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To check out the full write up and recipe head over to it's creator http://www.tessadomesticdiva.com/2012/11/paleo-pepperoni-pizza-casserole-2.html  and give her a little love! Fabulous blog, insanely amazing recipes. I think she is my new favorite blog!


Also don't forget to check out www.facebook.com/Thepatrioticpeacock
or follow us on twitter @PatrioticPeacoc (yes no k!)

I made this recipe tonight. Like melt in your mouth, totally curbs that craving for pizza and I honestly thought it was way better!! No sluggish ugh feeling afterwards like when you eat too much! The creator Tessa is quite brilliant. Thank you pinterest for this amazing find!!

Here is the recipe:
INGREDIENT NOTE:  To roast a spaghetti squash, halve the squash
lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Place face down on a parchment lined
cookie sheet.  Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons water around the edges of the
squash and roast in a 375 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes.  DO NOT
OVER-BAKE!!  You want your noodles al-dente, not mushy!  Remove from
the oven, flip up, let cool, and then use a fork to pull the threads out!


Ingredients:



  • 1 pound grass-fed ground beef

  • 8 ounces chopped pepperoni, divided (we like Applegate Farms w/ no nitrates
    and dairy free)

  • 1 small onion, diced small

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

  • 1 teaspoon EACH oregano, basil, and thyme

  • 4 cups roasted spaghetti squash noodles (apx, see cooking notes above)

  • 2 cups favorite spaghetti sauce – we use my Homemade Blender Pasta
    Sauce

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella cheese or pecorino romano, and few tablespoons
    extra for sprinkling, optional

Method:



  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef, 1/2 of the
    pepperoni, onion, and garlic.

  3. As the ground meat cooks, sprinkle in the seasonings.  Taste 
    (when cooked!) and add more to your liking if necessary.

  4. In a large bowl, mix the warm beef mixture, spaghetti sauce, squash threads,
    eggs, and cheese of choice.

  5. Place into a greased casserole dish ( I used a 9 X 9).

  6. Top with the remaining pepperoni and a sprinkling of cheese.

  7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
~~Mandy

 
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This is how my husband and I start our day! What I have dubbed the "saba smoothie". Vitamin PACKED with a full days of vits! tons of energy, protein and of course ACE to get me through the day!! so delish!
Get yours at www.facebook.com/thepatrioticpeacock
or shop at http://thepatrioticpeacock.storenvy.com

So people have asked, what is our meal plan? How do we eat? What is our foodie lifestyle? One word.......... PALEO ok maybe two words.. Low Carb.

Having auto-immune disease, it's important to stay away from inflammation inducing foods and well starchy carbs are high on that list! no refined sugary products, the only packaged anything we buy is our saba products and condiments (and of course some things for the kiddo). With Fally (the princess) and her disease it's really important that we try to eliminate any outside sources that can cause inflammation so it's important to us to follow this way of life the best we can for her. Of course we stray, we enjoy a meal out, snacks at the theatre (cough popcorn cough) every once in awhile! that is normal. If you deprive yourself that is how you crash and burn!

This is our fridge. The few packaged things and milk you see are for our little girl otherwise we don't use them.  She drinks a lot of milk with vitamin and iron mixes put in because she has a difficult time chewing so we do a lot of liquid nutrients with her. She is in Feeding therapy as one of her 4 kinds of therapy so hopefully that will be a thing of the past soon enough. So for us you will see......Whole Foods, fresh foods, eggs, proteins that is it!!
An example of a daily menu for us would be:

Breakfast: Saba Smoothie
Snack: berries
Lunch: boneless chicken and squash
Snack: raw veggies (and my guilty ranch or sour cream with lime don't judge lol)
Dinner: tonight was grilled pork loin, grilled asparagus
Snack: nothing tonight but my husband and I snack on really whatever is cooked either left overs or we make beef jerky love it home made!

