What I Ate Wednesday {WIAW #5}

Last month, I started taking part in What I Ate Wednesdays, hosted by Jenn.

Some months have a specific theme, and March’s was going green, encouraging us to share easy ways to add more green (or fruity…or “vegeteable-y” things) into your meals.  This month is geared towards sharing whatever you’d like, and I am all about it.

Some of you still might not understand why I take you through a day of eating with me, but the majority of the feed back I get from these posts is that they are encouraging and helpful, so I am going to keep rockin’ on!

My weekly goal in doing so is to not only to show you that adapting into a healthy eating lifestyle can be an easier than you think, but also that part of my healthy living lifestyle allows days or meals to treat yourself too.

I have never been one to deprive myself of any type of food, unless it is with an end goal of a photo shoot or something else short-term.  In that case, the only things I really cut out is desserts and carbohydrates.  Please understand this type of eating is always temporary.

In my normal long-term every day diet, however, I try to include every food possible.  I try to find ways to try new things and like my meals to be colorful!  I still eat pizzas, pastas and “hearty” Italian meals, but how I eat those things is by replacing healthier substitutions into my recipes.

This week I am sharing my favorite way to cook (and eat!) lasagna.  I posted the recipe last year, but re-made it for a group of friends last night.  Lightened up with substitutions, it was once again the crowd pleaser I was hoping it to be, and no one seemed to miss the extra calories.  Score!

Springing into April, I am going to give myself the focus of sharing some of my favorite “lightened-up” recipes with you each week.

Here we go!

WIAW #5: Dinner Party Chicken Lasagna

Knowing dinner was going to be a big night of eating and snacking, I tried to save some room by cutting out my snacking for the day. Instead, I enjoyed a small breakfast and a vegetable loaded lunch.

As always, I started my morning yesterday with a big cup ‘o joe.  I still cannot get enough of the Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut, and that is exactly what filled my cup with a tablespoon of stevia and  a little bit of vanilla soy milk.

On the side, I tried a new Chobani flavor: Non-fat Lemon.  It tastes different from all of the other flavors, and I found it surprisingly refreshing!

Per usual, I dumped a bit of Bear Naked Fruit & Nut Granola on to the top and mixed half of a sliced banana into it.  Perfect start to the morning!

Lunch

With a lighter breakfast and no mid-morning snack, lunch came quicker than I expected with a rumbling belly.

Scott surprised me by stopping at home during his workday for lunch, and I made both of us what I like to call “loaded” wraps.  Basically, I take anything left over from salads or previous meals in the refrigerator and wrap it up with some kind of meat and cheese!

Yesterday’s combination got two enthusiastic thumbs up from both me and the hubby.

I started with a Smart & Delicious™ Low-Carb High Fiber Tortilla and layered it with fresh spinach, cracked pepper deli turkey, tomatoes, chick peas, mushrooms, green olives, and Athenos Tomato & Basil feta cheese.

Wrapped up tight, I then dipped it into a side of Garden Fresh Greek-Style Hummus.  I finished it off with freshly sliced strawberries, a few green grapes and practically licked the plate.

Yum!

 Dinner Party

Scott and I hosted a dinner and game night with some of our Pistons friends last night, which I know equals my eating portions going straight out the window.  Hey… if I am having a good time with company and want to try out a little of what everyone brought I am okay with it.

I invited the ladies over earlier to help cook the main dish with me, and we had fun putting everything together in the kitchen while the boys were still at practice.

Not pictured is the copious amounts of chips and dips, red and green grapes, and glasses of wine that went along with the meal prep!

Shortly after all of the guys showed up, there were two chicken lasagnas ready to devour.

To show the girls how easy it can be to make healthier substitutions, I made one using my original chicken lasagna recipe (sans the mushrooms), and one using whole wheat lasagna noodles with mushrooms.

Both use shredded chicken instead of beef, low-fat cottage cheese, egg whites, and a lot of fresh seasonings!

I was very happy to see that even some of the guys went for the “healthier” version, and re-heated myself another plateful of it for lunch today.

On the side, I also had the salad from last night which was fresh spinach, romaine, diced red and green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, dressed in grape seed oil and vinegar.

Mmmm mmmm mmmm.

Rounding off last night’s meal was a slice of garlic Italian bread and a few small handfuls of these guys…

I told you I gave up my normal daily snacking to be able to go crazy at dinner!  Of course, it was completely worth it.

Happy Hump Day ya’ll!

• If you liked this WIAW post, head on over to Peas & Crayons to check out plenty others, or even link your own!

• Also, you can always find my latest What I Ate Wednesday posts by exploring the “WIAW” tag on the right hand sidebar.