FauxPasta Fo Mama!

by Jenny

Close your eyes and imagine the smell of some delicious Italian pasta swimming in a divinely rich sauce...now, imagine adding up those calories. Wah, wah, wah. I wanted the taste of pasta without all the carbs and I do love me some spaghetti squash but I wanted something new, a different texture. So the experiment begins. And I'm going to, of course, share with you, why? Because it came out fantastic! And if there's any pasta lovers out there that want to give it a try, here ya go! I thought even if I replace one pasta dish a week (we usually eat pasta twice a week) that would help decrease my carb intake. Trying to make healthier choices ya know....

FauxPasta with Kielbasa & Mushrooms
(feeds 4)
2-3 zucchini
1 container of mushrooms
1 turkey kielbasa cubed
Olive oil
Fresh basil
Garlic salt & pepper

First, I used a julienne tool I have to slice up the zucchini in small strips. Then brown kielbasa in skillet with small amount of olive oil. Next add fresh basil & mushrooms- I put the lid on at this point to cook down and soften the mushrooms. Then add the zucchini strips and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir and cook for a few minutes til it reaches the point you can't resist wanting to eat it. I added a small sprinkle of parmesan to finish it off. Super easy, super quick. Gluten free & low carb, what's not to love!

(We did cook some whole wheat pasta for the kids to have and topped their pasta with this veggie sausage mixture. They loved it!)

Change 3 Challenge

Okay, here goes...asking for accountability is one of the hardest things I ever do. Because it means that someone may actually remind me of the things I want to change when I'm doing the things that won't help me get there.
Although, I know I don't have a lot of readers yet since beginning this blog in August, so how much accountability I'll get is questionable... ;)

I recently made it to a workshop at our church for leaders (my husband and I are the youth pastors, he even recently got hired full time so we've got that transition happening in our lives- so cool to have your passion be your job!) about helping people on your team release core passions and activate Kingdom dreams. There was a wheel with different categories such as Spiritual Life, Marriage, Family & Children, Financial Stewardship, and Physical Stewardship, among others. There were tons of questions to get you to identify and focus on your core personal values. It got me thinking how I value and place time around certain core values on the wheel but completely ignore others. To simplify it, sometimes I think of my life in realms: my spiritual, my mental, & my physical realm. I tend to focus on my mental realm by reading a lot, etc. I go through spurts of focusing on my spiritual realm. God and I are on a really awesome journey right now, He's showing me all sorts of greatness and in turn, I'm working in a lot of my journey with the kiddos during our homeschool bible time then they get to go have their own quiet time to see what God's got for them specifically. Well, the area I tend to neglect is my physical realm. In this workshop it is called "Physical Stewardship" and asks questions like...

• What is my personal definition of health?
• What words come to my mind when I think about describing the particular body God gave me?
• What do I tend to do to take care of myself physically?
• Looking back at my behavior patterns, how would I describe my way of dealing with:
• Rest
• Pain
• Medical attention
• Physical limitations
• Nutrition
• Physical appearance
• Stress

Can I just be honest here? I hate those questions! My way of dealing with those areas? What areas? What are you talking about? Take medication? Rest? Pay attention to my body? I don't know what you're talking about... I bury my head in the sand. My way of acknowledging is not acknowledging at all. It takes my husband hours to convince me to take Motrin for a headache. I really don't care about clothes and makeup as much as most of my female friends. I do however, try to eat fairly healthy (it's my serving sizes that are probably my major issue for my weight). I like to cook with whole foods, grains, and veggies. I try not to buy food with high fructose corn syrup, I drink good water and use non fluorinated toothpaste and deodorant with no antiperspirants. I guess I care a little bit about the inside of my body... Anyway, these questions got me thinking about my physical stewardship and how I take care of what God gave me.
Well, long story short (you're thinking, "This is short?! What would be long?!" If you only knew how I could ramble...) I'm gonna make some changes and I'd like your help to hold me accountable!
I've found this really cool momma with a cool blog who I'm going to attempt this 'linking up thing' with- Amber at Adventures in Mindful Cooking- and her Change 3 Challenge. It's simple: Change 3 things. I'm going to focus on the physical since that's the area I'm needing help in.
Here's my three:

1. Drink 100 ounces of water (I definitely don't drink nearly enough water!)
2. Write down everything I eat! (I always do better about not eating so much when I have to mark it down.)
3. Only eat fruits and veggies for any snacking I do during the day! (My hubby and I always have snack at night after we put the kiddos to bed, I'm going to keep that one!)

So here goes! To find out more about this challenge or join me, either on your blog, facebook, or twitter, click this link~Adventures In Mindful Cooking "Change 3 Challenge"
Check back with me next week to see how I did!
~Jenny

Spaghetti Squash...It's What's For Dinner!

By Jamie

Looking for a new recipe for a healthy dinner? Try this! My hubby liked it, and that's saying a lot considering all the veggies in it!

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
2 tomatoes
3 chopped green onions
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow/orange bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbs Italian seasoning
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use any low-sodium sauce I can find)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.Chop zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers into 1/3" pieces and put into large baking dish. Add mushrooms, chopped green onions, and minced garlic.
3. Toss vegetable mix with olive oil and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake @425 for 20 mins.
5. In a separate pot, heat spaghetti sauce on medium heat.

(If you are ahead of the game, you can make the mixed veggie dish earlier in the day or week, and store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator for this recipe. I made my veggie mix during our lunch period for use in dinner that night.)

For the squash:
While the veggies bake, microwave the whole spaghetti squash for 5 minutes. Turn and microwave it again for another 2 minutes. Using a towel, remove squash from microwave. Be careful! It's extremely hot! Now your squash is tender enough to cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds in both halves. Place halves flesh side down in a large microwave safe dish with 1 inch of water. Microwave for 5 more minutes. Remove carefully. It's hot! Let cool until safe to handle. With a fork, scrape the flesh of the squash into strands. Place 1 cup of strands on a plate for each serving. You should get 3-4 servings depending on the size of the squash.

Finishing Touches:
Top squash with hot veggie mix, and heated sauce as desired. Add parmesan cheese and red pepper for a kick! That's how my hubby likes it. Serve hot!