Squashin' it up

Thursday was just one of those days, my mind drifted to about 20 different dinner options and nothing sounded quite right. A mid afternoon trip to Whole Foods solved all my problems (big aren't they?). Spaghetti Squash isn't always available in the supermarket, so it is much more appealing when a squash fan like me stumbles on these odd looking fruits (yup you heard me). Spaghetti Squash falls into the Winter Squash family and has a whole bundle of  healthy benefits, especially when you substitute it for something like pasta, which is exactly what I did.

Some of the redeeming qualities:

• A 1/2 cup of squash ranges from 50 to 125 calories.
• A 4-ounce serving, squash can provide 20% or more of your recommended daily value of magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A, C and E (vitamin E is found in the seeds).
• Squash is also a good source (10% or more of your RDV) of calcium.
• High in nutrients and flavor, squash is also remarkably high in antioxidants and beta-carotene.

Source: thenibble.com

Right now Whole Foods has a Winter Squash display with several different kinds, definitely worth checking out.

Meet my purse friendly squash: I picked up a smaller guy this time, although mid season you can get them pretty big. He cost about $5 in the store and was a full meal for 2, with leftovers.

My friend at Peas.Love.Balance also introduced me to spaghetti squash - she is so worldly! I thought it was only I that was missing out on something so de-lish, but turns out, not that many people know how versatile this food really is. My first experience was (baking first) mixing the spaghetti with olive oil, brown sugar & parmesan, among other tasty ingredients. That was what sold me on the spaghetti, this stuff is legit guys. My original recipe can be found here: marthastewart.com  Good ole Martha keeps coming through for me. A she also has a whole list of winter squash recipes that sound equally satisfying.


Okay back to my dinner...Some of you know I gave up chocolate & cheese this month, so I have been trying extra hard to make sure options are available in order to keep up with this challenge of sorts. I've had this Wolfgang Puck Arrabiata sauce in our pantry for a couple weeks now but was also trying to steer clear of face planting into a large bowl of pasta for dinner. Solution, use a Spaghetti Squash!

For those unfamiliar with arrabiata sauce, it's basically marinara with a kick! I've had it in some restaurants where I've left breathing fire, but my experience making it, and now this brand, have been great. Wolfgang Puck's version is ACTUALLY 100% natural & gluten free. I'm always skeptical of heavily branded products but the ingredients are all legit and its 90 cal per servings with no added sugar in the sauce. Apparently a lot of packaged red sauces have added sugar in them. That's a big no no --Thank you Mr. Puck.

Spaghetti Squash Arrabiata Directions
1 Spaghetti Squash - size based on personal preference and needs. Mine was about a 2lb-er
1 Bottle of Wolfgang Puck's Arrabiata sauce (16 Oz)
Pre-heat oven to 350 and get out a large cutting board and serrated knife. I would honestly use an axe if I thought I had an actual chance of making axe-to-squash contact. Cutting the squash is somewhat difficult so if you can't ask someone to do it for you, use a sharp and serrated knife and work your way around the squash, rather than trying to chop it in half karate style.

Scoop out any of the pulp/seeds that are just hanging out in the middle section. The end product should look like a hallowed out melon. The walls of the squash are what cook into the spaghetti like shape.
(My sous chef in his PJ's, our kitchen
has a casual uniform policy)


Place both halves, open/cut side face down on a cookie sheet. Place in oven for 30-40 minutes. To tell if it is done, you should be able to easily poke a fork right through the wall of the outer squash side.  In the last ten minutes, place the sauce in a saucepan and simmer.
(Someone needs to clean their oven, sorry)

After you take them out of the oven, flip them over right away and start shredding with a fork. If you have oven gloves you can pick it up in hold it in hand, but I find it easy just to shred the spaghetti while on the pan and then just scoop into a bowl/plate.

And finally, take the sauce and pour (diners preference) right on top of the spaghetti. I find that if you mix it with the squash, the squash absorbs a lot of the sauce so it gives it less of that pasta feel. And for this particular dish, I think it's important not to mix the sauce into the squash. You'll see what I mean.

                         ENJOY!