Delicious & Nutritious #2

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I have been looking forward to making Spaghetti Squash & Marinara for a while now. I bought some marinara sauce and parmesean cheese while I was at Sprouts last week but they didn't have Spaghetti Squash! I was so disappointed. So today I finally got around to the local grocery store Smith's to pick up a squash.

I made this slideshow to show my excitement that I finally got my spaghetti squash. 

I payed $5.89 for the squash itself and then I spent $1.23 for this marinara sauce from Sprouts. 

That makes for a grand total of $7.12. That seems like a lot but I still have enough to eat for two more nights. So that is a little over $2 a serving. I say that is pretty cheap. 

Alright, so if you have never made spaghetti squash:

1. I normally just preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Once warm, I stick the squash on a pan and heat the squash in the oven for about an hour 
3. Take out of the oven (USE GLOVES) 
4. After removal from oven, use a knife to slice the squash down the middle (with your gloves still on) and then let it cool for about 20 minutes 

5. Then from there you can just use a fork to get all of the seeds out first and then you get to the good stuff! When you fork it out it should appear stringy like spaghetti.

Doesn't it look so similar to a plate of spaghetti?

6. Put it in pot and mix with your choice of marinara sauce. 

7. Serve warm and sprinkle cheese if you want. I always want cheese so step seven is a must. 
8. Enjoy :) 

Side Note: Some people prefer to slice the squash and remove seeds before placing in the oven, but I actually find this more challenging. 

This meal was cheap, delicious, and nutritious. Also, the preparation took hardly any time at all. The only part that takes a while is the oven doing its job. 

Spaghetti squash is an extremely low calorie dish. A cup of this spaghetti is only 42 calories, and it cuts more than half of the carbs that you get from normal pasta. 

I am planning on eating a lot of this when I get pregnant because it has 12 mg of folate and spinach is rich in folate as well. This is an important part of a pregnant woman's diet to prevent neural tube defects in babies such as Spina Bifida. 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Tuesday! I know my husband is... watching the Cubs in Chicago while on a business trip. He got the tickets for free today! He is so lucky. 

As for me I will enjoy my Tuesday evening with a five page paper :)