Hey Party-Makers,
We are in the home stretch of Whole 30, and I can’t believe it! In 4 days, we get to start reintroducing foods and evaluating how/if they affect us. I would be lying if I told you I’m not excited! I spent the morning re-organizing my schedule after the long weekend and started working on our reintroduction plan for the week after Whole 30. I am a mixture of good and bad anxiety: anxious that foods I love are no good for me, anddddd at the same time SO looking forward to reuniting with beans, cheese, and of course my truest food love: pasta.
Even in the anticipation though, I have been really happy with the results so far from doing Whole 30. Overall I feel like I have a lot of energy, and aside from a few moments here and there (mostly when I talk to other people about food), my cravings are way, way down. I’ve also realized that I am craving fresh, compliant foods more often than I’m craving things I can’t eat.
Going back to my food love though: I can’t tell you how much I love a good pasta.
I find such a simple beauty in the fact that pasta can be quickly cooked, or it can be an all day ordeal that you dedicate love and care to. Because of that, it was important for me to find a good substitute for that craving for me. I find that pasta is especially good this time of year, when all the farmer’s markets are opening up and full of the freshest ingredients.
Whenever I find myself in any kind of cooking rut, I like to go to the Farmer’s Market to get inspired. There is something about all the vibrant colors and smells that makes the wheels in my head start turning. It’s also such a cool way to get involved in your local economy, and support the farmers, growers, and cultivators in your region.
This Spring Pasta was the result of some early Farmer’s Market hunting. Although our asparagus season was cut somewhat short this year thanks to the ENDLESS winter, there has still been some really beautiful asparagus. When I saw these babies at my first week of FM hopping, I knew I had to make some kind of spring pasta with them. As an added plus, this entire recipe is Vegan and Gluten Free–so almost anyone can eat it!
Some Notes On Spaghetti Squash
I had never had spaghetti squash until our first round of Whole 30 in 2016, and I was really skeptical about it’s magical pasta-like qualities, but when there is only so much you can eat, you take what you can. I was pleasantly surprised though! Now, I’m not going to lie to you and say that it tastes JUST like al dente angel hair pasta, but when cooked correctly, it DOES taste really good, and is a really close pasta imitation, without having to deal with weird textures of some GF pasta flours.
I like to cook my spaghetti squash in the oven, and I always pour in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic into the middle to start letting it soak up some of my favorite flavors
About Fake Cheese
Okay, here’s the list of things I miss the most on Whole 30:
pasta, gelato, cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese,cheese. There’s no need for subtlety with a love this big.
But, I do realize that consuming dairy in large quantities isn’t always the best, so I’ll say (while VIOLENTLY rolling my eyes) that it’s (probably) been good for me to detox from cheese for the past few weeks. That having been said, making a pasta alternative meal is hard when there isn’t going to be any cheese around! In my head, I can ALMOST taste a pinot noir-aged Asiago on this pasta. Almost.
I did have a thought while I was cooking this up though, to make something that looks like cheese to go on top. What I didn’t expect, was for it to actually taste good though! Now, I’ll say the only reason I thought of this idea was because I have a really great cheese grater and I stocked up on all sorts of nuts when we started Whole 30. Since I made this recipe, I realize that many, many, manyyyyyy vegan friends know about this trick, but it was new to me, so it might be new to you too!
Okay, okay, here’s the secret:
if you put nuts in a cheese grater, like this lovely I have: you can make look-alike cheese! I took it a step further and mixed in some Jacobsen Black Garlic Salt into the grated almonds, and this stuff was amazing! The texture is almost identical, and the light salty flavor is the perfect finishing touch for a dish like this!
Seriously you guys???? DOESN’T THIS LOOK LIKE THE REAL DEAL? Except you can call home and tell your mama you ate allllll vegetables for dinner, and eat three plates-full without feeling a single ounce of guilt or regret.
This dish is taste approved by both of us (even me, the incorrigible pasta lover), and we’ll for sure be making this again off whole 30. This is a great recipe to have on hand for anytime you have GF/Dairy Free guests, as it (for the most part) is allergen-friendly and can be easily adapted with whatever vegetables are in season!
Love & a newfound obsession with fake cheese,
Spring Spaghetti Squash Pasta - Whole 30/ Paleo Friendly
Ingredients
Spaghetti Squash
- 1 Spaghetti Squash sliced in half
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 TSP Salt
- 3 Cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 TSP Pepper
Sauce
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Bunch Asparagus
- 8 Oz Mini Portobella Mushrooms
- 3 Fresh Basil Leafs
- 3 Roma Tomatoes diced and seeded
Almond Parmesan
- 1/2 Cup Shaved Almonds
- 1 TSP Jacobsen's Black Garlic Salt
Instructions
Spaghetti Squash
- cut your spaghetti squash in half, remove the seeds with a spoon, and season with olive oil, salt, garlic, and pepper. Cook at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a fork, flesh out the spaghetti squash. Add to sauce and serve.
Sauce
- Add olive oil to a medium pan and heat over medium-high. Add garlic and basil leaves and cook until the leaves are soft, and the garlic has a nice golden color. Add in Asparagus, mini portobello mushrooms, and tomatoes and cook until the asparagus stem is soft and flexible (about 10 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add in the spaghetti squash, top with grated almond "cheese" and enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
