This is MY year

I can't remember making a resolution I have ever actually stuck with, but I'm at the point in my life where I have two choices. I can either continue on the path I'm going down which offers little chance of ever being pain free, or I can make a change and get my act together.

Let me start by saying I don't want to be skinny - I want to be healthy. I've been on Akins, the 6-Week Total Body Makeover, and pretty much stopped eating for a while, but once I went off of it, everything I lost came back and then some. I know this sounds like a typical weight battle, but the emotional scars it has left of me will probably never heal. For now we'll leave those alone, but there may come a time along this journey that I will share them.

So, this is my year, this is THE year. Changes will be made and I am bound and determined to make the changes I need to in order to get healthy. I still have 10 months of school and I will probably slip, slide and fall along the way, but I'm using this blog to hold myself accountable.

Healthy Meal #1 comes from a book called Guilt Free Cooking. Coming in at only 345 calories a serving, Spinach Manicotti was something I wanted to try, but was totally skeptical of. I'm Italian, and if there is one thing I have had drilled in my head it's that you don't go stingy on the cheese. So when this recipe called for fat-free ricotta, reduced fat sour cream and skim mozzarella cheese I definitely had my doubts. Not to mention the sauce is tomato juice, salsa and crushed tomatoes; a far cry from the sugar-loaded sauce I grew up on.

It smelled really good coming out of the oven, and looked amazing, but I was pretty sure it was going to taste like the epitome of diet food. I was delightfully wrong! The cheeses mixed with the sauce and the spices to make a creamy dish I never would have guessed had so few calories. I added a side salad with Ken's raspberry pecan vinaigrette to bring my total calories to 370 - for the whole meal, the WHOLE dinner!

I'm thrilled that it turned out so great and I'm even happier that it's good for me! And the best part? Leftovers! It made enough for 3 meals, so I won't have to cook again until Wednesday. No more excuses about not having enough time to eat right - this is MY year!