Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I've never been much of a meat-eater. Especially red meats and pork. As a kid, it was a battle to get me to eat meat (#firstworldproblems) and now, I really could take it or leave it. Recently I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and was blown away by some of the statistics. And as a result, I'm trying to decrease my meat consumption. (Except for fish...I could never give up fish).

This past weekend at the lake, my sister introduced me to spaghetti squash. What an interesting vegetable! Wait, it's a squash so it's a fruit right? IDK. Point is, it was delicious.

On another note, I'm a calorie counter. I count every calorie I eat each day and track it. Ok, if I'm on vacation things may get a little carried away and I may not track. Ya only live once!

Real life at the lake this weekend....don't judge ;) 

But because I do this, I love knowing exactly how many calories I'm eating. Especially during the day because dinner is, 99% of the time, home cooked and you never really know exactly what you're getting. So for that reason, I usually take my lunch to work, consisting of a Healthy Choice frozen meal. Don't get me wrong, I think a majority of these are delicious. They're easy to grab on the way out the door and I know exactly how many calories I'm eating. And even better, I've never had one that was over 350 calories. But, the sodium. The sodium content is just too much. And probably all in the form of preservatives. Aka, it's not fresh. And we all know that fresh foods are better for us.

So, all of that brought me to this: I was browsing Pinterest for some vegetarian recipes and for something that I could cook several servings of in advance (for my lunches) when I came across this one for Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash and thought I'd give it a try. Here's my version.

What you'll need:

* 1 spaghetti squash
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 red onion, chopped (mine was a little small & I love onion, so I used the whole thing)
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (leave seeds in for more heat. i like the heat. i left the seeds.)
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 Tbs. ground cumin
* 1 Tbs. Mexican oregano
* 1 Tbs. chili powder
* 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
* 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 lime
* 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used fat-free mozzarella b/c it's what was in the house) 

Preheat oven to 375.

Roast squash on a baking sheet for 50 minutes. Let cool another 30 minutes, then cut in half. Spoon out the seeds, then using a fork, scrape up the flesh, making the “spaghetti.”

Honestly, you can't even tell it's NOT spaghetti!! 

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper and red bell pepper. Saute 2 minutes. Add cumin, Mexican oregano, chili powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another minute. Add the beans, corn and cilantro. Stir to combine. Squeeze in the lime juice and give one last stir.

It's just pretty. 

Add the squash to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season accordingly.

Switch oven to broil.

Stuff each squash half with the mixture and top with grated cheese.

Stick it back under the broiler until the cheese melts and gets all brown and bubbly.

This ended up making 5 servings for me, but it will obviously vary based on the size of your squash. There was a little kick to it so if you don't like spicy, you can cut back on the jalapeno and spices. The only thing I thought of after I devoured my one serving for dinner last night was the fact that I had fresh avocado that would have been DELICIOUS sliced on top of this. Oh well, I have four more servings in the fridge so I'll add it next time ;) 


I'll definitely be making this dish again. Maybe next time I'll make it and share with the family! 

Opening Day 2012

I love baseball.

I love Braves baseball.

And it's not just the sport, but it's the whole experience of being at a game. The smells, the people, the food, the music, the sound of a bat cracking, the hometown pride, and the overall excitement of the thousands of fans.

Now, throw in the fact that it's opening day and you can multiply all of those sentiments by 1,000.

New, exciting entrance!

Your 2012 Atlanta Braves :) 

This year I happened to snag four tickets to the game at the last minute. And as if I wasn't excited enough, The Civil Wars were there to perform before, during, and after the game!

Cutest ever. 

<3<3<3

Kaela, Alison and Me 

I've just become a fan of The Civil Wars in the past year, but I fell hard, and I fell fast. They are incredible and their music is so great. And they're even better life. They sound so good it's stupid. And their chemistry is the greatest thing ever. They are cute and bubbly and funny and are just there to have a good time with their fans. It was so great seeing them live. 

More from The Civil Wars 

Friday night fireworks!!! 

And the Braves even managed to pull off a win for us :) I'm excited for a new season of Braves baseball!! 

The Happiest 5k On The Planet

They weren't kidding. This run was seriously some of the most fun I've ever had.

Before.

All those human canvases!!!!! 

So much happy! 

After. 

So much purple!! 

I can't even describe how happy we are!! This run was made for us! 

