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Spaghetti Squash with Paleo Pesto & Turkey Meatballs

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Spaghetti squash is the perfect pasta alternative! It’s also an easy way to get more veggies! It’s veggies on veggies with this recipe when we add the paleo pesto to the mix. The meatballs also include nutrient-dense ingredients such as ground flax seed and sun dried tomatoes. Dig into this paleo, pegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, added sugar-free dish!

Spaghetti Squash Benefits

Everyone in the paleo and nutrition world is buzzing about spaghetti squash and the squash hype is well-deserved. The benefits of replacing traditional spaghetti with spaghetti squash become very obvious when you do a nutrient comparison. One cup of cooked spaghetti made from white, enriched noodles contains approximately 220 calories, 42 grams of carbohydrates and very few nutrients. Comparably, one cup of cooked spaghetti squash provides about 42 calories, 10 grams of carbohydrates, and a variety of nutrients such as Vitamin A and potassium. It’s no secret that white pasta is nothing short of empty calories that are high glycemic (aka: spike blood sugar levels quickly). It leaves you feeling more hungry soon after and increases the risk of weight gain. If you are trying to switch to a more nutrient-dense diet, using spaghetti squash is the perfect choice.

How to Eat Spaghetti Squash

An even more perfect choice is pairing spaghetti squash with healthy sources of fats and lean sources of protein. This recipe provides all of those in one with the cashews and extra virgin olive oil in the pesto and organic turkey and ground flaxseeds in the turkeyballs. All of these ingredients fit within a Mediterranean/pegan lifestyle. The Mediterranean Diet is the most well researched type of diet that exists today and numerous studies can back up the benefits of this way of eating. A new study found that eating a Mediterranean diet that included either olive oil or nuts and did not restrict calories was associated with decreased body weight and less of an increase in waist circumference, compared to the control diet. The moral of the story is eat balanced meals that include nutrient-dense, whole foods for weight loss and healthy living!

Turkey MeatballsPaleo pasta with pesto and turkey meatballs Paleo pasta with pesto and turkey meatballs

In the last 2.5 years I’ve helped 20,000 people incorporate blood sugar balancing meals into their weeks to drastically improve their health. My blood sugar balancing recipe formula helps really move the needle with your health and all recipes are also easy and delicious. I’ve compiled hundreds of blood sugar balancing recipes into my meal planning and coaching program, The Being Collective, to help you do the same. By joining The Being Collective, you’ll create a weekly plan for you and/or your family (or use one of the pre-made plans created by my dietitians and I) with recipes that are blood sugar balancing, an automated grocery list and a meal prep plan. You can filter based on your personal dietary needs too. The goal is to help you be more consistent but not have to put much thought into it. We’d love for you to join the community!

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