Spaghetti Squash: the Easy Alternative to Pasta!

diet Mar 21, 2017

spaghetti squash with basil

 

 

 

 

 

If you have been keeping up with The S File, you know that this is an exciting time for us.  Ms. S. is busy writing her first book, and this time is particularly exciting for me, as I'll be getting married in less than two months!  As you can imagine with only a few weeks to go, it seems as if my fiancé and I have never been busier.

 

Though my fiancé and I love to cook, our time limitations make it hard to eat well.  To keep our health and nutrition on track for the big day, I've been searching for recipe options that are easy and don’t take much of our time.  That’s why I was thrilled with my “new” culinary discovery of spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta.

Abundant in potassium, but also containing vitamins A and C, phosphorous and magnesium, one cup of cooked spaghetti squash provides less calories, fat and carbohydrates than pasta, making it a great unprocessed alternative. While spaghetti squash certainly takes more time to cook, preparing it is almost as easy as making pasta.

Preparation

To start, I cut my squash in half, removed the seeds (which you can bake as you would pumpkin seeds) and added some salt, pepper and olive oil to the insides of the squash.  I set both halves with the flesh side down on a baking sheet, and put it in an oven that I set to 375 degrees F.   The recipes I found online predicted a 30 minute cooking time, but mine took about 45 minutes to cook.  I periodically checked up on the squash, sticking a fork in the halves to see how they were coming along.  When I could easily stick a fork into the squash, I knew it was done, and scooped out the insides with a fork.  It was so easy!

SquashWithFork2

To finish the dish, I added a simple homemade tomato sauce and kale to my squash, but you can use any sauce you like.  It’s the perfect dish to make when you have ingredients in the kitchen to get rid of!

full dish

I will admit, the taste of spaghetti squash isn’t exactly the same as pasta (it has more of a nutty taste and a different texture) but it is close enough to fool my body when I'm craving pasta, and better yet - my fiancé loves it too!

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Ruan Living simplifies a nontoxic lifestyle through its Practical Nontoxic Living podcast, free detox workshops, online D-Tox Academy, and transformative 40-Day Home Detox. It aims to help you avoid toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from what you buy, own, and do— without compromising your joy and convenience. Ruan was founded by Sophia Ruan Gushée, author of the bestselling critically acclaimed book A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Your Toxic Exposures and several detox workbooks. A graduate of Brown University and Columbia Business School, Sophia has served on the Brown University School of Public Health Advisory Council and Well+Good Council. A popular nontoxic living speaker, consultant, and teacher, Sophia lives in New York City with her husband and three daughters. Her passion for empowering others to enjoy nontoxic living began with the birth of her first daughter in 2007. Everything she creates is a love letter to her children and for the healthiest, brightest future possible. You can learn more here: Sophia’s Impact.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only. This information is provided “as is” without warranty.

It is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. We do not offer medical advice, course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other opinion on your conditions or treatment options. To the extent that this article features the advice of physicians or medical practitioners, the views expressed are the views of the cited expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Ruan Living.

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