Turkey Protein Balls

Now that the race is over, I plan on cutting back on the running (not completely!) and doing a little more with weights and toning. Along with this I'm trying to cut back on the carbs and add more protein...while also trying to keep my calories limited. Not an easy task, I tell ya! Anyway, my cousin brought along these turkey protein balls for the car ride and they were really good just straight out of the cooler. So, I thought I'd give them a try. They'll make a great addition to breakfast or even a mid-morning snack. And they're full of protein and very low on calories. SCORE! Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey
3 egg whites
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dry yellow mustard
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder or 2 cloves minced
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 celery stalks

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Spray a baking sheet with canola or olive oil
- Mix all your ingredients together in a large bowl
- Roll mixture into balls (I used an ice cream scoop, making them about the size of a golf ball)
- Bake for 25 minutes

*Makes about 36
*Each ball has about 46 calories, 1.7 grams of fat, and 5.6 grams of protein
*The chipotle spice in these definitely gives them a pretty good kick so I wouldn't suggest giving them to kids!!

Before

After

 And apparently they smelled good b/c I took them out of the oven,

turned around, and she was standing there with her bowl! 

Thirteen.Point.One.

162.02 = number of miles ran since November.

529 = ounces of water drank the week before. That's 4.13 gallons.

150 = amount of money paid for registration.

20,000 = number of people I ran with.

600 = number of porta potties passed on the course.

168 = minutes ran.

13.1 = number of miles ran.

It's been a week now since I ran my first half marathon; Disney's Princess Half Marathon to be exact. 13.1 miles stretched along the roads and parks of Disney World. Starting and ending in Epcot with a run through Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom in the middle.

Sunday morning at 2:45, fifteen minutes before my alarm was set to go off, a combination of nerves and excitement woke me up without any intention to let me catch those last precious fifteen minutes of sleep. I figured I'd get an early start on things and hopped in the shower. By 3:30, we were out the door, bottles of water, gatorade, bananas, and peanut butter sandwiches in tow. By 3:45, we were on a bus being shuttled to Epcot with the other princesses-to-be. And by 4:15, we were making the 20 minute walk to join our fellow runners. And then we waited.

Bet you've never seen Epcot at 4am!! 

Melissa, Me, Katie

And then we were corralled down a back service road to make it into our starting corrals. At 5:45, the first corral was off!

Mile 1 to 5: Epcot to Magic Kingdom
  These first five miles seemed to pass by quickly. The adrenaline and excitement were definitely blocking out the dread of 13.1 miles of running. Getting a feel for what the race would be like, seeing the characters lined up on the road for pictures, the hundreds of volunteers there to pick up tossed clothing, hand out drinks, or to just cheer us on definitely took my mind off of what I was actually doing.

Mile 6: Magic Kingdom
  Running into Magic Kingdom was a huge boost. We entered through a back lot (aka where the trash is apparently kept b/c it was smelling ripe!) and then onto Main Street USA. There, thousands of spectators cheered us on and the feeling of turning the corner and seeing the castle at the end was thrilling! We ran through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland before making our way to the castle itself. I meant to listen to what song was playing at this point b/c they let us vote on it (I obviously voted for Gaga), but as soon as we got to the castle, trumpets sounded and then all else was forgotten. This was definitely the most memorable part of the race (minus the finish, of course).

Just before entering Cinderella's Castle 

Mile 7 to 10: Magic Kingdom to Epcot Center Drive
  This is when things started to get a little rough for me. We left the park and were on some back roads. Mile 7 brought us the musical stylings of Kelly Clarkson with none other than "Stronger" blasting to push us along. Mile 8 was a complete blur for me. Literally, I totally blocked it out and don't remember a step of it. When I saw the mile 9 marker I said to Katie, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MILE EIGHT?!" She turned and said, "We just ran it, haha!" Welp! I guess it's good I blocked it out! Between miles 9 and  10 they gave us packs of GU Energy Gel....I honestly don't know if it worked, but hey, it's worth a shot! Around mile 10, Katie pulled away from me with two thumbs up and a, "You only have three miles to go!"

Mile 11 to 13: The Highway to Epcot
  This was by far the hardest part of the race for me. By this point, I had been separated from Katie and Melissa so I was on my own. My feet were completely numb and my thighs felt like there were meat grinders in them cranking away. I was exhausted, but I somehow managed to keep moving. This was also when I started to get super emotional. The effort I was putting into trying not to cry was taking away from my effort to keep breathing and there were several times I had to calm myself down before hyperventilating. The combination of being so proud of myself for setting my mind to do something as intense and physically daunting as a half marathon, then accomplishing it, the cheering from the thousands of spectators, the signs of encouragement, and just the feeling of wanting to be DONE all came crashing down at once. And the last mile. The last mile was TORTURE. There were so many people that kept yelling, "You're almost done! Less than a mile! You can do it!!" I swear it was longer than a mile. I swear. But then. THEN, I topped a hill, and at the bottom was the finish line. And Mickey and Minnie ready to greet us. I ran past Minnie, gave her a high five and I was done. A few steps away, I was presented with a medal and a, "Congratulations, Princess." I was done. 13.1 miles. Complete.

