Crazy. Beautiful. L!fe.

Spaghetti on a Calorie Budget - Zucchini Style!

I'd like to share another idea with you that I tried out tonight. It's absolutely delicious, and couldn't be simpler!

Mock Spaghetti, alongside a beautiful organic mixed greens salad with all of my personal favorite veggies.

Made with shredded Zucchini Squash in place of pasta, it offers a healthier option full of nutrients and REALLY cuts down on the calories compared to traditional spaghetti.

The great thing I've realized about zucchini squash is that it is SO MILD in flavor, and so similar to pasta in texture, that you can create dishes like this and not even notice you're eating squash. It completely took on the flavor of the spaghetti sauce, which made it really appetizing. You could try out any of your favorite sauces, (pesto would be delish!) and even add it to soups in place of pasta! (oh that gives me ideas!)

So if you're on a calorie budget, or just want to fit LOTS more green vegetables into your life without feeling like you're missing out on something, TRY THIS!

To be honest, this is really not a RECIPE. It's a method.

I took 4 raw, medium, organic zucchini and peeled the skin with my vegetable peeler. (I saved all the scraps for a green smoothie in the morning) Then I took the peeled zucchini and shredded it longways with my box grater. The reason I did it longways is because I wanted to see long pasta-like strands as if I were actually eating spaghetti. :) The 4 medium zucchini provided about 2 1/2 - 3 cups of "pasta."

I put the zucchini in the microwave for about 2 minutes just to warm it through.

I just topped with my favorite spaghetti sauce that I had heating on the stove and served it with a REALLY delicious organic greens salad made of romain, baby spinach, micro greens, diced tomato, broccoli, diced cucumber, baby carrots, cubed avocado, alfalfa sprouts, a pinch of shredded cheddar, and topped with a LITTLE homemade ranch dressing.

Note on store-bought pasta/spaghetti sauce. LOOK AT THE LABEL! Do NOT assume that just because it is made of tomatoes, OHHHH VEGGIES!, that it's automatically going to be good for you. Some carry a whopping 110 CALORIES FOR EVERY 2 TABLESPOONS! If you're on a calorie budget, that's NOT a good investment. Prego has a Chunky Garden Combination Pasta Sauce that affords about 90 calories per HALF CUP! MUCH better than some other brands. If you happen to know of or find a really tasty sauce that's even lower in calories, let me know! I'll be on the look out too!

Zucchini Squash = 18 Calories Per Cup as opposed to upwards of 190 calories per cup of regular spaghetti pasta, or 174 calories for whole wheat spaghetti pasta. I'd say that's a GREAT investment!

Hope you give it a try! :)

Bon Appetit!

Caloric Breakdown:

1 Cup Zucchini                         18

1/2 Cup Spaghetti Sauce          90

2 Cups Mixed Greens Salad
with veggies                            75

2 TBS Hidden Valley Ranch
Salad Dressing
(looking for a tasty swap)        140 

Total for Meal                         323

How I Get and Keep My Pearly Whites

Much of this blog is dedicated to the "real" life stuff, but let's be honest. Most of us want to feel AND look good while we're gettin' where we're goin. Ain't that right. :)

People have been asking me lately about my teeth: How do I get them white? How do I keep them white? And what do I use?

So, I'd like to share with you what I do, but first let me say that I am not a professional, nor do I insist that what has worked for me will work for you. Some people do have adverse reactions to whitening products, so before you start any new dental regimen, I suggest that you seek consult from your dental care provider, as what works for some may not work for all.

Ok, now that we have THAT out of the way, let's get to the GOOD STUFF! :)

I have always greatly admired people with brilliantly white teeth, and often find myself drilling (no pun intended) them as to how they do it. Most of the time, to my surprise, they don't have anything phenomenal to say! Often times it's just, "Uh...I use toothpaste." Naw, really, genious? Maybe I should start brushing my teeth, too. DUH!

Perhaps genetics plays some into just HOW white our teeth can become, but regardless, I'm going to try my best to have the most beautiful smile I can possibly achieve. So what I have found works for me was discovered by a lot of trial and error, and has resulted in a VERY VERY SIMPLE REGIMEN!!!

I happen to be prone to cavities, (genetics maybe?) so I try to always use a toothpaste that really goes to battle against tartar. My favorite so far is Colgate Total Plus Whitening.

The whitening power in this Colgate Total is nothing really noticeable, but it DOES help with the everyday wear and tear most Americans bear, like tea, coffee, soda, and smoking. (the latter 3 I do not suggest!) So for SUPER WHITENING I bring out the big guns! Which amazingly costs less than $10! Oh trust me, I've spent some money on more expensive whitening kits. Some were complete duds and some worked really well. This one, though, is by far my favorite, and probably the least expensive.

Plus White 5 Minute Speed Whitening Gel. Less than $10 at Walgreens.

