Have you looked at the nutrition label on your yogurt lately? Some brands of yogurt have more sugar than a Coke.

This is why I always recommend plain Greek yogurt to my clients. Now, plain Greek yogurt can be a little um, plain. Particularly if your taste buds are used to the sweetened stuff. But have no fear – simply add a few drops of stevia and a fun topping or two and you’ll forget all about your blended Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt with granola.

Lactose in milk and yogurt is actually a sugar, so all products will contain some naturally-occurring sugar. For example, plain Fage 2% Greek yogurt has no added sugar, yet a 7-ounce container has about 8 grams of naturally-occurring sugar in the form of lactose. Compare that to Yoplait Key Lime 2X Protein Greek Yogurt, which has 20g in a 6-ounce container.

Using fresh fruit, nuts and seeds not only cuts down on sugar, but adds fiber and nutrients – resulting in a healthy, delicious and satisfying snack.

Below are a few of my favorite combinations to help jazz up that plain yogurt. It may take a little more effort than popping off the top, but it’s well worth it – and your body will thank you.

My sweet Hope, enjoying a post photo shoot treat.

I experiment with new recipes all the time. Some turn out meh, some are tasty and some are downright OMG! This little gem of a recipe is not only OMG, but has secured a coveted spot at the top of my “recipes to make again” list. Yes, it’s that good.

My Spaghetti Squash Bake is a somewhat modified version of this 5 Ingredient Spaghetti Pie I stumbled upon while surfing around Pinterest.

(Which reminds me – if you’re on Pinterest, stop on by and visit my boards. I’ve got hundreds of gorgeous clean eating recipes to browse through.)

The original version includes 1 pound of Italian Chicken Sausage. I’ve been trying to save a little dough by shopping at my local grocery store instead of Whole Foods and the chicken sausage options at King Soopers (great name huh) were limited to Jenny O (not a fan) and Boulder Sausage (better option, but I didn’t want to use pork).

So, I improvised and bought Red Bird ground chicken and created my own chicken sausage seasoning (with a little help from Google). And bonus – replacing the sausage can cut the sodium substantially.

While I’m going to stick with the ground chicken version myself, I’ve included both recipes for y’all. Hooray for options.

Update: Made this again yesterday (3/8/14) and added 1/4 cup parmesan on a whim – and it was even more delicious.

Spaghetti Squash & Chicken Sausage Bake (ground chicken version)

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce (no sugar added)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning (if you don’t have poultry seasoning – like me, you can make your own)
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook spaghetti squash using the oven, crockpot or microwave method (click here for instructions). Let cool.
• Place a large pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sauté onion until translucent (about 4-5 minutes), push to outer edges of pan.
• Add ground chicken and spices and cook until no longer pink.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the spaghetti squash, cooked chicken and onion, tomato sauce and salt & pepper.
• Whisk three eggs and add to the bowl.
• Mix everything together and pour into a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
• Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture is golden brown and crusty.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Spaghetti Squash & Chicken Sausage Bake (sausage version)

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound chicken sausage (casings removed)
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce (no sugar added)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook spaghetti squash using the oven, crockpot or microwave method (click here for instructions). Let cool
• Place a large pan over medium heat with ~1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sauté onion until translucent (about 4-5 minutes), push to edges of pan.
• Add chicken sausage and cook until no longer pink.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the spaghetti squash, chicken sausage, onion, tomato sauce, basil and salt & pepper.
• Whisk three eggs and add to the bowl.
• Mix everything together and pour into a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
• Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture is golden brown and crusty.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For more spaghetti squash recipes, hop on over to my friend (and fellow Jersey Girl) Dani’s website.

Eat clean and prosper.

XO ~Robyn