Savory Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Poached Eggs

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Confession: I just discovered spaghetti squash.

I know some of you superwomen out there have been using it forever as a pasta substitute. You were right, and it is heavenly, but I have to tell you that there is something even better to be had in the leftovers...

I was on my way back from a long run at the gym when I started thinking about lunch. We had gorged on spaghetti squash, marinara and ground turkey the night before, so I knew I had some leftovers. It seemed like a decent plan.

...but really, who wants to eat regular old leftovers?

I was still in the car when I realized I could make something even better with my bowl of spaghetti squash. Throw that spaghetti squash in a pan with some paleo flour, egg white, and nutritional yeast - oh, and don't forget the garlic - and you get something that is restaurant-worthy. You know, like a good restaurant.

These fritters? Each one is a savory, cheesy, goody with a crispy exterior and a warm, textured, cheesy inside. Soak it in the warm yolk of a soft-poached egg and it cannot be beat.

Savory Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Poached Eggs
Servings: 2
Total time using fresh spaghetti squash: <90 minutes
Total time using leftover (cooked) spaghetti squash: <15 minutes
Ingredients for Savory Spaghetti Squash Cakes:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp egg whites (1 egg white)
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp parmesan or nutritional yeast (use nutritional yeast to make this recipe dairy free)
• 1.5 cups spaghetti squash, cooked and stringy
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or your cooking oil of choice)

Ingredients for Poached Eggs:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (optional)
• Water

Directions to cook and prep spaghetti squash (skip this step if you are using leftovers or already prepared stringy spaghetti squash):

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Poke spaghetti squash 4 times with a fork or knife to allow for air to escape.
3. Place on an aluminum or parchment lined pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, until the outside can be much more easily pierced with a fork.
4. Remove from oven and let cool enough that it can be handled. 
5. Cut in half length-wise, then scoop out the seeds and discard.
6. Use a fork to remove the flesh and use for the recipe. Flesh should come out nice and stringy, like angel-hair pasta!

Directions:

1. Combine garlic, egg white, flours, parmesan/nutritional yeast, and spaghetti squash in a bowl and mix well. Divide in two and roll into balls.
2. Heat coconut oil over high heat in a covered skillet until melted. 
3. Place both cake balls in the oil and use a thin spatula to flatten them to be about half an inch thick. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
4. (Optional directions for adding poached eggs: While cakes are cooking, fill a sauce pan with 2 inches of water and boil. Add rice vinegar, lower to a light simmer, and use a small cup or ramekin to slowly slip each egg into the water. Wait for 3 minutes for soft poached eggs, then use a spoon to remove)
5. Reduce heat, remove the cover, and flip both cakes using the thin spatula. Re-cover and return to high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and top with poached eggs.

How To Fake Being a Morning Person

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Want to get up early to hit the gym (or whatever else you would do by waking up early)? This post is about to change your life.

You can ask my siblings, husband, or parents, and they will all warn you that I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON! But, as they would also attest to, I am extremely cranky without a workout. So, I have had to develop some ways to trick myself into waking up early, even though I hate loathe despise waking up early.

How To Fake Being a Morning Person

1. Set things out. 

If you are not a morning person, chances are that you have at least some energy at night. Before going to bed (I know you want to just crawl in, but wait a second!), set out your stuff. Why? Because this way, you won't have to even THINK about what you are doing while your brain is trying to wake up. You can just DO.

Grab EVERYTHING you need and make EVERYTHING easy on yourself. If you are sleeping in a bed with a significant other you don't want to wake up, try stashing everything you need in the bathroom the night before.

Things to set out:

• Clothing: Grab your shorts, top, underwear, sports bra, socks, and shoes. If you are going to need a jacket or something like that, grab that too.
• Hair stuff: Make sure you have a hair band on your wrist or something easily accessable.
• Contacts/glasses/anything else you need to do before heading out.
• Caffeine: If you have any special wake-up drink, have it ready and visible. I like using Mio, so I set out the little mio bottle and sometimes even a cup so that I can easily make my drink without even thinking.
• Pack your gym bag: Need a yoga mat? towel? anything you need to bring, set it out.

2. Force the issue with an alarm. 

But, not just any alarm. There is such a thing as alarm optimization.

First, make it an exciting, upbeat song. I recently started using Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines because it starts with "Everybody get up!" and as soon as I hear it, I think... He's talking to me! I have also been known to use Benny Benassi, because how can you not want to dance?

