Earlier this week, I mentioned on my blog Facebook page that I was cooking spaghetti squash. If you’ve never worked with spaghetti squash before, do not be intimidated, try it! I start by cutting the squash in half and scraping out the seeds and 'guts'.

I spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and put the cut side down. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 45-60 minutes. The easiest way to determine it is done is by poking the outside of the skin with your finger, if it feels soft but leathery to the touch, it’s done. You really can’t mess it up. The worst case scenario, if you over cook it will be a little more squashy and a little less stringy, which doesn’t look as pretty, but it will taste just fine. It won’t take more than an hour though. After the squash has cooled a bit, use a fork to scrape the “spaghetti” out.

There’s lots of things you can do with the squash once it is cooked. One of my favorite at home meals has always been spaghetti, so I use it to make a carb free spaghetti. I use ground turkey and Ragu Light no sugar added sauce, but you could use any meat or sauce that you like. I like to add plenty of sautéed onions and garlic and other seasonings when I brown the meat. 1 cup of spaghetti squash is only 42 calories, which when combined with ½ cup of sauce and 3oz of meat, makes a decent portion. Even if you increase a serving to 2 cups, you are spending far less calories than pasta and you won’t be in a carb coma 30 minutes later.

I really feel like spaghetti squash is under-utilized as a pasta substitute. Be creative and use it anywhere you would have used pasta!