Week 10: The dark horse.

Ladies and gentlemen, this race has a dark horse.

It is a horse who needed to be poked, prodded and cajoled to even join the race. He was a late addition to the race. He wasn't the horse I would have put my money on.

During week one this horse ate ice cream while all the rest of the horses choked down there hay.

Then, all of the sudden, the horse took off running. Now in the middle of the race the horse is in first place.

Which horse is number one?  The one that I am married to!

Okay, enough with the horse analogy. It is getting weird.

Back to who is number one. As I mentioned, it is my husband, Evan. This guy, the one who swore up and down that he wasn't going to be a part of this. The one who was not interested in participating in a family initiative to get healthier. The man who thought that an appropriate dinner was a bag of Doritios. The gentleman who, when asked where he wanted to dine that evening, routinely answered "Taco Bell". The guy who skipped breakfast, ate a lunch of chips and washed it down with about thirty cups of coffee, each with copious amounts of sugar. The man who hoarded candy and coffee cakes in a drawer on his side of the bed. The one and same person who thought that a Cesar Salad with full croutons and dressing was a healthy option. The man who was horrified when I suggested that he switch from who whole milk to 1%.

The same man described above has now lost over 10% of his original body weight. He cut all the sugar out of his morning coffee. He quit drinking soda. He made the switch to low fat milk. He is going for almost daily power walks. He has started to incorporate other types of exercise. He is counting calories and kicking ass. I alternate between being incredibly proud and wanting to kick him in the shin.

He also cooked our family dinner this week. It is okay ladies, I know you are jealous.

He made a low fat version of Chicken and Eggplant Parm complete with Spaghetti Squash noodles. It was a fan favorite.

Here is the recipe directly from the horse, err umm Husbands mouth.

Chicken & Eggplant Parm

Boneless Chicken Breast, butterflied, cut into smaller portions, and pounded (8 pounds) It feeds 20.

Bread crumbs to cover the top of the chicken once placed on the baking sheet (one large can)

Low Sodium Crushed Tomatoes (see the brand - it's in the pantry), seasoned to taste. (4 pounds total)

I used a food processor on half a red onion and garlic to brown in the pan before adding the tomatoes, black pepper & red pepper.

Skim Mozz

2 large Eggplants, cut into 1/4" thick Circles

2 spaghetti squash

40 ounces, radishes.

 

Cut radishes into quarters, toss in olive oil, sea salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 400F for 45-minutes to an hour.

 

Cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise, and Bake for 30 minutes at 400F (45 at 350), then use a fork to remove the insides (will look like pasta).  toss the squash pieces with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking.  Set aside.

 

Place the chicken / eggplant on baking sheets, cover the top in bread crumbs, and cook at 400F for 10 minutes (15ish for the chicken, depending on the thickness), remove, add sauce to the tops, sprinkle with cheese and place back until the cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

 

The vegan option was the Eggplant Parm without the breadcrumbs and Cheese, however, vegan cheese is available.