Tuesday's (Newtritionista) Iron Chef Ingredient: Pumpkin

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I accidentally opened two cans of pumpkin puree over the weekend, when I only used a cup... (don't ask).... so I have ALOT of pumpkin to use. Today I decided to work it into every single meal!

Breakfast was Pumpkin Oats with Fage mixed with cherries on the bottom.

I ate ALL of the oatmeal, but I must admit, I ate very little of the yogurt (I did pick the cherries out). I want to like Fage so bad, and I just CAN'T. It tastes like sour cream. :-( And I have to put SO much stuff in it in order to make it bareable, the calorie content skyrockets. I prefer flavored Chobani. Why oh WHY can't they sell them around here?!

Work... sucked. Kids threw up, kids hit me, kids did this, kids did that... hmmm. Somehow, I do end up with a satisfied feeling at the end of the day, though. (Maybe I'm just proud that I didn't have a meltdown, scream and pull out all of my hair?! I don't know.)

Lunch break could not have come any sooner! I actually got to take it a little early today (Noon) because I had to go work in the infant room from 12:30 to 2:30. (The infant room is MUCH more relaxing... I love cuddling babies!)

For lunch I had packed another amaaaaaaazing salad. It consisted of romaine lettuce, sprouts, broccoli slaw, carrots, pumpkin, cauliflower, salsa, chickpeas and black beans. I drizzled on a tiny bit of light honey mustard dressing.

Then I had some leftover carrots from the kids' lunch. They were sweetened with maple syrup, I think, like on Thanksgiving! YUMMMMMM.

AND a peanut butter cookie. But it was small!

So I know I promised myself a workout today. However, I was little on my feet the ENTIRE day (except for my lunch break), and I WAS EXHAUSTED. Trust me, I exercised today. In fact, AARP says that the average childcare worker burns 211 calories per hour. I don't know about you, but I'd call 8 hours on the job a workout, then.

I had a hard time deciding on what to make for dinner. Kris wanted to heat up some of his leftovers, so I microwaved myself a spaghetti squash and turned it into a fantastic gourmet-esque meal.

Spaghetti Squash in a Spicy Pumpkin Marinara Sauce

The sauce's ingredients:

• 1 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 jar 9 oz. jar Festival Spicy Garlic marinated mushrooms
• 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• Ground Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Mix it all together and heat in a saucepan! The pumpkin adds an awesome flavor and works as a thickener. I LOVED this sauce. It especially complemented the spaghetti squash.

Here were the delicious mushrooms I added:

I had some steamed garlic asparagus on the side.

Ok. Bedtime. And I WILL get in a gym workout tomorrow. I will, I will, I will, I will.