the year.

This new dish – a fakeout of lasagna – will make it super easy for us to stick to the plan:

I sliced and grilled two medium eggplants and 3 large zucchini (sliced lengthwise) with non-stick cooking spray, salt and pepper until they had nice grill marks.  While the eggplant and zucchini were grilling in batches, I browned 20 oz of ground turkey and then mixed it with a large can of Hunts tomato sauce (reserve a few tbsp) and spices.  I let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

To layer the “lasagna,” I put the reserved tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 X 13 glass pan.  I layered eggplant on the bottom, topping it with some of the turkey and sauce mixture as well as 1/2 pint of part skim ricotta.  Next I layered zucchini and added the sauce and remaining ricotta.  Finally, add the remaining eggplant slices and top with 8 oz finely shredded part skim mozzarella. 

Thickly slice a vine-ripened tomato and place on top of the mozzarella layer (cover with basil and oregano.)  Bake uncovered on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.  To finish, broil the top for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into eight portions.

One servings has approximately 400 calories, 28g carbs, 29g protein, and 20g fat.  (I used 80% lean ground turkey but you can use 95% lean ground turkey or chicken breast and/or less cheese for less fat.)  Serve with 1 cup steamed veggies for an additional 30 calories and more fiber.

This dish was truly delicious to me!  I like it with the grilled eggplant and zucchini even better than traditional noodles.  Dishes like this will make it easy for me to stick to my plan and reach my goal!  Please do try it out.  Next time, I’ll try to take more pictures of the entire process.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a lovely afternoon of wine, swimming/tanning and delicious fresh Florida scallops!  After an hour and a half at the pool and checking out Amy’s bedroom overhaul, we headed back to her house to start on the scallop ceviche and baked scallops:

Scallop ceviche made with jalapenos, cilantro, fresh lime juice and scallions.  Served with pita chips.  So tasty and refreshing!

Prepped for the oven with pinot grigio, butter and parmesan – simply delish on the scallop shells.

Fresh out of the oven – so tasty!

We served the baked scallops with yellow rice, which was perfect for catching the juices!  I would’ve eaten even more if I had the chance. 🙂