During the first week of the fast, all I could think about was FOOD and mostly PASTA! I come from an Italian home, and my father makes probably the best pasta sauce in Upstate NY! Well, we all know that pasta packs in a lot of calories. Now that I'm on a low calorie diet (1,033 calories to be exact) I have to find healthy, low calorie alternatives. Thanks to pinterest, I got inspired to make spaghetti squash. I know and have heard that it does not taste like pasta (bummer) but it's delicious in its own way. So, tonight I made a little meat-free pasta sauce. This video was extremely helpful when it came to preparing/cooking the squash-------->
How To Cook Spaghetti Squash
After following the video to a T...here is my end product:
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| Put a fork in me, I'm done! |
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| It looks like mac-n-cheese |
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| Faux-Spaghetti |
It was quite delicious! It's very crunchy, which throws you off a bit because it looks like pasta. Flavor wise, I couldn't really taste the squash. The sauce was the shining star. There was no dairy, meat, or oil added to this meal. Sauce consisted of a can of diced tomatoes, half of a red pepper and onion, and spinach. Spices: oregano and hot sauce. I did not saute the veggies, I just let them simmer in the diced tomatoes for about 40 minutes.
Well, I'm sold! This meal was only around 170 calories (for my big portion) whereas the typical pasta dish is 400 +
Hope all you Italians (and non-Italians) give this a try. Your stomach will thank you!
I LOVE making dishes with spaghetti squash! You'll discover that over time the crunch won't bother you, it will add a great texture to the dish! If you have leftover squash and want an alternative way to use it during the week, heat it up with garlic, onion, and whatever extra spices you like to use. Dress it with fat free italian dressing, and sprinkle a tablespoon of parmesan cheese. It so low fat and calorie that the parm is not a big addition, but adds that bit of cheesy flavor and saltiness. I've also added meatballs made from ground turkey to get in the protein and add more flavor. :-) I recently made "Spaghetti Squash AuGratin" which can be made even more healthy with a few changes... you can find the recipe here:
ReplyDeletehttp://dandydishes.blogspot.com/2011/10/spaghetti-squash-au-gratin.html#.URBRfYVE94s
-Amy Pak