Lay Off Me, I'm STARVING!

So, yesterday, I made it through my first day back to work in about a month. Barely, but I did. And now I know that whoever 'they' are, they are right to say that you should never let yourself get to the point where you are starving, because then you end up eating more than you should.  That most definitely happened last night, but it was out of my control yesterday.

After working an 11-hour day, my usually, 45-minute commute turned into about an hour and a half. I was STARVING by the time I walked in the door. I tried to tame my hunger with some cauliflower and Bolthouse Blue Cheese dressing, but the damage had been done. 

I'm talking Chris Farley as a fat girl, starving.

I made the Hungry Girl Mac n' Cheese and it was tasty; however, next time (and there will be a next time) I'm not going to bake it. I'm just going to eat it after pouring the ooey, gooey, cheesy mixture all over the noodles and cauliflower.

This was one time where I did follow pretty close to the original recipe, I just halved it so that it didn't make 4 servings:

Cauliflower Mac n Cheese
(6 points for 1 1/3 cup)

These are the measurements to make 4 servings, I halved each ingredient-3 cups frozen cauliflower florets
-4 1/2 oz. (about 1 1/4 cups) uncooked high-fiber elbow macaroni
-5 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese (I used 2)
-1/4 cup fat-free shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't halve this)
-1/4 cup fat-free milk
-2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
-2 tsp. Dijon mustard
-1 tbsp. butter
-1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
-1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with nonstick spray.

2.  Place cauliflower in a large microwave-safe bowl; cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Uncover and stir. Re-cover and microwave for 2 - 3 minutes, until hot. Roughly chop cauliflower, return to the bowl, and cover to keep warm.

I used the colorful cauliflower. It doesn't effect the taste at all, it's just pretty

3.  While the cauliflower is cooking, cook pasta. Drain pasta and stir into cauliflower. Cover to keep warm. 

4. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine cheese wedges, shredded cheese, milk, sour cream, and mustard. Mix well. Microwave for 1 minute, or until cheeses have melted. Stir. 

I used coconut milk instead of dairy milk just because that's what I drink and I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream. It all worked out in the end

5. Add cheese mixture to the pasta and cauliflower. Stir to coat. Transfer contents to the baking pan.

This is where I'm going to stop next time. Look at that ooey, gooey-ness! No need to bake it away and you'll save a point for not using the bread crumbs

6. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter for 20 seconds, or until melted. Add panko breadcrumbs and seasonings, and stir to coat. Evenly distribute mixture over the contents of the baking pan.
Bake until lightly browned, 25 - 30 minutes. 

Look, I even portioned out the other half for lunch for today (I had to, otherwise I would have eaten it all!)

I also made the zucchini boat to go along with my cauliflower mac n' cheese (did I mention that I was STARVING!?):

Zucchini Boat
(2 points for 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese)

1. Slice a zucchini in half. Slice off the bottom to keep it stable. 

2. Brush with olive oil and top with garlic or garlic powder. 

3. Top with sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Use mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese or mixed blend.. 

4. Bake 375 for 20 to 30 minutes until soft.

No complaints, I just recommend you do cook it all the way. I was too hungry to wait till it was all the way done

I was proud of myself because I also fit in a 3-mile run after the long work day, and I of course made time for a glass of wine before bed.

I look tired...and old

Okay, now back to work!