I made spaghetti squash for the first time last night. It was not at all like I expected, but just exactly as described.
For the sake of anyone who hasn’t tried this yet and might want to in the future, here’s what I did:
- I got a spaghetti squash from the grocery store. They’re yellow and oval and about 12 inches long.
- I took it home, washed the outside of it, and then stick it with a skewer every couple of inches to, apparently, “stop it from bursting” (according to the online directions I found).
- I stuck it in the oven at 375* for an hour. (This is the step that I might change next time – I think I should have cooked it for longer.)
- After that hour was up, I took it out and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to cool. (Trust me, this wasn’t quite long enough.)
- After 30 minutes, I cut it in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. I took a spoon and scooped out the seeds.
- And here’s the spot that always got me in the instructions: I took a fork and gently loosened the fibers.
I didn’t understand how this squash had “fibers” when all the other squash I’ve eaten was more of a pulp. But nope! As soon as you cut this thing open, you’ll see that it’ll separate into thick fibers that do look extraordinarily like spaghetti. You just scrape it away from the skin of the squash.
We ate half the squash last night. Justin ate some, and he doesn’t eat squash, so that’s saying something right there. And I went back for a big bowl of seconds because I was really hungry. And we still have half a squash left. You get a lot of spaghetti from one squash.
Now, it didn’t really turn out exactly like spaghetti because it was crunchy. It’s hard to pretend you’re eating spaghetti when it’s crunchy. But I think I probably should have left it in the oven for longer than an hour. It’ll be interesting to see if the leftovers soften up when I reheat them.
But I can’t eat them tonight because the other half of the meal was meat and tomatoes and I can’t have tomatoes today. So we’re going out and buying me a steak tonight. I’m really looking forward to that steak.
I’ll have more to say about my day and my diet later, but this is long enough for right now.
And, Erica, the thicker the slices on the zucchini, the better. I’d aim for about a quarter-inch thick. Enjoy!
I can’t remember if I’ve tried spaghetti squash or not. It sounds really familiar. But I think I just put butter on mine. The steak sounds exciting! Just so you know I started on your plan today, with just fruit, except I’m adding egg whites, because I just can’t go with no protein if I’m going to teach exercise classes.
Good to know about the zucchini thickness. 🙂 I ran to the store today and forgot to pick one up… I’m so bummed. I’ll have to add it to my list for later this week.