Second, write yourself a note on your alarm that is simultaneously kind of funny and also makes you feel like crap if you don't get up. Acceptable messages include:

• Beyonce is already at the gym!
• If Katniss could survive the Hunger Games, you can get your ass to the gym.
• If Britney survived 2007, you can get to the gym.
• Run or be cranky later.

3. Oblige by the ten minute rule and pretend your bed is full of molten lava. 

Even if you do all of the above things right, YOU WILL STILL NOT WANT TO WAKE UP. Do NOT let yourself hit snooze. 

If you are not a morning person, it sucks to wake up, but just get yourself the hell out of bed ASAP and everything will be better in ten minutes. It is really only the first few minutes that suck, and you have to get out of bed as fast as you can. Like, pretend your bed is full of lava that will burn the heck out of you if you don't JUMP DON'T STEP to the nearest floor.

"But what if I don't have an alarm set?" Even if you are not trying to get to a time-sensitive event and you don't set an alarm, you should get out of bed ASAP as soon as you are conscious. Yes, staying in bed feels awesome. Yes, cat napping is the shit. But, I know for a fact that if I keep going back to sleep, not only will I waste most of my day doing absolutely nothing, but I will also be CRANKIER THAN IF I JUST GOT OUT OF BED IN THE FIRST PLACE! As I said before, it's just the first ten minutes. Then everything is pretty golden.

4. Put it all together - Make a plan. 

Decide the night before what you are going to do for your workout and write it down in a notebook or on your phone. 

If you are planning to go to a class, make sure you have set yourself up in #1 with all of the tools you need.  Plan your alarm (#3) to work with your plan, too. 

Example plan: Let's say I am going to a hot pilates class tomorrow at 6am (which I used to do). 

1. SET THINGS OUT: I pack my bag for the morning. Since I am running, I pack a light back pack with my yoga mat, a towel, and a water bottle. I set my bag out next to the door. I also make sure before going to bed that I choose my outfit (including a light jacket to wear as I run there) and set it out on the table where I will be changing, and that I make my caffeine, hair tie, and contacts easily visible as well.
2. ALARM: I want to run there, so I will need to leave by 5:40. That means I need to wake up at 5:20 in order to do that, so I set my alarm for 5:20. 
3. HOT LAVA: When my alarm goes off, jump out of bed like I am running from Jack Bauer. 

And there you have it! 

Anyone have other suggestions for trying to be a morning person? Share in the comments below!

Bouncing Back After Eating All The Things

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Whether you over did it on alcohol or ate too many cheesy potatoes, chances are that most of us overloaded our bodies with something this past holiday. Instead of mentally punishing yourself for over imbibing, try following these 6 steps to help your body bounce back after an over indulgent holiday (or not!) weekend:
             

1. Water! Detox water, with lemon, mint, and cucumber will help you down it fast and flush your system, but if all else fails and you don't have these ingredients on hand, JUST DRINK WATER. You should aim for AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces.
   
   
   
2. Protein! Chances are, despite the Thanksgiving holiday being turkey-centered, your eating was focused on Carbs, Carbs, and more Carbs! Make sure you are incorporating protein so that, as you ramp your workouts up, your muscles are able to handle it and rebuild. Some good protein ideas are...
             -Chicken Breasts, cooked stovetop, baked, or grilled
             -Beef, via ground beef on the stovetop or grilled steaks
             -Turkey (yes, more of it), either ground up, or leftover from the bird carcas
   
   
   
3. Greens! Your body needs lots of nutrients and fiber to... er... move through the food you consumed, so make sure you are loading up on veggies and greens. Some great ideas for greens and fiber are...
             -Spinach
             -Arugula
             -Butter lettuce
             -Romain
             -Basil
             -Celery
             -Cucumber
   
   
4. Sweat! Even if you got some good exercise in over the break, chances are that you ate your way through those calories burned (trust me - it's easy to do). As a result, you're running off of a caloric surplus. A surplus of money is good. A surplus of calories... not so much. To combat the extra pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes with gravy, make sure you are getting some extra exercise in. Make sure you combine cardio and weights! Some good post-indulgency workout ideas are...
             -Cardio: Treadmill, Elliptical, Stairmaster, Biking, Spin classes, Aerobics classes, Swimming
             -Weights: Body By Science, Bodypump (LesMills), GroupPower (BTS)
             -Stretching: Pilates, Yoga
   
   
   
5. Avoid the alcohol. It is an excessive amount of calories, and drinking multiple glasses of any alcohol laden substance will risk slowing your metabolism. In short: Unless you've got something really mind blowingly amazing going on, just skip the alcohol for at least a few days.
   
