Paleo (or not) Spaghetti With Photos!

This recipe is exactly what we used.  You can substitute things you would rather use.  Two items we used are Italian Sausages, and canned tomato paste, neither of which are Paleo, but were what we had on hand to make this dish with.  For the meat, substitute lean, grass-fed beef, or other grass-fed red meat, and for the tomato paste Trader Joe's sells organic tomato paste that has two ingredients: tomatoes and naturally derived citric acid.  The Paleo community seems to be pretty up in the air about using canned products, so it is entirely up to you to decide if you want to. =)

THE RECIPE

What you will need:

• A Bowl of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
• (For two people) One Large Spaghetti Squash
• Olive Oil
• One Organic Onion (Yellow)
• Two Stalks of Organic Celery
• 4-5 Organic Mini (Bell) Peppers
• (optional) Small Can of Tomato Paste (Preferably Organic) 

Herbs:

• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Parsley
• 2 TBSP Organic Garlic (we like the minced stuff that comes in a jar)

Directions:

Cut the tomatoes in half, and put them in a saucepan.  Cover the tomatoes with water, and allow them to simmer.  They will need to cook for at least a couple hours. Every so often, mash them with a hand-held potato masher, if one is on hand. You will need to add water to it as it simmers down. 

In the meantime, while the tomatoes are cooking, you will need to gather your herbs.  For this recipe, we cut fresh parsley and fresh basil from our garden.


<------Basil

<------Parsley

When the tomatoes are near finished, you will need to get your squash ready.

Cut it in half, like shown in the picture. -------->

Scoop out the seeds, like shown in the next picture.
<----------

Next, you are going to rub the insides with olive oil.

Then, you will need to salt each side, put them on a baking sheet, and throw them in the oven.  Set the oven to 385*

Next, while the squash is cooking, you will need to prepare the rest of the sauce. Chop the:

• Onion-mince it
• Peppers- mince them
• Herbs-mince them
• Sausage-split the skin and take the meat out
• Garlic-have it on hand

 You are going to begin by cooking the onion, peppers, and garlic in one pan, with a bit of olive oil.
Cook the veggies until they are just getting soft. You will want them to still be a bit crisp. When they are finished, add them to the tomatoes, as shown in
the picture to the right.    --------------->
At this time, you will also add the tomato paste, if you use it. :)

Your sauce should look something like this ----->

Go ahead and add your herbs now. :)  ---------->

It is at this time, that you will also add your meat. In our case, the sausage.--------------------->

Had we prepared for this meal and not thrown it together hastily, we most likely would have used the grass-fed Angus meat we usually get. :) 

Simmer the sauce, while stirring, for about 5-7 minutes, bringing all the ingredients together. :)







This time, we served the sauce in the hollowed-out squash.  We usually pull the squash, with a fork, creating the "spaghetti noodles". This way looked nice, and it was OK, but I found it awkward to pull the sides of the squash.  I will say this though, clean up was really easy! and storing leftovers was also.  We just wrapped the squash and made sure they didn't spill.


I hope everyone enjoyed this recipe. :)

Until next time, love yourself, because I love you too. XOXO 

Health and Fitness Goals. What Are Those???

I am very spontaneous.  Sounds awesome and fun, right? Yeah...well, it can lead to me just doing things without thinking them through.

I have been on my fitness journey for about nine months now. Never once have I set a real goal for myself.  I set the typical, you know: "I want to lose 45lbs in two weeks" type goal.  Yeah...not happening.

It has been 9 months and I have lost only about 20lbs.  I haven't yet set realistic goals for myself.  I know how to set goals, and I will share some of that info here. :)

Setting Goals:

• Consider what you want to achieve.
•  Set a reasonable amount of time to achieve this ultimate goal. 
• Set smaller goals, as milestones, to help you achieve your ultimate goal. 
• Reward yourself when you reach each milestone.  Now, I do not mean with JUNK FOOD. For the love of God, please don't reward yourself with something that is going to make you feel guilty and (possibly) throw off your whole program. Why would you want to reward yourself with something that is absolutely terrible for you, anyways? Give yourself a reward that you will be able to hold onto.  Like shoes, or makeup.  Me being a woman, that is where my mind goes...LOL. (I am sitting here, trying to think of what my Dearly Beloved would consider a reward...and all I am coming up with is vintage stereo equipment. :) Lets keep it simple, guys...LOL)
• Track your progress.  I am not suggesting you step on a scale every single solitary day.  I actually had to hide my scale from myself...not hide it, but put it "out of sight, out of mind". It is in the cupboard, under my sink, and I weigh myself every two weeks or so. By tracking your progress I mean to keep track of milestones, and smaller goals that you are reaching.  The more success you see, the more motivated you will be. (Hey! That rhymed! :)

Most of all, please don't get discouraged if you don't reach a milestone in the amount of time you allotted yourself.  To me, this just means that I didn't give myself enough time, or had unrealistic expectations of myself. Know your limits, and know what you can achieve. No one knows you better than you. If you don't reach a milestone, consider how close you are to achieving it and KEEP GOING. Take into consideration the next milestone, and if it was unrealistic as well.  You may have to modify your milestones.

Do not use this as an excuse to slack off.  If you are giving it all you've got, and you don't reach a milestone, that is nothing to get down on yourself about.  Now, if you are slacking off, and not giving it one hundred...you may need to kick yourself in the butt, and then kick yourself into gear again.  Keep in mind, the only person you are hurting is yourself if you don't give it all you've got. Who cares what anyone else thinks about what you are doing.  You have to live with your decisions, and you will have no one to blame but yourself.

I think I was really starting to talk to myself back there...lol.

My Ultimate Goal: 

• Complete Tough Mudder, 2015
• I have one year to train for Tough Mudder

I am going to have to think on it further...look at a calender, and set myself some milestones and small goals to reach so I can reach my ultimate goal.  I have never done anything like Tough Mudder...so it should be interesting.  I don't think I could complete it now. 10-12 miles of obstacle course.  :)  Can't wait. :)

Until next time, love yourself, because I love you, too.  <3