The folks over at FitSugar recently reminded me of the wonderful health benefits of spaghetti squash, that big oval thing that resembles an overgrown yellow zucchini.

I tried spaghetti squash for the first time around five years ago. Dr. Phil hosted a healthy eating show to teach overweight guests how to choose nutritious foods. One side dish offered was cooked spaghetti squash. The translucent, yellowish noodles looked foreign to me, but after purchasing and preparing my first yellow football, I learned this squash is delicious and easily absorbs surrounding seasonings. Better yet, one cup contains only 10 grams of carbs and 42 calories, so don't be shy with the serving spoon.

To prepare, cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and place halves cut side down in a dish with 1/2" water. Use a sharp knife and take your time, the rind can be difficult to cut through. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or tender. I've never tried the microwave, but you can place the halves cut side down on a damp paper towel in a microwaveable dish for about 15 minutes. Once done, scrape out the stringy squash in a bowl and season to your heart's content. I like ours with a little butter and pepper or sometimes a sauce. One friend recommended a little cinnamon and sugar. Mix in chopped veggies, pesto, olive oil and grated parmesan or spaghetti sauce -- whatever makes you go umm!

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Kids these days, especially teenagers, often have varying dietary desires. Mary Elson's thought-provoking Chicago Tribune article about a la carte family dinners shows impromptu burgers on the grill do not work anymore with many teens.

Take Mary's recent experience. On a whim, her son and two friends came over for dinner after skateboarding. Her husband had been preparing hamburgers on the grill. Suddenly, mom was staring at three boys with markedly different dietary preferences. Her semi-vegetarian son (eats fish), a lacto-vegetarian friend (no meat/fish/eggs) and a third buddy from Istanbul who adores American cuisine.

This simple dinner metamorphosed into hamburgers, tilapia burgers and pasta with marinara. Interestingly, Mary claims soda is also out of style, so her family serves milk, herbal teas, vitamin waters (the mid-calorie beverage rage) and other healthy drinks. Cool trend.

I've always taken Dr. Phil's advice and do not short order cook for my kids. But they are still little. Sounds like I may need to have pasta, salad and fish on hand once the teen years arrive. What's your take?

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As I sit down to work in the afternoon, I often have the TV blaring away in the background, and while most people would find it impossible to work in such conditions, I don't really like TV (especially daytime TV) so I find it easy to tune out. Over the past few weeks, I've listened with mild amusement to some old episodes of The Dr. Phil House, where opposites are pitted against one another in a blatant attempt at ratings. If you haven't seen it, it's a reality TV-style house that contains a fat guy who hates skinny people and a skinny girl who hates fat people, plus an array of other colorful combinations.

I do have a point here. A study shows that the skinny girl who hates fat people might not just be prejudiced -- it might be an evolved response. According to The Independent in Britain, when a slim person sees an obese person, their immune system is triggered because the brain relates site of the obese person to a fear of infection. Moreover, in a series of questions given to subjects, the people who exhibited disgust toward germs and bad hygiene were more likely to discriminate against someone based on their weight.

But regardless of whether it's a "natural" reaction, discrimination is still wrong, and I think being prejudiced is ultimately a learned behavior. What do you think?

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