Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Spaghetti Squash With Veggies & Pesto Recipe
PIN IT!Hi friends! Before we begin, I must announce the SUPER lucky winner of the Ted Allen cookbook! A huge huge HUGE thank you again to Robert Mondavi Private Selection for hosting this giveaway 🙂 Look forward to working with you more in the future!
And now! The winner!
aka, Mary Beth! Whose favorite ingredient is hot sauce! Sounds a bit like my hubby 🙂 Email me, Mary Beth, at realistic.nutritionist@gmail.com to claim your prize!
Now, onto some seriously delicious food! But first I have to share this photo of Oscar. I was prepping in the kitchen yesterday and he just sat and watched me with his tongue hanging out. Honestly just the cutest. Plus, I’m sad b/c he has to get his routine shots today. So please, shoot this furbaby mother some reassuring thoughts, mmk?
He looks like a little e-wok doesn’t he? Oh that face! I could easily gush about him for the rest of my life, but I must restrain so I can talk about THIS. THIS-A BEAUTIFUL THING RIGHT A HERE. (I sometimes talk with an Italian accent. And a British one. Don’t judge me.)
Or better known, in it’s scientific term, as a big ol’ pile of awesome. Or, in lamens terms, spaghetti squash roasted to perfection, paired with sauteed asparagus, mushrooms and onions. Then! It’s garnished with a dollop of this stuff.
Homemade pesto! MMMMM! I’ve never been a huge pesto person. I mean, it’s good but I’m never like “Oh man. I just wish I had a spoonful of pesto!” Well, friends, that was before I made a batch of it at home. This stuff? Tastes like happiness. I would drink it through a straw if everyone around me wouldn’t disown me and put me in a straight jacket. It’s good. Plus, paired with this dish? It’s outstanding.
The pesto adds creaminess while the asparagus lends a superior crunch. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t know I was eating a vegetable. That is probably one of my favorite things about spaghetti squash. It’s such a FABULOUS alternative to pasta.
Even though the flavor is awesome, what makes me the most giddy about this dish is the simple fact that it has less than 6 points per 1 cup serving. 6 POINTS! Now that is a cause for celebration.
NOTE: You only need like 1 – 2 tablespoons of pesto to get that flavor. The more you add, the more fat and calories you add to the dish.
Spaghetti Squash with Veggies and Homemade Pesto
Serves 4 [pesto makes 1 cup]
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, if possible)
- 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 medium spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
- 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into thirds
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Dashes of salt and pepper
Directions:
- To prepare the pesto, place walnuts, oil and basil leaves into a blender or food processor. Pulse on low until creamed. Add in cheese, lemon juice and garlic cloves and continue to pulse until mixture is creamy and mixed. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill in the fridge.
- To prepare the dish, preheat the oven to 375F. Place the squash flesh side down in a jelly roll pan. Fill the pan with 1/2 inch water. Bake squash for at least 35 – 40 minutes, or until you can easily pull the “noodles” out with a fork. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- While squash bakes, prepare veggies. Heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until just translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in mushrooms and asparagus and cook until asparagus is soft, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Once squash has cooled, carefully pull the flesh from the squash using a fork [this will give you the noodles]. Place in a bowl. Add in veggies and mix up with a tong. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of pesto, stir and enjoy!
Nutritional information per 1 cup:
Calories: 199
Fat: 8.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 14 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 2.4 grams
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 4
And that recipe looks out of this world!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
Fantastic recipe, Claire! You had me at pesto!! :)
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