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2 on Tuesday & Tomato Basil Seitan Spagetti Squash

Two on Tuesday
This morning I manage to get in an early morning run. Even better? It was with Jason. I really have missed running with him. Even if we don't talk much, I enjoy just running together. The humidity was much lower this morning, so it actually felt quite nice out.

I got just under 6 miles and it felt great. If I hadn't needed to get myself home and cleaned up for work, I think I would have gone on for another mile (thought Jason may have objected to that one).

During lunch, I was able to get in a quick workout for biceps, triceps and abs. I went with supersets (as they're great for time crunched workouts):

SS#1 - 3x6
Dumbbell curls
Double-arm overhead triceps extension

SS#2 3x8
Incline curls
Lying triceps extensions

SS#3 - 2x8, 1xTF
Hammer curls
Kickbacks

I finished off with abs from Cathe's High Reps DVD. It was actually a pretty good workout; I felt fairly strong today. Love it when that happens.

Summer Flavors
I had thought about making Grilled Veggie Quesadillas for dinner tonight, but Jason has been eating up the leftover Colorful Black Beans and Rice and the Black Beans and Corn Salsa for lunch. So, he requested no black beans and no Mexican tonight.

Veggie burgers would have been my second choice if I had any on hand, but I'm out. Guess that needs to go on a to-do list this weekend. I did have a spaghetti squash that I recently picked up, so I thought I'd use that as a starting point. We also had some fresh tomatoes and a ton of fresh basil. So, I ended up coming up with Tomato Basil Seitan Spaghetti Squash.

Tomato Basil Seitan Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic (more or less depending on preference)
White wine or vegetable broth (approximately 3/4 cup)
2-3 tbsp tomato paste
1-2 tbsp capers (depending on taste preference)
Homemade seitan (or your favorite brand), diced
To taste: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
Spaghetti squash, baked and shredded
2 tomatoes, diced
1 10z package frozen spinach, thawed and drained (or fresh)
Fresh basil and oregano to taste 
Nutritional yeast flakes (optional, or you can use Parmesan)


Directions:
In large, non-stick skillet, saute onion and garlic until onion begins to soften (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add in white wine or vegetable broth and tomato paste, stirring until paste is dissolved into the liquid. 

Add in remaining ingredients up to the herbs and allow to simmer until sauce begins to thicken and squash is heated through. Add additional liquid if needed. Stir in the herbs and remove from heat. Top with nutritional yeast flakes or Parmesan.
 
I served with some of my homemade French bread that I keep made and frozen. I think it's really hard to go wrong with the flavor combination of tomatoes and basil. Such a summery, light flavor combination in my opinion.

I'll admit that the spinach was a last minute addition. I thought it looked too red, just missing color. I loved using the spaghetti squash with this one, it just felt lighter. It'd be great cold as well. I also think chickpeas or cannellini beans would work really well in this dish as a replacement for seitan.

Daily To-Enjoy List
Yesterday I wasn't able to knock off everything from my to-enjoy list as I had hoped. However, I was still able to enjoy spin, grilling, and some gardening. Jason ended up working late, so I ate alone, which meant we didn't get to eat at the table sans TV nor did we get to watch a movie. So, those items remain on today's list:
  • Morning run
  • Eating at the kitchen table (aka no tv)
  • Watching a movie with Jason (after dinner)
Are you still making a to-enjoy list? Do you find it helpful?

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