It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeaaarrrrr! Hope you all had fabulous Thanksgivings with your loved ones. I was so content soaking up quality time with the fam and lounging around watching football. It was perfect. I also loved that every single day revolved around food, the foundation of a perfect holiday in my opinion. Now that we are back to the regular grind and gearing up for a festive December I’m making sure to fuel up on as many healthy meals as possible to combat/avoid the temptations that are sure to arise this time of year. I always figure there is plenty of sinful food to indulge in at parties and functions so I try to focus on making the cleanest meals I can think of when cooking at home. In my mind it balances out any bad decisions I make while celebrating and enjoying the holidays at the same time. This baked spaghetti squash is exactly the type of meal I look for. It is simple, loaded with nutritious goodies and tastes like hearty comfort food. It got two thumbs up from the hubs which is always a good sign and I was able to prep the first part of the meal the day before while sneaking in an evening workout. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Sausage & Kale Spaghetti Squash Bake, adapted slightly from Paleo Grubs

2 medium spaghetti squash
1 1/2 lbs. chicken sausage, casings removed (or 4 links of pre-cooked sausage cubed)
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 dashes of red pepper flakes
1 bag of baby kale or spinach
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
crumbled feta cheese, to your liking (skip to make dairy free and paleo)
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and discard seeds. Place the halves cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45-50 minutes, until you can poke the squash easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add the chicken sausage and break apart with a spatula to crumble (or if using pre-cooked links add to the pan to warm and brown each side). Cook for 10-12 minutes (or just a until warmed through with pre-cooked), stirring regularly, until the sausage is browned and cooked through. Add the kale and cook until wilted. If you like heat add a few dashes of rep pepper flakes and set aside.

Once cooled, scrape the insides of the spaghetti squash with a fork to shred the squash into strands. Transfer the strands into the skillet with the sausage and toss to combine. Add crumbled feta cheese to your liking and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among the squash shells and sprinkle on pine nuts to serve.