Low-Cal Pasta Dish? Yes, Please!

My kids love Try Something New Tuesday. Seriously. They get so excited about tasting new foods and helping me make the dishes. As such, my 8-year-old got it in her head a couple of weeks ago that I needed to make spaghetti with vegetables. I think this stemmed from the veggie lasagna I made a couple of months ago (that she LOVED).

As luck would have it, my sister pinned this recipe on Pinterest last week. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be a good option for my girl's vision. I showed it to her, and we decided it was going to be this week's TSNT post. 

Without further ado, here's the ensemble.

First, you're going to cook your ziti according to the package directions.

Next (or while the ziti is cooking), you need to chop some yellow squash, zucchini and onion. I did this in my food processor. My veggies were somewhere between minced and chopped. Smaller veggies are usually a little easier to persuade my children to eat.

The girl with the chopped/minced veggies.

Next, chop up a couple of tomatoes.

Then you're going to heat some oil in a large skillet. Add the squash, zucchini and onion, and saute for 5 minutes. 

Then add the tomato and some garlic and saute another 3 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add your pasta, some mozzarella, herbs, salt and pepper. I failed to get a photo of this. It was pretty though. Take my word for it.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, some salt and an egg.

Stir the ricotta mixture into the pasta/veggie mix.

Pour into a greased baking dish, and sprinkle with some more mozzarella.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or so.

I'm not sure I can adequately convey how much I loved this dish. The herbs make it. The kids loved it too. They asked if I was going to take photos of them eating it. But since I'm their mother, and even I am sick of photos of them eating and giving a thumbs up, I decided to restrain myself. 

And, although I didn't calculate the nutrition myself, the website said it was 301 calories and 16.5 grams of protein for A QUARTER OF THE PAN!!! I could totally eat a quarter of it. And I did some quick calculations in my head, and that sounds about right.

 Make this. Make it now. With all your summer veggies. You'll thank me later.

Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies

• 4 ounces uncooked ziti (this is about 1/4 of a 16 oz. box)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow squash (I used 1-1/2 very large squash)
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (I used 1 large zucchini)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (I used 1/2 of an onion)
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used 2 tomatoes)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. basil
• 2 tsp. oregano (I used Italian seasoning)
• 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• cooking spray

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion; saute 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper.

3. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, remaining salt and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly and brown.

Question of the Day:

What's your favorite summer vegetable?

Guest Post From My Baby Sister!

Much has been accomplished today. I survived (just barely) Insanity Max Interval Circuit. Then I did some work around the house while the littles played. We ran to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Afterward, they wanted to have a picnic on the deck.

The remainder of the day included more housework, homework and dinner. Exciting stuff, I know.

Which is why I was super-excited when my sister, Melissa, let me know that she had written a post about completing her P90X/Insanity hybrid! As fascinating as my day has been, I was pretty sure her hybrid success was just a bit more enthralling.

Melissa is my baby sister by nearly 11 years. Growing up, I absolutely loved having a sister that much younger. We had a lot of fun together when I bossed her around played with her. She's funny. She's an athlete. And she can dance like nobody's business to "Gonna Make You Sweat." 

Melissa with baby girl on Christmas 2012

Melissa got married last year. She had done a little P90X just prior to her wedding, so we had some fun with that at the reception. I call this look "constipated."

Without further ado, here's Melissa's post!

After I got married, I stopped doing P90X because I didn’t have the equipment/space in our 1 bedroom apartment (I think that was just an excuse).   After several months of marriage, I realized I had gained some weight.  I started working out sporadically, including a few P90X videos (I didn’t have the chin up bar, so I couldn’t do all the videos).  I ran a half marathon in November, but I hadn’t really lost any weight. (Honestly, I was not prepared for the half marathon… at all, but I did finish!)  I knew I needed to do something on a consistent basis, instead of doing random workouts with no schedule.  I got Insanity for Christmas, and began the P90X/Insanity hybrid on January 1, 2013. (SHOUTOUT: Jennifer introduced me to the hybrid!)  In early April, I completed the hybrid!  During the 3 month hybrid schedule, I lost 8 pounds and dropped one dress size.  I feel great!  I didn’t take any measurements or pictures, but my clothes fit better, and I have wayyyy more energy.  I tend to look for opportunities to take a few extra steps, including using the stairs at work (which is both great and terrible because I’m on the 4^th floor haha). 

Overall, I love the hybrid schedule.  For me, it is the perfect balance of cardio and weightlifting.  Insanity is incredibly mentally challenging, so I like just doing it every other day.  I would definitely recommend the hybrid schedule.  If you feel like Insanity is too much, then start out with P90X only, and build up to the hybrid. 

I feel like I should note that I didn’t drastically change my eating habits during this round of the hybrid.  I tried to be a little more aware of what I was eating, but by no means did I eat “clean.”  I still don’t.  That doesn’t mean it’s not important.  It just means that trying to change your health is a slow process.  I needed to focus on getting exercise incorporated as a part of my daily routine before trying to tackle my eating issues.  I have started a second round of the hybrid, and I plan to try to pay more attention to what I eat during this round.  It is a slow process, and I think it is important to realize that it is impossible to completely change lifestyles overnight, but you have to start somewhere.    

Thanks, Melissa! I'm so proud of you for sticking with it!!! You look great!