You have 2 options with this product. You can buy it with a set that comes with a pre-rinse and a blue rubber mouth guard/tray, or just the Gel by itself. I recommend getting the Gel by itself. The mouth guard/tray isn't customizable, so it just doesn't rest close enough to the teeth in order to be most effective, which also causes excessive salivating inside the mouth. Sexy. I know.

You NEED a tray to keep the gel on your teeth. So, if you don't use the one this product offers, what do you use?

I got my customizable trays through Amazon.com. I just searched for INSTANT TEETH WHITENING TRAYS (WARM AND FORM). I got a set of 4 for less than $5 with shipping. :) All you have to do with those is dip them into some hot water, shake them off, and then form them to your teeth. They'll come with instructions. It's pretty simple.

So back to the 5 Minute Speed Whitening Gel. It's cheap, and super effective. I clearly saw results after the 2nd use. You can leave the Gel on for longer than 5 minutes, I wouldn't suggest more than 30, depending on the level of stain on your teeth. Also, the longer you use it, the more susceptible you are to teeth and gum sensitivity. So be careful. Better to use it for 5 or 10 minutes several times a week than 30 minutes once or twice and regret it. :)

So all I do is place the gel on the teeth I'm going to whiten with my finger,

and then slip the tray on over my teeth,

and go about my business as usual for the next 5-10 minutes.

After I remove the tray, I either rinse my mouth out with water and/or brush my teeth with just water, no toothpaste. And VUALA! Pearly Whites! :)After they're at the whiteness I desire, I give my teeth a rest...sometimes a few weeks...sometimes it winds up being a month or two..and then I realize, Hey! I should whiten my teeth again! So one tube of whitener can last a long time.

So there you have it! If you have your own method/regimen to get/keep your teeth white, share it with us! Or if you try the 5 Minute Speed Whitening Gel by Plus White, how's it workin for ya? 

Whatever you use, I hope you try to achieve the best and brightest smile you can. When you're confident in your smile, you'll find you do it A LOT MORE OFTEN! And the world needs more smiles. EVERYONE loves to be smiled at! :)

XOXO Mel

No Animals Were Harmed For The Consumption Of This Burger

Today I shopped at Trader Joe's for the first time ever, and let me tell you, I AM IN LOVE! They have SO MANY amazing organic products, and I can't wait to go back. I thought they were going to be more expensive than my regular grocery stores because it's organic and trendy, but I was SO pleasantly surprised that they were actually REALLY REASONABLY PRICED! Great values left and right, many BEATING OUT the prices I'm used to.
I have recently decided to stop consuming meat, for many reasons I will share with you soon, and I decided I wanted to consume more organic, raw foods as well. Not only are they INCREDIBLE for your health and help your body fight illness and disease, but by adopting a diet of mostly raw and living, or even just less processed food, you cut down your calorie intake as well.

WHO NEEDS BEEF?!?! Not THIS burger! :)

I sliced a piece of Trader Joe's Olive and Tomato Focaccia and grilled it on both sides using my cast iron grill pan with a little olive oil. SO YUMMY!!

I put one whole portabello mushroom in a skillet on med/med hi with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and let it cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side until it was tender and juicy. After it was done, I added sea salt and pepper. Tip: Never add salt to mushrooms until after they're finished cooking. If you do, the salt will draw out the water and make it rubbery when you eat it. Salt mushrooms at the very end to taste.

When the Focaccia was nice and toasty, I used a little vegan mayonnaise on each side. On the bottom I used hearts of romain for a nice crunch. Then I placed the mushroom. Then I sliced up some organic vine-ripe tomatoes. On top of that I added some organic alfalfa sprouts, which are SO GOOD FOR YOU! They have a very mild flavor and nice texture. You hardly taste them, but you know they're there because of the added crunch. Then I topped it off with the other piece of grilled focaccia. PARTY IN MY MOUTH!

As a side I had a small baked potato, topped with 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance buttery spread. It's soy butter that SERIOUSLY tastes like real butter. No joke!

This burger had SO MUCH FLAVOR, but best of all, it filled me up and DIDN'T WEIGH ME DOWN! I felt SO good about this meal. My body felt good because I fed it wholesome fuel, and I felt good because it was rather low in calories! (the calorie estimate below for the portabello mushroom is high. It wasn't a pound of mushrooms, so the actual calorie intake was even lower!)

1.0	Serving Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread					80.0 Cal
1.0	Serving Nature's Choice Alfalfa Sprouts					10.0 Cal
1.0	Pound Portabella Mushrooms					117.9 Cal
0.5	Item Potato Baked					80.4 Cal
0.5	Item Red Tomato					12.9 Cal
1.0	Serving Trader Joe's Tomato And Olive Focaccia					120.0 Cal
1.0	Serving Trader Joe's Vegan Mayonnaise					35.0 Cal
Total						456.2 Cal

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It!

