AKA Spaghetti and Meat Sauce gets a huge make over!
Normal Spaghetti and Meat Sauce:
- thick starchy carb loaded spaghetti noodles
- fatty ground beef and pork
- bland tamatoey sauce
My swaps are simple, and they make a HUGE difference in this recipe nutrition wise, but do not lack any of the flavor or comfort of the original dish. Here they are:
- Spaghetti squash for spaghetti (-TONS of calories, +vitamins and other good stuff)
- 99% lean ground turkey for beef/pork (-fat, -almost HALF the calories)
- Extra spicy seasonings to give a diablo flair (+yum)
“Spaghetti” and Meat Sauce
yield 5
- 2 large spaghetti squash, cut length wise and seeded
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 packet spaghetti sauce seasonings
- 1 1/4 lb 99% lean ground turkey
- cayenne pepper (or any spicy seasoning), Italian seasonings, salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese (opt)
Directions:
1. Rub olive oil evenly between 4 squash halves.
2. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.
3. Place face down in sprayed baking dish and roast for 40-50 minutes @ 375.
4. Brown turkey in large sauce pan.
5. Add tomato paste, seasonings and water (see packet for water measurements).
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened and squash is fully cooked.
7. Remove squash from oven and using a fork, scrape out “spaghetti” strings.
8. Add “spaghetti” to sauce, stir well.
9. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.
10. Enjoy!
**Some words on spaghetti squash**
- When the squash is done, the spaghetti like strings will easily come out when scraped with a fork.
- The texture is not the same as regular spaghetti, so if you’re expecting soft, melt in your mouth noodles, I’m sorry, it just isn’t so. It’s more like an al dente pasta–a little crisper, but the taste is seriously amazing.
- I made this dish for an all male audience and one of them (Hermano) is 14 and picky. They all loved it.
- Just TRY the spaghetti squash–this entire meal cost about $15 and has about 250 calories a serving. A FILLING serving. Just try it!!
