Spaghetti Squash with Mushroom and Peas

As I sit here waiting for my Personal Mini Quiches to be ready for this mornings breakfast, it seems only appropriate to work on my next post which features the spaghetti squash that I randomly picked up when I was grocery shopping last week.  I've been following a woman on Instagram who's screen name is 100daysofcleaneating, and it's a daily catalog of her foods and workouts.  Some days I find what she's doing interesting, some days I glide over her post with a quick glance, and a whatever attitude.  Over the last week or so, she has either mentioned or featured spaghetti squash in her posts at least a couple times, and clearly because of this, my subconscious felt the need for some as well.

I'm a squash lover anyway, and I've definitely cooked with the vegetable before, but to be honest, it's not something that makes it into my weekly dinner regimen, and now I'm asking myself why.  In discussing it last night with my BFF Jackie, I was saying how much I enjoy cooking dishes that allow me to walk away, do some prep, and a quick saute, toss it all together, and then pretend that I did a fair amount of work.  This is totally one of those dishes. Keep in mind that outside of the squash, the vegetables that went into this dish ended up in here basically because they are what I had in my fridge, not because they are what I had planned on cooking with the squash itself.  I'm lucky enough to be at a point in my clean eating cooking that I can pick up a handful of random things, see what I'm left with near the end of my week, and then throw something together.  If you aren't there yet, just keeping researching, testing, and eating clean, and at some point it'll all just click, and you'll be able to do the same.

Ingredients:

- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, diced
- 1 c. Mushrooms (any variety would be fine)
- 1/2 c. Peas (fresh or frozen)
- 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp. Olive Oil, divided
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Smoked Paprika, to taste
- 1 tbsp. Shredded Parmesan, divided





Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

1. Cut spaghetti squash in half from stem to stem, and hollow out seeds.  Rub 1 tsp. of olive oil between the two halves and season with salt and smoked paprika to taste.  Turn the squash halved sides down on the baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easy clean up) and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until squash is soft.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place 1 tsp. of Olive Oil in a medium saute pan on medium heat.  Add onion, season with salt and pepper to taste, and saute until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, and then add peas (thawed if frozen) and garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to low, and take one of your squash halves, holding the skin in your palm carefully with a paper towel or towel, and with a fork shred the inside of the squash from top to bottom until all of the 'meat' of the squash is in the saute pan.  Repeat with the other half of the squash.  Toss all ingredients together.  Top each serving with 1/2 tbsp. of shredded Parmesan cheese.

I split this dish into two servings, however it may have been possible to break it into three depending on what serving size or calorie portion you are looking for.  If you are trying to avoid wheat products, or pasta in general, you'll find that this is a great substitution for those due to the texture of the squash.  Also, as I stated before, you are able to add whatever vegetables or meat that you would like to the dish, so feel free to modify it with ingredients that you prefer, or that you have hanging around at the end of your grocery week to ensure that you don't waste any food in your fridge.

I hope you enjoy as much as my husband and I did!

Maria

beachbodycoach.com/MLBARCLAY
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Chocolate Shakeology Peanut Butter and Jelly Fudge

For those of you who aren't in our Shakeology cult (which you should be because it will change your life forever), you must realize that we drink this shake daily, and using any nutritional supplement daily can get a tad bit boring.  That's not to say that the recipes that we get sent every month aren't unbelievable, and there are a multitude of recipes on the web for people to switch it up and make it new and exciting, and that's part of the reason that I'm here.  I used to use protein powder in a lot of different recipes, however as my clean eating evolved, so did my understanding about what was in most protein powders, and so I eliminated it from my diet.  However, when I started on Shakeology a few months back, I realized that there was a whole new world of opportunities for those recipes out there that do include protein powder, so I have taken it as my personal mission to find as many ways possible to incorporate this super dense, super-food meal supplement in my life in a variety of forms.

