One good thing about Whole 30 is that it resulted in my experimental use of spaghetti squash! I’ve never tried it before this month, and I absolutely love it! Now…does it taste identical to a big, steaming bowl of pasta? Nah girl. But does it taste delicious and resemble pasta a bit? Cha girl…it does. At least I think so. It’s extra good in this recipe because the “noodles” are totally swimming in a delicious coconut sauce.

Coconut milk just makes everything delicious, don’t you agree? If you don’t agree, you probs shouldn’t make this recipe, because the sauce is largely made up of coconut milk. For me, that is a one way street to BOSS FLAVOR TOWN. I could eat coconut milk in everything. It’s so rich, creamy, and loaded with healthy fats. Thai food is one of my all time faves, and this has lots of Thai flavor with that coconut milk in there. LOVE.

Other awesome thing about this recipe = it is DE-licious as leftovers. It almost gets even better as it sits in the fridge. Which I love, because we are a big leftover house here. Actually…we try to be a big leftover house, but Seth eats like ten people’s worth of food, so we don’t often end up with much…and what we do end up with he usually sucks into his belly like the world’s most powerful vacuum cleaner by the evening of the following day 🙄.

If you’ve never made spaghetti squash before, the only slightly difficult part is cutting it in half right at the beginning. We ease this process a bit by microwaving the squash for four minutes before slicing, but still – be curfull. After you slice it, you drizzle it with olive oil, season it with salt and pepper, and roast it for 45 minutes.

Then, when it comes out of the oven, you pull the little squash threads away from the skin with a fork, and you’re left with a huge bowl of “noodles.” I mean…it’s just really cool. Nature’s pasta!

And then the sauce – it’s also super easy. We start with some yummy ground chicken that we brown with some salt, pepper, and ground ginger. Then we add some shallot and garlic, soften that, and pour in coconut milk, coconut aminos, and sprinkle in some red pepper flakes. BAE.

Then we thicken it with some arrowroot powder (omg – also used this for the first time on Whole 30 – it’ll be a pantry staple from here until forever) and we’re ready for those noodles! Throw ’em in and stir to creamy perfection. SO GOOD!

Seth had yesterday and today off of work because all the public schools here have Spring Break this week, and the Army gave the soldiers the last few days off to spend with their families. Very nice of them! Not very Army like…just sayin’. So Ford and I have enjoyed having him home for the past few days!

Yesterday we took Ford to the zoo, and today we went to the mall and walked around because he really likes to look at the fountain…lol at entertainment pre-kids versus post-kids. I’m not sure how much he actually enjoyed the zoo any more than he would enjoy being pushed around in his stroller anywhere else, but he seemed to have a pretty good time!

Anyway, since Seth is home today, I’m going to cut this post a little short, but I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Coconut Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

Paleo and Whole 30 approved!

Author: Annie Chesson
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 7 servings

Ingredients

3 small spaghetti squash or 2 large
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 tablespoon ghee
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 shallot, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 13 oz cans coconut milk (get the regular, full fat kind)
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
A few pinches red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Limes wedges for garnish

Instructions

For the spaghetti squash

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Microwave your spaghetti squash for 4 minutes, remove from the microwave, slice in half, and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle olive oil on the flesh of the squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper – rub that all around until it’s evenly distributed
Place the squash flesh side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife (bake time may vary slightly based on the size of your squash)
When the squash is done baking, remove it from the oven, let it cool slightly, and then, using a fork, pull the flesh away from the skin (it’ll peel away in the form of “noodles” similar to angel hair pasta in size). Set the squash “noodles” aside

For the sauce

Meanwhile add your ghee and olive oil into a large saute pan over medium high heat. When hot, add your ground chicken
Season with salt and pepper and your ground ginger. Break up with a wooden spoon and brown until the chicken has cooked through
When the chicken is just about done, add your shallots and garlic and cook until softened
Add your coconut milk, coconut aminos, and pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together the arrowroot powder and water. Add this to your simmering sauce, and stir until the sauce has thickened
Remove from heat until your squash is ready

To finish it up

Add your spaghetti squash “noodles” to the sauce, and stir/toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in your cilantro and garnish each bowl with a lime wedge and a little extra cilantro sprinkled on top