Day 19: Paleo Pasta!

I had a question about what role nuts play in the Paleo way of eating. It is really up to the individual. I probably rely on nuts more than the average person because I am trying to make sure I get enough calories while nursing, I love nuts (especially cashews and almond butter), and quite frankly they are just so easy to eat on the go. Nuts and seeds are suggested in moderation for this way of eating. If people are trying to lose weight or get healthy from a chronic illness than then they should be eaten in very small amounts or not at all. There are plenty of recipes out there that do not contain nuts of any kind. We have been using Paleo cookbooks as guides, but we are also looking at gluten free cookbooks and tweaking. A lot of recipes call for coconut flour or oil (we also use almond flour), but remember that coconuts are not actually nuts.

Breakfast: Avocado

Snack: Apple slices and almond butter

Lunch: Turkey stir-fry with zucchinni, summer squash and mushrooms and a steamed sweet potato). A steamed sweet potato is my dad's new favorite thing.

Snack: Almonds

Dinner: Spahgetti Squash Pasta with homeade Paleo pasta sauce (Paleo Comfort Foods, 122), chicken breast, and steamed veggies. Scott had to work overtime so our family stayed at my parents house for the evening. My mom had a spaghetti squash she wanted to try so dinner was planned. We had never tried spaghetti squash before and I must say that it was incredibly good. I loved it, the parents loved it and the kids loved it. Of course it is not the same as regular spaghetti and sauce, but it is a fun substitute. There is a little bit of sweetness to it and it was fabulous with the tomato sauce my mom had made previously and frozen.

1. Cut squash lengthwise 2. Take out all the seeds and excess stringy stuff from the inside. 3. Put olive oil in bottom of pan. 4. Put it in skin side up. 5. Cook for 40 minutes at 375 (or until the skin is soft when pricked with a fork. 6. When done take out of oven and let cool 5-10 minutes 7. Take a fork and scrape out the insides into a large bowl. 8. If you choose, add any other ingredients.

There are a lot of recipes out there that include many flavorings or seasonings. We just just ate the squash with the tomato sauce. It had a great flavor on it's own.

Dessert: Jicama (what is jicama?) and fresh organic strawberries. We just dicovered jicama. It is a very interesting vegetable that has a nice crunch to it. We ate it plain, but I could see dipping it in guacomole, salsa, almond butter, or any other sauce. You could also put it in a fruit salad.

I am excited that I have two new foods to add to our favorite foods list: spaghetti squash and jicama!