Spaghetti Squash with Tahini-Lime Dressing

Early in January the internet was buzz, buzz, buzzing with healthy, low-carb, whole, trendy resolution foods. Things have settled down and as expected many people have abandoned their resolutions, and gone back to the same old. Although I fall off and on the wagon, I'm still adamantly trying to make an actual long term change. As a family if we agree to eat whole foods, and use that as our template, we will be in good standing. So that's what we do. I've eliminated even more processed items from our cupboards and no one has died yet. Unfortunately I find that whole, nourishing foods can lack flair, and intrigue. So its good to branch out away from our usual wild rice and chili. Meat muffins and meatballs are great but frankly I'm bored of them before the man folk. The trick for me is getting the picky eaters to actually look beyond something weird. (God forbid it fails the sniff test) I'm trying to really nail down the no grain thing, but I will tell you its a struggle. So lets forget about the home popped buttery popcorn I've been eating all week and lets go back to a week ago. (Before hormones got the best of me) 

Diet gimmicks and trends, often piss me off but substituting vegetables for pasta? Well that just seems smart. It's not from a box, it's not some lab created processed-zombie-diet food, it is natural whole food that came from the ground. I don't fall into place with a "diet" or any of the super serious diet-lifestyle labels. Across the blogs I see page after page of black and white, but never gray. I kind of feel like there's some elitism to it, like the world would come crashing down if my kids ate a Dorito? Well the short of the matter is that we are the gray rainbow. I primarily focus on whole foods, with a splash of treats. For blogging purposes, I shoot to mainstream whole food recipes as often as I can because nothing bums me out more than looking through page, after page, after page of muffins, pizza, cookies and cakes. Why not vegetables? Remember them? They are those things that are supposed to take up half of your supper plate and honestly they get boring. (Unless we're talking Brussels sprouts...Oh how I love you brusselly sprouty nom noms)

So, I figured I would finally give some of these not grain, veggie swap-in's a go. I am absolutely guilty of not paying any mind to the vegetable kingdom. My cauliflower not-rice was not exactly mind blowing, but I could definitely eat it instead of rice now and then. This spaghetti squash? Well it went on my list of new things this year. I've tried kale, I've tried spaghetti squash, now I've even tried tahini. Two birds, one stone. Check please! Of course this swap is not the peanut noodles I'm usually in love with, but I could do this from time to time. It's a perfect lunch option, light enough to not weigh you down and satisfying enough to make your tummy smile. 

Spaghetti Squash with Tahini-Lime Dressing

A modified version of Well Fed's sunshine sauce, this was my first go at trying tahini. A lover of sesame oil, this tangy flavorful dressing features my fermented garlic and ginger. A pop of sour with a severely satisfying creamy, nutty, aromatic flavor. This dressing would be perfect with any rice pasta or noodle,  chicken, fish, shrimp, or even sushi.

Tahini-Lime Dressing-

2 tablespoons lime juice 

1 tablespoon fermented garlic and ginger (or a heaping teaspoon of each fresh)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1 tablespoon Tamari
1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon rice vinegar (un-seasoned) 

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup coconut (full fat)

Combine ingredients in a chopper and blend until smooth. Serve with squash, fresh vegetables, cashews, sesame seeds, green onion would be great. 

For the Squash-

1 whole spaghetti squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut squash in half. Remove the seeds. Place face down on a baking sheet and bake until softened. About 45 minutes to one hour depending on the size of your squash. Once cool enough to handle use a fork and shred the spaghetti "noodles" gently.

-You can roast it whole, or roast it halved. I think roasting it whole resulted in it being over cooked and smooshier.