Some food for thought and stomach, a delicious recipe many have enjoyed!

For your health and your budget it's time to leave the ultra-processed foods behind and eat real fresh foods.

"Sugar, sweets, and other processed food items also became more expensive, reinforcing the trend that grocery store essentials are rising in cost." (BLS) Beef and veal prices are also up but you can often offset that by finding sale items.

THE GREAT NEWS: Fresh vegetables, seafood, pork, poultry, and dairy products prices are stable and fresh fruits, and eggs are down, according to the Beaurea of Labor Statistics's data from Sept 2024-Sept 2025 and by personal observations.

For years Hudson Valley Focus LIVE, my biweekly highlight on food and nutrition shows, has exploded the myth that eating real whole food is more expensive than eating Ultra-processed packaged foods. Portion for portion, eating home prepared meals, can easily provide greater nutritional content at a lower cost, benefiting both your budget and especially your health.

Many shoppers settle for ultra-processed foods and prepared meals thinking "I work all week so I don't have time to fix meals." We've addressed that myth as well. With a little forethought and planning, meals can be prepped in advance, perhaps on the weekend, be ready to eat in minutes.

Spaghetti Squash, prepare this and serve with Grilled Chicken if you prefer. DELICIOUS!

Spaghetti squash is a really versatile food that can be combined with many other ingredients to serve any number of tastes and appetites.

Here’s my recipe for Hudson Valley Focus LIVE’s Bon Appe-Talk

Spaghetti squash medium size

2-3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion diced

1 or 2 garlic cloves diced

1-1/2 to 2 cups diced fresh tomato

¼ cup diced fresh basil

¼ Kalamata olives diced

½ to ¾ cup Feta cheese

Salt, pepper, dried oregano and dried basil flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees while you are preparing the ingredients

Prior to cutting, wash the spaghetti squash. (This should be done with all raw vegetables)

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and used a spoon to remove the seeds.

Wipe a cookie sheet with olive oil and sprinkle with the basil and oregano flakes. Lightly salt and pepper the squash halves and place them cut side down on the oiled cookie sheet. Place them in the pre-heated oven for APPROXIMATELY 30 minutes. Test to see if the strands are tender and can be easily removed with a fork.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan and add the diced onions. Cook until they are tender. Add the garlic cooking and additional 2-3 minutes then add the diced tomato. Use low heat and cook until warmed through.

Once the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool enough to handle. Use a fork to scrape the strands of “spaghetti” from the squash. Put a portion of squash in a bowl and toss with the heated onion, garlic and tomato mixture. Add fresh basil, Kalamata olives and feta cheese and toss again. Serve warm or cold and enjoy! BON APPE-TALK