Do it, I dare you.

I avoided it at all costs. No way could a vegetable be an adequate substitute for pasta. I refused to believe it.

In the past year or so, there’s been a skyrocketing trend in turning vegetables into noodles. It seems to correspond with the rise in low-carb and/or gluten-free fad diets.* Since going gluten-free thirteen months ago, I was slowly drawn into the world of veggie-based noodles…

And I am never going back. What was that dark place I inhabited before I tried spaghetti squash? Did I have hopes and dreams? Was life even worth living? The answer of course, is yes, but still. Spaghetti squash is DOPE. I got my mum and my aunt on board with the trend, and we all love it! My aunt sent me the recipe for the squash pictured above, which I’ll share with you in this post 🙂

But the moral of my story is that you have to try spaghetti squash if you haven’t already. Seriously. Join the fad. Become a groupie. Spaghetti squash is so versatile, healthy and easy to make (which is usually the most important criteria I have for trying new recipes).

Baked Margarita Spaghetti Squash ingredients:

1. 1 spaghetti squash (duh)
2. 2 tbsp. olive oil
3. 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered
4. 2 tbsp. basil, chopped
5. 1/4 Parmesan cheese**
6. salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice squash in half lengthwise.
3. Remove seeds and goopy strings in the middle.
4. Drizzle each half with the oil, and sprinkle with salt/pepper/garlic powder.
5. Place the squash open side down onto a baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove squash, and test for readiness by scraping the inside with a fork. If it produces strings easily, it’s ready! Otherwise, give it another 5-10 minutes.
7. Scrape squash from the interior, but leave it in the skin.
8. Add the basil, tomatoes, and cheese.
9. Place the squash back in the oven on a high broil for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
10. Squash will be hot! Wait at least 5 minutes before serving.

I ate one entire half of this recipe and felt so full, but in a perfectly content way. I had officially joined the “I ❤ Spaghetti Squash Club”. And I don’t hate it.

As a side note, I immediately went and bought another squash at Wegman’s so that I can make this recipe again ASAP. They didn’t have any smallish sized squashes that would have been good for one person (me). But I was so pumped about this recipe that I bought a monster of a squash. For comparison, here it is next to a two-and-a-half pound jar of peanut butter and an average sized apple. Like seriously, this thing is huge.

But I can’t wait to devour it 🙂

Peace, love, and squash,

Colleen

*Remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating a healthy, balanced diet. However, please do not cut out food groups intentionally without consulting a doctor. A gluten-free diet is not necessarily healthier than one which permits gluten!

**Feel free to use a different type of cheese. Or more than 1/4 cup. Really, you should just pile on the cheese.