Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake (LS, Original Recipe)

With a new diet requirement (low sodium), I find myself having to come up with alternatives to lunch for Bobble's school. He eats really clean at home, but the preschool doesn't really want the parents sending lunches since they have to make sure it would meet certain dietary requirements. I find this rather frustrating since I feel that they are not well versed in nutrition. In all fairness, that's not their job... their job is to teach 3 and 4 year olds, not know what veggies have what vitamins and minerals. Either way it goes, now we find ourselves making his lunches and attempting to keep it similar to what the kids at school are eating because literally everyone else has the same thing.

I saw a "spaghetti pizza bake" on the menu, and I have no idea what that is. I can only assume it's spaghetti with sauce and some cheese (maybe other toppings?) baked on top... or mixed in. Here was my version that I made for lunch that day, filling an 8x8 pan. (We set some spaghetti squash and sauce aside for a separate bake and to use sauce on pizza later in the week. Original amounts to include the other bake and pizza sauce would equal a full spaghetti squash, 5 tomatoes, 1 can paste, a whole serving of chopped pepperoni, and 1/2 tsp. salt.)

This can easily be vegetarian by omitting meat and adding other veggies instead.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake
2c. Spaghetti Squash (cooked and scraped out to be noodle-like)
3 Tomatoes
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. tomato paste
1/2 serving turkey pepperoni chopped up (or chopped peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. for a veg. dish)
1/4 lb ground beef (browned) (or more chopped veggies for a veg. dish)
1 1/2c. shredded mozzarella
Fresh Basil to taste
Dried Oregano to taste
Coconut Oil to grease dish

1) Shred cooked Spaghetti squash and then put in a greased 8x8 dish

2) Blend tomatoes, paste, basil, and oregano. Add in chopped pepperoni, ground beef, or any veggies you want to use.

3) Mix sauce and spaghetti squash together, and top with mozzarella.

4) Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

5) Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

This whole dish would contain roughly 1,000 mg. of sodium, so a generous serving of 1/4 of this whole dish would only be at around 250mg for the meal!

Please keep in mind that the sodium content can vary GREATLY from brand to brand, so (obviously) check your labels. To replicate this recipe exactly, the specific brands I used (other than general items like ground beef or spices) were:

Boar's Head turkey pepperoni
Happy Farms Mozzarella (Aldi brand)
Friendly Farms Tomato Paste (Aldi Brand)

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.