Until dinner time, I’ve eaten kind of boring food – lots of leftovers and other “regulars.” I tried to make them look pretty and that definitely helped with the taste, but dinner was the ultimate feast for the eyes thanks to a housewarming gift from my sister (and her boyfriend). Let’s start with the highlight of today’s eats. Why save the best for last?! 
Things that make me happy – our new Le Creuset heart-shaped casserole!!!
This casserole dish just makes me smile 
Thankfully it wasn’t just pretty, it was also delicious! I followed this recipe from Cooking Light for butternut squash and parmesan bread pudding, but made a few modifications. I cut the recipe in half, omitted the onions and oil and instead sauteed some mushrooms and organic baby spinach covered with some oil spray, used skim milk instead of 1% and used 1+ week old ww baguette (I let it soak in the egg mixture while the butternut squash was roasting).
So delicious! I think the addition of mushrooms and baby spinach was genius – adds bulk, veggies and another dimension to the dish. Adam and I both loved this! 
If you make this, don’t omit the cheese – it’s definitely key!!
Other eats…
BREAKFAST
Banana oats with extra banana and crunchy Barney Butter
I was bored with the combo today. An extra little spoonfull of BB helped
MID-MORNING SNACK
Oikos with pear slices, dried apricots and Kashi Autumn wheat for a snack
I <3 oikos!
LUNCH
An Asian combo: hot and sour soup + mystery tofu stir fry
I found the stir-fry in our freezer. I made it awhile ago – it was not labeled so I had no idea what I was about to eat.
Nothing too exciting but it did the job of filling me up.
AFTERNOON SNACKS
Another little find – last white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookie
I also ate some unpictured roasted almonds and nibbled on an old larabar which ended up in the trash. For some reason I was hungrier than normal today. Oh well
Do you believe that pretty food tastes better?
The bread pudding looks marvelous!! I’ve never thought of making it as a main dish, but now I’m beginning to reconsider! The casserole is so cute.
I’m not sure , ugly food can taste pretty awesome… I’m not biased.
Since starting a food blog I definitely agree that pretty food tastes better! It takes me a long time some days to make my food look good but it always ends up tasting better when I put it on a nice plate instead of eating it out of a tupperware dish for instance! Your casserole looks divine, especially in the cute dish! Your asian lunch made me think it was from a restaurant, cute dishes and good looking eats!
Pretty food tastes better for sure! My mom makes fun of me when I’m arranging my food because I’m sitting down by myself and still worrying about presentation.
Re: your advice on no-fat…I’m not doing it to lose weight so counting calories and points wouldn’t really achieve the purpose. I really am just curious about whether my body will feel a lack of fat. I know there are healthy fats, but I think a lot of fat sneaks into my diet through cheese, nuts, avocado, etc. So if I remove the noticeable fat, and a little remains, what will I feel? If I don’t physically feel good- I’ll stop!
Anyway, thank you for your concern, makes me feel cared for, and good insight on the points rounding. That could be it.
i love pretty food! it just makes it so much better to eat it!
jenna
Pretty good is so much better and it makes me happier!
love your new le creuset dish
and fabulous additions!!!
I love that casserole dish! I so need something like that. It is absolutely adorable!
Pretty food DEFINITELY tastes better!
Pretty food always tastes better, I eat with my eyes!
yes! something about it. i also think its tastes better when i touch it..weird, i know!
Pretty foo ddoes taste better. Yours always looks pretty
Pretty food does taste better. Yours always looks pretty
Pretty food tastes better, but I always feel bad when I dig in and ruin the presentation
yaaaay so glad youre enjoying the caserole dish! looks like you did it some justice with an awesome “break in” meal. i think delicious food that has been prettied up tastes better. but there is some good lookin’ food out there that tastes bad too….
The bread putting was awesome last nite, and awesome for lunch too!
I was so torn between the red heart and the plain white when I got my first Le Cruset! I ended up going with the white because I am boring, but I just love the heart one! Congrats on the new baby
And yes, I definitely believe pretty food tastes better!
prettier food definitely tastes better – i eat with my eyes first! =)
I have to know where you got that heart shaped le creuset!
Lara – I hope one day to have a little Le Creuset collection
Jasmine – my sister got it for me from Bloomingdale’s.
[...] with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish (a heart shaped one is optional ). Top with remaining [...]