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 promised you fried chicken, and here it is! Except it’s not fried, it’s baked, so I guess I’m just as bad as KFC for saying their grilled chicken is grilled. I swear those lines on the skin are Sharpie ink…
Since a recipe wasn’t included I whipped one up myself. It took a little guess and check half way through, but it’s so versatile that you can add 
and subtract and change and trade whatever you want- which is how cooking should be. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not a huge measurer (don’t stone me, foodies) so everything is approx.
Uncle Sam’s Whole Grain Not-Fried Chicken
Most people decide if a salad dressing is healthy or not based on whether it is cream or oil based. In truth, most salad dressings are horrible. If you think you are going healthy by going for the low-fat, low-calorie stuff, you are pouring a chemical cocktail all over your leafy greens.
When you cook at home, you control what you eat. Making your own salad dressing is not only healthier, it is insanely cheap. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m cheap- unless I’m drinking, then I’m generous and leave with the bar tab of a professional athlete.
Here is a salad dressing I make quite often, with random crap I found in my cupboards. It tastes a lot like a balsamic vinaigrette and I haven’t 
found a salad it doesn’t taste faboo on.
Put it in a jar and shake it up. This is a great way to use up old pickle or condiment jars. It ends up pretty strong so a little goes a long way. If the acid is too much, add a tbsp or 2 of water to thin it out.
I love food that’s a project to eat. I hate taking an hour to prepare something that takes 5 minutes to inhale. And then another hour to clean up.
The ultimate project food is an artichoke. It’s super simple to prepare and when finished, you can plop down in front of the TV and peel the leaves, scraping the flesh off each one with your teeth while working your way toward the prize at the center: the artichoke heart. If you’ve never had a freshly steamed artichoke heart, you are sorely missing out. That pickled, fibrous jarred crap doesn’t even come close.
When I was little we used to dip the leaves in butter or mayo (it tastes a lot better than it sound), but now much older and wiser, and to avoid turning a deliciously healthy veggie into a vehicle for saturated fat, I prepare it using my special, calorie-free ingredient:
Preparing and Steaming an Artichoke
Pick an artichoke that is full and green, with very little purple or brown on the outside. Wash the artichoke as dirt tends to settle between the leaves. Snip off the spikey, pokey tops of the leaves and slice off the stem so it sits flat.
The leftovers
I had a request for more recipes (HI, STEPHANIE!) so I here ya go.
Admission: I’m cheap. I buy discount. And I refuse to go shopping except to replenish fruit until there is nothing left, so I’m pro at getting a little creative. I am living proof that it is not more expensive to buy healthy. If it were, I think my thriftiness would have me near 300 pounds.
There are always those days where you have to just use what you’ve got. The ideas you come up with are sometimes frightening and end up in the trash, and sometimes you come up with some pretty good ones.
I haven’t been to the store in a while, and thought I’d use dinner as a chance to clear out some space in the fridge. I had left over tofu and zucchini from the Spicy Thai Noodles recipe, an onion I slice off of here and there that needed to be used up and some fresh spinach that was on its last legs.
