Lately I have been trying to curb my carb intake. I personally don’t believe in completely carb-free diets, but I do think that limiting carbs and being more conscious of how much I eat has made my body both look and feel better. This, however, is quite the challenge for me because I love bread, pasta and potatoes! So I’ve been seeing a lot about “spaghetti squash” lately and decided to try it out. Spaghetti squash is a big oblong squash that runs about $2-3 at the grocery store and can be found just about all year long. When roasted, the meat breaks apart into long skinny sections just like spaghetti noodles! It is the craziest thing. One cup of spaghetti squash has only 42 calories and 7 carbs! Can’t beat that! You can eat spaghetti squash on its own as a side dish, with a little white wine and scampi, in Asian inspired dishes, and just about any other way you would like to enjoy pasta. I decided to try out a classic Italian spin and made a “lasagna” spaghetti squash casserole. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this dish turned out, and how easy it was to prepare! I tried to make this as healthy as possible and used ground turkey instead of beef, and part-skim cheese.
What you need:
-1 spaghetti squash
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Salt & pepper
-Ground turkey
-Spaghetti sauce
-Part-skim mozzarella, shredded
What to do:
1. Slice your spaghetti squash in half. This might be the hardest part, as the skin is pretty thick!
2. Scoop out the insides and discard the seeds and pulp. Just like a pumpkin! Rub each half with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fill a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water and place the squash halves cut side down. Bake on 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey. Once browned, add spaghetti sauce and heat until bubbling.
4. Remove squash from the oven. Use a fork to start “fluffing” the squash. It will very easily break apart into “noodles.”
5. Start layering your casserole. Alternate layers of squash, cheese and sauce. Finish with a top layer of cheese and put back in the oven 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
The squash is sweeter and crunchier than normal pasta. Definitely a different consistency. So go into this expecting squash rather than actual noodles and you might just fall in love! This was so simple to make and the spaghetti squash has endless possibilities as a base.
Do you have any good recipes you have made using spaghetti squash?
Literette 