Pasketti Squash

Um hello?! Where has Spaghetti Pasketti Squash been hiding all my pasta-loving-life?? This stuff is amazing. And healthy. And simple and yummy. And I would seriously like to know why no one has introduced it to me before.

Actually, my lovely friend Kaley told me about it back during our awesome girls' weekend in the beginning of April. We had all been talking about diets and healthiness and food and those things in general. Kaley then told us about a no-carb diet she tried for two weeks, and I decided I was going to give it a go. She suggested one of the things her and her husband ate during these two weeks was a lot of spaghetti squash. I remember having this conversation, but apparently I didn't file it away, because I forgot all about the spaghetti squash.

(I did in fact try the no-carb diet for two weeks in the beginning of April, and actually lost 6 pounds!! Even after an unnecessary meltdown from a painful weigh-in...)

Fast forward to June, and I finally tried the stuff for the first time! Jeff and I went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday one night for dinner. We were/are on a diet, and we were/are being very careful about eating healthy and making good food choices. Luckily for us, they have quite a few selections they've deemed "Fit & Trim," that are low in fat and calories. So from that menu, I ordered Spaghetti Squash Marinara, and it was sooooo good. I ate every. single. bite of this glorious plate. All 257 calories of it. Awesome. (And yes, you read that correctly - it was only 257 calories!!)

Forgot to take a picture before I scarfed the entire plate... oops.

The best part is that my brain and stomach were tricked into thinking I was eating real pasta. But my thighs and belly were thankful that it was only veggies disguised as my favorite food. I'd say it was a Win-Win all around.

For Jeff's meal that night, he ordered grilled salmon, with grilled zucchini and roasted spaghetti squash as his side items, so he got to try the new stuff too. And he also loved it! So much in fact, I didn't even get to try a bite of his plain spaghetti squash with only salt and butter. (This actually happens to us a lot, and we joke about how few times I've gotten to try the food he orders...) And his whole meal was still only 386 calories!

We liked it so much that I was immediately whipping out the iPhone in order to do some research on the stuff. I had to know what it was and how I could get some of it myself! Turns out, it's super easy.  Learn all about this little little veggie HERE on About.com. Then check out a few different recipes I would like to try - One, Two and Three.

I can't wait to try cooking and making this myself sometime soon. Because I know it's going to be so healthy for me, but so delicious at the same time! And let's be real here - healthy foods aren't always the tastiest, and that's when I feel like cheating on my diet a little bit just to get some extra yummy-ness and flavor. But when I can treat myself with wonderful things like Pasketti Squash, it makes staying on my diet plan easy peasy!

And here's a little Instagram collage I made from then just for fun :)