Happppppy Monday! Hope everyone had the best weekend! We went to Austin and I may have a new favorite city. It reminded me of Denver so that was great, but it also had more of an LA kind of vibe. We really miss living near the city and having everything walkable like we did in Denver, so being back in that environment probably made me love it even more. AND we were about a 5 min walk from the biggest and best Whole Foods.
We went to Austin for ACL, a really big music festival, and had so much fun. I had never been to a music fest before now and I can’t wait to go back. I highly recommend Austin and ACL if you have the urge to visit a fun city in Texas. Especially one with great food and an amazing outdoorsy, eclectic vibe.
It’s back to the real world today, and I am bringing you a really simple, but nutritious meal. More roasted veggies and more spaghetti squash! I know I keep making roasted veg dishes, but I can’t stop buying all the seasonal veggies. I love this dinner because it’s easy and quick and is an amazing vegetarian (and vegan) meal if you aren’t in the mood for animal products. This is me about twice a week and poor Mitch is usually starving about 5 minutes after dinner and is always rummaging around for more protein.
You can roast any veggies you like or have on hand which makes this dish really versatile. You can also add grilled chicken or a fried or poached egg (YUM) on top for some additional protein. For ours, I just added toasted pine nuts since I love them and had them on hand.
To make the dish, layer spaghetti squash noodles, my homemade pesto (or a good quality store bought version), your veggies and pine nuts and call it done! Enjoy this healthy, easy dinner!
- For the Roasted Veggies & Spaghetti Squash Noodles
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 carrots - chopped
- 1 yellow summer squash - chopped
- 1 zucchini - chopped
- 1 red beet - chopped
- 1 onion - chopped
- 1 sweet potato - chopped
- 2 tbsp coconut oil - melted
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- For the Pesto
- 1 c fresh basil
- 1/2 c olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Topping
- 1 c pine nuts - dry toasted
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cut spaghetti squash in half length-wise and remove seeds
- Place face-down on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes
- While your spaghetti squash is baking, chop all of your veggies and place onto a baking sheet
- Pour the coconut oil over the veggies and toss with the salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown
- While your veggies and squash are in the oven, prepare pesto by placing all ingredients into a blender or small food processor and blend until smooth
- After your pesto, toast the pine nuts in a small saute pan until golden brown - no oil needed
- Once the squash and veggies are done, using a fork, scrape the spaghetti squash to make "noodles"
- Scoop noodles onto a plate or bowl, top with pesto, veggies and pine nuts
- This dish is a perfect canvas for other toppings like grilled chicken or a fried egg (YUM)
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