You know what I did this week? I kind of went paleo. Yes--the girl who has never stuck to any sort of diet in any shape or form ever in her life. The girl who loves cheese, and rice, and bread, and pasta. I just wanted a little healthy reset, and since both of my parents are on this diet, I have been hearing about it a lot. My dad keeps telling me new recipe ideas that he "can't believe are paleo" so it convinced me to give it a try. And besides a couple of oreos and one slice of white bread at our apartment's Rudy's BBQ get together by the pool, I have been sticking to it! I have felt really good, (I hate to admit) and I'm not sure if it's because I have cut out carbs or because I haven't had any dairy.
My idea with going paleo for the week was simply to just eat healthier Monday through Friday (except for Friday night date night obviously), and then splurge a bit more on the weekends. We'll see how long I can keep this up, but don't worry, you won't only be seeing paleo recipes here on this site from now on.
So, tonight we are going to celebrate with a huge, greasy, cheesy, pepperoni, Detroit style pizza at Via 313. We have been wanting to go to this place for weeks, but every time we want to go we come up with some lame excuse not to. The only thing getting me through this "paleo week" has been the goal of Friday night pizza date night. Will this be completely counterintuitive? Probably. But it's worth it.
While this version of Fililpino pancit isn't exactly paleo (the soy sauce is not), it is still a very healthy option that uses spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles. I've been seeing beautiful varieties of squash at the grocery store recently, and I can't wait to use them more in soups and stews as the weather gets cooler.
Spaghetti Squash Pancit
Ingredients:
- 1 medium spaghetti squash, sliced in half lengthwise and seeds removed
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, sliced thin
- 1 cup sliced bok choy or shredded cabbage
- 1 cup cooked chicken
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup scallions, diced
- Salt and pepper
- 2-3 tbl. oil
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Drizzle spaghetti squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet with outsides facing up. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until squash is tender inside.
Pull out the insides with the tines of a fork, and set aside in a large bowl.
In a large skillet, add cooking oil over medium high heat. Add diced onions, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until onions begin to become soft. Add sliced carrots, and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add bok choy and garlic, and continue cooking until cook choy becomes soft. Add cooked chicken and pancit "noodles" (spaghetti squash). Season with soy sauce, freshly ground pepper, and add some salt if necessary. (Because the squash is naturally slightly sweet, you will need to probably add more salt than regular noodles to balance it out.)
Toss together until all ingredients are fully mixed together.
Remove from pan, and top with the dicedscallions. Let cool slightly before serving.
