Healthy Chicken Meatball Spaghetti Squash Meal Prep
- Tiara Baldoni
- Jun 12, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2019
I've never personally been a fan of blogs that make you scroll through the whole page for the list of ingredients. So, here you go:
Ingredients
2 tbsp - extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp - minced garlic
28 oz - canned peeled San Marzano tomatoes (blended)
2 tsp - garlic powder
2 tsp - onion powder
3 tsp - ground pepper
2 tsp - pink Himalayan sea salt
16 oz - ground chicken
1 - spaghetti squash
3 cups - organic baby spinach
This meal prep is not only delicious and super filling, but also incredibly nutritious and low calorie. Eating meals that make you feel full while also consuming minimal calories is very important for maintaining and losing weight. I will go into more detail on this topic in another post, but I wanted to point out that this a great meal for that reason.
Chicken Meatball Sauce
To make this sauce, you will start by simmering a tablespoon of minced garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot on medium heat. While this is heating up, pour the can of tomatoes in the blender and blend on low speed. Be careful not to over-blend them, as they will become too watery. Once the garlic has a audible simmer, pour the blended tomatoes in and mix with the garlic.
Add your garlic powder, onion powder, ground pepper, and salt to taste. Stir in the ingredients and bring the sauce to a light boil on medium heat. If you bought pre-balled meatballs, you can pour them in now. If you didn't, put your ground chicken in a medium sized bowl, season it and scoop out 12 1.5 inch balls. Once your meatballs are in the sauce, stir them in so they are all evenly covered in sauce and reduce the heat to a simmer and allow them to cook for about 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
Spaghetti Squash
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, carefully slice your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. It helps to cut off the stem end first. After you have your two slices, use a metal spoon to scoop out the seeds until you are left with a hard surface.
Next you will drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the squash and spread it over the surface evenly with paper towel. Then, sprinkle salt and pepper over the squash. Place on a baking sheet upside-down and poke holes in the other side with a fork.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes (al dente) or until you reach the firmness of your choice. Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a couple minutes. Next, take a metal fork and scrape the sides so that the squash peels away like spaghetti.
Meal Prep
Store your sauce and meatballs in a separate container from your spaghetti squash. If you need to pack a lunch for work/school, like I do, you will want to wait until the morning of to combine the spaghetti squash and chicken meatball sauce. In a new container, place a layer of the spaghetti squash at the bottom, then add the layer of 4 meatballs and sauce, and finally top it off with some uncooked baby spinach.
When you heat this up to eat it, remove the lid but place it on top so that it traps in the steam. This will allow your spinach to steam. Heat for 1 minute, then stir, heat for another minute, stir again, and then heat for another 30 seconds. Voila! You're chicken meatball spaghetti squash is complete and ready to enjoy!
Comments