Spinach, Red Pepper & Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Olive Oil Vinaigrette

For lunch today, I had a couple of things that I needed to use up. The first was some leftover sauteed spinach from dinner last night. The second was my faaaaaavvvorite salad dressing, a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette. And I was craving pasta. So I put these 3 things together and made a veggie pasta with the vinaigrette as pasta sauce.

I seriously use this vinaigrette for everything… I make it and usually keep it for about a week, although I’m sure it can be kept longer. It just doesn’t normally last that long. Its great to put on open-faced sandwiches (it does tend to soak through the bread a little), sauteed veggies, salads (of course), to marinate meat, etc, etc. And of course, like today, sometimes I use it to toss my pasta in.

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette Ingredients:

8 cloves minced garlic (I know, it’s a lot. If you don’t love garlic, feel free to put in less… or more if you absolutely adore garlic.)

1 cup lemon juice (I find fresh is better, as in most situations. Usually takes about 3 – 4 lemons.)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

>Simply mix all ingredients together until lemon juice and olive oil are blended, and voila!

 

And now to my pasta…

I don’t have any exact measurements of ingredients. I was just making a quick lunch for myself using the vegetables I had on hand. Feel free to substitute or make it your own with different vegetables.

I cut up some zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and red bell pepper. While my whole-wheat pasta was boiling, I sauteed the zucchini and red bell pepper in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes. Then I added the tomatoes and my leftover sauteed spinach.

After my pasta was done boiling, I added it to my veggies, poured the desired amount of my lemon & olive oil vinaigrette, and cracked some fresh ground pepper over the top.

It hit the spot. I give almost all of the credit to the lemon & olive oil dressing… can never get enough.

I apologize for the not-so-great pictures, but I was starving and in a hurry!

 

An Irish Blessing

My mom sent me this forwarded email yesterday of an irish blessing, and I had to share. Usually, I quickly read these emails and delete them, but this one gave me chills. It just reminds you that every action has a consequence, whether good or bad, and no matter how big or small the action. Everything does come full circle.

I love stories like this; so inspiring.

 

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’

‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.
‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.

‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.’ And that he did.

Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

 

Do you believe in karma?

Which bandwagon have you hopped on lately?

I’m not one to hop on bandwagons…in fact, I’m the girl who consistently cheers for the underdog. There have been a few times in life, however, when I’ve realized that the bandwagon is worth the sacrifice. And when all of the information on “real food” started passing by me, I realized this was a wagon I needed to jump on. I started with the  100 Days of Real Food blog and branched out from there.

One of my New Year’s goals was to cut out added sugar from my diet completely…which is really hard for a sugar-aholic to do, but I was eating way too much sugar. So however much I hated the idea, sugar had to go completely. I’m an all or nothing kind of girl. I delayed for a few weeks, wishing desperately that a genie would appear so I could make one of my three wishes, which would be that ALL sugar is suddenly healthy, makes you lose weight instead of gain weight and prevents cancer. (Does that count as 1 wish or 3?) Seriously, how happy would you be?

So, once I bit the bullet and stopped eating added sugar, I also started hearing more and more about eating only Real Foods…and that’s when I started the research and decided to make it happen. I’ve always been a pretty healthy person (sugar addiction aside). I buy from farmer’s markets as much as possible and and try to fit in my servings of fruits and vegetables every day. I do a pretty good job of it, too. So changing over to only real foods didn’t seem like that hard of a challenge for me. And once I stopped eating sugar cold-turkey, it was surprisingly easy. It has only been a few weeks and I don’t even crave it anymore. Maybe all the fuit and my home-made granola (made with honey, which is ok sugar, and cinnamon) satisfies my sweet-tooth. After making the change myself, I felt the need to post about it (along with the other 324224 blogs on the subject) and share the real food love with the world.

First, this YouTube video is extremely informative when it comes to fructose (sugar). It is essentially a poison to your body. I’d urge you to watch the video…yes, it’s 90 minutes. yes, it is a little boring. but the most important yes, it will convince you to eat less (if not give up completely) added sugar. I split it up into 3 sessions and watched 30 minutes at a time… makes it a little more bearable.

Also, as I mentioned before, read the 100 Days of Real Food blog…about why they are doing this and the manageable way in which the family got to their goal of zero processed foods. I found out about it after my cousin implemented it in her family. She immediately noticed a difference in her energy and lost weight without even trying. And if you do a little research, you’ll see articles upon articles of the health benefits. The 100 Days blog lists what foods are OK and what are not…I use the “ancestor” rule. If I’m at the grocery store and I’m not sure about something, I ask myself, “Did my ancestors eat this?” Butter: yes. Margerine: no. And while I know it’s hard to believe after years and years of having society hammer the idea that margarine is healthy into your head, butter will actually help you lose weight (in moderation, as in all things) faster than margarine. The more a food has been processed, the harder it makes it for your body to break it down, causing more to be stored as fat rather than the food being digested.

Apart from 100 Days and the video link I have given you, here are a few more recommended links:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17923418

http://www.examiner.com/kids-nutrition-exercise-in-national/the-benefits-of-eating-real-food

http://foodday.org/why-eat-real/

And if you aren’t convinced yet… read this article (Rodale is a great website for healthy choices). You never know what you are eating in your highly-processed foods. I’m sure you’ve heard the fact about how Velveeta cheese is only one molecule away from plastic. Sure, shells are cheese are delicious, but think about how much work your body has to do to break it down. You might as well choke down some plastic for dinner.

Yes, it’s definitely a big choice to make in your life, but I believe that the amount of processed food in our American diets has gotten out of control. And the way we are going, it is not slowing down. I’m a firm believer in the fact that if you take care of yourself and your body and your happiness, everything else in your life will fall into place. But you have to know yourself and take care of yourself first. If you aren’t happy with yourself, you won’t be able to find happiness in your life.