This week’s menu highlight features another one of my wife’s awesome culinary creations. The dish below combines shrimp, spinach, mushrooms and spaghetti squash in an olive oil, butter sauce to produce a fantastic weekday dinner. Not only does this meal’s caloric breakdown match my desired macronutrient intake (60% fat, 25% carbs, 15% protein), the spaghetti squash produces far less of an insulin response than its similarly named refined carb doppelgänger. I’m not really into counting calories but if you are, spaghetti squash has 20 calories per cup compared to pasta’s 100. It also contains 24 less grams of carbohydrates than pasta and is full of important vitamins and minerals like vitamins C, B and folate (source). It may take a little longer to prepare than pasta, but the end product is much more flavorful and better for you. Even though these fruits, yes they’re fruits, are harvested in the fall, you can still get them at the grocery store into winter and early spring. Grab one on your next trip to the grocery store and send us some pics of your spaghetti squash creations.

How to prepare spaghetti squash

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise
• Scoop out seeds
• Drizzle with cut side with olive oil & salt
• Place cut side down on baking sheet
• Cook for approximately 45 minutes