Spaghetti Squash a.k.a. the New Love of my Life!

   Well, it has been a long time since I last posted and summer has been flying by. I have been training pretty hard for my 10k( that is now done!) and my half marathon in October; between training, keeping up with a 2 year old, the house, the husband, and friends, I have been so exhausted that if I ever have a free moment, I literally collapse on my bed! All of my training has been leaving me incredibly hungry. On average I burn about 600 calories per workout which means I can blow it all away on food, right?! Not!...
   Even though I am training and am really good about portion control, I still want to eat healthy, but also yummy food! I could probably save myself a lot of time and energy if I just microwaved dinner but I want to enjoy my food. I have definitely spent way too much time in my life eating bland food like "no-salt seasoning chicken," quinoa and veggies. I think I ate that same meal for a whole year!! Ugh.
   Anyway, I am trying to find new creative and healthy ways to enjoy some of the foods that I loved but were extremely unhealthy/fattening. Enter, spaghetti squash! Until a few months a go I had never tried making this myself. But one day, I came across a recipe and I ended up really liking the fact that it made me feel the same satisfaction as eating a plate of real pasta! I have experimented with several recipes now using this squash and I think by far our favorite in my house is spaghetti squash pad thai! If you like thai food, and have ever enjoyed pad thai, you must give this recipe a shot because it does not disappoint!

Ingredients:
2 spaghetti squash (size will vary so sauce will need to be adjusted depending) try for medium size
2 cups diced carrots-i slice them into thin rounds
1 green zuchini diced
1/2 cup-1 cup frozen peas (depending on how much you like peas, Ryan doesn't care for it that much!
2 chicken breasts-cooked fully and cut up into bite size peieces
Bunch of cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 T peanut butter
2 T rice wine vinegar ( however I have used red and it worked fine!)
3 T soy sauce
cayenne pepper to taste (you could also use fresh thai chili peppers but cayenne is works great and is more affordable)
Optional garnishes: chopped peanuts, lime, green onions

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the fibers, discard.
3. Season with salt and pepper and spray with coconut oil, or drizzle.
4. Place on cookie sheet, facing up for about 45-60 minutes or until you can take a fork and begin to shred the "spaghetti"
7. Meanwhile, begin sauteing your veggies with about 1 T oil of choice. Start with garlic and add the rest of the veggies until slightly soft.
8. Remove your veggies from pan and set aside.
9. In the same pan, add chicken broth, peanut butter, and soy sauce and heat until smooth. Then add cayenne or other pepper to taste.
10. Now, once your spaghetti squash is cooked, shred it with a fork until you have all your spaghetti ready to use. Place your spaghetti in the sauce pan along with your veggies.
11. Stir all your ingredients together and season to taste. I will note, that sometimes depending on the size of my squash I will make just a little more sauce or also add just a little more peanut butter so make sure to taste!
12. Serve your pad thai with sliced chicken and fresh cilantro and any other desired garnishes. Enjoy!! More spaghetti squash recipes to come :)