Clean Eating Baked Spaghetti Squash

Got another clean eating post for ya! I know "clean", healthy recipes aren't as fun to read about as delicious, rich, full of calories dishes, but work with me; I promise to give you some indulgent recipes too.

As I've said in previous posts, I'm trying this whole clean eating thing. It's actually not that bad! Have you ever done it? It can seem overwhelming at first; but once you get the hang of what ingredients you should avoid, it's really easy to adjust most recipes to fit the clean eating diet.

In attempts to eat and feel better, I decided to give clean eating another try. I did a similar lifestyle change a few years ago and absolutely loved the results. I had ten times more energy than I ever had (even when I drank cups of coffee), my body looked and felt better, and my skin improved. So why not give this another try?!

This Baked Spaghetti Squash recipe is tasty, filling, and all clean. Spaghetti squash takes the place of pasta in this recipe, but everything else is like the typical baked spaghetti recipe that your mom used to make. This recipe is careful to avoid salt and high sodium ingredients, while focusing on fresh produce, healthy ground turkey, and flavorful herbs. If you've never tried spaghetti squash, I highly recommend it. While it takes a little while to prepare, the end results are definitely worth it. If you are still on the fence about clean eating or just want to a healthy dinner recipe idea, I suggest making this dish!

Clean Eating Baked Spaghetti Squash (adapted from The Gracious Pantry)

(4-5 servings)

1 medium spaghetti squash, prepared*
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 container baby portabella mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1 14.5-ounce container low sodium diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 15-ounce container low sodium no sugar added tomato sauce
1 lb. 94% lean ground turkey
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup freshly shredded cheese (any kind will do)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

Prepare spaghetti squash. Place spaghetti squash in a large bowl to cool.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and saute until soft, or about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute together with red onion. Once the mushrooms start getting soft, add the minced garlic. Saute ingredients together for another minute and then remove from skillet and pour into the same bowl with the spaghetti squash. Pour in the drained fire roasted tomatoes and mix all of the ingredients together.

In the same skillet, add the ground turkey. Break up the turkey slightly. Add half of the can of tomato sauce, the onion powder, and the garlic powder to the turkey. Stir ingredients together. Allow the tomato sauce to simmer and cook the turkey until no pink remains.

Pour the turkey mixture and remaining tomato sauce into the bowl with all of the vegetables. Stir everything together until well mixed. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle freshly shredded cheese on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until dish is heated through and cheese is melted. Cover with foil half way through if you don't want your cheese to brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

*Refer to this post for instructions on how to prepare your spaghetti squash.

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Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 253.3
Total Fat: 10.8 g
Cholesterol: 68.5 mg
Sodium: 172.8 mg
Total Carbs: 21.0 g
Fiber: 5.1 g
Sugars: 11.6 g
Protein: 22.3 g

Pros:
-Simple list of ingredients
-Very tasty and filling
-Good for you (low in fat, calories, and sodium, while being high in fiber, protein, and vitamins)
-Versatile-add different fresh vegetables, such as peppers, to this dish, or use ground chicken instead of turkey

Cons:
-Total prep and baking time is over an hour (prepare spaghetti squash in advance to make meal more quickly)