Unless your running a marathon the next day, piling up on the pasta is not such a great idea if you want to be slim and trim. Switching to whole wheat spaghetti will give you some extra fiber but still almost a days worth of carbs in one meal. But what if I told you that there is an awesome substitute for spaghetti that looks the same, and comes pretty close to taste and texture as well…
Say hello to the Spaghetti Squash. Rightly named, as the flesh of this squash closely resembles spaghetti noodles when cooked and scraped out using a simple fork. It’s loaded with natural fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants as well as omega 3 fatty acids.
Unfortunately this time of year, the popular other squash, the Pumpkin gets all the press during Halloween. Not a slouch in nutrition itself as pumpkin seeds make an awesome heart healthy snack. But local Farmer’s Markets are bursting with the fall harvest so it’s a great time to try to new fresh vegetables and making vegetable spaghetti seems like the perfect fit food.
Armed with my favorite healthy cookbook, Gourmet Nutrition, I made Spaghetti Squash for the first time the other day and was super impressed with how easy it was to make and how close it was to eating real pasta.
Here’s the rundown straight from the Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook.
Ingredients
4 cups spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Olive oil cooking spray
12 oz (340g) ground sirloin or extra lean ground beef
1 cup onion (small diced)
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup cashews (crushed)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut squash in half and clean out the centre and seeds. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil or butter. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon and then place in the oven.
Bake squash for 45 minutes or until squash is tender enough to stick a fork into it with minimal resistance. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little.
While the squash is baking, preheat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, lightly coat with spray and add the ground sirloin. Sauté the sirloin in batches if necessary, until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat, add in the tomato sauce and cashews, and set aside.
Once squash has cooled a little, scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon, measure and add it to the meat sauce. Next, reheat in the frying pan on medium until warm.
Garnish with the parmesan.
Get more great easy to make healthy recipes like this from The Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook.
There is nothing worse than trying to get in a good workout when the gym is jam-packed!
Well I created for you the Busy Gym Workout that works every muscle in your body and only requires a bench and ONE set of dumbbells…
For days when your local gym is packed liked sardines and probably don’t smell much better, head over to an empty corner of the gym with a flat bench and a set of dumbbells and crank up your ipod to blast out the Busy Gym Workout.
*Warmup with 10 reps of bodyweight squats, pushups and lunges.
Pick one set of dumbbells that you can perform at least 3 sets of 8-10 reps for all exercises.
A Db bench squat to shoulder press, rest 60 secs (hold dumbbells at shoulder height and squat back on bench until your butt touches then stand up and press dumbbells overhead),
B1 One Arm Bent Over DB row, no rest go directly to
B2 One Arm Flat DB Chest press, rest 60 secs
C1 Seated DB Bicep curls,no rest go directly to
C2 Lying DB Tricep Ext, rest 60 secs
D1 Cross Body Mountain Climbers, no rest go directly to
D2 Ab Plank From Floor, rest 60 secs
By using supersets and exercises that keep you in the same space you get an intense workout without the wait!
Here is a post-Thanksgiving recipe for Tasty Turkey Soup that was so easy even a turkey can do it!
Tasty Thanksgiving Turkey Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups turkey light meat, skinless, cooked and cubed
3 cups water
1/2 cup celery, sliced
10 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
1 carton of natural chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup whole wheat macaroni, uncooked
Directions:
In a quart 4-quart saucepan, combine turkey, water, celery, vegetables, broth, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil. Add macaroni and reduced heat to low. Cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender.
I am here looking at the left over turkey and veggies left over in our fridge from Canadian Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, (which was even better finished off with a small slice of my wife’s Pumpkin Cheesecake;-)
It got me thinking of how many guys will feel guilty after eating a big dinner of their favorite foods…not a fun way to live!
I also just finished reading an awesome book that follows the same guidelines as my #1 diet tip for getting lean while still eating REAL tasty food.
The Future of Food is The Past
The more I read up and research the ideas behind the Paleo way of eating the more I believe the future of food is in the past. After seeing how fast I could lean out this summer by adopting a more primal or paleo way of eating which includes lean meats, natural healthy fats, (including saturated fats), fruits and veggies, and no grains such as breads and pastas I know I am not the only one who feels better and looks better by eating the foods we were designed to eat by evolution…
I read the Paleo Diet this summer and now just finished reading the Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, a super smart dude who was a vegan as well as a scientist who turned his lab coat in for lifting heavy weights and eating meat as well as turning his health around and thousands of others by running one of the top 30 gyms in the US according to Men’s Health.
In the Paleo Solution Robb breaks down the science and the reason’s why eating the way humans ALWAYS ate before processed food and known diseases is still the way to eat to perform better and look good in the process. Robb also does it with humor and wit which makes anyone not interested in the science keep reading until the meat of the book…no pun intended.
Rob also has an AWESOME podcast called The Paleo Solution on iTunes which I highly recommend you load up on your ipod to listen to him answer questions from the many readers and listeners which he helps with almost magical results.
To make The Paleo Diet not a diet just make it super simple and eat lean grass fed meats, chicken, wild seafood, organic fruits and veggies and ditch the man made breads, grains and pastas for 30 days and see how much better you FEEL and how LOOK. Add in some heavy lifting with some Dad Fitness workouts a few times a week and stay active with your family and you will be the fittest caveman…I mean dad on the block!
Keep the cheats and treats for a special dinner or occasion and you don’t have to worry about perfection just progress…
What a crazy workout at the gym today! …and the real workout started AFTER completing my regular Dad Fitness workout which included front squats, one leg dumbbell deadlifts, alternating incline dumbbell presses, chest supported barbell rows and medicine ball twists.
Our little dungeon of a gym got some new equipment including dumbbells ranging from 5-100lbs, new adjustable bench, and 2 treadmills. So after I finished my regular workout I ended up helping the guys who work at the Rec Centre and carrying all the new dumbbells from the storage room to the weight room which is about 50 ft or so.
Before I started at that I got to take some of the old hand made dumbbells for myself, the 25s, 35s, 50s, 60s and 82s. Oh and I had to bring them up 12 flights of stairs to load them in my truck.
Then it was on to the new gear. After all was said and done, the total weights lifted were 2100lbs, and my whole body was toast, especially my forearm grip and traps!
Basically I did 20 sets of Farmer’s Walks starting with the heaviest, the 100 pounders and worked my way down to the 5lb dumbbells.
The Farmer’s Walk is an awesome FULL BODY and FUNCTIONAL exercise that builds strength and burns fat by jacking up your heart rate. By lifting and holding two dumbbells or specific strongman barbells while you walking a certain distance you work your whole body from your traps to your calves.
It’s probably also the most functional exercise you can do that relates to real world movement by picking stuff up off the ground and carrying it.
I currently am doing Farmer’s Walks in my lifting routine right now at the end of one of my workouts. Use heavier dumbbells to build strength or lighter ones to go a further distance for time and get your heart rate up to burn fat.
It’s a very versatile exercise which you should add to your workout routine and can make for some fun and challenging outdoor workouts. Even heavy buckets of water or suitcases can be used!
So whether you want the strength of a farmer or just want to bring in the groceries without getting out of breath give Farmer Walks a try…
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