   
   
6. Avoid the salt. Or, at very least, go easy on it. Salt has a tendency to cause us to bloat, which is not a great thing when you're also taking in massive amounts of water. It will deceive you into thinking you have gained more weight than you have. Make sure you don't add salt to your food. Instead, opt for flavorful but salt-free seasoning. Mrs. Dash and Cavender's both make a delicious salt-free seasoning.

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WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What rules do you follow to bounce back?
• Do you follow any of these?

Wedding Countdown in Workouts and Food

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My wedding is on FRIDAY! My mind is completely blown and I feel like I'm floating. It has come up so fast, but I can't wait. As I've been gearing up for my big day in a white dress, here's my routine...

WORKOUTS: Rain or shine, day or night, I'm at the gym. Well, mostly early in the morning, when it's barely light outside. This has lead to many half-awake mornings in front of the mirror, chugging my N.O. Explode and giving myself a pep talk. I am not a morning person... but I'm working on it!

Running! 
To the gym, to The Merc, while watching The New Girl on Netflix... I'm trying to run around town more. When I have appointments, I've been trying to run there instead of taking public transit. I am surprised by how easy it is to just turn those little errands into an excuse to run - and sometimes I even get to my destination faster than if I used public trans!

Hot Pilates/Toning Classes @ The Mercury Method! 
My routine is to run there, do the hour long workout, and run home. Each way is about 1.7 miles, so it ends up being a very well rounded workout by the time you add it all up. An hour of hot (literally) toning plus a 3.4 mile run? Perf. It also means that, because of running there (and sometimes sprinting to avoid being late), I frequently START the hot classes with a face that is ALREADY red.

Weights Galore! 
I pumped the most weight EVER in Bodypump this week and it felt like a serious personal accomplishment. Weddings are big motivators!

I've also been keeping up with Body By Science and doing one or two weights days per week with my fiance. He is a tough trainer...

FOOD & DRINK: My main strategy has been to avoid as much dairy, salt, and alcohol as possible, while loading up on protein and fat and limiting the carbs. This amounts to lots of fish, chicken, avocado, and Perfect Fit protein shakes.

I know I said I was kind of avoiding dairy... but let's be real, a grande unsweet iced coffee with a splash of whole milk is the bomb.

Morning tonic: Water (or Sparkling Water) + 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar. 

Psyllium husk and protein between meals: I bought psyllium husk and, let me just say, that stuff is like mud water. I don't care how awesome you think you are, it is just not good. So, I started mixing it with one packet of Perfect Fit Protein Powder and it is delicious! Tastes like brown sugar in a cup. Winning. Plus, for 90 calories, this thing has over 15g of protein and is PACKED with fiber.

Protein Salads: This one features blackened tilapia, butter lettuce, onion, and some drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil. And obviously... sriracha.

This one is similar, minus the sriracha, plus avocado and nutritional yeast (TASTES LIKE CHEESE OMG).

This one can hardly be called a salad. In my attempts to get as much protein and fat as possible, I occasionally just go straight to the good stuff: Crock pot chicken and avocado. YUM.

Meanwhile, my fiance (who is 6 foot 7 and seems to be able to eat whatever he wants, for the most part) is eating this...

Okay, it only happened once. Still funny. 

What about you?

•  Do you have special routines to prepare for big days or vacations?

Why You Need More Fiber In Your Diet

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Let's talk about fiber, okay, class? Yes, let us discuss (or, as I like to say, "lettuce").

Who Needs Fiber?
Are you...

1. trying to lose weight?
2. trying to maintain your current weight?
3. trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
4. trying to reduce your risk of disease?
5. trying to keep your blood sugar stable?

If you said yes to any of those things, then YOU need fiber in your diet! If you didn't say yes to any of those things, then you're trying to gain weight, are unconcerned with health or disease, and have no interest in living a healthy lifestyle, so... why are you reading this blog, again?

Fiber can help you lose weight or maintain your current weight by keeping you... ehem... "regular" and improving your metabolism while also helping you feel FULL!

Fiber is also known to decrease risk of disease, help you steady your blood sugar levels, and lower cholesterol! So, why not add some to your diet? What have you got to lose? :)

There are two types of fiber: Soluble and Insoluble. Each type has its own benefits to your system!

Soluble v. Insoluble: A Tale of Two Fibers...

Soluble Fibers:
The soluble fibers dissolve in water (pretty easy to remember if you can remember back to your high school science classes). Soluble fibers are great for lowering cholesterol and thereby lowering your risk of heart disease. Yay!

You've probably seen the Cheerio boxes (and other cereals high in soluble fibers) boasting of "Heart Healthy" ingredients. That's the soluble fiber they're talking about!

