I began my spaghetti squash journey when I decided pasta wasn't going to be part of my life (my regular life that is- special occasions I'll make exceptions) although I didn't know that it would turn into one of my favorite foods. I could not find spaghetti squash in the stores- winco, fred meyer, albertsons... I believe this was around fall/winter. I seem to have no trouble now but then it wasn't available. Spaghetti squash is lemon yellow. VERY hard to miss at a store. Alas, all I could find was this "stripetti" squash. I had no idea what that was until I read the little sticker on it that identified it as a cross between "Spaghetti and Delicata Squash." (Note to self: buy and cook a Delicata Squash.) Exhausted and really wanting to try this I bought the stripetti and so began my adventure.
This squash is not easy to open. Although we have a decent knife set, (The Prince and I are registered for the wedding for a much superior knife set!) it was way too much work to cut. I actually pulled out some of our pumpkin carving tools and it worked much easier. So, if you have the little orange, specially serrated carving knife, use it! Now, I ask the Prince to cut them for me since we have it on the regular now. Don't get me wrong, I CAN do it, but he can do it with much greater ease. So, we microwaved it (see below for directions) and I pulled it apart with a fork. Before putting spaghetti sauce on it, I tried some... and *shocked face* I loved it. I thought it was perfect. The Prince thought it was mediocre but needed a little more convincing than I did. He enjoyed it with the spaghetti sauce. Opposed to the Prince, I didn't like it as much with spaghetti sauce on it at first. Perhaps because I hadn't gotten used to my new way of eating and while I love spaghetti or stripetti squash now, I wasn't impressed. Anything I cook now compared to the high carbohydrate processed foods isn't going to win in a taste contest... unless you take in the whole picture. Can I eat spaghetti squash instead of delicious pasta? Yes. Especially when you factor in the health benefits. The benefits compared to pasta especially, heck yes I can! So, I gave it another attempt but this time I just ate it plain and I liked it. Stripetti became a side dish and even breakfast sometimes. I like weird things for breakfast. Something about it reminds me of undercooked shredded potatoes, but in a good way! I was enjoying it and starting to eat it more frequently.
Just as it was entering our lives on a regular basis, it disappeared. I could no longer find it at the grocers. In its place I found spaghetti squash. Why I thought they would be the same, I have no idea. No one makes a hybrid squash just to make it the exact same. I prepared it the same, and it was not as good. Much worse actually. Not nearly as sweet as Stripetti and certainly not as tender. With encouragement from the Prince and me being stubborn with determination to make it work, I kept cooking it. We tried it with sauces, and it was better. However, through much experimenting I found that tossing it in a small amount of butter (a thin pad for the two of us works) and feta is amazing. You can barely taste the butter and the feta adds just a little bit of saltiness. Spaghetti and Stripetti are very different but I now love both. They are similar, like siblings- each with their own good and not-so-good qualities. Last night, we had spaghetti sauce over long zucchini shreds (zucchini sliced top to bottom with a potato peeler) and spaghetti squash. It was one of those meals where the spaghetti sauce can top everything on the plate. We were out of feta though- so I stood at the fridge for awhile thinking about what would compliment the spaghetti and it hit me: shredded Parmesan!!!!! OMG- it was heaven. I didn't even put any sauce on it because I just wanted to eat that! It almost reminded me of a crazy healthy mac 'n cheese. This afternoon, as my late snack I ate some of it re-heated in the microwave and decided that I had to make a post about this. I hope this inspires you to experiment with spaghetti or stripetti squashes.
Spaghetti squash is super low calorie with 1 cup having only 42 calories. So, in my opinion you have some room to add a little butter or cheese. After all, you do need fat with your carbs! I would have a hard time eating more than a cup at time... but I might have last night... It is also a relatively "low carb" carbohydrate. One cup has 10 grams of carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber so that equals 8 net carbs and 4 sugars. It is super low on the glycemic index... which I didn't think about before, but since I've switched to this lifestyle my blood sugar has been getting super low, and I've had to think about things that sustain blood sugar over a period of time. Although I dont have diabetes it does run in my family and it also runs in the Prince's family so its something I need to think about. The glycemic index runs from 0-200 and you should aim for an average intake of about 100 and spaghetti squash is is 2. So, I'd say its a very healthy carb indeed! You can find all the facts and even the fullness factor on my favorite nutrition site: here.
