Thats-a Nott-a Pasta!

I've made it to 40 without ever having tried spaghetti squash. I've had spaghetti, and I have had squash, but never thought the two needed to meet in the middle. Turning up my nose at the healthy version of pasta all of these years was a big mistake.

Spaghetti squash? It's REALLY good! Who knew?

Ok, all of the people that told me to try it knew. I'm a stubborn mule. I'll admit it.

Since the 17 Day Diet is going so well, and I have been surprising myself with enjoying some foods that I previously thought I hated (I'm talking to you, eggplant!), I thought I would give the spaghetti squash a go. My two BF's who are doing the diet with me have been enjoying it since they reached Cycle 2, and now that I am on Cycle 3 and need to have two starches a day I feel the need to explore my options.

I did a quick search online for ways to cook the squash. My friend suggested microwaving it because it was the easiest way to do it, but I wanted to see what roasting was like. She was right about it being difficult to cut in half...but I managed to do it. I scooped out the seeds and followed a recipe I found that looked pretty darn delicious.

Here is the squash ready to bake, with a little olive oil, salt and pepper:

It cooked for about 50 minutes at 400 degrees. It was supposed to cool for a half hour before scooping it into a bowl...but ain't nobody got time fo dat. I grabbed a potholder and held onto that sucker while scraping furiously with a fork to make spaghetti-like strands.

While that sat, I sauteed some garlic and onion in a skillet. I then added the squash and mixed together for a few minutes. After it was blended and heated through I removed from the pan. In a bowl I mixed it with 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, salt and pepper.

Holy Moly. This stuff was GOOD! I don't know how, but it tasted buttery despite the fact that no butter was involved. I even cut the cheese (insert fart joke here) to 1/2 cup from 3/4 to keep calories down and it was still absolutely delicious.

Consider me a convert. Hallelujah! All hail spaghetti squash!

Here's the recipe:
Roasted Spaghetti Squash With Parmesan