Marvellous Microwave Spaghetti Squash

Craving a giant bowl of pasta without the carb-crash?   Spaghetti squash is a good alternative.  It's fast, easy and delicious, and it gets you that extra serving of vegetables each day.  The best part is that you can do all of the prep in your microwave and with a single plate - no need to heat up your house or your stove.  I would imagine this would also be a very kid-friendly, fun dish.

You will need:

• Spaghetti squash
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
• Olive oil (optional)

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  If this is difficult to do, microwave the whole squash on high for 2 minutes or so and then cut it.
2. Scoop out the seeds.  If you like, you can wash and bake them - they are edible and yummy!
3. Take a de-seeded squash half and put it innards-facing-down on a microwave-safe plate.  Add some water to the plate, as the squash will dry up a bit in the microwave otherwise.
4. Microwave the squash half on high for 5 minutes or until done (the amount of time this takes will vary from squash to squash and microwave to microwave).
5. Use a fork to separate the squash innards into spaghetti-like strands.
6. Add spices to taste and a small bit of olive oil, if desired.
7. Enjoy!

This was a big squash, and the first few minutes in the microwave weren't enough - everything was really clumpy.

After a second round in the microwave, everything was just right.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

 I usually make this soup with green split peas, but I had a bag of yellow split peas in the cupboard and decided to give them a whirl in the slow cooker.  The result was an easy and delicious soup, with a beautiful color palette, suitable for spring.

To make the soup, you will need:

• Yellow split peas
• Salt, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes to taste

1. Rinse and sort the split peas.
2. Add peas and water to a slow cooker with approximately 1 part peas to 3 or 4 parts water, so that the cooker is ~3/4 full.
3. Cook on low, medium, or high heat until the peas are fully cooked and soft.
4. Stir in salt, garlic, and red pepper to taste.
5. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Raisin Celebration Muffins

These muffins look especially festive wrapped in multicolor paper!

 These muffins are delicious, satisfying, easy, and healthy.  They are easily made gluten-free, and they clock in at about 100 calories/muffin and have almost no fat.  Each muffin is fairly generously proportioned, too, and while it may taste like a traditional muffin, it won't leave you with a sugar high followed by a sudden crash.  You may choose whether to use or omit the flaxseed - it won't affect the taste much but will make the muffin a bit less crumbly than it might be otherwise.  To make the muffins, you will need:

• 3 cups oat flour
• 1-3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 spoonful of ground flaxseed (optional, makes muffins less crumbly)
• 1 bottle of beer (for gf muffins, use a gf beer)
• salt, sweetener, and cinnamon to taste
• vanilla (optional)
• raisins to taste (I used 1.5 single serving boxes of Del Monte  raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together the oat flour and baking powder (and the flaxseed, if desired); fluff with spoon.
3. Add the beer, stir until all the clumps of oat flour get dissolved.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and taste the batter.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
5. Pour the batter into 12 lined or greased muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
6. Enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins.

Right after they leave the oven, all ready to be eaten!

You can see a few of the raisins peeking through the surface.

Creamy Spicy Indian-style Sauce

This sauce has a nice spicy kick.  It goes really well on sandwiches and on savory dishes.  It's also high protein, fat free, low calorie, low carb, gluten-free, yada yada.  Make it!

You will need:

• Indian spices (I used a pinch of ready made sambhar powder from an Indian grocer, but curry powder, garam masala, etc. would probably do)
• Plain yogurt of choice (I used fat-free Greek)

1. Mix the yogurt and spices.
2. Enjoy with your favorite sandwich or savory dish.

DIY Fruit-on-the-bottom Yogurt

Your very own fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt parfait, with more protein and less sugar.

I prefer to make my own sweet fruity yogurt to buying the ready-made varieties in the store. I have found that the standard store-bought fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt has too much sugar-and too little protein-for my taste. The sugar-free fruity yogurts have too many weird ingredients. Making your own fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt is easy. It tastes better, and takes only minutes. You'll need:

• 1 container plain yogurt (I used fat-free Greek)
• jam or preserve of choice (I used sugar-free a Wegman's brand triple berry flavor)

1. Put the jam or preserve at the bottom of your container of choice.
2. Top with yogurt.
3. Enjoy!