Spaghetti squash (and zoodles) make a great low starch way to indulge your urge for pasta. (Without the pasta, of course.) The DASH diet is not specifically a low-carb plan. However, using spaghetti squash instead of pasta cuts the calories dramatically. Many people with high blood pressure need to lose weight, so this makes a great trick to reach your goals, without sacrificing your favorite foods. All the materials you need are on the left.
Start by browning the ground beef. I always use 95% lean ground sirloin to cut the fat content and calories. (Note: most ground turkey has added fat and skin added during processing, and is higher in total and saturated fat.)
With the lean beef, there is no fat to drain off. Here I added frozen diced onions directly to the cooking ground beef.
Next we added garlic (remove the skin by smashing it under the blade of a chef's knife). You can either mince it or squeeze it through a garlic press.
After the meat is fully browned, add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. You can choose ones that are low added-salt to reduce the sodium content of the meal. Then add Italian seasonings to your own taste.
Now for the spaghetti squash. Cut the squash in half first, and remove the seeds. We didn't do this. We were very sorry that we did not. Boil for 40 minutes.
Then, you just scoop up the squash lining just like pasta. Top with the spaghetti sauce, and enjoy.
Add a wonderful salad, and you have a lowcalorie meal with about 5 servings of vegetables and 3 oz. lean meat.
