Tex Mex Spaghetti Squash

I am excited to introduce to today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian guest blogger, Charlotte O'Hara. She has been following a vegetarian lifestyle since childhood and has also shared a delicious recipe with us. Hurray!

Charlotte & her yummy TexMex Spaghetti Squash.

Growing up vegetarian means that I have been extremely conscious of food and nutrition for many years. When I was ten years old, I announced to my parents that I was going to be ‘cool’ like my babysitter and become a vegetarian. My parents chuckled to themselves, wondering how long this would last before I went back to eating chicken fingers and burgers. As it turned out, time passed and I hadn’t returned to meat: one might say I had cut it out cold turkey! However, they were concerned that I wasn’t getting a balanced diet since I had merely removed meat from my regimen but hadn’t replaced it with other sources of nutrients and proteins. We took a trip to our local library and I took out books such as Vegetarian for your Tween and A Teen’s guide to Vegetarian Cooking. This is where I got most of my initial knowledge of proper healthy eating for vegetarians, meat substitutions and recipe adaptations. This love affair has continued for over thirteen years through cookbooks, magazines and blogs.

I was first introduced to Tosca Reno’s Eat-Clean Diet cookbooks back in 2007 when a family member gave me her Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. Right off the bat, I admired her passion for healthy eating, awareness of nutrition and its relationship to lifestyle since those are all paralleled in my personal habits. However, a lot of the recipes in that cookbook included meat so I wasn’t able to try them all.

Tosca’s Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook is an ideal place for people to learn more about Eating Clean with a vegetarian twist. I encourage you to take a read even if you aren’t fully vegetarian- you will likely find some exciting meals to try out for Meatless Mondays or quick weeknight recipes!

Eating vegetarian (in part or in whole) truly is a wonderful way to fuel your body and commit to a healthy lifestyle.

TexMex Spaghetti Squash


Ingredients
1 medium/large spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeded
1 small onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (any colour will do)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp EACH onion powder, garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: 2 tbsp sour cream/Greek yogurt, 1 jalapeno pepper diced
OPTIONAL (but recommended): grated cheddar cheese for topping

Methods
1. Place the two halves of the spaghetti squash on a cookie sheet with the inside parts facing down, with about ¼ inch of water on the tray. Cook in the oven at 375F for about 50 mins or until tender. Once cooked, scrape out the inside and let cool.

2. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and pepper in a large pot. Once soft, add in the corn, black beans, spices and spaghetti squash. Cook for another 5 minutes. If you’d like, add in the sour cream to the mix to make a more creamy texture.

3. Serve the mixture and if desired, add the grated cheese as topping.

Enjoy!