By now you know that we love a good appetizer, and we get such a kick out of making them healthy. Bruschetta is one of our faves to do this with (Check out our Strawberry Ricotta Bruschetta and a recipe we featured from our friends at the Wild Blueberry Commission—Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Wild Blueberries. We also have an insanely delish Tomato Basil Bruschetta featured in The Nutrition Twins’ Veggie Cure book.
But here’s our latest creation—and it uses a very low calorie bread substitute! Drumroll, please… spaghetti squash! Yep, a nutrient-packed vegetable is made into delicious, tender “bread” that is almost too good to be true. After our last bread substitute, Skinny Cucumber Sandwiches were such a hit, we couldn’t wait to share these with you! This flavor combination is a delightful way to enjoy a once carb-loaded appetizer. This new masterpiece is not only pretty to serve, but satisfying to eat!
And guess what? It’s just 38 calories for an entire hand sized bruschetta appetizer (yep, you guessed it—it’s usually around 100 calories or more!! Yes, you REALLY can have 3 for the price of 1! Serve up the color and load up on nutrients.
There’s a bonus here: By cooking the tomatoes you actually get MORE nutrients! Say hello to beta carotene and lycopene, which both increase during cooking! So one of the reasons we love this is that it’ll help you to get a low calorie, health-kick bonus for your skin, hair, nails, and overall wellbeing.
Spaghetti Squash Bruschetta
Makes 10 cakes
Ingredients
2 cups spaghetti squash
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup 1% or fat free cottage cheese
1 egg white
Pinch of garlic powder, salt, and pepper
3 Roma tomatoes
1/3 cup fat free cream cheese
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh Oregano
1 green onion
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400F.
- Cook the spaghetti squash (cut squash in half, poke holes in the skin with a fork, place half face down, with 3 tbsp. water on the plate. Steam in the microwave for 7 minutes. Claw out the strings with a fork and place in a bowl (approximately 1 cup of spaghetti squash).
- Pour first 4 ingredients into a blender until all ingredients are nicely mixed together.
- On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spray oil in a spray container and place palm sized “pancakes” on the paper.
- Place in oven for about 15 minutes, or until “dough” is crisp on the edges.
- While it is cooking, cut the Roma tomatoes into slices (or roughly chop them, as seen in the photos above) and bake with cakes (not on top of the cakes) for about 7 minutes, to get them warm and soggy.
- Mix cream cheese and oregano thoroughly.
- Once tomatoes and “cakes” are done, allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. Spread “cakes” with cream cheese and oregano mix, place tomato on top. Dice green onion and garnish the tomato with green onion.
- Chill in refrigerator for about 20 minutes or serve warm. Then enjoy a tasty treat!
Nutritional Information per cake:
Calories 38; Fat 0g; Saturated Fat 0g; Carbohydrates 6.6g; Protein 3g; Cholesterol 0.5mg; Sodium 64mg; Fiber 0.5g
- 2 cups spaghetti squash
- ⅓ cup flour
- ¼ cup 1% or fat free cottage cheese
- 1 egg white
- Pinch of garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- ⅓ cup fat free cream cheese
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh Oregano
- 1 green onion
- Heat oven to 400F.
- Cook the spaghetti squash (cut squash in half, poke holes in the skin with a fork, place half face down, with 3 tbsp. water on the plate. Steam in the microwave for 7 minutes. Claw out the strings with a fork and place in a bowl (approximately 1 cup of spaghetti squash).
- Pour first 4 ingredients into a blender until all ingredients are nicely mixed together.
- On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spray oil from a spray jar on paper and place palm sized “pancakes” on the paper.
- Place in oven for about 15 minutes, or until “dough” is crisp on the edges.
- While it is cooking, cut the Roma tomatoes into slices and bake with cakes (not on top of the cakes) for about 7 minutes, to get them warm and soggy.
- Mix cream cheese and oregano thoroughly.
- Once tomatoes and “cakes” are done, allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. Spread “cakes” with cream cheese and oregano mix, place tomato on top. Dice green onion and garnish the tomato with green onion.
- Chill in refrigerator for about 20 minutes or serve warm. Then enjoy a tasty treat!
