What's Cookin' Wednesday: Lightened Up Cowboy Tofusketti

So I found this recipe for Cowboy Spaghetti on Lynn's Kitchen Adventures and decided that I wanted to lighten it up and make it friendly to the way that I eat. You can check out the original recipe here. After a few substitutions, here is the recipe that I came up with. Don't be scared of tofu shirataki noodles (by the way, most Whole Foods locations carry these). If you season them up, they are a great cure to carboholism. Obviously you can use whole wheat pasta if you are completely against using the tofu substitute, but the end result will have more carbs and less protein.

Lightened Up Cowboy Tofusketti

1 pound (2 packages) Tofu Shirataki noodles
3-4 Slices of turkey bacon, chopped
1 pound ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon (or so) of hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Brown and season ground turkey with the onion; add garlic in once the turkey is almost completely cooked. At the same time, cook the turkey bacon. The easiest way that I've found to cook turkey bacon is to cook it in the oven at 375* for 10-12 minutes to desired crispiness. Cooking spray works fine, no extra oil needed.

While cooking ground turkey and turkey bacon, rinse, drain, and dry tofu shirataki noodles. I got this from Lisa Lillien aka Hungry Girl. The noodles are very squishy and wet, so she recommends pouring the packs of noodles into a clean dish towel and folding to absorb more of the moisture.

Combine turkey bacon, ground turkey, hot sauce, tomato sauce, and tomatoes & chiles. Cook on low for about 8 minutes or until heated completely through.

Microwave the tofu noodles for about a minute or so to warm them while everything else is heating.

Add tofu shirataki noodles to mixture; season to your liking: I used a basic chicken seasoning, garlic powder, chili powder, and red pepper flakes.

Mix all together and make sure meal is heated; sprinkle with low fat shredded cheddar cheese and serve.

A serving is about a cup and a half; I eyeballed it.

Nutrition Facts

4 Servings


Amount Per Serving

Calories 251.6

Total Fat 2.6 g

Saturated Fat 0.5 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

Cholesterol 59.0 mg

Sodium 752.1 mg

Potassium 208.4 mg

Total Carbohydrate 13.9 g

Dietary Fiber 4.3 g

Sugars 5.3 g

Protein 40.2 g

Motivation Monday

Well, I'm 2 pounds down since my last weigh in...I thought I'd be more based on some random check ins throughout the week, BUT no...whatever; so I'm 1 pound down from my starting weight. I think one of the biggest issues and reasons why everything is moving so slowly is because I eat too late and I don't get enough sleep. Case in point, when all was said and done today, I got home at 8:30 and it's 9:45 and I'm just now finishing dinner. Unfortunately, because I live so far away from work and I have things to do besides going to the gym in the afternoon, this is not going to change for a few months at the very least. I'll just have to make due with this for now.

So part of my motivation for weight loss actually is food..I LOVE food, I always enjoy eating..I definitely don't live to eat, but I will never change my frame of mind to just eating to live to lose weight. I love trying new recipes and playing around with them to find ways to make them healthier and still delicious. I got to do this last night with a recipe that was orginally a Rachael Ray that I found on Lynn's Kitchen Adventures called Cowboy Spaghetti. I'll post the original and lightened up recipe on Wednesday for "What's Cookin' Wednesday"...It came out so well and I was really proud of myself!

My new mantra, which I have to think about every time I step on the scale for an official weigh in is that no matter what the scale says, I will still put 1000% into being healthy and losing weight...every day is a new day and every week is a new week.

**GIVEAWAY** Print Runner set of 250 Personalized Stickers-Ends March 13

I have been approached by Print Runner to host a fabulous giveaway for my readers! Print Runner works with you to create products to help your small business create recognition, as well as products you could use to label gifts from yourself or from your kids. This is why I wanted to be able to giveaway a set of Print Runner's stickers. These can be useful for all of us, whether we stock an Etsy shop, own a small business, love to give personalized gifts, or just have a child who goes to a lot of birthday parties.

Obviously you get to design your own set of stickers to suit your own needs. If you win, you will receive a set of 250 2" by 3.5" stickers. You have a choice of full color or black and white printing they will ship within 3 days of receipt of order.

Motivation Monday

Truth be told, I did not get on the scale today...I've been on vacation and having a lot of fun traveling through Texas with my friend. I know that I am completely bloated right now, and eating healthy was not the goal for this week. For me, this is all about happiness...the weight loss, etc, so I know that stepping on the scale and taking progress pictures will totally ruin the memories and great times of the weekend.

Although we did not eat the healthiest food over the weekend, we did do a lot of walking, which was great motivation for me to keep my goals in mind...It was great to spend time with my friend, walking around the Alamo, Baylor, the University of Texas, and the state capitol instead of just sitting and eating and sitting and eating. It kept us moving and we kept finding interesting things to check out.

I'll be back on track next Monday with some more motivation for all of us!

Shoegasm!

This brown pair of Luccheses would go with almost everything!



I love stonewashed cowboy boots! Women's Luccheses

Tuesday Ten

10. Low Sodium, Spicy V8: I drink a glass of this every night with my dinner, my friends call me an old lady for it, but I love that it gives me a serving of vegetables and vitamins. It's pretty tasty too and makes a great Bloody Mary

9. Aveda's Madder Root conditioner-this is great for adding a boost to your red hair..whether your hair is natural or dyed. I love it because it makes my hair shiny and really brings out the red that I put in it. It's all natural, so it doesn't damage your hair either!

8. White Barn Aromatherapy Candles-I burn candles all the time in my apartment...since it's so small, any cooking odor can take it over. These candles are strong enough to keep my apartment smelling great without being too over powering.

7. Have yall tried Cupcake's Sauvignon Blanc? SO delicious!

6. The Summer Set's cover of Kiss's Rock and Roll All Nite...seriously, listen...Brian Dales' voice...love love love it

5. Hungry Girl's Boston Cream Cupcakes
I am seriously in love with these cupcakes..at only 114 calories, they are the perfect dessert and won't ruin your healthy eating habits or put a day to waste

4. These making getting vitamin C easy...i get sick so easily at times, but at least I know I won't be forgetting my vitamin C with these!

3. I ordered this waterbottle from EarthLust and I carry it with me every day...I have a 30 minute drive to work and I try to finish one by the time I get to work...I also use it at the gym and when I run errands...I love the design on it too!

2. Day Glo sneakers and an iPod make my perfect workout...I can go from machine to machine to a floor work out...the music keeps me going and the shoes are just fun...definitely makes my daily work outs more exciting

1. Hungry Girl's Totally Nuts Creamy Chicken Salad

This makes such a filling sandwich...I've had it every few days for lunch for the past few weeks and it is delicious!

Motivation Monday

So I wrote about my big health push and never followed up...that's cool...well I'm glad to say that I have kept my commitment to myself for the past two weeks. I've been eating healthy, trying to work out 5-6 times a week (30 minutes of cardio at the least...) it's been wiping me out, but I think that I have just gotten used to being lazy and it's hard to break that habit. So far, I have lost 2 lbs...and I'm totally okay with the slow train...I'd rather do this slowly and steadily and make sure that I'm doing this for good, not just for now...

My lunches at work are usually a salad and a sandwich that I bring from home. Lately, I've been enjoying Hungry Girl's Totally Nuts Creamy Chicken Salad sandwiches, as well as slice deli turkey.

My only issue right now is getting enough sleep...I just don't feel like there are enough hours in the day...hopefully I can do some readjusting and fix that