A Delicious Spaghetti Dinner, Minus the Spaghetti

I am a pasta lover through and through-I love the texture, the flavor, and all those yummy sauces that go with it.  My taste buds are so perfectly satisfied after a nice spaghetti dinner.  But, my waistline and the intelligent sector of my brain know that a big spaghetti dinner usually packs a lot of calories with very little nutrition.  For this purpose, the spaghetti squash is my new best friend.  The spaghetti squash has a mildly sweet flavor and naturally pulls into strands that closely resemble spaghetti noodles.  It tastes great with tomato sauce and provides everything a normal spaghetti dinner provides, minus the empty calories.  Also, I purchased a spaghetti squash at the market for $1 dollar (but they are easy to grow in a garden).  At the same market a box of pasta costs at least $3.  So, the switch is even cost effective.

Meet the spaghetti squash:

 

The spaghetti squash is either a cream or yellow color when fully ripe.  To cook the squash, simply cut it down the middle lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, and boil the two halves in water for about 20 minutes or until soft.  Remove the squash from the boiling water and let it stand until it is cool enough to touch.

 

 

Run a fork lengthwise from one side of the squash to the other.  The squash will come out in strands that you can scoop out into a bowl.

 

 

Now you are ready to add your favorite pasta sauce.  I prefer tomato sauces.  Since I don't have any homemade sauce today, I bought a pre-made organic sauce from the supermarket.

 

 

Now your "spaghetti dinner" is ready to enjoy.  And, enjoy it you can because there is nothing to feel guilty about in this meal!

 

As I mentioned before, spaghetti squash is easy to grow in a garden in the Midwest.  If you allow the squash to stay on the vine until the outer shell is too hard to poke through, the squash will stay good for 6 months if stored in whole in temperatures around 60 degrees.  The squash usually begin to ripen in mid to late summer.  So-now is the perfect time to enjoy some because it is in season!

 

Stay tuned for more fun food ideas fresh from the garden!