I had simple plans for Sunday dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce. Little did I know that the sprites of the gourd-world were out to foil my attempts last night, forcing my hand to use the whole-wheat pasta on stand-by in our pantry.
I love spaghetti squash. It's easy to cook and - as far as I'm concerned - as satisfying as a big bowl of regular pasta. But, after a month of sitting and waiting to be eaten (the typical shelf-life is 3 months), the squash had become overly ripe and started developing spots; signs your gourd has gone bad.
When Matt and I were really into Paleo we probably ate the dish - with varying sauces and toppings - once a week. We've since adopted a more Zone approach to our eating style, but primal-style eating is still very much an aspect of our lives, and squash - of all shapes and sizes - are great go-tos in making previously heavy/processed meals, clean and healthy.
Now, I'm not here to harp about any certain type of diet. In fact, I believe that saying you're on a diet is silly and usually leads to a lot of stress, unhappiness in results, and the end-state being a person reverting back to previous eating habits. But I do want to take a brief moment and just say - as a segue from my squash problem - that changing the way you view eating and how it makes you feel can change your life for the better.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good ice-cream cone or a big bowl of pasta with marinara sauce every now and then; but I also love the way I feel when I don't eat a lot of hidden sugars, starches and bad fats. After reverting to a paleo-centric diet for a couple of months, the hubby and I found that a lot of physiological responses we as humans often suffer from, day-in and day-out (most notably: gas and indigestion), were things we started referring to in the past tense. Eating clean (lots of vegetables, proteins, fruits and nuts) makes you feel good, and feeling good about yourself is 90% of the battle in getting to the point of where you want to be physically, mentally, and emotionally. As always this should be coupled with an exercise regiment suitable for each person, and a time for individual, spiritual fitness.
Additionally, the things a lot of us eat in today's society are leading to higher rates of Type II Diabetes, which - according to some studies - may be a cause of Alzheimers. In-the-least, diabetes has been linked by the Mayo Clinic to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). I say this, not to scare or frighten anyone, but to make everyone aware that what we eat can affect us at a cellular and neurological level, and in doing so can thereby affect our emotional, physical and spiritual states of mind.
Now, when I had to change my meal-plan last night and opt for the whole-wheat pasta I'd been storing in my cabinet, over the too-ripe squash, I wasn't overcome by warning signs of going down a long road to disease and cellular-inflammation; I know that 80% of the time I eat right, and everything is fine in moderation - it's just a matter of truly recognizing what moderation is. A sugar cookie or Reese's cup a day is not moderation, but one slice of pie every couple of weeks is. Once a month...even better!
So, here's to eating - here's to health - and here's to life! All three go hand-in-hand, and all three should be practiced with great zeal, great love and great care.
**Another great blog with a similar article on Alzheimers, a potential Type III Diabetes, can be found at: The Prime Pursuit**
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