A Piece of Reality

Some very exciting things have been happening in my life lately!

Despite the fact that I've had the flu for over a week and I threw out my back again, life is great! lol I decided about 3 weeks ago that I was going to audition for Biggest Loser season 10. I had been told I should on several occasions, but never before recently had I actually considered doing it. I asked my best friend Samantha if she wanted to audition with me as a team, and she jumped at the chance!

So I decided I wanted to search the fabulous web for ideas and any tips for the audition video required, and came across several message boards and youtube videos. One of the message boards had been created  by a previous contestant on the show, and had mentioned that one of the Casting Directors was also casting for a new ABC Weight Loss Reality Show, created by the same minds behind Biggest Loser, that's going to bring the personal trainer and other gurus to you...in your home...over the course of a year and document EXTREME weight loss success. They were looking for the "America's Sweetheart" type...someone America would want to get behind and root for. I thought, "Shoot...that's ME!" LOL So I went to the website, www.3ballproductions.com and looked at the show's casting info. The audition deadline had already passed several weeks prior! I emailed them anyhow, just in CASE they were still looking for someone. I included my information, weight, height etc, and a bit of my story, along with a few pictures.

To my surprise they emailed me back 2 days later, saying that even thought the deadline had passed, they'd like to see an audition video from me, and urged me to do it within a few days and rush it to them. WHAT?! REALLY?!!?!? WOW! Ok! Uh....how do I do this? Should I be funny? Witty? A total dork? Serious and emotional? Hmmm...how bout I just relax and let ME come out however it will. That's a good idea. So with the help of my hunny, Dave, I created a 28 minute audition tape that included my daily struggles, along with my hopes, dreams and desires, and WHY I want and NEED to lose weight.

It was actually really difficult to say my NUMBER out loud. Only a few people know my number. I had to really GET REAL with the team of people who were about to view this, but more importantly, I had to get real with myself. I had to watch the footage of me from views I don't usually get to see. Walking behind me. Walking upstairs. Sitting down from the side. It was all very real and raw. And so were my emotions about it. But it was a GREAT EXPERIENCE! I was really pleased with the way the video turned out. I stayed up until 5am editing, and emailed it through yousendit.com to the casting director. The NEXT DAY I got a call from them asking me to fill out an application and release form. In fact, they called me SEVERAL times that day for whatever reason, and I was SO EXCITED!

Several days later they told me that when I emailed them, they had already chosen their 6 people, but there was a chance that one of them was about to drop out, and if they did, that they would like me to come down to L.A. I had some serious praying to do. I wanted this so badly, but more importantly I wanted whatever God's will was for me. If I was meant to be on the show, I knew that changing circumstances would make it so. But I didn't want to get my hopes up because if that person who was about to drop out needed it MORE THAN ME, then I prayed for them to know what to do.

I was told that if they needed me I would get a call from them by the next Friday. I didn't get a call. I wasn't terribly disappointed. I just felt that deflation of the energy bubble that auditioning for a television show had created. Back to reality.
Welllllll......NOT SO FAST. :) I emailed the casting director I had been working with and thanked her for the opportunity, for being so helpful and encouraging, and for being so available. The next day she responded by saying that she thought I was great and have a "fabulous look." She reminded me that the Biggest Loser auditions were under way and that casting is just around the corner and said, "I DEFINITELY hope to talk to you again soon."
Ok...without jumping in there and reading too much into her words, I have a SLIGHT FEELING that if I audition for Biggest Loser, I JUST MIGHT have a small advantage. They've already seen me and liked me...enough that I was their back up in case one of their cast members dropped out. They might see my BL audition and say, "OH There's Melanie!" Again...I don't want to get my hopes up...but these are exciting times.
Either way...whether or not I'm on the show...I TRIED! And I learned so much about myself because of it...and I had a great experience. :) What is life if you don't try for the things you want?
So as SOON as I'm over this cold/flu I'm making my video. :)

Thanks for stopping by! xoxo Melanie

 

Welcome & Thank You!

First, I'd like to say THANK YOU for joining me here. I have been desiring to create a blog for some time. I've got A LOT to share! :)
So, why TEAM MEL? Well, when I was a little girl I heard that "TEAM" stands for "Together We Achieve More." That really stuck with me, and I think it's perfect for what I'm desiring to do here.
My desire, other than to share what's on my mind, is to create a place, an outlet, for others to find encouragement on their own journey, no matter what it is, and to share my story and my journey. We all have things in our life we want to achieve and overcome. . We are each so different, but made up of the same stuff, and I believe we each have to tap in to that same well of motivation that lies within. For me, nothing inspires me more than the success, and even struggles and trials, of others who are trying to reach their goals.

SO! Whether you are on a journey of weight loss success or something else that you are ready to tackle, please join me! I would love to see others inspired by my journey and the journeys of those around me! Take care and love yourself today.