We eat a lot of veggies. That was one of the huge lifestyle changes we made a few years ago that has helped us maintain healthier weights.
One healthy swap we made was to spaghetti squash instead of pasta. A lot of healthy/food swap websites like Hungry Girl tout Spaghetti Squash as a good substitute for carb-y noodles.
Here is a quick tutorial on making spaghetti squash.

- Select a squash that is firm and unblemished. Not sure what they look like? Here is the wikipedia article all about the vegetable with a few pictures.
- Chop the end with the stem off. You’ll need a good sharp knife. I love our Henckels Meat Cleaver.
- Chop the squash in half. I do it length-wise, so it takes less time to cook in the oven.
- Take a spoon and scoop out the stringy guts and seeds. Discard them.
- In a large glass baking dish, place the squash halves cut side down. Pour a 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until the squash are fork tender (about the same feeling as a baked potato).
- Remove baking dish from oven and set the squash halves on a cutting board. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, or until you can comfortable handle the vegetable.
- With a fork, “rake” the interior of the veggie. The “meat” of the interior should flake off in long strings that resemble broken spaghetti.
- Once complete, discard the exterior of the squash.
- Toss the “spaghetti” with the sauce of your choice.
1 medium sized spaghetti squash serves 2-3 people, with a serving size of about 1 1/2 cups. It’s yummy with sauce (Spaghetti/red sauce, pesto, or even a cheesy sauce), or just a little butter and herbs. It’s a great way to get extra veggies into your diet, or if you’re Gluten Intolerant, it’s cheaper (and tastier) than GF pasta.
Later today, I’ll be posting a recipe that uses spaghetti squash as a main ingredient! With winter veggies starting to make an appearance in grocery stores and farmers markets, you’ll start seeing more and more squash!
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