Finally to the directions for cooking:
This squash is not easy to open. Although we have a decent knife set, (The Prince and I are registered for the wedding for a much superior knife set!) it was way too much work to cut. I actually pulled out some of our pumpkin carving tools and it worked much easier. So, if you have the little orange, specially serrated carving knife, use it! Now, I ask the Prince to cut them for me since we have it on the regular now. Don't get me wrong, I CAN do it, but he can do it with much greater ease. So, we microwaved it (see below for directions) and I pulled it apart with a fork. Before putting spaghetti sauce on it, I tried some... and *shocked face* I loved it. I thought it was perfect. The Prince thought it was mediocre but needed a little more convincing than I did. He enjoyed it with the spaghetti sauce. Opposed to the Prince, I didn't like it as much with spaghetti sauce on it at first. Perhaps because I hadn't gotten used to my new way of eating and while I love spaghetti or stripetti squash now, I wasn't impressed. Anything I cook now compared to the high carbohydrate processed foods isn't going to win in a taste contest... unless you take in the whole picture. Can I eat spaghetti squash instead of delicious pasta? Yes. Especially when you factor in the health benefits. The benefits compared to pasta especially, heck yes I can! So, I gave it another attempt but this time I just ate it plain and I liked it. Stripetti became a side dish and even breakfast sometimes. I like weird things for breakfast. Something about it reminds me of undercooked shredded potatoes, but in a good way! I was enjoying it and starting to eat it more frequently.
Just as it was entering our lives on a regular basis, it disappeared. I could no longer find it at the grocers. In its place I found spaghetti squash. Why I thought they would be the same, I have no idea. No one makes a hybrid squash just to make it the exact same. I prepared it the same, and it was not as good. Much worse actually. Not nearly as sweet as Stripetti and certainly not as tender. With encouragement from the Prince and me being stubborn with determination to make it work, I kept cooking it. We tried it with sauces, and it was better. However, through much experimenting I found that tossing it in a small amount of butter (a thin pad for the two of us works) and feta is amazing. You can barely taste the butter and the feta adds just a little bit of saltiness. Spaghetti and Stripetti are very different but I now love both. They are similar, like siblings- each with their own good and not-so-good qualities. Last night, we had spaghetti sauce over long zucchini shreds (zucchini sliced top to bottom with a potato peeler) and spaghetti squash. It was one of those meals where the spaghetti sauce can top everything on the plate. We were out of feta though- so I stood at the fridge for awhile thinking about what would compliment the spaghetti and it hit me: shredded Parmesan!!!!! OMG- it was heaven. I didn't even put any sauce on it because I just wanted to eat that! It almost reminded me of a crazy healthy mac 'n cheese. This afternoon, as my late snack I ate some of it re-heated in the microwave and decided that I had to make a post about this. I hope this inspires you to experiment with spaghetti or stripetti squashes.
Spaghetti squash is super low calorie with 1 cup having only 42 calories. So, in my opinion you have some room to add a little butter or cheese. After all, you do need fat with your carbs! I would have a hard time eating more than a cup at time... but I might have last night... It is also a relatively "low carb" carbohydrate. One cup has 10 grams of carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber so that equals 8 net carbs and 4 sugars. It is super low on the glycemic index... which I didn't think about before, but since I've switched to this lifestyle my blood sugar has been getting super low, and I've had to think about things that sustain blood sugar over a period of time. Although I dont have diabetes it does run in my family and it also runs in the Prince's family so its something I need to think about. The glycemic index runs from 0-200 and you should aim for an average intake of about 100 and spaghetti squash is is 2. So, I'd say its a very healthy carb indeed! You can find all the facts and even the fullness factor on my favorite nutrition site: here.
Finally to the directions for cooking:
1) slice the spaghetti squash length wise
2) Scrape out the seedy insides. If you have pet rats, which I assume most of you don't but just in case: the rats really love the inside of squashes, so you don't have to waste it! Although my little Rattie cant eat all of it so the rest goes in the composter.
3) Place in a glass pie dish or bowl with the area you just scrapped up facing the ceiling.
4) In the dish, place a small amount of water (probably like 1/4 of a cup.)
5) Put in the microwave and depending on size, cook for 7-12 minutes. I usually buy a small junior football size, that is enough for us and some left overs. Note: Stripetti squash cooks a faster than Spaghetti squash.
6) You know the squash is done when its flexible. When you can squeeze the sides together and it moves.
7) Shredding:I usually hold the squash in my left hand with the bottom of the squash resting on a plate. I usually have a towel or wear an ove-glove since the squash is so warm. Take a fork and from top-to-bottom and side-to-side pull apart the squash from the shell.
8) While its hot, toss in some butter or your cheese of preference.
It chills really fast, so sometimes if its not the last thing done for dinner I pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds. It re-heats very nicely.
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