And squash is very good for you. Thanks to Boerschappen I discovered this week the spaghetti squash. This winter vegetable, family of the pumpkin and zucchini, is protected by a hard greenish shell. Once you managed to slice it open, it reveals a yellow-orange flesh and, like its pumpkin and other squash relatives, many seeds.
This squash is very low in calories (27 per 100 gram), it’s almost completely fat free and it is loaded with nutrients: fiber, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6… It also contains carotenoids, which the body converts into vitamin A. Although it is mildly sweet this squash contains little sugar (2,5 gram per 100 gram). (source)
Why is it called spaghetti squash? I’ll come back to that later with a recipe. Allow me first to finish praising its health benefits.
Antioxydants
Winter squash varieties like spaghetti squash are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants search and destroy free radicals from the body cells and prevent or reduce the damage caused by oxidation. “Oxidative stress can damage cells, proteins, and DNA, which can contribute to aging. It may also play a role in development of a range of health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.“ (source)
In laymen’s terms: antioxidants are good for you!
Fiber
Eat a lot of squash and other veggies: the value of fiber cannot be underestimated. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can’t digest. Fiber helps regulate the body’s use of sugars, helping to keep hunger and blood sugar in check.
Fiber comes in two varieties, both beneficial to health (source):
- Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, can help lower glucose levels as well as help lower blood cholesterol. Foods with soluble fiber include oatmeal, nuts, beans, lentils, apples and blueberries.
- Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water, can help food move through your digestive system, helping prevent constipation. Foods with insoluble fibers include whole wheat, whole grain couscous, brown rice, legumes, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.
And squash? Well, it’s highly soluble. So it’s a good idea to complement it with insoluble fiber. In addition note that spaghetti squash is low in protein so it’s also a good idea to mix your squash with an additional source of protein. Let me get back to that in the recipe!
Fiber, from fruits and vegetables, is good for your gut health. For some reason I have come across the gut health topic a lot in the past few of weeks. The brain-gut connection, the gut microbiom and other gut-related topics are fascinating and definitely deserve a lot of attention. I shall get back to this in the future.
For the time being remember that fiber and a diversity of nutrients are necessary to feed the microbes that keep your gut in balance. Fat and animal proteins don’t contain any fiber, hence favour carbohydrate-heavy, organic and real (unprocessed) foods.
Spaghetti Squash Oven Dish Recipe
Having said all that, here is at last a delicious Spaghetti Squash recipe. As mentioned earlier I discovered this ingredient thanks to our weekly subscription to Boerschappen.
You can find the original Boerschappen recipe (in Dutch) here.
The recipe in English with my tasty additions. You need, for 2 persons (single dish) or 4 persons (side dish):
- Spaghetti squash (1)
- Tomatoes (200 gram)
- Spinach (100 gram)
- Lentils (tin, strained)
- (Vegan) feta (200 gram)
- Lemon
- Onion (1)
- Garlic (2 cloves)
- Fresh ginger and turmeric / kurkuma (a thumb-like piece)
- Fresh herbs like celery or sage leaves.
Instructions:
- Switch your oven on and set it at 180 degrees Celsius.
- Wash the squash and then cut in two equal halves. Remove the seeds using a spoon.
- Sprinkle the inside of the squash with a bit of oil, peper and salt. Place the squash in the oven faces up, directly on the grill or in an oven dish.
- Bake the squash in approximately 35 minutes.
- Throw the onion, garlic, turmeric and ginger in a small electric chopper and chop them roughly.
- Heat (rice or coconut) oil in a pan and put fry your spices mix. If you don’t have fresh turmeric or ginger, use the dry powder alternative instead.
- Cut the tomatoes in rough cubes and add them to the pan, stir the spinach and fresh herbs. Having strained the lentils you can add them to the mix and warm the whole thing up.
- Once the tomato-spinach-lentils mix is slightly cooked, remove the pan from the heat.
- Once the squash is ready proceed to scrape the flesh from the shell using a fork. That’s where the spaghetti-shaped strings appear. My wife thought the texture felt like sauerkraut, but the acidity is definitely absent.
- Mix the squash strings with the rest of the vegetables and divide the mixture over in the two empty shells.
- Dice the (vegan) feta and push the cubes into the mixture.
- Bake the squash in 5-7 minutes in the oven.
- Once it’s ready add lemon juice to the squash and serve.
Adding fresh spices and lentils to the recipe helps 1) create a balanced meal thanks to the protein of the lentils, 2) add Asian flavour and heat which I particularly like.
Enjoy!