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Chewjitsu : Squash the pasta

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I personally love pasta dishes. The only problem is, they don’t love me. It never fails, after eating a plate of pasta I feel very full and ready for a nap. This is one reason I don’t eat them very often. Firstly, with my job I can’t afford to be groggy and lethargic, and second, I generally dislike eating food that makes me feel lethargic. That being said I still eat pasta from time to time. But, if you’re like me and like pasta but don’t want to be down for the count the rest of the day then this recipe is for you.
Also, some people have allergies to wheat products. If you are one of these people, this recipe might be beneficial for you as well.

What you’ll need. . .
• 1 Large spaghetti squash
• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 small red onion
• 2-4 cloves of fresh garlic
• Peppers, mushrooms or anything else you’d like to add into it. I used red peppers and mushrooms myself.
• Pasta sauce. If you buy it premade, try and find one that doesn’t have sugar added.
• Herbs and spices depending on your tastes (I personally like a lot of basil, thyme and rosemary).
• 1lb Brussels sprouts
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coconut oil

Prep
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice squash in even halves, then scoop out the seeds in the middle.

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3. While you wait for the oven to heat up. Chop and dice your veggies.
– Dice onions and garlic.
– Slice peppers and mushrooms.
– Cut brussels sprouts in even halves

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Squash
1. Once the oven is heated to 400, place the squash on a roasting pan with the meat of the plant facing down. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.

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2. Once baked take the squash from the oven and scoop out the insides with a spoon or fork and place into a large bowl. The meat should be soft and stringy.

Meat Sauce
1. Place ground beef on a hot pan with onions and garlic and begin browning the meat.

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2. Once the meat is browned add in extra ingredients like mushrooms and peppers you’d like, as well as the pasta sauce.

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3. While warming up the pasta sauce add herbs and seasoning to taste.

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Brussels sprouts
1. Bring a pan of water to boil. Once boiling, place sprouts into the water and remove heat and let them sit for about 5 minutes

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2. After 5 minutes place a tablespoon of coconut oil into a hot pan along with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Begin to add sprouts to the pan with the oil and vinegar.(you can either drain the water or pull them out with a slotted spoon).
3. Add salt and pepper to taste and begin stirring the sprouts around on medium heat until they have a sort of blackened look to them. It will only take a few minutes.

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Once everything is done place the stringy squash down on a plate and put the desired amount of sauce. The brussels sprouts are a side dish.

You now have a delicious, less carb heavy pasta style dish. The biggest benefit for me though is that I don’t feel terrible after eating the dish. Also, if you haven’t tried sprouts in a while (which seems to be the case for many adults) I urge you to give them a try. Their way better as an adult than a kid, and this recipe is super easy and delicious.

Enjoy!

Meal prep in under an hour

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Meal prep in under an hour

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  • 2lbs Grass fed beef
  • 16 oz frozen peas
  • 2 16oz bags chopped onions and bell peppers (these are faster than chopping up bell peppers)
  • Half cup of quinoa (color is your choice)
  • 1 cup chopped zucchini (leftovers from cooking out)
  • 1 cup chopped yellow squash (leftovers from cooking out)
  • 8 sweet potatoes

(not pictured seasonings)

  • Mrs Dash fiesta lime seasoning
  • Black pepper
  • Pink salt

So last Sunday when I was getting ready to prepare meals for the week I was a little strapped for time. I ended up using some frozen veggies and left overs I had to speed up the process. All in all the meal prep after bagging up my meals took me 53 minutes. If you have a hard time preparing meals for the week because of time then you should definitely keep reading. You might not want to eat the same food but hopefully you can use the ideas from the blog to eat healthy during the week and save money.

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 (this will cook the potatoes a bit faster)
  2. Place ground beef on large pan. Chop up and move beef around with spatula. Season to taste.
  3. Place frozen peppers, squash and zucchini into another pan and turn to medium heat. Also add half cup of quinoa. The quinoa will soak up the excess water from the frozen veggies. Season to taste. Remove from heat once the quinoa is soft.IMG_8823
  4. Once the oven has reached its temperature. Place the sweet potatoes inside and let them bake. ( I rinse and chop the ends off mine)IMG_8825
  1. After beef is brown mix in peas and turn off heat.IMG_8819
  2. Remove sweet potatoes from oven (this is what takes the most time)

After you have all the food cooked place equal portions into tupperware or baggies. This ended up making 8 meals for me. This allows 1 meal right after AM training and 1 meal several hours before PM training. Again this may not be the exact foods you enjoy but these worked well for me this week. My biggest concern when cooking food for the week is to provide nutrients without slowing me down. Typically if I eat out or certain foods I get really lethargic during the middle of the day which isn’t really an option for me. I can eat the meals I made this week and train a half an hour later with no issues. My biggest concern is to eat well throughout the day and have tons of energy for the hours of training and teaching I have to do. If your life style is a little more sedentary you may want to eat fewer carbohydrates. Otherwise, give it a try and see how it works for you and most importantly how your body feels.

Chewy