A cleaner option: Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Onions

I'm slowly working toward a lifestyle of clean eating.

People think that if you are a vegetarian, you automatically eat clean. It may be cleaner than the carnivorous lifestyle, but there are far too many sweets and fats in my diet to get the clean eating seal of approval. So, I'm working on it.

In that quest, I decided to work up a meal that was sort of comforting in its familiarity, but a cleaner version.

I love my pasta. And I like heavy sauces full of veggies.

The pasta has to go. I found that Spaghetti Squash is a darned good alternative. Of course, it's not the same as soft, heavy spaghetti, but it tastes good and it's much lighter. If you pile on the veggies, it's sort of like a crisper angel hair pasta.

Don't make that "squash is no substitute for pasta" or "I hate squash" face. It really tastes like a crunchy pasta. Yes,  yes...pasta is soft and comforting, but this squash doesn't have that heavy earthy taste that so many people crumple their noses at. 

Give it a try.

I made this particular dish with kale and onions because, frankly, I love kale and onions, but you can play around with the flavors. If you want to pile on an Alfredo sauce or even a thick tomato sauce, go for it. But for a very flavorful, good-for-you dish, give this one a try.

Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Onions

1 spaghetti squash

1 cup of kale, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 of a yellow onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

cooking spray or 2 squirts of olive oil from a sprayer

1/4 cup of water

• Poke some holes in the spaghetti squash and cook it in a 375º F oven for an hour. Let it cool enough to handle and cut it in half. 
• Put half away for another day. Remove the seeds from one half and discard. Take a fork and scrape the rest of the flesh out into a bowl.
• Spritz the oil into a skillet and heat it up. 
• Quickly heat the onion and kale until the kale starts to get soft. Pour the water over the veggies. It will turn to steam almost immediately. 
• As soon as it stops steaming, take the pan off the heat and pour the kale and onions over your squash.
• Season with a little pepper or red pepper flakes.

(Vegan)