Whole30 Vegetarian: Day 11. Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca. (Vegan, Paleo).

Today marks day 11 of the Whole30 Vegetarian experiment. I haven't posted in a few days, so here's the update:

I'm feeling great. Energy levels are good, sleep is excellent, although PMS-ing on this diet is a bitch. Lunch-time hunger grumps are likely to lead to rage and even crying. Eating well, and often, is a must. It can be time consuming and all of my schedule has to account for when we are going to eat.

Breakfast usually looks like this:

Lunch is typically a salad or leftovers. Food is getting boring, I'll admit, but the diet isn't hard. I still don't miss anything that we've cut out, but I have to tell you that I've been having dreams about eating carbs. For reals. Like dreams about stuffing an entire package of rice cakes into my face and eating them like a crazy person. Which is weird, because awake, I don't want rice cakes. Hm.

Okay, so the good news. I know we aren't supposed to weigh ourselves during the program, but I totally did. And I'm down 6 lbs. I've been about 140 lbs for the last five years, and NOTHING I've done has gotten me below 140. Today I'm at 139. Booya! That feels pretty fucking amazing.  (I curse when I'm excited. Or when I'm mad. Or just in general).

So today's recipe is spaghetti squash. It's not the first time this veg has appeared on my blog, and I'm forever a fan of nature's spaghetti. The recipe takes 40 minutes, but really that's just "sit back and let it cook time." The prep will take about 10 minutes or so.

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash, halved
1 jar of crushed organic tomatoes
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes
olive oil
1/2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 tsp each marjoram and oregano
1/2 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste
olives of your choice, chopped (I used salty green olives, but you can use black or kalamata olives).

Preheat your oven to 375. Place your squash halves on a cookie sheet, but don't put them in yet. Meanwhile, saute your onion, garlic and bell pepper in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add in your spices and sundried tomatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add in your tomatoes and water and set your heat to low, maintaining a gentle simmer.

Now place your squash in the oven and set the timer to 40 minutes. Your squash and sauce will each cook for the next 40 minutes, stir your sauce occasionally.

When finished, pull the squash out of the oven and cool slightly so you can handle it. Then with a fork, shred the insides into spaghetti, top with sauce and olives and enjoy! Makes great leftovers too!

Spaghetti Squash with Coconut Oil and Parsley

I've been hearing  a lot about coconut oil lately; its benefits for hair and skin, and for cooking. I love all things coconut (not that yucky imitation coconut flavor, but the real stuff). So I picked up a bottle this afternoon at my local market. I also picked up the first of autumn's pumpkin and squash bounty. You know it was only a matter of time before I put these two together, right?

But shortly afterwards, I was warned off of using it from my friend who used to live in Indonesia. I guess when coconut oil became a big fad, Indonesians began to cut down jungle to grow coconut trees, encroaching into Orangutan native habitat. Thankfully, I checked my bottle, and it seems mine came from the Phillipines. So dinner was on after all!

Spaghetti squash is so fun. I never get over the fact that it actually turns into little noodles when you dig into it. If I could, I would seriously consider replacing ALL of my pasta with this neat little vegetable.  Plus, the flavor of the coconut was so delicious, it really comes through as it cooks, without being sweet or overpowering.

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash
4 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves of galic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Slice your spaghetti squash in half (this requires muscles and a very sharp knife!) then clean out the seeds. Place face down on a greased cookie sheet and cook at 375 for about 40 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat coconut oil, garlic and ginger in a pan until fragrant. Remove from heat.

Using a fork, scrape the squash out and watch as it magically turns into noodles!!

Place your squash noodles into a large bowl, salt and pepper to taste, and pour the coconut oil/garlic mixture on top. Stir to coat. Top with parsely.