Princess Jamie, at your service ;) 

As if running that far wasn't enough, we then had a 45 minute walk to the bus. We finally made it back to the hotel, took quick showers, and then were on a hunt for FOOD. After eating Melissa and I check into a different hotel for the night and CRASHED at about 4:30. At that point we had been awake for 14  hours and ran 13.1 one miles. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement. We had big plans for a sushi dinner, but after waking up after only and hour and a half nap, there was just no way. So we rolled out of bed, went and grabbed something and came back and crashed again. And this is what the 9 hour ride home looked like. 

Sexy!

I didn't mention this before, but I managed to cut 30 minutes off my total time. That's a lot. And because of that, the pain I was in was almost unbearable at times. These compression socks are a life saver....for the lower half of my legs. My knees, calves, and feet were actually never sore. From the knees up were a different story though! I kept the compression socks on (don't worry, they were a clean pair ;)) all day Sunday. And then I wasn't going to wear them on the ride home, but my calves did start cramping a little so I put them on and wah-lah! The 9 hour drive was complete torture though. Trying to find a comfortable position was impossible. And getting in and out of the car at stops, yeah...I was definitely moving slower than any old person we encountered. Melissa said that next year we need to make shirts for the ride home that say "Sorry for the slowness, I ran a half marathon yesterday" to wear on the way home haha! Monday I was still moving slow, but after that, the recovering moved along pretty fast. 

And that's the story of how I ran a half marathon. I'm so happy I did it. As someone who is definitely not a runner, I'm so proud of myself for doing it. Nothing feels better than crossing that finish line and knowing that what you've just accomplished is something that not many people can do. Something that not many people will even attempt. And has hard as it might be while you're doing it or while you're training for months on end, it feels good to know you've done this for yourself and as hopefully an inspiration to someone else. And now I could easily stop, say, "Been there, done that." But I won't. I think this is something I'll keep up. There is definitely room for improvement. And I'm positive this won't be my last half marathon. Heck, we're already talking about next year's Disney Princess Half ;)

 You don't even want to know how many bathroom breaks we had to make 

on the way down ;) 

The Big Kahuna

In elementary school gym class, there were good days and there were bad days. Good days involved the giant parachute, volleyball, jump rope, or a free day on the playground. And the bad days involved “The Big Kahuna.” The uproar of excitement at the announcement of a free day on the playground was always abruptly replaced with moans when “after you run The Big Kahuna” was mentioned. And what was the Big Kahuna? We’d run out of the gym, take a right, loop into the kindergarten hall parking lot, circle around and run to the other end of the road before looping back into the 4th grade hall parking lot. I want to say it was a mile, and who wants to run a mile? Everybody hated the Big Kahuna. Ok, I’m sure there were several kids who had been dropped on their heads as babies one too many times who loved it. I was not one of those kids. I hated running.

Fast forward more years than I care to mention and I’m about to take on my ultimate Big Kahuna. As I type this, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Orlando, Disney World to be exact. It’s 9pm on a Saturday night and I’m getting ready to go to sleep as I listen to the fireworks rumbling at the Magic Kingdom. In a matter of 6 hours, my alarm clock will go off, I’ll lace up my running shoes, be shuttled over to Epcot, where I will, by choice, take on my first half marathon. 13.1 miles. On foot.

I’ve been training for this for nearly a year. I’ve woken up at ungodly hours on Saturday mornings in ungodly temperatures and ran an ungodly amount of miles in the past several months. I've consumed enough water in the past week to fill an Olympic size pool. I’ve sweated, I’ve ached, I’ve wanted to quit. But here I am, clothes laid out, shoes ready to go, iPod charged, belly loaded up on carbs, ready to do this. I keep thinking about how much more I could’ve done. How I could’ve pushed myself a little harder, but it’s too late.

I’m as ready as I’m going to be. My goal is to finish. I have a time frame in mind, but really, as long as I finish, I’ll be happy. And it wouldn’t be so bad to meet Repunzel along the way.

Thank you everyone who has believed in me, supported me, and wished me luck. It means the world to me. You know who you are and I love you.

And when we speak again, I'll not only be a half marathon finisher, but I'll be a Disney Princess, too.