Unlimited Vegetables!

So I put on some weight, more than a little and I have to lose some, more than a lot.  I  tried it on my own, but sitting in my room all day long watching old movies on Netflix and playing internet games while I snack on a couple of thousand calories a day didn't do the trick so I had to get professional help.  I told the dietitian I did not understand why I wasn't losing weight, I only ate a couple of times a day.  But when we broke down the foods I was eating and the nourishment I was not getting I suppose I should have been happy that I was just fat and not suffering with rickets or gout.  Turns out I don't do breakfast, which could be a quick remedy but there was something missing from my diet that was pretty important.  I got my grains, lots of wheat, the white kind that's bleached and stripped naked, I love making bread, pasta, macaroni; no problem there.  I do fruit, love bananas, mangoes, apples, oranges, pears so I think I'm good.  But the dietitian disagrees with me, she says I'm missing something very important--vegetables.  Now I don't have anything against vegetables I eat lots of potatoes and peas, but I'm told that a potato is not considered a vegetable; I'm thinking does Mother Nature know about this?  The she tells me that I need to have two thirds of my plate full of vegetables, but not the starchy kind, you know the ones I get from the vegetable garden who have no business being there.  I'm told to eat more vegetables and since the ones I'm used to have just been thrown out of the works, I have to introduce myself to some new garden pals an to encourage to do so she tells me I can have all the vegetables I want; no limit, all vegetable are free.  So I'm faced with a challenge, going to the grocery store and finding something to fill two thirds of my plate with.  What to do?  This blog was created because in my determination to lose weight and get healthy I discovered something I never suspected would happen--I discovered vegetables, green, yellow, orange, red, purple--I found a variety of tastes and textures and the most remarkable thing of all was that I learned that they were so good, I fell in love with them. 

Pasta lover get ready, for a squash called spaghetti....

       So I went to the store and spent more time in the produce department that I usually do in a year.  I got green leafy things, white asparagus, root vegetables, three kinds of cabbage, two squashes--buttercup and spaghetti, not to mention fresh Brussels sprouts and salad greens, lots of lettuce and tomatoes.  I struggled with the peppers; they were bright and pretty, but the last time I had bell peppers they were green and they seemed to ruin the dish they were in and I burped them up for like a day after I'd eaten them.  But the sweet little Italian woman grabbing a bag of them told me not to worry, the red, yellow and orange peppers were sweet and delicious.  I needed to buy three and I would not be sorry.  So I bought them, more because I like the Italian lady than I thought I was going to like the peppers.  The next day I was anxious to try my veggies, so I decided to make a chicken cacciatore with lean chicken breast, a dry Chardonnay with black olives, mushrooms and gold and red peppers.  I chopped a medium onion and steamed it in a dutch oven because I don't want the added calories or fat from any oil.  Once it starts to sweat, I pour in a cup of wine and put my chicken in to begin cooking.  I've sliced my bell peppers, quartered my mushrooms and drained a can of large black olives.  I season the chicken with salt and pepper, add a tablespoon of chopped garlic and add the vegetables with another cup of wine and a can of diced tomatoes.  I let it come to a boil on high heat, then cover it and reduce heat to a simmer.  This has got to  simmer for a good forty five minutes to an hour so the flavors can marry and the sauce reduce.  I have aways put a couple of tablespoons of sugar into my cacciatore, but I don't want sugar, so I add two tablespoons of Stevia before the slow simmer begins.  Now it's time for me to cut the spaghetti squash open, pull out the strands and seeds and put it into the oven for a baking time of bout 45 minutes, making sure it's tender before I take them out.  The squash is done before the cacciatore so it has time to cool off, but already I can see why it's calle spaghetti squash, it breaks off into long strands that look just like spaghetti.  The cacciatore complete, I let it sit for ten minutes before serving.  In the meantime, I take half the squash and start pulling at it's flesh with  fork watching the yellowish strands pile onto the plate.  If I was not aware of the fact that this was going to be  plate of squash, I could be fooled into believing it was real pasta.  But what about the taste?  After pouring a cup of the cacciatore onto the plate, I give myself a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and it's looking pretty good and smelling wonderful.  My first forkful put a smile on my face, it's not bad.  The second fork full has me nodding and by the third I'm groaning my pleasure.  Spaghetti in a squash, what a wonderful surprise!  I recommend it highly and cannot see why it would not do some lean turkey meatballs and sauce proud.  I can also see how a good pesto with basil and a few sun dried tomatoes would be good  with it.  The squash has a winter flavor a bit nutty and not sweet.  The texture is fresh and crispy and the squash is sort of a blank canvas, ready to take on the flavor of it's partner on the plate.  

Chicken Cacciatore Over Spaghetti Squash

One pound of Chicken Breast Tenders

On medium onion

One tablespoon of garlic

One Red Bell Pepper

One Yellow Bell Pepper

Twelve ounces of mushrooms, quartered

One can of black olives, drained

One twenty four ounce can of diced tomatoes

Two cups of White Wine

One Spaghetti Squash