Herbalicious Cheesy "Spaghetti"
Mmmm…cheesy spaghetti!! Well, not quite
Spaghetti squash is a huge favorite of mine; it can be baked until soft and stringy, leaving a dish reminiscent of spaghetti. In my opinion, it beats starchy, sticky pasta any day 
What I love in particular about the spaghetti squash is that it combines perfectly with goat cheese for an incredibly satisfying-yet-light Winter meal. I’ve spoken in passing numerous times about food combining but have never really bothered to spell out the details. I know many Veggie Kitchen followers are familiar with this idea, but for those of you who are not: certain foods, when eaten together, can take much longer to digest. As much as 2-3 times as long. Food that spends excess time in the stomach robs you of energy that I’m sure could be used for something more inspiring than an after-lunch nap or a trip to the coffee shop. There is plenty of controversy around this (I actually rather enjoyed the article “Sorry, but food combining is just a silly fad!”) but as usual, I like to experiment. Improper food combinations are just something that don’t work well for me. Food combining was one of the first things I toyed around with when making my transition from junk-food-vegan to veggie-obsessed-health-nut and I noticed differences right away. My voice felt clearer (a lack of acid reflux I assume?), I no longer experienced heartburn, or crazy digestive troubles. If I mess up a combination here or there it’s not the end of the world…just a drain on my energy…and who wants that?? Again, I think it’s important to get to know YOUR body- some people (men especially) have particularly strong digestive systems and don’t have to worry to much about things like this. Everybody. Is. Different. This has just been my experience.Another important note: even if you’re combining flawlessly but you’re overeating, your digestive system will still be taxed and good food combos won’t save you. Or, for that matter, will they save you when you’re eating while tense, stressed, or angry. I’d like to pull a quote from the food combo skeptic above
This mind-body effect is why relaxation and meditation can work with people with digestive problems, as they can reset the way the gut works.
The converse of this is that if we’re feeling happy and positive about the food we’re putting into our body, the muscles of our gut are far more likely to relax and be in the best state to digest the food – which explains why we can feel good after eating specific foods.
Our state of mind has an enormous impact on how comfortable we feel eating different foods. Hormones released when we’re feeling negative or angry (such as adrenaline and noradrelaline) make the muscles of the stomach and the intestine tighten.
These hormones also constrict the blood vessels supplying the gut, therefore our food can feel very uncomfortable inside and can cause symptoms of irritable bowel or indigestion.
So what makes an energy-depleting vs. energy-efficient food combination? Megan at The Detoxinista has a fabulous chart that you should take a look at- my roommate has been using it as a guide during the Rose Cleanse. Marlena Torres also has a wonderful post that would be worth reading. For the purposes of the cleanse, “starches” and “fleshes” are kept separate and eaten with veggies, keeping everything really simple. “Starches” (again, for the purposes of the cleanse) are things like sweet potatoes, squashes, and grains like millet or quinoa. Avocados also fall into this category. “Fleshes” are the animal products like raw goat cheese, fish, and free-range eggs. So for a meal that will digest easily and leave quickly (thereby leaving you with more energy) eat either a “flesh” with veggies or a “starch” with veggies.
A great meal example would be to have the Spiced Avocado with Veggies and Romaine and a side of sweet potato fries. On another night you could have the Portobello Salmon Sandwich following a salad with raw goat cheese and baked cauliflower. For right now, those are the basics. After the cleanse I’ll get into important details regarding fruits, nuts, seeds and other items that I’m omitting this month. Feel free to ask questions below and I’ll share what I’ve experienced, or check out the informative and helpful links from my friends above! I’ll leave this section of the post with a great food-combo video I discovered earlier:
Now onto the food 
Ingredients:
1/2 a spaghetti squash, halved, seeded, and baked for 40 minutes at 375
4 oz raw sheep pecorino, shredded
1/4 cup chives, chopped
small handfuls of fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme, minced
2 cloves raw garlic, minced
salt, pepper, stevia, and red pepper flakes
Scoop flesh out of baked spaghetti squash and add remaining ingredients. The cheese will melt and the herbs will infuse the dish with delicious (herbalicious?) flavor. Season to taste. I tossed mine with baby spinach for a big, cheesy, hot salad!
I think learning that spaghetti squash is considered “neutral” was the best news I ever got– I love it with sheep pecorino! Now I’m drooling… even after my dinner!!
ahh I was just gonna say isn’t spaghetti squash a starch mixed with a flesh? I need to learn more about my starches I guess:/
Spaghetti squash, cooked carrots, and beets are the odd exceptions in the “neutral” category and some of my favorites
Thanks for the shout out Rande-licious! This is my personal nick name for you, I guess? Because your food is so yummy? I hope you don’t mind.
haha
I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried spaghetti squash with nutritional yeast instead of the goat cheese and what you thought of it? My friend Jamie swears it’s amazing!
That is the best. nickname. ever.
I have NOT tried sp. squash with nutritional yeast but now I might have to! I do love me some nooch
haha, glad you like the nick name!
I’m so weird with nutritional yeast. Some days I love it and some days I hate it. It seems that when I try to replace cheese with it, I hate it, and when I just want that flavor (not a goat cheese replacement), I love it! The only recipe I’ve made with nooch that I really loved was a cheesy vegan sauce for vegan enchiladas.
I think that nutritional yeast is kinda like carob…like at first, you expect it to taste like chocolate…so its pretty disgusting. Then you learn to appreciate it for carob and it’s pretty great
I’ve just had to stop expecting nutritional yeast to taste like cheese, like you said!
I haven’t ever added stevia to spaghetti squash before. What a cool idea! I tried food combining for a bit, but didn’t stick to it well enough to see if I had good results.
I add a touch of stevia to everything these days, just a little bit helps bring out the flavor without using so much salt (I have a serious salt tooth).
I’ve added butter and I guess that wasn’t proper food combining? I’m a bit confused by it. How long do you wait prior to having the next meal? Since now we have neutral, butter and cheese?
Butter can be combined neutrally since it is mostly fat rather than protein like cheese
I’d probably give this 4 hours but feel it out.
Great recipe, I just added the butter (because I thought that was proper food combining, but now I wonder) Is it? How long do you wait in between meals if you have the squash, butter and cheese all in one meal? Thanks