Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

So, I saw someone on my Facebook share something about doing a spaghetti squash lasagna and I was definitely intrigued!  I googled it and came across a few different recipes and so I adapted it to my preferences and WOW it was SO good!!  My 5.5 year old daughter even gobbled it all up!  I've always loved spaghetti squash but I had never tried it other than like, well, spaghetti... You know.. with a meat sauce?  Yeah... the thought of using it in a lasagna type dish completely blew my mind!!  

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 pepper chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 24 oz cottage cheese
• 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, seperated
• 3 eggs
• 3 gloves of garlic, diced
• 2 cups of spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds.  Drizzle olive oil on both halves and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Place face down on a baking sheet and place in oven for 30 mins.
3. While the squash is cooking brown the meat in a pan with the pepper and onion.
4. Mix the cottage cheese, eggs, 1 cup of mozzarella and garlic and then add the meat and mix in.
5. Once the squash is cooked, remove from oven and scrape all the insides out with a fork.
6. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and put 1/3 of the meat mixture on the bottom. Top that with 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce and 1/2 of the spaghetti squash
7. Repeat that 1 more time topping off with the last third of the meat mixture and then the last third of the spaghetti sauce
8. Top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese
9. Place in oven, uncovered for 30 minutes.
10. Enjoy!

Makes 8 servings

21 day fix containers

1 green

1.5 red

1 blue

Ground Beef Stew

Ground Beef Stew (This will serve 4): 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef (organic, grass fed if possible)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• pink himalayan salt or sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil & parsley to taste
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups low sodium beef or vegetable broth
• 2 cups chunked baby potatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown onion and ground beef.  Drain excess fat.  
2. Add sliced celery stalks, chopped carrots, sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté briefly with 1 tsp of the following suggested seasonings (use whatever you like): sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, and parsley. 
3. Add diced stewed tomatoes (run it through the blender first if you or your family don't like chunks) and 2 cups (32 oz) of low sodium beef or vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, 
4. Add potatoes and reduce to high simmer for about 30 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.  *My hubby likes to add red pepper flakes to his-try it if you like spicy!

Clean Eating Chocolate PB Oats - My new addiction!

My new most favourite breakfast addiction is Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal!  OH my goodness!  I seriously go to bed earlier some nights just because I want morning to come sooner so I can have them again!!  Tastes like it should be SO bad for you, but they are actually SO good for you!  And very simple to make! 

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats (you can use steel cut that would be your healthiest option, but I like fast and simple so I use quick oats)
• 1 heaping teaspoon stevia
• 1 heaping teaspoon pure organic cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon natural peanut butter

Directions

1. Place oats in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water.  You want more water than oats because they will cook and absorb it all.
2. Place in microwave for 90 seconds or until all the water is absorbed and oats are soft 
3. Add stevia, cacao powder & peanut butter and mix well
4. ENJOY!

How to start working out early in the morning!

So, one of the most common things I hear from people is that they really wanna start getting up earlier and working out first thing in the morning, but they just aren't a morning person and don't know how to do it. 

When I was working full time I actually was getting up at 4am to workout before my day began.  Seriously - 4AM!  I am SO not a morning person and I am actually one of those people that needs like 8-10 hrs of sleep per night to even function.  So... this was not an easy adjustment for me.  But I did it for months!  

Here are my biggest tips on how to get it done:

1. Go to bed earlier - if you are getting up an hour earlier then go to bed an hour earlier.  Do NOT sacrifice sleep to get your workout in!!  Lack of sleep is going to hinder your results too!
2. Sleep in your workout clothes (this saves you a lot of time in the morning so you don't have to get up, get changed and then workout) 
3. DO NOT HIT SNOOZE!!  Seriously - it is a TRAP! 
4. As soon as the alarm goes off SIT UP.  Put your alarm on the other side of the room if you have to.  For me, I just told myself the night before (like a little pep talk, honestly) that as soon as my alarm went off I was UP!
5. Don't think about it - just get up.  You will be telling yourself "I am so tired" just shut your mind off and get up.
6. Go workout - right away.  Once again don't think about it just do it..  I seriously used to not really fully wake up until I was 5-10 mins into my workout and then I was feeling really good.

You will have trouble getting to sleep right away at your new earlier bedtime the first few nights, but trust me after the first couple nights it will be a lot easier to get to sleep at that early time cuz you'll be pretty tired.  You  will actually be quite tired for probably the first couple weeks, but just push thru and your body will adjust and then you will have more energy than ever - seriously! 

Do you workout in the morning?  Are you going to try these things out to 

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts (recipe adapted from food.com)

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 5 cups baby spinach
• 3/4 cup feta cheese
• 1.5 cups seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Prepare chicken for stuffing either by slicing the chicken breasts almost completely in half, but not quite - you wanna leave the two halves attached still.  Or you can beat the chicken breasts to make them super thin.
3. Cook the spinach, garlic and oil on the stove top until done 
4. add in the feta cheese and mix well
5. distribute spinach mixture onto each chicken breast
6. wrap chicken around mixture and secure with a toothpick
7. Roll each breast in bread crumbs until well coated
8. place on baking sheet
9. Cook for 30 minutes or until cooked thru
10. ENJOY! 

This went over really well in my house even my almost 5 year old daughter gobbled it up!  YUM!