Even the title just makes it sound so good!!! Who doesn't like a little alliteration to get the day going?
This dish is beautiful in its simplicity. It took under 20 minutes to make and it's light and fresh and delicious.
I got the idea off of the Clean Eating Magazine website and of course, as per Kara, I made my own tweaks to it to make it better.
Here's what you need to know...
Ingredients
-3 pound spaghetti squash
-1 tsp olive oil
-1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1/2inch thick strips
-1 pear, cored and cut into chunks
-1 tsp savory seasoning (it's a green seasoning you buy in the spice aisle, or you can use some sage instead)
-1 tbsp. minced garlic
-1 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tbsp. minced fresh chives (they look line green grass)
-3 oz parmesean cheese
Instructions
1. Poke holes in your squash so air can escape during cooking. Place it on a plate and cook it in the microwave 10-14 minutes depending how big your squash is. When it's done, let it cool for at least 5 minutes. After it's cooled, cut it in half short ways, remove seeds, then use a fork to "spaghetti" it.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium. Add chicken, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and add pear and savory seasoning. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. If your squash has been spaghetti-ed, transfer your chicken with drippings onto your bed of spaghetti.
3. Top with fresh chives and parmesean cheese.
4. Toss to combine and ENJOY!
Yesterday, I literally spent my ENTIRE day cooking. I do not always cook delicious things. I made a pumpkin mousse that turned out quite horribly that it went into the trash. I tried to make a battered ginger orange tofu that didn't turn out well. I had to wash the tofu off, re-season it, and cook it again to make it edible (I wasn't about to throw away 2 pounds of tofu!!!). But I did have a few successes...such as this recipe. My re-invented orange and ginger tofu turned out pretty tasty considering its origins. And I made some blueberry, apricot, cranberry granola bars.
If you're busy, like me, and you're lazy, like me, pick a day of the week and just do it all. I cook everything for the week on one day over the weekend. It makes it easy to get up in the mornings and pack lunches and to come home and just heat up something healthy. Yes, I'm exhausted after that day of cooking, but it is SO WORTH IT the rest of the week when I literally don't have to do anything.
NOTE: you'll use fewer dishes and have to clean less if you cut, chop, mince, slice, ALL of your raw fruits and veggies first and do your meats last. A lot of times, you can re-use a lot of the same mixing bowls and whatnot.
Plan menus. Grocery shop to your menu. Plan things that use a lot of the same ingredients during the week. Keep things seasonal.
An example menu would look like this...I'll use today's menu since some of the food is sitting in front of me.
Breakfast: breakfast banana split
Snack: blueberry, apricot, cranberry granola bar
Lunch: orange ginger tofu over quinoa
Snack: cantaloupe
Dinner: spaghetti squash with chicken, pear, and parmesean
Dessert: 2 healthy pumpkin cookies
Eating clean can be as easy as you make it. Prepare everything ahead of time. Keep to your menu. Allow yourself some tasty treats. Especially when you're starting to eat clean, don't berate yourself over a cheat here and there, just make sure you're eating clean no less than 85% of the time.
You've got this!!!
Until next time...
