Asian Inspired Spaghetti Squash

One of the most frustrating things about being diagnosed with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and following a low FODMAP eating protocol is that it doesn’t allow for garlic and onions. When the diet is restricting much of your normal foods and then they go and decrease the items that bring flavor to dishes isn’t it difficult to find joy in eating. Well not anymore!

When they took away the option for garlic and onions I’ll bet they weren’t counting on these flavor powers’ distant relative the leek to become center stage. Now, the leek bulb is not low FODMAP, but the leek leaves are. The leaves are just the green part. I only recently discovered this hidden gem out of desperation.

Being diagnosed with 3 conditions that require 3 separate food protocols I found myself particularly hungry. There is always a portion size within the low-FODMAP protocol so my goal was to find a vegetable that allowed for a larger portion size and then move backwards from there.

I had tried spaghetti squash in the past and was just not a fan. I didn’t like the texture and the flavor was bland. Since I was running out of food options I needed to find a way to make an “approved” food delicious. Out of that desperation I mentioned earlier came the Asian Inspired Spaghetti Squash recipe.

Here’s how it starts…

find a medium sized spaghetti squash and place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cutting the squash while it’s raw can be difficult for some so let’s bake it for a bit to soften up the skin.

I set my oven to 400 degrees, place the cookie sheet (with the squash on top) in the oven on a middle rack. Let it cook for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, check it to see if it’s to your preferred softness and take it out of the oven. Either let it cool enough to handle with your bare hands or grab an oven mit and slice it in half.

Now it’s time to scoop out the seeds and middle gook.

Then lay each half, face down on the cookie sheet.

Pop back in the oven at the same temperature and cook for another 25-35 minutes depending on the consistency you prefer. Here’s al denté, but I prefer more of a mash consistency.

While it’s out of the oven and cooling so you can to handle later, let’s get started on the ginger. Peel the skin off the ginger and mince about 1 tablespoon’s worth (add more or less depending on how much you like ginger). Then dice up 3-4 tablespoons of the green leek leaves.

Grab a skillet and heat up 2-4 tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil on medium heat and toss in the ginger and leeks.

The goal is to cook them until soft. While they’re softening, start scooping out the squash from the thick peel and add to the leek, ginger and oil mixture.

The point of this step it to heat the squash back up and incorporate all the ingredients. Time to sprinkle in some salt to your liking. Once everything is mixed in it’s ready to serve! If your following the low FODMAP protocol, your serving size is 1 cup.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 50-60 minutes

1 medium sized spaghetti squash
2-3 TBS garlic gold oil or FODY garlic infused olive oil
2-4 TBS diced green leek leaves
1 TBS minced ginger
Salt to taste

Here’s the shorter breakdown:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place whole spaghetti squash on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and put on middle rack in oven and bake for 25 minutes
Remove from oven and slice squash in half
Scrape out the pit seeds from the middle with a spoon then place both halves face down back on parchment paper lined cookie sheet
Place back in the oven and let cook for another 25-35 minutes to desired softness
Remove from oven and let cool
Dice leeks and mince ginger
Heat up oil in a skillet on medium heat
Add ginger and leeks to the oil and cook until soft
Scrape out the spaghetti squash contents and add to the ginger, leek and oil mixture
Mix until evenly combined and add salt to taste