detox spaghetti squash

Hello ladies and gents.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

My weekend was spent hanging out with my two favorite boys, visiting with family, eating too much, and sitting too long. :) To make up for all of my fun and sloth-like behavior, I'm now in serious detox mode and have my workouts mapped out for the week. 

For any of you who are in the same boat or for those of you who are just looking for a delicious dinner option - I present to you, spaghetti squash!

My favorite thing about spaghetti squash is how many different ways you can serve it. 

Just add a little olive oil + sea salt + fresh pepper, serve it with your favorite pasta sauce, or mix it up with some fresh herbs. The options are endless and it's an easy ingredient to get creative with!

When I made this last night I decided to serve it up like a traditional pasta dish. I just mixed in some onions, mushrooms, and garlic to my favorite Trader Joe's pasta sauce and called it a day! I also prepared a simple side salad for some added fiber. It was delish!

^here is a simple play-by-play of how the cooking process works. :)

/Ingredients/

-1 spaghetti squash (or 2 if you have the oven space)

-olive oil 

 -sea salt 

-pepper

/Instructions/

-Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

-Slice bottom and top ends off of the spaghetti squash and discard. Stand the squash up, vertically, on a cutting board. Slice down, one side at a time so you get 2 equal halves.

-Rub the inside of each half with a quarter sized amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt & pepper. Place face down on a baking sheet for 30-40 mins, or until you can easily poke through with a fork. (I cooked mine for 30 minutes and some of the squash was very al dente, if you want it to be a little softer cook for 35-40 minutes)

-Remove squash and flip over to let the steam escape. Scrape the insides of the squash with a fork to get your spaghetti like noodles. 

-Serve in the shell or scrape out into a large bowl to toss with whatever sauce you prefer (clean or homemade pesto, clean or homemade tomato sauce + meatballs or roasted veggies, more olive oil + sea salt + pepper, roasted red pepper harissa, etc)

Nutritional Facts: (per serving)

42 calories, 3 calories from fat, 0g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 28mg sodium, 10g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 4g sugar, 1g protein

*Spaghetti squash is also loaded with vitamins and minerals!

*recipe adapted from simplyrealhealthblog