Spaghetti (squash) Dinner

This past summer I decided to go "grain-free", avoid poor carbs (e.g. rice, potatoes, peas) and significantly reduce my sugar intake. It's been eye opening. I'm sleeping more soundly, feel more alert during the day and the tummy region is happier than ever. I've lost 15 pounds as well which is just the cherry on top. I'm not going to lie, I miss some of the foods in those categories. For example, I had a serious craving for a BLT in August. So I made "BLT Boats". I can honestly say they completely took care of my craving! No bread? Yup.

blt boats

Later, I wanted some cheesy eggplant parm. No worries... I just made Grilled Eggplant Stacks! My husband and I agree, they're even tastier than the breaded/fried version!

grilled eggplant stacks

Recently, I had a *NEED* for a pasta dish. Just some good old spaghetti would do. After all, the tomatoes were so delicious this year.  So I decided to make spaghetti squash. Know what? It was amazing! I really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. It was quick, easy and the few leftovers I had were perfect for lunch.

Here's my version:

Ingredients

• Spaghetti Squash
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Vine Ripened Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

(optional)

• Sweet Italian Sausage
• Red Sauce
• Chopped Onion

Directions:

Wash the outside of the squash with warm water & soap rinsing well. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise and place face down in microwave safe dish. Cover with wet paper towel and microwave on high for about 15 minutes. (my microwave is not very strong, so you might need to reduce your cook time.)

While squash is cooking, cut fresh mozzarella into cubes, toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper & fresh chopped basil. Cut tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and add to mozzarella mixture. 

Once the squash is cooked (soft to the touch with a fork), you're ready to "make your spaghetti"! Drag a dinner fork through the squash, top to bottom, and you'll see the strands of "spaghetti" start to form. Add the stringed squash to a serving bowl and toss with a little olive oil. Add the mozzarella and tomato mixture... serve warm!

You can also top with your favorite red sauce & beef or sausage. I did each since I have both meat eaters and a vegetarian in the house.

spaghetti squash with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella

spaghetti squash with fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella & meat sauce

Honestly, it's a delicious meal!

Give it a try. Let me know how you like it!

xoxo

-Patti

Grilled Eggplant Stacks

About 3 weeks ago my husband and I decided to greatly (re: nearly completely) reduce our intake of processed sugar and bad carbs. By bad carbs I mean breads, crackers, rice, white potato, pasta... pretty much my favorite food group. Our reason for doing this is to be healthier and to shed some pounds. This is not to say we won't have the occasional no-no, but for the most part this is our new way of eating. A couple of things I'm noticing is that I'm never "bloated" after a meal (and previously I was after nearly every meal), and I'm sleeping through the night and feeling refreshed in the morning. THIS was definitely not happening over the last year or so. I can only conclude that eating whole foods, not centered around starches & sugars, is a very healthy change to my world. I gave up artificial sweeteners last October. I can't imagine going back to those! I don't miss them. I still use 1 tsp. of raw or white sugar in my 1 cup of nespresso nearly every day, so I do take in a small bit of sugar. Considering the amount of sugar I previously consumed in a day, I'm feelin' fine with 1 teaspoon of sugar in my java!

So in our quest for cleaner, healthier, whole foods, I've started experimenting in the kitchen. This week I decided to make one of our family favorites, Eggplant Parmesan, without all the breading and frying. The inspiration was from a dish my husband ordered at a small eatery in New York state. The name of the place escapes me, sorry.

eggplant stacks ready for the oven!

Ingredients:

• Eggplant (sliced 1/4" thick)
• 1/4 Vidalia onion diced
• 4 strips of bacon (optional)
• 1 jar low sugar pasta sauce (or make your own!)
• 8-10 pc. fresh basil - sliced
• fresh mozzarella - sliced
• olive oil for your grill
• 1 Tbs. fresh grated parmesan reggiano
• salt, red pepper flakes and ground garlic to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Fry the bacon and then coarsely chop and set aside, keeping the drippings for sautéing your diced onions. (If you're choosing to skip the bacon, simply use a tablespoon of olive oil in it's place.) Add diced onions to the bacon drippings and sauté on medium-high heat until transparent. While the onions are cooking, oil your cooktop grill, brush one side of the eggplant slices with olive oil and season with salt & red pepper flakes adding them to the grill. Turn eggplant slices once you notice nice grill marks. (About 7 minutes each side.) When the onions are transparent, add your red sauce, fresh basil and chopped bacon. Bring to a simmer and turn off heat.

After all of your ingredients are cooked, it's time to create your stacks... 

I like to spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of my cooking dish. Next comes a layer of eggplant, then mozzarella slice, a little spoonful of sauce and repeat until you've stacked all of your eggplant slices. Top the stacks with fresh parmesan reggiano shavings and bake for about 10 minutes... just long enough to melt the mozzarella. 

Take from the oven, allow to cool a few minutes and enjoy!

I hadn't planned on blogging about this dish when I made it, so I only have one photo. In all honesty, I could have eaten the stacks without baking them, but the melted cheese makes it a bit more like the classic I was trying to mimic. 

Give it a try! If you do, please tell me how you liked it!

Buon appetito!

xoxo

-Patti