This is a spaghetti squash.
Say hi.
I’ve got nothing against some good starchy carbs, but a heaping plateful of spaghetti, even if it is whole grain, will put you in a calorie coma. Spaghetti squash is a great alternative. Anyone that tells you it tastes like spaghetti or that no one will know you used it is a dirty liar, but it’s delicious and you can eat as much as you want for hardly any calories. You bake it, scrape it with a fork, and the squash comes out in nice little noodles. I swear.
I got plans for these bad boys.
To cook, cut it in half length wise. Spaghetti squash is extremely hard to cut and I admittedly stabbed the sharpest knife I have into it and smacked it on the floor a few times to get it open. Scrape the guts and seeds out. I’ve never done anything with squash seeds but I love pumpkin seeds so I may bake them and see how they turn out.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the halved squash cut side down on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for about 30 minutes until a fork enters the flesh with little resistance. That sounded horrific.
When it comes out it should be a darker yellow to brown color with some blackening.
They could have stayed in a while longer, but I like my spaghetti squash al dente. HA!
Once cool enough to handle, take a fork and scrape the squash out into strands.
I was too lazy to go to the store, and have been for quite some time, so the boy and I have been living on scraps from the kitchen. I tossed some garbanzo beans for protein and green olives for deliciousness in a bowl.
I firmly believe green olives do not get enough game time
Season with herbs, not salt.
Trader Joe’s, we salute you.
Mine is definitely a whatever-we-had-on-hand version, but you can use pasta sauce and cheese, meat, anything you would use regular noodles for. Spaghetti squash is also great for bulking up casseroles, turning into dips, or just sprinkle with cinnamon, as it’s good sweet, too. Google for recipes.
It ain’t pasta, but it is a delicious healthy veggie pasta substitute for a ridiculously tiny fraction of the calories. Look at that ^. It’s veggies, a few beans and olives, and it kept me full all night. Until I devoured a bucket of popcorn at the movies a few hours later.
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I couldn’t believe how good it was the first time I tried it…