The key is to eat enough all day to keep your body revving that metabolism and keeping you from ever being hungry. If you aren't hungry then you aren't going to binge or reach for junk!

~~~Mandy
 
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Amazing ACE progress! Check out our site
http://www.facebook.com/ThePatrioticPeacock
Join our Team http://thepatrioticpeacock.sababuilder.com

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Fat FLUSH ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband ended his 5 day fat flush with an wonderful loss of 5 pounds even though his will power is weak and he still needed his daily coffee with his French vanilla cream and splenda as well as his breakfast bars haha! MEN! I ended my 5 day with 8 pounds lost WOOT however........... that was sort lived. NOT because the program doesn't work, because it does! We took our little girl to a movie and OF COURSE my husband had to get a huge bucket of popcorn and OF COURSE popcorn is my most favorite snack on earth and after rocking the week, BLAHHHHHHHHHHH I ate a bunch. I suffer terribly from the salt and retain water for days! DAYS my fingers are like little Vienna sausages as I type this right now.

So alas, of course I am up on the scale a few pounds but I know once this fluid retention is gone, I shall be loving my scale again!

What are some of your weaknesses?
What are you strengths when it comes to weight loss motivation?
Any tips or tricks that you may have? you know that ACE in the Hole!

For me one thing that always rocks my socks off is what I have dubbed the "Saba Smoothie". It's an amazing blend of Ice, bananas, Coconut Milk, Vanilla ToppFast (protein mix from saba) Leva (energy drink mix with FULL servings of vitamins) and I actually open and empty two ACE capsules into the blender and VROOM! I am zooming happy and full of energy ALL day long while my belly is satisfied! Do you have any go to meals/drinks?

If you want more info of my saba smoothie feel free to comment or message me at http://www.facebook.com/ThePatrioticPeacock

~~Mandy
 
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Just another ACE success story! Start your journey today

Get your Fat Flush on here http://thepatrioticpeacock.storenvy.com

Kick ACE and taking names! Yes ma'am! Day two of the fat flush under way and my husband has lost 4 pounds. I have not stepped on the scale and I refuse to. I want the BIG surprise at the end. So any guesses on how much I will lose in these 5 days? huh huh huh?  well to give you an inside peek at some of the amazing things that I have been eating on the fat flush take a look at this beauty!

Let me start off by saying, I love eggs.  My brother even calls me the egg queen
from time to time (a title I really don't mind).  If you're in the mood for
something a bit more savory, this is your breakfast.The preparation is very low
maintenance, and the simple ingredients can easily be modified with whatever is
already in your fridge.  The tomatoes and kale can be cleaned and chopped the
night before, leaving just the sautéing and assembly for the morning. This
recipe works perfect in a cast iron skillet, but don't worry if you don't have
one handy.  Just sautee the tomatoes and kale, then transfer to an oven-safe
baking dish.  I happened to already have a loaf of herb whole grain bread, and
realized that a slice of it is the perfect flavor for dipping into the
egg.

Tomato, Kale and Feta Baked Eggs

serves 2-4

1 cup
grape tomatoes, sliced in half

4-5  kale leaves, washed and
chopped

1/3 cup crumbled fat-free feta

1/4 cup fat-free half and
half

1/2 tbsp butter

4 eggs

salt + pepper
Preheat oven
to 350.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over sliced tomatoes, and place on a medium
heat skillet. Let them cook for about a minute.  Cut butter into small pieces,
and add with kale.  Stir together, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Once
everything is lightly sauteed, remove from heat.  Sprinkle crumbled feta across
mixture.  With a spoon, make four smalls wells, crack one egg into each.  Pour
the fat-free half and half around the eggs.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until
eggs are cooked to your liking.  Serve with herbed whole grain toast for
dipping.  YOU CAN SUB spinach for kale! http://ow.ly/i/2I5tx

Woot! Get your skinny on! Join my group for some amazing team support!
~~Mandy
 
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Today is the beginning of the new journey, a healthy me. THE FINAL chapter in my weight loss adventure. I have resigned to the fact that I will never be a waif. I am only 5'4" ish so I will never be super model sexy and I am sooooo ok with that. I personally like being able to buy clothes off the rack and not have this immense expectation of perfection. I'm a curvy girl, I always have been since I moved on from elementary school. I have never been over weight until pregnancy and then I LET IT ALLLLLLL GO DOWN HILL!!! Not anymore. I am nearing 40 years old, I have a lot of medical issues that are all auto-immune related and the best way for me to combat that problems is to be as fit as I possibly can.  With having a special needs child, I NEED to be a my peak level of health. She needs me to be here for a long long time for her. I am her rock, her support, what will happen if I can't even take care of myself because I'm too overweight or too tired from the fatigue related to being obese. So..........here.......we..........go folks!

Today, I filled the house with our normal fare, fresh fruits, veggies and proteins. I set up a meal plan based on our amazing Clark Bartram's 5 day Fat Flush. YES I AM doing a 5 day fat flush. It is NOT a cleanse or fast. I will be eating and plenty!! However, the best thing for me as a diabetic, a blood type A+, and auto-immune disease prone is to cut out starch and refined sugar. I KNOW that I can and will lose all of my weight but I just can not eat those things. I will always gain it back, I will always become sluggish, my blood sugar will spike and drop out of control. I need to stick with WHOLE FOODS! that is it and that is what I like. Now, I am totally going to enjoy a slice of pizza here and there, a slice of cake at my baby girl's birthday party or a bit of popcorn on family movie night but these things will not be regular parts of my lifestyle on a daily basis as they routinely can be.

I am excited to start this journey with you all. Feel free to join me, ask for guidance, recipes, what my meal plan is. I am an open book. I will post a before picture soon enough as utterly embarrassing as it is, I need it for posterity sake. 

SO tomorrow, July 24th....day one of the fat flush. 
oh and side note, my husband started the fat flush yesterday and lost 3lbs already! ugh men suck
~~~Mandy
 