Not all of these recipes with be the 'healthiest' of snacks or meals.  There is, indeed, a difference between this recipe, and a recipe for a shake or protein pancake.  Nonetheless, I think it's important that we have a variety of avenues for any food to remain a constant in our diet, and so that is what I will achieve.  Today's recipe admittedly has a large amount of sugar, albeit natural sugars, they are still sugars. Therefore, you shouldn't make a pan of this fudge, sit in front of your TV, and stuff your face with the entire pan.  But, on those days when you're rummaging through your pantry or fridge looking for something to satiate that sweet chocolate desire, this will do just that. And rather than it being a Milky Way or Snickers, it will be something that has tons of antioxidants, nutrients, and proteins, especially when you add in all the nuts and berries that are combined into the fudge.  This recipe was modified from Averie Cooks, and looked so simple and delicious that I just couldn't help trying it out with Shakeology.  So here we go!

Ingredients:
- 3/4 c. honey (or brown rice syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup)
- 3/4 c. peanut butter (I used Teddy's All Natural Smooth)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 c. Chocolate Shakeology
- 1/3 c. diced dried cranberries (or diced raisin, dried blueberries, or dried fruit of your liking)
- 1/3 c. chopped almonds (or other nuts, or omit)
- 8x8 disposable aluminum baking pan sprayed with Pam



Note:  This is a fast moving recipe so have everything ready to go before you begin and work quickly through the steps.

Directions:
1.  Pour the honey into a medium-sized sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat until it almost begins to boil; turn of heat.
2.  Add the peanut better and stir until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and stir, using caution as it could bubble up a bit.
3.  Add the protein powder and stir, taking care to work quickly because batter will get increasingly stiff as time elapses.  Quickly fold in the diced fruit and peanuts.
4.  Spread over the bottom of the 8x8 pan and place in freezer for a minimum of 90 minutes.  Remove from the freezer and slice fudge into desired size.

I would suggest keeping the fudge either in the freezer, and taking it out 5-10 minutes before you want to eat it, or in the fridge.  Otherwise, at room temperature, it may get a little bit soft.  This one's a keeper for sure, so ENJOY!!!

Keep Moving.  Keep Strong.  PUSH PLAY EVERYDAY!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

I'll be honest, I gank recipes all the time. Yup, I steal them, and then I make them, and then I share them with you.  But, let's be honest, much like reading a customer review on Amazon, wouldn't you rather have someone else learn first that all the work you're putting into a soup is worth it, than spend an hour doing it yourself only to find out it was mediocre?  I'm here to serve you people, and you're welcome!

I stole this particular recipe from The Best of Clean Eating 3, which my husband bought me for Christmas.  I had been so busy with getting my Beachbody business up and running that I hadn't had much time to jump into the books, but I think he and I are both getting sick of our baked salmon and asparagus, so I'm starting to attack these bad Larry's like a beast.  I also think that the desire to make this came from the fact that my restaurant, Gibbet Hill Grill, switched our seasonal soup from a Butternut Squash to a Potato and Vermont Cheddar, and this left me depressed and craving the old soup.  Much like a 10 year child I was like, "Fine, take it off the menu, but I'm gonna go home and make my own!  AND, I'll make it healthier! SO THERE!"

So, that's what I did!

Ingredients:

- 2 firm pears (such as Anjou), peeled, cored and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 3 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- pinch each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 3 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 c. fat-free plain yogurt for garnish (optional)
- pinch of nutmeg for garnish (optional)




Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a roasting pan, combine pears and squash.  Drizzle with 1 1/2 tsp oil, toss to coat, then spread out to cover bottom of pan, allowing for some overlap.  Roast in oven, uncovered, until squash begins to brown and soften, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil on medium.  Add onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Saute until onion is softened and golden in color, 3-4 minutes.  Add pear-squash mixture and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

3.  Using a hand blender or upright blender, puree mixture until smooth, about 45 to 60 seconds.  (NOTE: If using an upright blender, work in small, cooled batches to avoid scalding.  Then return to saucepan on low until reheated.)  Garnish each serving with yogurt, and nutmeg if desired.

Nutrients per 3/4-cup serving: Calories: 120, Total Fat: 4.5 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Carbs: 17 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 8 g, Protein: 4 g, Sodium: 65 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg