What’s on your menu this week? In the dead of winter, when snow grows more quickly than anything else, I like to rely on winter squash from the previous season. Thus, today I bring you a winter dish featuring spaghetti squash.

This recipe for Greek Spaghetti Squash has become a favorite of the Peas & Hoppy Meal Guide Members. And while I love creating these guides to provide my friends, family, and clients practical tools to eat healthier, I also love teaching people how to meal plan on their own.

Meal planning can be intimidating – where do you even start? I want to break down the process of meal planning which I use for my family and for the Meal Guides alike so you, too, can go forth and make delicious meals.

Meal Planning
Step 1: Plan your week

A common fallacy about healthy eating is that you have to do it perfectly. Make a home-cooked meal 7 nights a week, prep breakfast smoothies and snacks ahead of time, always pack your lunch for work. But – really – ain’t nobody got time for that!

The key to healthy living is to be strategic and intentional. Always get home late from work on Tuesdays? Prep a slow-cooker meal while making dinner on Monday to throw in before you leave for the day. If dinner is ready when you get home, you’re far less likely to go out to eat. You have a kid’s sporting event that runs late on Thursday? Maybe plan to run by Qdoba for a salad with great protein toppings on your way to the game so you don’t have to eat concession stand food.

Yes, I just suggested you go out to eat once in a while. If you’re new to cooking at home, it’s probably not realistic that you’ll never, ever go out to eat again. Instead, reflect on how many times per week you cook at home right now, then make it a goal to cook one or two more times per week than this. If that means you’re only going to cook one or two nights per week – because you normally don’t cook at all – that’s where you should start.

Challenge yourself enough to create a habit, but don’t set an unattainable goal which throws you into the failure / give-up / quit / feel-guilty / decide-to-diet-again loop. It’s unhealthy, unhappy, and isn’t made for success.

Meal Planning
Step 2: Find inspiration

Besides, “I don’t have time!” one of the next biggest challenges my clients (and I) face when trying to meal plan is finding inspiration. While there are piles upon piles of cookbooks and resources to give you ideas, it can still be intimidating to know where to start.

Here are a few ways I find inspiration:

• Meal plan when you’re hungry. When you’re hungry, you’re much more interested in food and will come up with ideas that actually sound good. Remember: food that’s so healthy it doesn’t taste good it isn’t helping anyone. Just make sure to eat before you go to the grocery store so you’re able to stay within your grocery list!

• Plan around seasonal produce. Perhaps you’ve heard my motto: If it’s on sale, it’s in season. Purchasing seasonal produce is less expensive, encourages you to try new vegetables and fruits, and generally tastes better because it’s of higher quality (since it hasn’t been stored as long). I always recommend shopping at your local farmer’s market in the summer and purchasing a CSA from a local farmer when possible; if you can’t grow your own veggies in your backyard, find someone who does!

• Share ideas! Talk to your friends who cook at home, sign up for Pinterest, or subscribe to a magazine or blog (my faves are Budget Bytes and my friend Haley Hughes). The challenge of getting stuck-in-a-rut was one of the original reasons I created the Meal Guides: to give my family, friends, and clients fresh ideas for cooking real food.

Meal Planning
Step 3: Make it healthy

Okay. So you took my advice and made a meal plan when you were hungry, and now you’ve eaten and are ready to go to the grocery store. The only problem is your menu appears to consist of Chinese food and pizza alternating every other night. Not exactly what your nutrition coach had in mind.

Making your meal plan healthy (step #3) is the key to turning cooking-at-home into a way to transform your life and health. It’s where you learn to cook things that satisfy those “I’m hungry” cravings while also providing your body the healthy nutrition it needs!

Here are my tricks for turning cravings into delicious, healthy meals at home:

• Use the Healthy Plate as a model. Almost any meal can be healthy if you are intentional about your proportions: 1/2 plate of fruits & veggies (mostly veg), 1/4 plate of healthy starch, and 1/4 plate of protein. Yes, only 1/4 of your plate should be protein; I like to treat veggies as the main dish with a side of protein. You’ll be surprised when you follow this rule how filling a healthy meal can be!

• Search for healthier recipes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve typed into Google, “Healthy version of ______” – with the meal typed into the blank. “Health version of sweet potato casserole” or “low carb lasagna” or “healthy Chinese food recipes” – these are all great phrases to find some healthier options for what you’re hungry for.

• Add a vegetable. This trick is great to make any meal just a little healthier. Making burgers on the grill? Throw veggies into your grill basket and make it a balanced meal. You ordered pizza? Open a can of green beans or have a salad on the side. Remember: the key is to eat better – not to be perfect.

Feeling motivated to try your hand at meal planning? Download this free Meal Planning Template with a guide to walk you step-by-step how to make a meal plan for your busy schedule.

Today’s dish is almost all vegetables; it’s a perfect side to a protein (I serve it with Mediterranean Pork Tenderloin on the Meal Guides) or as a vegetarian dish if you add chickpeas and extra feta cheese. Because of the time it takes to roast the squash, I like to plan to have this on a day I’m going to be at home; it works great for Sunday afternoons when everyone is watching football.

Start by roasting a medium spaghetti squash (about 4 pounds): heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut squash in half lengthwise (if you’re strong and have a giant chef’s knife), scoop out seeds and very stringy innards, and place cut side down in baking dish. Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender. If squash is too tough to cut when raw, poke holes in squash by stabbing with a fork on several sides. Roast for about 20 minutes, then cut in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, and roast additional 20-30 minutes, cut side up, in baking dish. Squash is completely cooked when can be very easily pierced with a fork.

While squash cooks, dice a large cucumber (do not peel), two Roma tomatoes, one orange bell pepper, and red onion. Add vegetables to a large serving bowl except a small amount of red onion to use for dressing later; mince onion finely and set aside. Drain liquid from one cup of Kalamata olives and roughly chop. Add olives and one cup of feta cheese crumbles to vegetables.

Next, make dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, juice from a medium lemon (about 1/4 cup juice), mustard, one tablespoon minced onion, and a half-teaspoon each of oregano, basil, garlic powder, and salt.

Once squash is fully cooked, scoop out flesh of squash with a fork to separate spaghetti-like strands. If squash is very liquidy, press squash with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. If a cold salad is desired, place squash in refrigerator to cool, 30-60 minutes.

Pour dressing over spaghetti squash and toss to combine. Serve immediately if warm salad desired, or refrigerate an hour or more for a cold salad.

Enjoy!

Greek Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

Spaghetti Squash Dish

• 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash (about 4 lb. squash)

• 1 Large Cucumber

• 2 Roma Tomatoes

• 1 Orange Bell Pepper

• 1 Red Onion (divided)

• 1 cup Pitted Kalamata Olives

• 1 cup Feta Cheese (leave out for dairy-free/vegan)

Dressing

• 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar

• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Medium Lemon (about 1/4 cup juice)

• 1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

• 1 Tbsp. Red Onion (finely minced)

• 1/2 tsp. Oregano

• 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil

• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

• 1/2 tsp. Salt

Instructions

1. Roast spaghetti squash: Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut squash in half lengthwise (if you’re strong and have a giant chef’s knife), scoop out seeds and very stringy innards, and place cut side down in baking dish. Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender. If squash is too tough to cut when raw, poke holes in squash by stabbing with a fork on several sides. Roast for about 20 minutes, then cut in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, and roast additional 20-30 minutes, cut side up, in baking dish. Squash is completely cooked when can be very easily pierced with a fork.

2. While squash cooks, dice cucumber (do not peel), tomatoes, pepper, and onion and add to a large serving bowl. Set aside small slice of red onion to mince finely and add to dressing later.

3. Drain Kalamata olives and roughly chop. Add olives and feta cheese crumbles to vegetables.

4. Once squash is fully cooked, scoop out flesh of squash with a fork to separate spaghetti-like strands. If squash is very liquidy, press squash with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. If a cold salad is desired, place squash in refrigerator to cool, 30-60 minutes.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients for dressing: oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, minced onion, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and salt. Once well mixed, pour over spaghetti squash and toss to combine. Serve immediately if warm salad desired, or refrigerate an hour or more for a cold salad.

Printable Recipe // Serves 6 – Serving Size: 2 cups – Nutrients per serving: 270 calories — 20g total fat — 6g saturated fat — 0g trans fat – 22mg cholesterol — 662mg sodium — 19g total carbohydrates — 3g fiber — 6g protein

Total Time: 50-60 min // Prep Time: 30-35 min // Cook time: 40-50 min

Pro Tip: This salad is even better the next day after the flavors have had time to combine. Make ahead of time for less stress at dinner.

Cooking Equipment: Cutting board // Chef’s knife // Baking dish // Large serving bowl // Small mixing bowl // Whisk

Dice cucumber: trim ends and discard. Cut in half lengthwise and lay flat side down. Cut into thin strips lengthwise, then turn a quarter turn and cut perpendicular slices to dice.
Dice tomatoes: using very sharp or serrated knife, slice into 1/4-inch slices. Lay slices flat, then slice into 1/4-inch wide strips. Turn a quarter-turn and slice perpendicular to dice.
Dice bell pepper: cut pepper in half lengthwise and with a paring knife cut around the stem to remove. Remove seeds and white membranes along inside of pepper. Slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch wide strips, then turn a quarter-turn and slice perpendicular to dice.
Dice onion: trim top and base off onion, then peel tough outer layers (usually top 1—2 layers). Slice in half lengthwise and lay the onion with the cut (flat) side face down. Slice the onion into thin wedges, about 1/4-inch thick, then turn a quarter-turn and dice.
Mince onion: trim top and base off onion, then peel and discard tough outer layers. Slice in half lengthwise and lay onion cut (flat) side face down. Slice into very thin wedges, about 1/8-inch thick or less, then turn a quarter-turn and dice very finely.