This dinner looks innocent enought, doesn't it? Clearly, a nice salad on the right, and what appears to be a pasta dish on the left. But NO! It's NOT. In fact, it's ALL VEGETABLE! I cooked up my very first spaghetti squash, and therefore my ENTIRE DINNER was vegetable!
Now, if you know me well or have been reading this blog, you know that I do NOT have a love affair with vegetables. But in my quest to get in more nutritious food, eat healthier, and think of food as FUEL, I'm trying like hell to eat more veggie adventurous.
Granted, there's a whole lotta cheese on that salad, but I ate ALL VEGGIES, SO CUT ME SOME SLACK! Actually, the cheese was fat free crumbled feta and only two points for all of that. AND, some of what you're looking at is actually diced onion.
The squash was really easy to cook: you just cut that sucker in half, scrape out the seeds, poke some holes in it with a fork, take a pan and fill it about 2 inches of water, place it inside side down, and bake for about 45 minutes on 350. Once it's done cooking, you scrape it out with a fork and it comes out in long stringy pieces like spagetti. I sauteed some onions and garlic and then mixed it all together and put the sauce on top with some pepper.
And point-wise, let's break this down:
Spaghetti Squash: 0 - that's right ZERO - POINTS!
Veggie Pasta Sauce: 2 points
Fat Free Parmesan: 1 point
Salad: 0 points
Fat Free Feta: 2 points
Lite Greek Dressing: 2 points
The entire dinner: 6 POINTS!
And here are the nutritional benefits:
This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.
But still, I missed the meat. lol
5 comments:
So tell me, what did you really think of the spagetti squash? I got brave and tried it a few months ago. I guess I'm just not a veggie eater!
I actually really liked it. I think the pasta sauce really helped. I used a LOT of onion and garlic, the sauce, and the pepper. But alone, I didn't mind it either. I thought it was good, and you know me - I hate veggies!
I think that the trick with any fake out meal is that you have to dress it the way you do a real one. Fake spahetti should definitely get real sauce. If you have a portabello mushroom cap for a burger, you should still put the burger condiments on it.
Your dinner looks great!
J
Amen to that, J-to! But if were REALLY going to dress it up the same way I normally have it, I'd put some giant meatballs and a big hunk of garlic bread too. lol Even my dressing has to be paired down. :)
wow- that dinner looks hot. I may have to try to make me some squash spaghetti. kudos!
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