This passed weekend I had the pleasure of attending SABA's annual Oklahoma City "I Showed Up" corporate event. I was so deeply honored to be asked by the CEO and COO to be one of the few guest speakers for a crowded convention center, jam packed with the company owners, corporate,  customer service,  and hundreds of distributors. there just aren't enough words to describe how touched and blessed I am by SABA. I recieved an award with many others who have worked hard and excelled within this company but to have my individual achievement,  my family's success and moreso my daughter's success in her life as a reflection of her hard work within herself and my ability to push and reach amazing goals to provide her with the tools she needed to be successful, was overwhelming. A short snippet about what I do.....I'm an independent distributor for SABA.  Specializing in health and wellness. more specifically, weight loss. In the 12 months that I have been with this company,  I have grown over a 4,000 fanbase deep following,  1000 and growing downline of team members and customers and a business that continues to grow every minute of everyday.  yes it is direct sales just like scentsy or avon but its far more than just that. it's a team,  a true family.  We work together, build and grow together. we are providing our clients with a healthy future and our families with financial security.  This company has changed my life. If anyone is interested in seeing the video of my speech (it's only 4 minutes long just comment and I'll be sure to get it posted)   thank you all for following my journey.  I'm starting some amazing life changes soon and I'd love for you to be a part of them. ~~~Mandy
 
Just a small intro about me and what makes me tick, without sounding too much like an autobiography or singles ad.  I am a 36 year old mama, Military wife, Nurse turned stay at home mom to an amazingly brilliant special needs child and small business owner. 

I am a dork as in Total GEEK like no other, I love 80s movies and rocking out in the car with my 3 year old singing and dancing like maniacs in the car. I get a dork hard on for all things medicine and science. I have been called Britannica by many people due to my photographic memory and insane mind full of useless trivia on just about anything!

I LOVE to run thought I am currently a fat ass and the thought of running to the bathroom makes me sweat! I am on a mission to get fit and fabulous for not just me but my daughter. I love to be silly and goof off with my husband and daughter, hang out at home and just do nothing. We are pretty big home bodies since the Hubs deploys a lot, we like to savior our limited time together. 

With that being said, I am a lover of all things CARB and CHEESE!!! Sadly, both are my nemesis as I am a diabetic and carbs are my kryptonite. I am overweight, Normally I am fit but just a bit fluffy after pregnancy however I sort of let myself go this last year and a half. I am trying to climb my way back to being healthy and fit.  Our 3 year old little girl Fally has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (I will write more about that another time). With her rare genetic disease comes a lot of therapy, 5 days a week in fact and some days twice. This has been our routine for almost 2 years now. I've become comfortable in being lazy and living just for her. I've found comfort in yummy snackage while sitting at night trying to enjoy my few short minutes of peace alone as I've never been without her because she just needs her mama!

We are a military family and yes we move often. My husband deploys often enough to have been on 5 year long tours to the Middle East. Life is chaotic to say the least but if it means our princess is getting stronger, I wouldn't change our craziness for the world.

I started my own home business as a distributor for Saba/ACE a little over a year ago in search of a tool to help with my terrible carb cravings and low and behold I LOVED IT! Lost an amazing amount of weight with it and I started selling it. I have zero plans on ever leaving this amazing company, it's truly changed my life. HOWEVER, I stopped taking ACE last November when Fally had a Stroke and due to stress and fear of something happening to her, I ATE MY FAT ASS BACK to heffalump size. I AM guilty of being a stress eater! I just can't help it. I'm working on ways to combat that problem but for now, I am starting back on ACE on Monday July 15th. So do please follow my journey and if I crash, kick me in the ass. I NEED to get healthy and back in shape. The older Fally gets, the harder it is to carry her everywhere. She is a hair under 40 pounds and lugging her around HURTS! Especially when I'm carrying my own extra baggage. Now getting back to ACE! LOVE my company, I've been quite successful thus far so much that we are going to our company's annual conference in Oklahoma City tomorrow and I have been asked to speak about my success, what the company has done for me and my family and what drives me to keep on building such an incredible business! It is such an honor for me to be asked when I have only been with the company for a year! My goal is by our next OKC event in July 2014, IM A SEXY BITCH RAWR!!!!!!!!!!

Anyhow, I ramble, I am an open book feel free to ask me anything. You will see a lot of variety here from bullshit babble to healthy posts, updates about my daughter, Inspirational updates from my customers and fellow associates! Thank you so much for taking a moment to get to know me.

~~MANDY