Want a healthy alternative to pasta? Try spiralized squash!
I try to walk home every day from work. It’s 1.5 miles of exercise that’s built into my day. I listen to music, but I still need to psych myself up for it and the thought of stopping by one, or both, of the gigantic vegetable markets along my route helps. (Although carrying heavy veggies home does not – problems!) So, the other day, as I didn’t have a plan for dinner by the time I left work, I was in search of something to inspire a quick and healthy meal. I love winter squash, but knew I didn’t have the time to prep and cook one from scratch. That’s when I saw butternut squash, packaged in beautiful, bouncy spirals. Perfect!
I planned the meal during the rest of my walk home. I had sausage in the freezer and sage that I picked and preserved a few weeks ago. My mouth started watering…
First I fried the sage in some olive oil and butter (I was going use brown butter, but I wanted to keep the saturated fat content down. Remember, the American Heart Association recommends a daily max of 5% of total calories that come from saturated fat – that’s 8-13 grams per day for most of us). Then I browned the sausage and added the squash. Once combined, I topped it with the delicious morsels of fried sage, and, voila! Yummy, healthy and quick!
Spiralized squash is a healthy alternative to pasta. Pick up a little, handheld spiralizer to turn summer squash into beautiful spirals (green zucchini and yellow squash are the most common). Winter squash requires something slightly more heavy duty – a tabletop spiralizer, or the spiralizer attachment on your KitchenAid.
Nutrition: Winter squash vs. Pasta
Per cup, butternut squash has a whopping 297% of the daily value of Vitamin A, 48% of the daily amount of Vitamin C, and is a good source of vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, and manganese.
Try it and tell me what you think!
Butternut Squash with Sausage and Sage
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, spiralized
½ pound sausage
10-15 sage leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
Directions:
1. Melt butter and heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is foamy and a light brown, add the sage leaves. Once crisp, remove and drain on paper towels.
2. Remove sausage from casing. Break up into chunks and add to pan. Once almost cooked through, add garlic.
3. Once sausage is completely cooked, add butternut squash and cook until tender. Toss together. Add sage leaves and sprinkle with Parmesan.
References:
USDA Food Composition Database
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/20121
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