Soluble fiber is found in beans, peas, lentils, oatmeal, oat bran, nuts, seeds, psyllium, apples, pears, strawberries, and blueberries.*

Insoluble Fibers:
And then, my friends, there is insoluble fiber. As you may have guessed, based on the description of soluble fibers as fiber that dissolves in water, insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Now, the tale of two fibers is not akin to the tale of two carbs (you know how there are "good" carbs and "bad" carbs?). Instead, they're both good. Great, actually. For different reasons.

Foods that are high in insoluble fiber aid in digestion. It gets you moving. Darn it, it makes you poop. Yes. I did just say poop on my blog. Get over it. Pooping is good for you! Err. I mean insoluble fiber. It keeps your metabolism moving and can save you from colon cancer.

Insoluble fiber is found in whole grains, barley, couscous, brown rice, bulgur, wheat bran, nuts, seeds, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, green beans, dark leafy vegetables, raisins, nuts, grapes, and tomatoes.*

Both kinds of fiber are great for keeping you full for longer than other foods, which helps curb your appetite and dissuade you from over-eating.

How much do you need?

Women need 25 Grams. Men need 38.*

How do you get it?

Naturally:
Beans, grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables!
Your best bets: lettuce, dark leafy greens, broccoli, okra, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, corn, snap beans, asparagus, cabbage, whole wheat pasta, popcorn, nuts, raisins, pears, strawberries, oranges, bananas, blueberries, mangoes, and apples.*

Dietary Adjustments: 
Some of us are avoiding a few of the best "high-fiber) foods... for example, because I follow a revised paleolithic nutrition plan, I'm trying to avoid most grains, which knocks out cereals and grains as a means by which to ingest fiber (though some Fiber One cereals contain at least half of the daily dose of fiber in one serving!). As a result, I've turned to black beans, chia seeds and flax seeds, and a never ending supply of berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries) and seeds like Chia Seeds and Flax Seeds.

Additions and Supplements:
Metamucil - no, it's not just for your grandparents. Metamucil is a fiber supplement that can be stirred into water. I generally buy the orange-flavored kind and drink a glass 3 times a day, which can knock out about 35-40% of your daily fiber needs.

Flaxseed Meal - throw it into batter for cupcakes, pancakes, cookies, etc... or add it to protein shakes.

Chia Seeds - similar to flaxseed, chia seeds are easily added to baking batter and protein shakes. They are also delicious in pudding!


High-fiber recipes:


Whole Wheat Flax Waffles or Pancakes

91 Calorie Berry Protein Muffins

Protein Fiber Meal Cookies

Banana Nut Muffins

 

Curried Lentil Soup

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Insalata Mista

Enjoy!

Credits:
Fitness Breakout
*Web MD: How Much Fiber
FitWatch

Revised Paleolithic Diet

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Check it out! I've re-vamped my Food and Fitness pages to be more intuitive and navigable. You'll find lots of new resources on the Fitness page as well as (finally) a link to my nutritional/diet philosophy and a number of recipes to get you started with that.

I've gotten a few questions about what kind of "diet" I follow. Instead of following the diet fads of the year week, I follow a set of general guidelines, which is essentially a Revised Paleolithic Diet. The guidelines are pretty easy to comprehend and follow, as the "diet" is more of a philosophy than a set of specific foods to purchase and cook with.

Why It Matters:

• Good Eats = Good Workouts. You have to be eating well to reap the benefits of even the most grueling workouts. That means getting lots of protein, healthy fats, and good carbohydrates.
• Good Eats = Good Energy. Really. It makes a huge difference. By being conscious about your diet, you can ensure that your body is getting the nutrients you need. Without those nutrients, your body often feels tired and hungry, even when your stomach is full.

Main Points of the Revised Paleolithic Diet:

• Eat like your ancestors... in a modern world. While the Paleolithic diet may have once been ideal, I believe that we ought to allow ourselves some variation in order to accommodate the world we live in, taking into account...
• Our activity level has changed (read more)
• We have more knowledge/information about the human body (read more)
• Some foods have become more accessible while others have become less accessible (read more)

•  Method: Optimize, Limit, Avoid
• Optimize nomadic foods (read more)
• Limit non-nomadic farm foods (read more)
• Avoid foods that wouldn't have been possible back-in-the-day (read more)

Want to actually READ my diet philosophy and the Revised Paleolithic Diet? I've written all about it on a static page so that I can easily edit it and update you guys with new recipes as time goes on. You can access the Diet Philosophy & Recipes page here or via my Fitness or Food pages!