Mother's Day Weekend Wrap-Up, Motivation, Lemon Caprese Pasta Salad and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipes

Hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  I had the best one yet (out of all four I've celebrated so far).  It was my first one as a mom of two, and my first one as a complete family.  I kicked it off with a trip to Paducah, KY, to run the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon Relay with a group of awesome gals, and it was a blast!  It was great to get away for an overnight trip too (and Justin did just fine with the boys on his own!).

On Sunday the four of us went out for sushi for lunch (well, Harlee and Elliot didn't have any but Justin and I indulged - we love sushi!), did a little shopping, and got frozen custard later.  Yum!  I'm pretty sure I added back all the calories and then some that I burned off on the run... but oh well.

Now I'm back to the grind.  I did a crossfit workout this morning, then I came across an awesome post by Felicia Newell, a nutrition coach I follow on Instagram and Facebook.  I wanted to share her post with you and reflect on it a bit, both for my own benefit and maybe yours, if it resonates with you.  Here's the link to her post, but I'll copy and paste it in case that link doesn't work.

One of the very first (and most difficult) steps to making a lifestyle change is finding the motivation.

Do you, like many others, struggle with self motivation? Having a hard time getting yourself to your regularly scheduled workouts? Finding more and more reasons to cheat on your healthy diet?

Guess what? You're not alone! We all struggle with motivation sometimes, but I have some tips that can help you self-motivate and reach your goals.

A healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. So how do you know if you’re genuinely motivated?

- Motivation will tell you to get to your workout no matter what.
- Motivation will nag you to put down the doughnut.
- Motivation makes passing on fries a reflex.
- Motivation makes a sweat drenched workout exciting.
- Motivation constantly reminds you why you do what you do.

Self-Motivating Tip #1: Find Your Motivator.

Motivation stems from having a goal. What is your goal? Why do you want to get into great shape and/or make a lifestyle change?

Once you uncover your personal motivator you’ll find that motivation flows quickly your way.

Take a minute to really uncover the reason that you want to lose the weight. Don’t say something vague like you want to 'Be thinner' or 'Look more attractive.' Dig deeper – there is a very specific motivator in your life, you simply need to uncover it.

Here are some possible motivators…
- I want to have more energy to keep up with the kids.
- I want to improve my health through weight loss to extend and improve my life.
- I want to lose 15 pounds before my vacation.
- I want to restore my confidence to wear sleeveless shirts.
- I want to regain my figure to impress and attract my significant other.

Self-Motivating Tip #2: Make It Official.

When you write something down it suddenly feels official, doesn’t it? Write down your motivator for getting into great shape, and post it where you will see it often—next to your alarm clock, on the bathroom mirror, or in your car.

Each time you see your written motivator take a moment to visualize yourself accomplishing your goal. Try to make the scene as clear in your mind as possible. This is a powerful tool for maintaining your focus and direction.

Self-Motivating Tip #3: Be Practical.

It’s game plan time. You know what you want, and now you need to map out exactly how you’ll achieve it. It is important to be practical in your planning, rather than throwing out ideas that you know you won’t stick with.

With any weight loss goal it is important to 1) maintain a healthy low-calorie diet, and 2) participate in a consistent and challenging exercise program.

Plan a routine that will fit into your schedule and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Also choose an exercise program that you enjoy—don’t force yourself to jog everyday if you hate jogging.

Self-Motivating Tip #4: Call For Backup.

Enlist the support of your friends, family and co-workers. Tell everyone about your goal to lose weight and get fit, you’ll be surprised how supportive most people will be. By being open about your goals you’ll likely be an encouragement to others to make healthy changes in their own lives.

I really liked that post, and it got me thinking about my own motivation.  I struggle with motivation to work out on my own, to go for a run on my spare time, and to eat healthy as often as possible.  Swimsuit season is fast approaching and I've just felt kinda "eh" about it.  And I know I won't feel that way when it's time to actually go swimming, so to do something about that I need to start NOW.  Apparently I need to dig deeper than the swimsuit though.  What is my motivator?

Feeling good is a motivator.  I came to a realization in the last couple days - when I eat foods that contain a lot of gluten, I have allergy attacks out of this world.  I feel like I have glass in my eyes, my nose is constantly running, sneezing, the works.  If I watch what I eat, I can tolerate the great outdoors without much trouble.  And I've been finding that it's not worth the great taste of food with gluten in it to put up with allergy attacks like that.  Added to that, I feel better all over when I eat right.  I have more energy, I have more mental clarity, I have more balance when I eat right.  Motivation.  And that's my step #2 mentioned above - writing it down.

What is your motivation?  I don't often get comments on this blog.  Feel free to comment your motivation!  Let's work together and fulfill #4!

So how about a couple recipes?

Remember that vegetable spiralizer I mentioned in my last post?  Yeah, that thing has been getting a workout!  I made classic spaghetti (though I just took a shortcut and made meat sauce instead of meatballs) and it was like the real deal.  Honestly, now that I have this spiralizer, I doubt I'll ever mess with a spaghetti squash again.  These zucchini noodles are way closer to the real thing.  They're awesome.

Sorry about the bad lighting...

Yellow zucchini squashes turn out even closer to the look of real pasta!

Basic Spaghetti Meat Sauce

1/2 lb ground beef (or venison in our case)
~ 30oz tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef in a skillet and drain off the grease.  Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat.  Add the beef and mix until well incorporated.

I added about two zucchinis worth of noodles to this recipe and cooked it all together until the noodles were soft enough to my liking.

And it was delicious.

So this morning I was feeling inspired and decided to pluck some of my basil growing outside and use up the last of my zucchini  noodles with some of cherry tomatoes we had in the fridge.  Allow me to share my recipe!

Lemon Caprese Pasta Salad

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2" pieces
2 zucchinis, peeled and cut into noodles

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper together (I used a glass measuring cup).  Add the basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese and stir until combined.  Let sit while cooking the zucchini noodles over medium heat in a dry skillet, about 3-5 minutes.  Don't overcook or the noodles will become mushy!  Once they get a bit of a transparent look to them take them off the heat immediately.  Let cool, drain off the water, and add in your lemon caprese mixture.  Toss until well combined and enjoy!

Cooking the noodles a bit

Lemon caprese mixture

Tossed together

Serve!  Yummy!