In a quest to try to eat a little healthier, I decided to try spaghetti squash. It’s intrigued me for years. I love spaghetti, so something that mimics spaghetti might be a good thing. It also might be an icky disaster. But when I saw spaghetti squash for 84c in the store the other day (or was it 84c/pound? I never pay attention to that stuff.) I decided it was a good price, so it was time to give it a go.
I researched spaghetti squash recipes to try to find one that I could stomach. Several people said not to try to fool myself by putting spaghetti sauce on it, which makes sense. After all, that’s a lot of pressure to put on a spaghetti squash. So here’s what I came up with:
(Oh, and for those of you who care, this recipe adds up to roughly 180 calories…not bad for a filling dinner!)
Step 1: Bake the spaghetti squash. Cut it in half, baked about 45 minutes on one side, then 10 minutes on the other…at 350 degrees.
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Step 2: Saute garlic in some extra virgin olive oil on the stove.
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Step 3: Toss in 1 cup spinach and poke around until spinach is warmed. Remove spinach.
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Step 4: Saute 1 cup spaghetti squash (it certainly looks like spaghetti at this point) in the remainder of garlicky olive oil.
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Step 5: Add the spinach back in and saute together until the squash is desired…consistency?
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Step 6: Remove and blot any excess olive oil off. Some people like olive oil; I personally don’t like my food with any oil on it, even if it is supposed to be a healthy oil. Mix in 1/4 cup part skim ricotta. I put the dish in the microwave for about 20 seconds at this point, since the ricotta was cold. Sprinkle a bit of parmesan on top and voila!
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Verdict: I’m not sure about the crunchiness of the squash. Is it supposed to be crunchy at this point? Also, this dish, while tasty, could use some additional herbs and/or seasoning, so next time I’ll add in a bit more. Overall: C+ or B- on the squash, until I either get used to or figure out this crunchy issue. In the meantime, I have a lot of leftovers to practice with!
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