Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

I started this blog with the purpose of posting my daily eats, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. I have been working harder at eating cleaner lately, so hopefully I will post more often, so check back if you want more "clean" recipes.

I had to post this recipe. As runners/triathletes, we need carbs. However so many runners complain of weight gain during heavy training due to plates of carbs and breads. I stumbled across spaghetti squash by accident. I went to grocery store looking for zucchini/squash to grill, and accidentally bought the yellow spaghetti squash. I had no idea what to do with it, but I found this informative video about the vegetable.



So from there I searched a few recipes, I really felt like a pasta style dish so I decided to make the Alfredo dish

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

1 medium spaghetti squash
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free sour cream
fresh ground pepper
fresh Parmesan
1tsp olive oil

1. Cook the spaghetti squash either in microwave (see video above) or in the oven. I roasted mine in the oven in Pyrex dish with a few centimeter of water at 350F for 1 hour. I also deseeded and halved mine first. Spoon out the squash (it will naturally form strands) into a bowl.

2. Saute minced garlic in a pan (I use cast iron pan - runners need iron) add sour cream and bring to a boil. Grate about 1/4C Parmesan cheese into sour cream mixture. You can also add mozzarella but I wanted less cheese. Do not use pre-packaged grated Parmesan - it does not have the flavour of whole Parmesan. Add a little pepper to taste.

3. Add squash and heat for a few minutes. Serve immediately with fresh parm grated on top. I served mine with a simple spinach salad with Roma tomatoes and balsamic dressing.

Here are some photos of the process

Out of the oven

This is what it spoons out like.. it is really squash!

The Sauce.. mmm....

Voila!! (click on the image, it looks yummy!)

For dessert I had a bowl of fresh Ontario raspberries with a 1/4 of rice dream and a coffee. It was a delicious filling, and satisfying meal!

Thanks for reading!

Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Pine Nuts

Recipe is adapted from Weight Watchers "In no Time" Book.

Pasta with Turkey Sausage, Spinach, and Pine Nuts
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb lean turkey sausage
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs pine nuts
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 16 once pkg whole wheat organic pasta (I used brown rice pasta, and it was good)
1 9 ounce bag baby spinach

1. Bring salted (sea salt) water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. For brown rice noodles, the package said 7-10 minutes, I found they only took 3 minutes. Drain pasta (do not rinse) and keep 1 cup of reserved water.

2. Broil sausage (slightly undercook) and pat dry. Slice into 1 inch diagonal slices.

3. Add sausage into skillet with garlic and pine nuts, and cook until the nuts are toasted and sausage is cooked through (2-3 minutes).

4. Add pasta, reserve water, and spinach to skillet and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Rating: 4/5 Hubs really liked this, and it is simple to make. As a bonus the spinach is a good source of iron and folic acid. Serves 6

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

This bread is for the bread maker, and is wonderful. The recipe yields a 2lb loaf setting on your breakmaker.

4 cup organic whole wheat flour
1.5 cups buttermilk
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 tsp rapid yeast
1/4 C organic molasses
1 egg white