Have I mentioned lately, how much I LOVE FOOD?! Well, I do, especially hearty comfort food. Spaghetti is probably one of my favorites, but it can be detrimental to your weight loss and fitness results. I came up with this mouth-watering, CLEAN, Paleo-approved meat lovers spaghetti that you'll be begging for me. If you're not a big fan of meat or are vegetarian, just omit the meat. It's still delicious either way. Oh, and you can store it in the fridge and eat it the next day. It store well, in my opinion. Bring it to work and pop it in the microwave for a few minutes and you're good to go, feeling satisfied for hours. Recipe
A 2/3 cup serving of spaghetti squash has about 30 calories and 5 percent of the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber.
The real highlight of spaghetti squash is from the high antioxidants. In addition it's a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and manganese.
If you're trying to lose weight, swapping out your pasta for spaghetti squash will keep you fuller due to the high amount of fiber.
Squashes can also be stored for quite a long time- up to weeks!
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash The Easy Way
Wash and dry the spaghetti squash.
Cooking in the microwave:
*Slice the squash lengthwise to create 2 large halves.
*Scoop out the seeds and discard them.
*Place one half of the squash in the microwave for 7-10 minutes or both halves for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of squash & microwave. *Let cool in microwave for 5 minutes. *Remove from microwave with oven mitts if they are still really warm.
*Then, scoop out the insides with a spoon and separate strands with a fork.
Cooking in oven:
*Put the entire squash on a baking sheet lined with foil.
*Cook at 400 degrees F for about 30-45 minutes, depending on how big your squash is.
*After taking it out of the oven, take a knife and cut it in half. Be careful: do not put your face near the squash. There will be some steam coming out at you!
*Use a spoon and scoop out the seeds. It might help to also use a scissor to cut some of the strands that connect the seeds.
*Use a fork and separate the strands. The flesh will come right off!
How to Make Homemade Tomato Sauce
Fresh tomatoes are hard to find in winter months, especially Iowa, so you can also use canned all natural tomato sauce. Or if your pressed for time, grab a jar of organic pre-made tomato sauce. I like Trader Joe's.
Grass fed beef can be expensive. I purchase it in bulk or search for bargains at the local grocery stores. Even some target stores have a few grass fed beef options. Grass-fed beef is free from hormone free and cattle raised on grass (i.e. Grass-fed beef :)
Ingredients:
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
6-8 large tomatoes *
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
optional: dash of coconut sugar to season
*If you use canned tomatoes, reduce the olive oil to 2 tablespoons only
Instructions:
*Sauté chopped garlic and onions in olive oil for a few minutes, until translucent.
*Combine ground beef and green pepper in a large saucepan.
*Cook and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender.
*Drain grease.
*Stir tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste into the pan.
*Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
*Simmer spaghetti sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve homemade spaghetti sauce over large helping of spaghetti squash. Mmmm mmm good!
This even tastes good warmed up the next day. Just store in a storage container in the fridge and microwave for a few minutes to warm it up.
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