Ingredient of the Week

I just read my last post, and laughed for a good minute at my last sentence.  "I hope to be back tomorrow ..."  Bahahaha.  Hello 4 months later, almost to the day - oops.  So let's move on and do a throwback to the week of September 24. That week’s ingredient of the week was… ... wait for it… ...

Spaghetti squash!  Yayy!! (I’m trying to make it super exciting to make up for the fact that it is four months late. Is it working?)  If you haven’t had this type of squash before, I highly recommend it. Not only is it tasty and fun (It is just like spaghetti, but it’s a veggie! It doesn’t get much cooler than that.), but it’s also really good for you as well.

Spaghetti squash is a variety of winter squash, and it can vary in color from ivory to yellow or orange. It's a great source of potassium, vitamin A, folic acid and beta carotene, and it's naturally low in sodium and fat- and cholesterol-free, which makes it a great food for those with high blood pressure or other heart health concerns. It makes a great substitute for spaghetti to make a meal even healthier and low calorie (only 42 calories per cup!). 

So without further ado, here are two ways I used this ingredient during the week of September 24.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Herbs

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes, low-sodium, drained

1 T basil, chopped

1/8 tsp. dried oregano

2-3 T grated Parmesan cheese

1.   Pierce a few holes in the squash with a large knife (or fork for reduced danger; I literally almost stabbed my hand with a huge knife – be careful!). Place in the microwave on high for 7-10 minutes until the skin gives easily under pressure and the inside is tender.

2.  Let cool for 15-20 minutes, then halve lengthwise or crosswise. Scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard (think like you’d do with a pumpkin). Then use a fork to scrape out the squash flesh. It will naturally separate into noodle-like strands.

 

3.  While waiting for the squash to cool, sauté minced garlic in the olive oil until it’s softened and fragrant.

4.  Add the tomatoes, basil, and oregano to the garlic and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

5.  Spoon the garlic-tomato mixture on top of squash strands. Top with grated Parmesan and serve.

 

I ate this as a main dish with a piece of garlic toast and a salad. Essentially, the spaghetti squash replaces actual spaghetti for a lower carb alternative. I hardly notice the difference (tee-hee-hee). But seriously, I really enjoy it in place of spaghetti, and I still get some grains by having home-made whole grain garlic toast with it. This is a great way to increase veggie intake while having a favorite meal. You can even top with regular spaghetti sauce and low-fat meatballs if you want.

Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan & Romano

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 (3lb) spaghetti squash

½  c. parsley, finely chopped

salt and pepper to tast

2 garlic cloves, minced and crushed

2 T Parmesan and Romano cheese

1 T margarine

1.     Pierce squash with knife or fork, and microwave for about 10 minutes. Let cool 15-20 minutes and remove spaghetti-like strands (as described in step 1 in previous recipe). Place spaghetti strands in a colander and let drain over a bowl.

2.     Saute garlic in margarine for 2 minutes. Add drained juice and parsley. Heat for one minute in garlic mixture. Toss with spaghetti strands.

3.     Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper, and toss again. Serve.

This makes a great side dish paired with a lean protein. We had salmon patties and a second veggie to complete our meal. Tasty and healthy! (I’ll post the recipe and guide pictures for the salmon patties another day soon.)

This was my first time cooking with spaghetti squash, although I had eaten it once before. Is anyone trying spaghetti squash for the first time?  Tell me how it went and what you thought of it. I’d love to know.

Food Challenge

Among the few reasons for this blog redesign is the self-imposed food challenge I started back in July. As I blogged about my progress and recipes (however intermittently it sometimes turned out to be), I realized that food and cooking were becoming the focus of my blog. So as I mentioned in my last post, I decided to make this more cohesive blog focusing on all things health (and a few other things mixed in to keep it spicy) and leave my other blog for the daily life and personal stuff.

That said, if you're just joining me, you can check out this post over on my personal blog to see where the challenge began. And while you're there you may want to peruse the rest of the posts beginning with the one I just linked to through September. Then you'll be all caught up with me and the happenings of my challenge, where I plan to continue on this new blog. Clear as mud? Good.

{Here's a hint about my food challenge}

In case I really did make that too confusing, here's a summary: This is a new blog. Go to the post linked above to read about the birth of my food challenge, and then come back to this blog as I continue on the journey. The other blog will become about daily life stuff while this blog has a somewhat more clear focus. 

If you want to keep up with my daily adventures, you can always go to that blog by clicking the tab at the top of the page called "My Reality." I hope to be back tomorrow with my first "purposeful" post on the new blog - my ingredient of the week!

Pilot

Hey y’all. I’m Laura, your average twenty-something adult working an 8-5 and looking for a little something more. I’ve kept a personal blog for about three years now, but I’ve decided it’s time to take it up a notch and make a more cohesive and purposeful blog. So I started thinking about what this blog would be about. Who am I really? What has shaped me and continues to define me? Oddly enough, I fell on five things, all of which start with the letter “F.” Faith, family, food, fitness, and fun.

I know you may be thinking, “How is that cohesive?” Well, you’re not alone because I’m thinking the same thing. But here is how I imagine this working…

Food and fitness are cohesive, and they happen to be my area of expertise. I’m a Registered Dietitian by trade, and cook and food enthusiast by interest. I’ve always been an active individual, but by no means a personal trainer. Still, I know a thing or two about the subject, and if nothing else, I have my own stories and exploits to share.

Fun – well that will be worked in along the way because I don’t know about you, but for me, exercise that isn’t fun probably isn’t happening. And food is always fun – fun to look at, fun to eat, fun to serve at parties, fun to experiment with, fun to give as gifts. I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

More than anything though, I see the point of this blog as a chance to be real and to encourage others to be real too. So, as I share personal stories, ventures, and challenges related to these topics, I’ll be sure to keep it real by sharing all my successes, failures, adventures, misadventures, and curiosities. Along the way, I hope to enlighten, inspire or at least humor anyone who drops in to read. And I’ll also do my best to share practical advice, sound nutrition and health information, tasty recipes, motivation for movement, and more for anyone who is interested.

As for faith and family, you can read all about it over on my personal blog page. And please forgive me if they happen to overlap; faith and family are pretty intertwined throughout all aspects of my life.

So there you have it, my vision for this blog. It’s all just an idea, and in the interest of keeping it real, I’ll just see where life takes this little blog of mine. I hope you’ll join me for the journey!