A Little Inspiration + A Twisted Recipe

   Hi Friends!

   Confession:  January has been my worst.blogging.month.EVER.  Now that that's out of the way let's get on to the good stuff.

   All month long I've been seeing this UnderArmour commercial on TV that totally "speaks" to me.  Has that ever happened to you?  You see something on TV or read something and it makes a huge impact on you or inspires you to make changes.  Well, that's exactly what happened to me.

   Before I go any further, here's the commercial:

   Tell me that didn't just inspire you to get up and move?  Yeah, me too.  I've been really slacking lately in the fitness department and this clip gives me so much motivation.  Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of working out "hard".  I like cardio, especially when I'm listening to good loud music like this, but when it comes to strength training, ugh... so not a fan.  BUT, I love kickboxing classes and any kind of exercise that makes me feel strong without making me feel like I'm going to gain a bunch of bulky muscle.  Ha!  If you knew me you would know that this would take years of weightlifting to achieve but, in my twisted mind if I lift anything over 15lbs I will immediately end up looking like Popeye the Sailor Man.  No joke. 

   At least he eats his spinach, right?  Speaking of healthy eating, I have a really yummy recipe to share with you.  I indulged quite a bit during the Holiday's so it feels really good to eat healthy whole foods on a regular basis again.  This recipe is dedicated to all of you pasta lovers out there.  Give this a try the next time you get a craving for the starchy stuff.

Twisted Pesto Pasta with a Rustic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Pasta

1 Spaghetti Squash

For the Spinach Pesto Puree

4 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon pine nuts

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

pinch sea salt

lemon juice/water, optional

For the Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin coconut oil

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 tsp sea salt

cracked black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Prepare the squash by washing the outer skin, cutting it in half lengthwise and removing the pulp and seeds.  Place it in an oven safe dish, cut side down, and add about an inch of water to the bottom of the dish.  Bake for about 30 - 45 minutes or until tender.  Set aside and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Heat the coconut oil in a large pan on med heat until hot, then lightly cook the garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes until tomatoes wilt a bit.
While the tomato sauce is cooking, prepare the spinach pesto puree.  Add all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender (starting with the oil) and process until smooth.  If you're having a hard time processing the ingredients you can add a bit of lemon juice or water (starting with 1 tablespoon at a time) to the blender/food processor. 
Using a fork, scrape the flesh of the squash to produce spaghetti-like strands and add them to a bowl.  Toss the spaghetti squash with the spinach pesto and top with tomato sauce.
Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Happy Monday everyone! 

Love,

Ves xx