jksarault photography plog: It's go time.

Well, friends. The time has come. My birthday has passed yet once again, and it's time to prepare for the summer. Yes, that means wearing sleeveless shirts, capris, and (gulp) maybe even a swimming suit once or twice.

So...let the 6 week fitness challenge begin! And that means...no baking sweet treats. It's sad, but let me admit something out in the open. When it comes to baking, I have no self control. Sure, I deliver cookies and breads to friends. But since Isaiah never helps out in the treat-eating department, anything that stays in our house is in danger of being eaten. By me.

So, in 6 weeks I will celebrate with some yummy treat (I've already been scouring foodgawker.com for ideas). But until then, I will be a focused machine! Follow me as I attempt to...feel better in my clothes. :-)

...What, did you think I'd actually throw numbers out there? No way, Jose.

But I digress. Last week I got my cooking wind back and have the photos to show for it. Lots of 'em.

Last week's lessons:

1) Salmon, white bean puree, rice, and asparagus: This was a really easy and healthy meal. I will definitely be making it again. The white bean puree was really good and I ate it as a snack the next day with reduced-fat wheat thins, since it's basically kind of like hummus. Yum.

The best part was how much Anderson loved it. Here he is waiting for me to be finished making dinner, trying it out, stuffing his face, and finally ready to strip because he's so messy!

2) Lasagna made with spaghetti sauce leftovers: This was a hit and lasted us through the weekend. I added fresh spinach because I just really like green things and it made the unbaked lasagna look so pretty:

The finished product peeking over the dish right before I put it in the oven:

3) Greek chicken, orzo, and baked zucchini chips: This Greek Chicken was very good, although not very pretty looking in the photo. But the katamala olives, sun dried tomatoes, oregano and feta cheese all came together beautifully in the end!

As for the baked zucchini chips, they just needed some salt, but were a good vegetable to shake things up a bit:

Anderson eating his orzo. You can see a little on his forehead in the middle picture...he is a full-contact kind of eater....and the cutest baby ever - have I ever mentioned that?! :-)