Spaghetti Squash for Spaghetti substitution?

Terrytriesharder wrote: »

It is no substitute but if used in new and interesting ways it is freaking delicious! I make the tex-mex baked spaghetti squash from this site all the time and everybody loves it

Terry, could you share that Tex_Mex Recipe?

I don't usually like to substitute squash for noodles. I use the spaghetti squash to stretch out lean cuisine meals at work. one of the pot roast things poured over a cup of squash blends the taste well and stretches the meal out. for a while I was eating 2 lean cuisines per sitting. this saved me from that.

my comment might get lost, because of so many posts, but I got that spaghetti gadget from bed and bath. I have made zucchini spaghetti, like it much better than spaghetti squash, less sweet and eggplant great with tomato sauce, spicy chicken. I love this gadget. about 14.00 http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=520145&catid=184266&aid=338666&aparam=520145&kpid=520145&CAWELAID=120142990000019324&CAGPSPN=pla&kpid=520145

tabarilla wrote: »

Hello,

I'm trying to come up with different ways the kids and I can get more veggies into our diet (other than blending them up in smoothies). Have any of you had success using spaghetti squash in the place of spaghetti? And what do you think about the taste?

Thanks!

Have you actually tried spaghetti squash yet? It is sooo good. :-) I was saying in another post that I have a 3, 5, and6 y/o. I can get my oldest and youngest to eat veggies all day long, BUT my middle kid, he hates veggies, anytime I meantion it, he gets real upset and says ahhh, I hate veggies.... BUT I have found that if you make the right sause or soup with the right flavor to there liking, you can put ANY veg. in it and they will eat it. I make a killer spaghetti sause that my boys think is fantastic. they will eat more than one serving of it.. I put in peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, garlic(all fresh veggies), herbs, etc.. I even made it once with all that as well as some green beans, corn and peas and they ate it.. :-) But anyhow, I put it over the spaghetti squash and all 3 of them loved it, in fact it is on my make again list of foods, im heading out to get stuff to make it today. Good luck.

My parents tried the spaghetti sauce from our garden experiment as spaghetti once... just once ... when we were kids. Not only did we all think it was horrible, but it put me off spaghetti squash for years and years. It doesn't have a neutral enough taste for tomato sauce. I'm not sure what Dad did with the rest of the crop.

Maybe if we'd been expecting it to taste like squash and not like spaghetti it might have gone over better.

I'd advise treating spaghetti squash as squash -- a little butter, sprinkling of sugar, all in moderation. You might try the zucchini as noodles trick -- zucchini seems to go pretty well with tomatoes. I've also found that you can grate zucchini into marinara without altering the taste too much.

dawnmcneil10 wrote: »

I don't find spaghetti squash a replacement for spaghetti at all but I do love to eat it. I find my favorite way is to mix with mexican style spices and black beans, ground turkey and shredded cheese.
It's also very good with diced veggies and a little grated parm.

You may want to try the veggie pasta options with the kids, they don't need to know the different colors are veggies. I used to add frozen cauliflower to my mashed potatoes, took my husband 2+ years to catch on and he only did because he saw me add the cauliflower. Another good sneak is ground zucchini into a pasta sauce, easily disguised as spices if you grind it fine also in meatloaf grind down carrots and cauliflower really fine and mix right into your meatloaf they'll never know.

loving your ideas of hiding veggies, how exactly did you make those potatoes, Recipe?
any hidden veggie recipe would be awesome. :-) feel free to inbox me. thanks

I found it really didn't have much of a taste at all and would absorb the flavor of the sauce. I make it and serve it with my own homemade spaghetti sauce and I like it. I also use it as a noodle when making stir fry to toss it with or serve the stir fry on. So long as there's a sauce, it's pretty good. I don't care for it plain.

And another way to get those veggies in is Chocolate Zuchini bread/cake/muffins. Always a treat and the kids don't even notice the zuchini.

tabarilla wrote: »

Hello,

I'm trying to come up with different ways the kids and I can get more veggies into our diet (other than blending them up in smoothies). Have any of you had success using spaghetti squash in the place of spaghetti? And what do you think about the taste?

Thanks!

IMO it's a great way to get kids to eat another vegetable, because in my experience most kids like it. It has a very mild taste more similar to summer squashes than most winter squashes.

It is considerably less calories than pasta though, which is great when trying to lose weight, but be sure that you are still providing adequate calories for growing children.

One more chiming in that, while I adore spaghetti squash, it is NOT an acceptable substitute for pasta.

However, I make Pizza Stuffed Spaghetti Squash that is just awesome! Cut the squash in half and roast at 350 for about an hour. Spread lightly with pizza sauce of choice (I use the kind in a squeeze bottle). Top with pizza toppings of choice (turkey pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, bell peppers, sometimes pineapple for me). Top with cheese of choice (whatever pizza-ish cheese I have on hand). Stick back in the over for 10 minutes until the cheese is gooey and melty. They way I usually make it, a half of a 3-4 pound squash comes in around 400 cals, and is quite filling.