Running on Empty, Filling up onComfort Food

I am literally running out of fuel and expecting to crash early this evening. Last night was awful! I went to bed feeling tired but had one of those infuriating episodes of tossing and turning for hours. I tried painstakingly hard to fall asleep, but had no luck. Eventually, I got up and went downstairs to watch TV for a few hours and then finally managed to get myself some zz’s around 2am; however, waking up at 4:30am leaves little time for any sustainable rest. Needless to say, I am beyond exhausted! Stupid time change!!!

Besides feeling drained for most of the day, the usual mundane Monday wasn’t half bad. It went by rather quickly and the sun was out and shinning which always makes the day seem more pleasant. I also began the 30 Day Shred challenge this morning (as advertised on Caitlin’s blog) so I am anxious to see if Jillian’s promise holds true. One thing’s for sure, that woman can really deliver an intense 20 minute workout! I’ve done the 30 day shred routines a few times here and there, but I am interested to see if the challenge of performing 20 min every day will really provide the results that are guaranteed. It’s been reassuring to hear the positive feedback that people have been giving and I will continue to track my progress in hopes of gaining more strength and agility.

Dinner tonight was another comfort meal made healthy; Grilled Shrimp Alfredo. Many people would run screaming at the sound of alfredo sauce because you automatically think lots of heavy cream, butter and cheese, but like I mentioned before, I believe in eating all the foods you love and it is more than possible to make any dish healthy and delicious! I made my own sauce from a mixture of roasted garlic, chicken stock, milk, light sour cream, and parmesan cheese and added a hefty amount of veggies to the dish. Along with the shrimp, I grilled some zucchini, mushrooms and asparagus as well as some frozen peas and added this to the sauce mixture. I am not a big pasta lover and much rather prefer the taste of spaghetti squash over fettuccini so I served mine on top of the squash and made plain old spaghetti noodles for the boy. This dish was great! Lots of creamy texture, not too heavy, but full of rich and robust taste that made eating alfredo actually healthy and delicious!

(My Plate which ended up being way too much food, I couldn't even finish)

(Toly's plate, again I made way too much pasta. He couldn't even finish it all!)

Now I am off to collapse on the couch. It’s safe to say I probably won’t make it past 9pm tonight and shouldn’t have any trouble falling asleep. (Fingers Crossed!)
Goodnight and Sleep Tight!