Guilt-Free Friday

I’ve read other’s blogs and a lot of them have this really cute “theme” idea, where one day they’ll focus on the same topic each week, like a joke on Monday or a recipe on Wednesday, or Confession Friday is one I’ve seen a few times.  All these cute ideas.  I’ve decided to copy off of all of you with your cute ideas and have a theme of my own.  Welcome to Guilt-Free Friday!

This is stemming from my attempted lifestyle conversion.  I just want myself and my family to be healthier, at home first and foremost but eventually even when we’re out and about too.  I’m just tired of living the Standard American Diet.  Or SAD for short, ha ha ha.  All the processed crap, the refined crap, the GMOs, the artificial colors and flavors, the Yellow dye #50 or whatever.  What is all this crap and what is it doing in my food?

It all started at the end of spring this year when Justin and I decided to cut out [bad] carbs for about a month or so.  We were eating meat and veggies and fruits every. single. day.  We threw in some cheese or sour cream or different oils like olive or coconut to mix things up a bit here and there, but other than that it was bye-bye sandwiches, dinner rolls, pizza crusts, crackers, pastas, potatoes, cakes, cookies, etc.  It sounds painful and torturous I’m sure, but it wasn’t too bad, I’ll admit, especially going at it with a buddy.  And Harlee’s fortunately a really good eater, he loves veggies anyway so we didn’t have any trouble with him, he just joined in the fun and didn’t think anything different of it.  We dropped so much weight.  My pre-pregnancy pants were feeling loose!  I felt so GOOD!  I felt clean, healthy, more energetic… But then we went on vacation, and “enjoyed” all the guilty pleasures of before, and blew our diet all to hell.

Now it’s fall and I’m ready for that “season of change” thing.  I joined an exercise program, but diet has SO much to do with it too, and I want the exercise to pay off, so therefore I need to eat better.  Well, I already know what works, for me anyway, so I need to get back on that.  But somehow it’s not as easy as it was before…  I’m finding myself MISSING all those guilty pleasures… I don’t WANT to give up pasta and pizza and biscuits… What if I want pancakes for breakfast?  What about Christmas cookies??  This is too intimidating now!

But being healthy is more important.  Don’t worry, this research-a-holic already looked up why avoiding carbs is so good in the first place.  Allow me to share what I’ve learned!  There are good carbs and bad carbs.  Good ones are found in what Mother Nature provides: fruits, vegetables, brown rice, whole grains, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, beans, seeds and nuts for example.  Bad ones are found in things Man and Technology got their paws on: flour, milled corn or white rice, fruit juices, sugared soft drinks or other beverages with sugar, and processed foods like chips and cookies and white bread, and alcohol (everyone make a sad face with me… *:-(*).  Carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel source for energy.  There are simple carbs and complex carbs.  The complex carbs are made of longer chains of sugar molecules that take the body longer to break down and digest, which gives you a more even amount of energy throughout the day.  Simple carbs are basic sugar molecules that are quick to digest and don’t provide much value to your body.  That’s the basics!  From here on out, when I refer to or mention carbs, you may assume I’m talking about the bad ones – the sugars and white flours and cakes and cookies and whatnot.

Okay, so back to my mission of eating healthier.  I needed to solve my problem of pancakes and pizza and Christmas cookies! :-(  So I’ve started looking for substitutes – sticking with what nature has to offer, avoiding weird additives, steering clear of bad carbs, and still achieving the desired result of yummy “guilty” pleasures.

Last Sunday I shared muffins made of coconut flour, but I’m sure that’s not something everyone has just lying around.  On Guilt-Free Friday I’m going to try to offer recipes with ingredients that everyone should have easy access too, or may already have stocked in their pantries.  Otherwise I’ll try to offer insight on where to find certain ingredients, to help you out.

Today I’m going to feature pasta.  One of my favorite pasta substitutes is the spaghetti squash.  It mimics spaghetti noodles, but it’s a vegetable!  It’s bland in flavor, and works wonderfully with whatever sauce you like!  Ah that thing has been a lifesaver for me…

It’s really simple to prepare, too!  Just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and gunk inside, place cut-side down in a baking pan filled with about a half inch of water, cover with foil, and bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes (depending on how al dente you want the “noodles”).

Let them cool a bit, then drag a fork through the meat and be amazed as spaghetti-like strands form before your eyes!

Dump all the noodles into a pot and mix together with your sauce of choice – spaghetti sauce with meatballs, alfredo sauce with chicken and/or broccoli, cheese sauce either by itself or with chili on top, the sky’s the limit!

Can’t beat eating vegetables when it feels like you’re eating pasta!