Healthy ChickLit: Have Fun With Your Veggies & Vegetarian Marinara Spaghetti Squash
Of course people scrunch their noses and roll their eyes at the thought of “eating healthy” when they think of it as bland, cardboard-tasting, flavorless meals (think: a pile of iceberg lettuce with fat-free, calorie-free dressing).
And up until about five years ago, that’s what healthy did mean to me: boring salad bars, diet sodas, sugar-free everything, low calorie, processed-fake-food-crap. Blah.
Then I discovered how much fun I could have in the kitchen cooking healthy food, how creative I could get with my veggies, and how utterly delicious green “healthy” foods could really be.
Most days of the week, The Boy and I craft up wholesome, healthy dishes together in the kitchen and more often than not it’s an exciting experiment. We use what we have in the fridge, creating innovative recipes and award-winning concoctions (at least according to us.) In fact, while I am pretty skilled in the kitchen, The Boy is really the Master Chef of the two of us which makes life a little easier.
No matter what we concoct, we typically (most days) aim to make most of our meal veggie-based with healthy fats, nutritious proteins and wholesome grains added in.
Last night, we had lots of fun in the kitchen with our Spaghetti Squash that had been sitting on top of our fridge screaming “Cook me!” for the past few days.
[Sorry for the blur. We both agree this poor-quality pic doesn’t do the meal any justice!]
Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Veggies, Marinara & Ricotta
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 spaghetti squash, halved
- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil (plus 1 TB for cooking)
- 1 large onion, organic
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed (we LOVE garlic so we used 8!)
- Full jar of organic Marinara (we used Organicville Marinara discounted on Green Polkadot Box)
- 1 bag frozen broccoli, organic
- Half bag frozen spinach, organic
- Dozen shiitake mushrooms, chopped
- Blend of basil, oregano and parsley (according to taste; we rarely measure!)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Ricotta Cheese (1 to 2 TB per serving)
1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Halve spaghetti squash, scoop out insides & seeds (kind of like pumpkin-carving!) and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake on 350 for about 40 minutes.
2. In the meantime, heat 1 TB olive oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add in garlic and onions, and let cook for about two minutes.
3. Pour in full jar of marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Add in seasonings, and then, mix in the broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. Reduce heat to low, and allow vegetables to fully cook.
3. Remove spaghetti squash from the oven once fully cooked (it should be sizzling & “spaghetti” should be easily scooped out). Use a fork to remove all of the “spaghetti” inside the squash and place in a large bowl.
4. Divide into four servings and top each with an equal portion of marinara sauce and scoop of ricotta cheese on top.
How do you have fun with veggies in your home? Do you enjoy experimenting in the kitchen?
NOTE: You may see me referencing Green PolkaDot Box on my blog every now and then, as The Boy and I purchase most of our organic, non-GMO groceries from their site. If you’re still wondering what it is or how you can sign up for a membership, shoot me an email and we’ll hook you up with more info or maybe even a free membership 🙂 You can read my boyfriend’s inspiring story (he’s a Founding Trust Member) on why we choose to eat this way over here.
