Manic Monday: Healthy Eating - Pasta with Butternut Squash and Feta

It's Monday again! For the part of the world that can't count Labor Day as a holiday (including little old Holland), it's just a normal 'off to work' Monday. So, feel free to feel sorry for me. ;)

This Monday has the number 61 all over it. And nope, 61 is not the miles I have scheduled for this week (heck no...61 miles a week...just the thought of it makes me tired), it's not my weight in kilograms (at least...last time I checked it wasn't, but that was 3 months ago...) and it's certainly not the current outside temperature in Holland (maybe next week it will drop to the low 60's again...at least, that's what the weather report says). It's the number of days left 'till the New York Marathon! Yay! :) 61 days. Two months. No more than 9 weeks.

Wow! I'd better get my act together! ;) Which brings me to healthy eating. For those of you that don't already know, I'm a big fan of healthy eating (with the occasional pizza or fast food to keep this girl happy and sane ;)), and with the New York Marathon just 9 weeks away, I find trying to stick to the healthier options even more important.

So here's one of my favorite healthy and easy to prepare dinner options. Oh, and it's Runner Friendly (as in...enough carbs).


I found this picture on the internet: it should look something like this when you're done preparing the meal. Yummy, huh?

You'll need:

500 grams / 18 oz Butternut Squash (diced)
Olive oil
2 shallots (chopped)
70 grams / 2.5 oz of tomato puree
1 tablespoon sugar
300 grams / 10.5 oz Tagliatelle (fresh)
50 grams / 1.7 oz hazelnuts (crushed)
100 grams / 3.5 oz Feta cheese (crumbled)
15 grams / 0.5 oz Parsley (chopped)

How to cook this one:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and fry the chopped shallots. Add the tomato puree and sugar and let this be for about one minute. Add the diced butternut squash. Gently stir for 3-4 minutes and season with pepper. Let the butternut squash sauce cook for another 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the Tagliatelle (I always boil my pasta in bouillon; I feel it makes it taste better). Serve the tagliatelle with the butternut squash sauce and top it off with the feta, parsley and hazelnuts.

Enjoy your meal!

Do you try to stick to healthy food when you're in marathon training?