Happy Friday everyone! They’re calling for warm weather this weekend and I can’t wait to get outside. We’ll be going on a hike for sure, a few walks around the neighbourhood and maybe even a bike ride. After a long winter of cabin fever, we’re ready to get back outside!
The warmer weather also has me gravitating towards healthier meals. Salads are definitely back on the menu, but I also like to find ways to make lighter versions of some of our favourite comfort foods. Lowering the carbohydrates and amping up the protein and veggies gives this dish lots of staying power. I swapped out the traditional cream in the alfredo sauce with coconut milk and spices. It still has all the creamy texture and flavour of alfredo but lighter and dairy free! This meal is a great dish to serve up for guests who are avoiding gluten or dairy.
What you’ll need:
- 1 large Spaghetti Squash, cooked
- 6 slices of Bacon, diced
- 1 lb Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 Zucchini, julienned
- 1/2 bunch Broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 can Coconut Milk, thicker cooking variety
To help keep this low carb, I swapped out the traditional noodles for roasted spaghetti squash. It creates the same noodle effect but without the extra carbohydrates and makes it gluten free.
Cut the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and roast cut side down on a baking sheet at 375°F for 40 minutes or until tender. When its done, use a fork to pull all the strands out of the squash. Set aside.
In a large frying pan, cook the bacon pieces until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.
You can put some Parmesan cheese on top if you’d like (which isn’t very paleo), but its still great without it. This was one of those meals that I was so excited to have leftovers for lunch the next day. You know the kind – where your stomach starts growling at 11am just thinking about lunchtime. My celiac disease coworkers were begging me to bring some in for them all to try next time.
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Thanks for this recipe — I made it for dinner tonight and the husband and I both really enjoyed it.
I’m glad you both liked it! It gets requested for dinner often around our house 🙂
I started using nutritional yeast in dairy-free dishes and found it gives a nice cheesy-ness to them.
You don’t need much and it only has one carb per two tablespoons. This recipe looks great and I
can’t wait to try it – Thanks!
Next time u julienne your zucchini, make roughly 4 slices around the outer part of the zucc leaving the center seeded core (which gets soggy and wilted when cooked). U will be left with 4 FLAT strip of veggie that can be more easily julienned.
I just wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe. My husband started me eating Paleo and I was getting tired of the same baked chicken or eggs or beef every night. I made this for dinner this evening and we were practically licking the bowls afterward. It was delicious!
I’m so glad that you liked it! 🙂
I made this tonight and I have to say , its perhaps one of the best meals I have ever eaten. That’s coming from a reformed grain eater (and one who loved it). This was insanely good, and I cannot compliment you enough. Sadly as an australian, we do not get a lot of spaghetti squash here, so I paired mine with some kelp noodles, and doubled the broccoli, even then it was still amazing. Thank you for putting a weekly recipe into my rotation.
I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve never tried it with kelp noodles, but I’ll need to next time I make it. Thanks for the idea.